Receiver Hitch Must be Empty if No Trialer Attached?

[Ragain]

If this really is a local ordinance... ... wouldn't the SUV's & auto's with bumper hitches have to completely remove their ball hitch assembly also?

 

[jwduke]

I live in NW Ia, and nothing like that around here... ... . yet

 

[larneub]

Leaving my hitch on has saved my rear bumper more than once from preoccupied driver who rear ended me. I was glad I had it on. But yes, it does smart a bit when you accidently hit it with your shinn.

 

[Bloomy]

In PA it is a $105~ fine if you have it in without a trailer attached. One of the 'rumors' is it was pushed through the legislation with insurance company influence. Their reason's being it causes more damage to the vehicle that would hit the hitch. Instead of just some bumper work, now we are looking at bumper, hood, radiator, condenser, transmission cooler, pulleys, belts, blocks, etc. I still have mine in for the exact reasons mentioned in other posts. Went to Wal-Mart with my dad's 01 when it was a week old. Come out and a guy walks up and says is that your truck? Yep, my toyota must have popped out of gear and drifted into your truck. Big old dent in his front bumper and a small scrath on the pintle in our truck. I have not been pulled over for it, but would think they (LE) will add the fine to any other moving violation. I think Sledpuller put a thread up about this in PA a while ago.



Thomas

 

[WDixon27]

Leaving my hitch on has saved my rear bumper more than once from preoccupied driver who rear ended me. I was glad I had it on. But yes, it does smart a bit when you accidently hit it with your shinn.

i have a customer who's daughters are in the process of destroying one of his cars, it has 2 clean receiver holes in the plastic front bumper, just the other day we were wondering when #3 was due, it's about time :-laf

 

[Sled Puller]

Yep, I did, never got details on it though. However, a guy I know a week ago pulled in behind another pick up in a banks drive through. He bumped it into neutral and shut the engine off so they could hear in front of him.



Sure enough, he became distracted and started coasting ahead, too late, he realized what was happening... . DINK!



The front plate had a tiny dent in it, the truck ahead of him was saved-by the drop hitch left in the receiver! LOL. True story, (not me, I was a witness!) :-laf

 

[MMeier]

If you crack your shin on someone elses truck then I'd say you deserve it as you're too close to someone elses truck :{

Roger that !!!! :-laf

 

[MMeier]

-Other town susposedly with ordinance is Coralville, and IH 80 goes through Coralville.

-

Coralville, did a test drive program for the 3rd gens when they came out at the Fall of '93 Farm Progress show over in the Amana colonies, stayed in Coralville, don't remember much for some reason... . Anyone remember the fancy Dodge Ram show rig that year, thats what I was piloting! Local sheriffs were quite friendly on the back road... . till he got one of my test pilots at 110 MPH!!!

 

[rowilson]

Have you never walked in a parking lot with cars/trucks parked close to one another/facing one another and had only 24" between them. Most of the time you are not looking down. And I also think that air is free.

Nope. I make it a habit of not walking between trucks because someone might have a ball mount still in their receiver :-laf As for me though I do take my mount out and store it in a Hitchhide padded bag under the rear seat. Not to keep someone safe that shouldn't be that close to my truck but to keep some low life from stealing my mount. As for the air it's usually free unless you're at the gas station and need to fill up a tire and then it's 25 cents from that little post mounted air compressor.

 

[BDanner]

First line of offense is a good defense

I was in the carpool pickup line at the kid's school the other day in the '01 4x4 dually with the 6" drop ball. The line was stopping and moving. Seems as though the guy behind me had one of those cell phone moments and slid in behind for a very close look at my reciever. Nice asian guy gets out of his Caravan apologizing and bowing "so sorry, so sorry". The guy did not even take notice of the large hole in his bumper skin. I took one look at the front of his van and said no harm done to me without even taking a step back for a visual check my reciever.



How did I know there was no damage on my vehicle? Because I have walked into that sucker faster and harder in the late of night in my driveway than his car was moving. My tibia has been impaled, bruised and stripped of hide on more than one occasion!



_____________________________________________

Bruce in Northern Virginia - Hats off to you guys over in Iraq & Afghanistan!

 

[MMeier]

Most would catch on after the first time!!!! :-laf J/K

 

[catoiler]

I believe in California it is the law. Durning accidents the cars get locked together and are hard to remove from the road. So they passed a law on hitches sticking out with balls on them. Without a ball, I believe that you would be ok in California. SNOKING

I have never heard of this here!I never take mine out and have never had any problems. Part of the reason i leave mine in is for the dummies that like to tailgate! :-laf

 

[Dl5treez]

No law or ordinance here yet, but after building two replacements for stolen drop hitches I have learned to remove it when the trailer comes off.

 

[Mhannink]

I believe in California it is the law. Durning accidents the cars get locked together and are hard to remove from the road. So they passed a law on hitches sticking out with balls on them. Without a ball, I believe that you would be ok in California. SNOKING

my emty ball hitch saved my truck when someone rearended me the cop never said anything and ive never heard of such a bull**** law tho cali would probably be the first to do it

 

[PSchwering]

I got hit from behind out on the highway last summer- she was running about 50 mph, & I was nearly stopped. Her car=totaled. My truck= a bent reciever hitch, & some scratches on the bumper. no damage to any painted surfaces. I keep a hitch in at all times.

 

[JOdell]

I had just bought a 8" drop weight distributing hitch (really heavy) got done getting the thing installed and leveled and everything and decided to get the truck washed. Inside the car wash the cavaleir in front of me jumped the track and I rammed (funny) into the rear crushing the rear deck lid and the Dodge Avenger behind me met the new hitch. It tore the crap out of the hood of that car. absolutly no damage to my truck at all. Just some red paint from the Avenger on the hitch. -Jason

 

[WyattEarp]

WTF!!!! i have heard it all now. . this country has gone to ****, im thinking that since its attached and part of the truck its legal, if someone bust there freakin shins then they were to damn close to the rear of my truck, if i bust my shins its my own fault. But as some else said i would rather have it back there due to all the tailgaters that seems to be getting worse and worse. . dam yuppies and their SUV's oh did i mention driving while on the cell phone, that their should be nation wide banned if anything instead of a poor defensless hitch just minding its own business :-laf

 

[jwduke]

Didn't some surgeon sue Walmart (Yes, Walmart!) for tripping over a receiver hitch, attached to a car in the parking lot a few years ago, and win a few million bucks??

 

[rrausch]

I used to have a '54 Chevy 3/4 ton truck with a hitch welded onto the rear steel-treadplate bumper. It was pretty nasty--made out of 1/2" steel and stuck back about a 8" or so. Once I was driving along and a cop pulled out from a sidestreet with red lights going and I jammed on the brakes and the Mex. gang-bangers behind me couldn't stop in time. They banged into me. It really screwed their car up, but the funny part is after he hit me and guy driving took off! I chased them down--took about 20 blocks to catch them and when I finally pulled up beside the car and I asked the driver if he was ok! I was laughing at the dumb ****--he was trying to pretend nothing had happened but his front bumper, grill and headlights told a different tale. My bumper and hitch had a little scratched paint that was all.

 

[Boondocker]

Ok, I got it. Hang on a big weight-distributing hitch, then cover it with some kind of padding, like a boxing glove. That will demonstrate how socially responsible you are by trying to protect the inept driver who rear-ends you by providing a something soft and cushy to crash into.



P. S. Your shins will thank you too



I rarely leave a hitch on. I walk close to my truck and my shins can't take it.