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.

Mine stays in. I tow damn near every day.

Mine stays in only cause I am too lazy to take it out when not using and have to put it back in when I need it.

Makes sense.

I don't leave mine in, but I did have a class IV stinger in when a painter in a van hit me. Tremendous damage to the van. Nothing on the hitch or truck. I don't fault the painter. He was probably under the fumes from paint.

I leave mine in. I use it regularly. I do make a point to park at the far end of the parking lot. I have also programmed myself to walk further than draw bar length from trucks.

I usually leave them in.

I have been hit in the rear at least 3 times.

The first bent my bumper,the others had a rv trailer hitch imprint on their cars.

As for knocking your shins i always walk like there is a hitch in.

Ball or clevis hitch I try not to leave on unless you're moving trailers all the time.


This is short enough to not worry.

I leave mine in as I use it often I also try to watch where I'm walking and if I do happen to bash my shin on someones hitch I tell myself I'm a dumb sonofabitch for not watching were I was going.

I’ve busted a few shins on mine!!!

Stays in on the F-350. Take 'em out of the other vehicles.

I always have one in. A: I use it at least a couple times a week. B: I’ve been rearended twice and never had any damage to my truck because they stopped the car from getting to the bumper.

I have had one on my trucks since 1985, I don't remember ever busting a shin. But other people have.....lol

+1

The big Reese Class III weight equalizer hitch is a real deterrent to tailgaters, especially ones in rice burner mini cars!
Jerry

I leave mine in..

Don’t remember where i put to key to the pin. After putting it somewhere where i would remember it.....


It’s one of those B&W foldover jobs...

When we discussed this awhile back, didn't someone say that it is illegal in some state to have it in if it isn't towing?

Leave it in. Had a few folks rear end me such that I saw no damae to my truck, but they ate it in the front end. Have bunged a knee, but not often.

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."

I used to leave mine in until one time had to leave the truck at the mechanics for work the following day.
Someone needed it more I guess.

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.

I have one on mine and it is excellent for stopping that damned constant "clunk".

Always leave mine in. I got rear-ended five times in one year here. It's a little added protection against having the back of my truck tore up..

Mine stays in, open your eyes and watch where you are walking

Gee thanks, never thought of that!

I had pleny of choice words, none directed at anyone but myself...just used to walking around my own vehichles where it is a non issue.

I leave mine in.
3 vehicles.
1 pickup has a ball for the boat, and has a brush skirt attached to help keep debris from hitting my boat and 5th wheel.
Its bolted with a 5/8" bolt and nylock nut and washers, as well as a tightener.
The other truck has a 2" ball on it for my decoy trailer. It's my huntin truck !
Hitch tightener too.
The Hummer has a good size drop, and ball for the boat. Locked, and tightener on it.
We never hit our shins, and use the balls as a step to get in the bed.

Holy sheep dip:
https://sparebumper.com/superbumper...g-receiver-hitch-step-sp424-sparebumper/

At $140 is sure is classier than Truck Nutz, but dang...

I rarely leave my hitch in the receiver because my truck is too long to get it in the garage when the hitch is in-place. The garage door hits the hitch. But on that rare occasion when I do leave my hitch in the receiver, I invariably bark my shin on the damn thing.

Around here if you don’t have one in the receiver someone is apt to put one in for you.

The hitch and ball weathered the beating just fine. Plus, everyone within 200 yds was treated to 3 minutes of free entertainment.

There might be 2 or 3 members of the fire who remember fender skirts. They were stolen often enough that those of us who had a few brain cells to rub together would duct tape razor blades to the latch area on ours. Finding bloody handprints and big dents kicked into our fender skirts was a pretty common situation! The same thing might work on a receiver hitch latch pin.
Jerry

Dad had fender skirts on his mid-60s Pontiacs. He didn't think a thing about them until he had a flat tire in the frozen wastes of northern Minnesota and had to try and get the $%#^ things off when they and their mounting hardware were frozen solidly in place. After that, they came on and off with the snow tires.

Thanks for showing this. I didn't even know they made such a critter. I just ordered one for my hitch. Just last night I was towing my utility trailer down our brick street and woke up everybody in 6 blocks.

Double-nut that anti-rattler and it might also slow down a thief long enough to get a good sight picture.
Jerry

Look where you are going!

I pull mine off when the truck is parked at the house. We have a mentally disabled daughter who lives with us and doesn't notice a lot of things she should notice - she walked into it real good one time and I have removed it ever since.

That is very considerate of you.

Some States it's against the law to leave it in

Must be up in damyankee territory. I'm glad I live in America!
Jerry

Those HAVE to be blue nanny states.

That's a great idea. I employed redneck engineering, and hammered a wooden shim into the receiver on the top side of the shaft. It wouldn't come out easily, but it sure as fcuk didn't rattle or clunk.


However, I had an instance where I entered the house & found long black greasy streaks all over the walls, right about knee-level. I was spooling up to scream at the offspring, when my black lab came slobbering up to me. It occurred to me to check his tail, which turned out to be covered with grease he'd picked up from the ball hitch.

I bought a ball cover not long thereafter.

FC

I’ve always considered a man that takes it out a pu$$y or an anal retentive doucher.

Fairly certain it's illegal to let them in here in PA (or so I've been told).

I let mine in all summer but usually take it out in the winter as I rarely tow from October to March. I had one rust into the receiver of a suburban I had years ago, it was a real bitch to get out.

Those anti-rattler clamps only cost about $12. I was going to make one but a U-bolt costs about 1/2 of that. The savings of a DIY version aren't worth the effort.

I leave mine in year round. During the spring-fall I use a B&W Stow and Tow and for winter it's a chrome plated 3" drop with a 2" ball. Not much towing in the Winter but the morons are on the roads year round.

JD338

i use an old tennis ball. Cut an “X” to slip it over the ball.

All my trucks have the stinger locked in place. I keep the tri-ball stinger on my everyday truck so I’m always covered. I’ve hit my shin a time or two when I was younger but now I swing wide when I walk around the back of trucks....I treat trucks like horses and mules when walking behind them.

Several years ago my buddy and I were up at his beach cabin on Vancouver island when we decided to break early from dropping trees to hit the local Pub for some well earned cocktails. He parked his new lifted F-350 in front and our seat inside offered us a perfect view of his rig. We watched this goofy looking dork walk through the parking lot and right into his stinger...his knee center punched the hitch and he immediately went down. He came up madder than a wet hen and commenced kicking the hitch with his flip flop covered feet. Apparently that was a bad idea because he only got one kick in on the hitch before deciding to call it a draw. We were laughing so hard that the guy knew it was our rig. He gave us the stink eye so we decided to compliment him on his situational awareness, depth perception, choice of footwear and haircut (Canadian mullet). He wasn’t in as good of a mood as we were and blamed his stupidity on us, that only put us in a better and more jovial mood. My god my side hurt when we finally decided to head back to the cabin for post celebration-celebrations. We bought the poor shmuck a drink when we closed out our tab, it was the least we could do considering the entertainment he provided us.

I’ll never forget that poor guy doing battle against an inanimate steel hitch dressed in full dumb-ass battle gear.....flip flops and shorts. 😂

And that really means something, coming from you.