Please remove your hitch

[bedell]

Yesterday my wife hurt her knee on a hitch on the back of someone's pickup in a parking lot. I don't know if it was a TT owner's truck but the lesson was clear. We need to be considerate and remove the hitch after we are done towing.

[Shavano]

All right, this one's done....

[Jake8147]

I generally remove mine unless towing on consecutive days, but I do so because I choose to.

This thread reminds me of the story of the man who sat on a park bench across from a little boy who was sitting there stuffing one candy bar after another into his mouth.

Man - "You know little boy, you shouldn't eat that much chocolate. It will give you acne, you'll get fat, get diabetes, and you'll die at a young age.

Little boy - "That's funny, my grandad lived to be 103 years old."

Man - "Did he typically eat six Snickers in one sitting?"

Little boy - "No, he minded his own d*mn business!"

[steve-n-vicki]

I have a locking pin in my hitch and I don't have the slightest idea where the key is, my back up camera is mounted on the hitch, its a pita to remove the heat shrink on the connection, the hitch sticks out 12 inches, my tow mirrors stick out that far should I remove the mirrors just to keep some one from running into them too? no one should be within 12 inches of my truck, as they should not be closer than 2 feet from me , it called personal space

[MM49]

I was hit in the rear by a van who's driver was a drug user. The accident happened on a Friday that I was planning on taveling. I had a singer with weight distribution head on my truck. There was no damage to my $4000.00 sonar and camera equiped bumper. The Chevy van took center punch. The driver went to jail.
MM49

[dadmomh]

Actually, I do. My doctor and I have this discussion regularly, as he does with all his senior patients. If he sees something I don't, I would assume he's right and consider myself fortunate that any problem was caught before it turned into a major issue....as with both my dad and my MIL.

Does this have anything to do with my lack of upper body strength?

[1rickw]

My wife tells me to stop looking at my phone when I am walking. I have banged into the hitch on my pickup many times, so now I leave it off out of self-preservation. I do, however have my towing bar on my Toad on all the time, but I DO worry that someone with walk into it like I have done several times. It really hurts!!!!

[NinerBikes]

hawkeye-08 wrote:
Some have commented about the attitudes folks have, but I think it is not about the "me" attitude, but rather more about folks just getting plain tired of others thinking that they can tell them what to do... It is really none of your business if I leave my hitch in or not and I don't really care if you think you can tell me what to do.. mind your own business and take some personal responsibility for a change.

To the OP, sorry your wife got hurt.

You are entitled to that mentality when you truck is on private property, but it fails when on public roads, where public safety pretty much trumps your laziness and negligence.

I have never seen someone pull into / run into a trailer ball from behind, but I have seen plenty of truck drivers/owners back into vehicles below the tailgate line of sight, and punch out a bumper or license plate or take out the hood on a low car like a Honda Civic or Accord with the hitch still left in place when not in use. Those are the facts/statistics I've observed. 4 different times I observed this, I took all 4 license plate numbers down, on different occassions, and left the plate numbers on the car hit, after the truck driver hit and ran. 3 of these events occurred at Home Depot parking lots, by contractors. YMMV, but that's my personal experience on the matter.

You are entitled to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Driving, and owning/operating a vehicle is not a right... it's a privilege, and that privilege can be revoked, by anyone that observes your practices and is in a position to issue a fix it ticket or a fine. Public roads you drive on make it everyone's business when you have a protrusive unnecessary hunk of metal sitting there in the hitch, when it should have been removed when you were finished using it. With the privilege comes a level of responsibility to all that share public roads and public parking lots. The majority of vehicles out there don't have protrusions sticking out the back beyond the bumper line, which is considered the norm. Your hitch, when not in use towing, sticks out like a sore thumb. A lawyer will tell you one day your laziness in removing the hitch is negligence. It wasn't in use, it wasn't necessary, and it creates a hazard on public roads and public parking lots. It is foreseeable someone will bump into it and hurt themselves.

[NinerBikes]

dadmomh wrote:
And a good evening to you.....just happened to spot the reference to "old people" who couldn't remove their hitch. I just turned 69, have driven accident free since I started driving when I was 16. In the last 3 years I have started towing about half the time and love it. Have also managed to do it without crises. I have never had the upper body strength to lift our hitch....wouldn't have had when I was 16 either. And....get this....I've never run into a hitch either in a parking lot or our very own driveway and if I did, it would be my fault. So, as respectfully as I can muster, my constructive suggestion is that you "stuff it". With your attitude, you'd better hope you don't get any physical limitations that sometimes come to younger or older folks, you won't get through it. BTW, I fully expect that I will know when the time comes when I should no longer drive....would hate to spoil my perfect record. You should profusely apologize to us "older" folks or to any without the strength to lift heavy objects.

You have any experience with Alzheimer patients, or those that are experiencing dementia? One day, you go to see the doctor, and when you leave, your license is removed, permanently.

[dadmomh]

And a good evening to you.....just happened to spot the reference to "old people" who couldn't remove their hitch. I just turned 69, have driven accident free since I started driving when I was 16. In the last 3 years I have started towing about half the time and love it. Have also managed to do it without crises. I have never had the upper body strength to lift our hitch....wouldn't have had when I was 16 either. And....get this....I've never run into a hitch either in a parking lot or our very own driveway and if I did, it would be my fault. So, as respectfully as I can muster, my constructive suggestion is that you "stuff it". With your attitude, you'd better hope you don't get any physical limitations that sometimes come to younger or older folks, you won't get through it. BTW, I fully expect that I will know when the time comes when I should no longer drive....would hate to spoil my perfect record. You should profusely apologize to us "older" folks or to any without the strength to lift heavy objects.

[Rollnhome]

dodge guy wrote:

Rollnhome wrote:
I worked heavy construction for 40+ years. The hitch was left on my trucks for fourty years. Some days I used it a lot, some weeks I never used it it.
I left it on for two reasons. 1. It was a pain to take it on and off that often 2. It was a waste of time and it is only illegal if it blocked the license plate.
People need to be responsible for themselves and watch where they are going. Next they will be asking us to remove our side view mirrors when we park at the grocery store.

So you`re still using trucks from the 60`s and 70`s?!!!!!:E

You bet Dodge Guy....They were all Fords. 🙂

[Huntindog]

Education.This appears to be a house bill, that was allowed to die after spending about 2 years in committee. As far as I can tell, that was the end of it.

Lots of crazy bills are introduced all over the country.. All it usually takes is one legislator with an axe to grind.. Most don't go anywhere.

[dewey02]

cyntdon2010 wrote:
she need glasses

And shin guards :W

[NinerBikes]

Leaving your hitch and ball in place defeats the purpose of having a 5 mph safety bumper, and constitutes neglect on the owners part. Yes, I pay attention when walking. Ever wonder why stairs are done in bright yellow paint? There's your sign.

Sure can tell who is lazy... a judge would pretty much ask "is it foreseeable that while not in use, someone walking through a public parking lot could get injured by leaving it in place?" Enough here have answered "yes, it is foreseeable". Standard test of reasonableness. Remove it when not in use.

[cyntdon2010]

she need glasses