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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,382
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,382 |
I take mine out. These types of hitches are bolted directly to the frame and an impact can and does bend frames. I was a passenger in my father's little Ranger when I was a kid and we were hit by a gal going about 25 MPH, rear ended, glancing blow. They totaled the truck. Without the hitch, it'd have been a bumper and rear quarter panel. https://sparebumper.com/common-trailer-hitch-mistake-youre-probably-making-right-now/Just lifted this off the innernet, as it is very similar to a few other articles I have read about this. "It takes about an 8 mph impact to bend a uni-body frame and a 12 mph impact to bend a frame railed vehicle…but the further the drop on the ball mount the easier it is to bend the frame."well, you were in a Ranger
Last edited by DHN; 04/19/20.
Dale
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,412 Likes: 3
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,412 Likes: 3 |
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.
To preserve liberty it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them.-Richard Henry Lee
Endowment Member NRA, Life Member SAF-GOA, Life-Board Member, West TN Director TFA
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Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 838 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 838 Likes: 1 |
I too have had folks "drift " into the back of my jeep , so ,my hitch is a permanent fixture .
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,770 Likes: 15
Campfire Savant
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Campfire Savant
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 151,770 Likes: 15 |
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Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 9,083 Likes: 3
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 9,083 Likes: 3 |
Never taken my out. In fact, I think there's a lock on it and I have no idea where the key is.
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,174 Likes: 1
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,174 Likes: 1 |
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.
Harry
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 14,488
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 14,488 |
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.
Don't be the darkness.
America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 19,563 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 19,563 Likes: 4 |
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.
MAGA
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Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 9,966 Likes: 7
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 9,966 Likes: 7 |
My hitch ball is out right now- - - -there's a 2 foot cargo platform in the receiver tube instead. Jerry
Ignorance can be fixed. Stupid is forever!
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 5,220
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 5,220 |
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.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. Albert Einstein
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Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 23,686 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 23,686 Likes: 1 |
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?
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 12,156
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 12,156 |
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.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,409 Likes: 5
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,409 Likes: 5 |
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.
Last edited by Rock Chuck; 04/19/20.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,796
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,796 |
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.
Sean
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,892 Likes: 7
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,892 Likes: 7 |
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.
1Minute
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,409 Likes: 5
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 69,409 Likes: 5 |
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?
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,270 Likes: 25
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,270 Likes: 25 |
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.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 2,845 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 2,845 Likes: 1 |
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.
Just because you're offended doesn't mean your right.
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Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,591
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,591 |
The big Reese Class III weight equalizer hitch is a real deterrent to tailgaters, especially ones in rice burner mini cars! Jerry
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.
Never take life to seriously, after all ,no one gets out of it alive.
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 29,786 |
Who here leaves them in? I always take mine out. Bashed a shin on a buddies the other day. He always leaves his in. I don't understand why, unless it is just to fugg people up. 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.
These are my opinions, feel free to disagree.
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