My hitch is hardly clean; ignoring the ball grease under the ball cover, the road grime and surface rust, our Blue Ox bar sockets are greased and attract dirt. The bars also pick up their share of road grime.
While I once used a tote a box or other container, it was just one more piece of junk to work around in the pass through compartment.
Our pass though carries the lawn chairs and assorted totes boxes for tire changing tools, electrical and extension cords, water hoses, sewer line connectors and the ground carpet etc, all of which pick up dirt, leaf duffle and other grime. So setting a hitch bar on each side of the pass through and the hitch just inside the cover was the simplest approach for use and storage.
