Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Tow hitch stingers...

well, you were in a Ranger

Young lawyer on his cell phone ran his Porsche up on the rear of my Tundra at the red light by work, he had a come apart when he got out to look at the front of his car, had no idea what my hitch was, (had the big ball in), made a nasty mess of his bumper, kind of like the crossbar on a Jaguar Spear...kept him off of me.

Me laughing at his rant did not help much..."Why would anybody have anything like that on the back of their truck? You are going to pay for my car..." Cop who showed up was a bud of mine, both of us laughing did not improve young barrister's humor.

I too have had folks "drift " into the back of my jeep , so ,my hitch is a permanent fixture .

I leave mine in

Never taken my out. In fact, I think there's a lock on it and I have no idea where the key is.

I leave mine in. It makes people a little more careful about how close they park behind my truck and when I need to move my trailer, I have it with me.

I leave mine installed. All you gotta do is bust your shins 30 or 40 times and it will teach you to be cognizant of the way you move...much like using tools under the hood.

Like most of you guys, I leave mine in as well. Always there when I need it, whether to tow or yank someone out of a snowbank. And keeps the shidheels off my bumper, and makes sure they get good and fugged if they hit me.

My hitch ball is out right now- - - -there's a 2 foot cargo platform in the receiver tube instead.
Jerry

Mine is out unless a trailer is attached. Had a guy back into me with his stinger in place, would have been a walk away if not for the stinger.

Guess I'm an [bleep] for having an ARB on the Tacoma too. It's not fair that if I hit your dumb ass I'm going to drive away unscathed and your schit is totaled?

Mine stays in. It's one of those with three ball sizes on it and the only time it comes out is to rotate it from 2" to 2 5/16". I didn't know anybody ever took them out. It got put in as soon as I got the truck home from the dealership and hasn't been removed since.

As for somebody damaging their vehicle by hitting my hitch, that's their problem, not mine. They shouldn't be anywhere near that close to my truck.

I have a clamp on my pickup to keep it from rattling and to keep the trailers from bouncing. The receiver is slightly oversized. I've never hit it yet.
I have hitch on our SUV, too. That one comes off. It's a real shin buster.

If you have a need for one, these work really well.

In and locked. It’s not a drop hitch so the torque on the frame isn’t any more than without it in if I get rear ended. And IDGAF about the Porsche hood after they rear end me.

Take mine off. Have three trailers (boat, utility, and travel) and each demands a different ball size. Never had any stolen, but have heard they are a frequent target in the larger cities.

As to shin busting: One of Cookie's buddies had both knees rebuilt in a single session and was in a bad way. Walked into his hitch in the dark, and I must have learned 26 or 7 new French words. He also picked up a stick of firewood and worked out on that hitch for at least 3 minutes.

I put 2" hitches on a couple small trailers so mine are all the same. I haven't had any problems with different hitch heights. I even have a 2" on my atv trailer so I have a 2" ball on it to jockey trailers around at home.

Did he tear up the hitch with his stick?

I replaced the 1-7/8" coupler on my little boat trailer with a 2". Now i only need to swap between a 2" and 2-5/16" hitch. I almost always take my hitch out. I've mashed a shin, but I've heard of them being stolen.

The 2-1/2" shank is 50 bucks or more plus another 20 for the ball.

The inconvenience? Priceless.

Mine stays in the receiver all the time, have a trailer in tow on a regular basis. Don't see a need to remove it.

In commute traffic one morning some azzhat was not paying attention and his auto dove under my truck when he hit brakes hard. When his car settled he had 2 foot divot in his hood as I drove away laughing.

I take mine out for three reasons.

1. It hurts when I bark my shin on it.

2. Just about every thieving bastard out there will lift a towbar as quick as look at you.

3. In NSW it is a legal requirement to remove the towbar if it is removable.

Listed in order of importance.