Storing ball hitch

dedmiston wrote:
I used to get rear-ended all the time in my old truck when we had a bumper-pull. That hitch was a godsend. I never had so much as a scratch on my bumper. I can remember most of the collisions pretty well.

* Very attractive woman in a brand new BMW in traffic. Her bumper was destroyed and mine was fine.

* A friend of mine coming down a hill near home. I was looking in my mirror and saw him coming down the hill in his company's van. "Oh hey, here comes Dave... Oh no, Dave's going to hit me.... Aaaand Dave just hit me." We pulled over and caught up on each other's family stuff and then I left him to make that tough call to his boss.

* Somebody hit me in a junker sedan in traffic and I was already running late. I waved to him and he waved "sorry", and then I kept going. He looked pretty relieved to not have to swap info.

* A teenage kid in a sweet new red Mustang hit me pretty hard after I'd just driven down to the Valley to have a new tooth implant fitted. He hit me hard enough to knock out the tooth and I jumped out of my truck like a mad bull. Then I saw it was just a kid and saw he'd destroyed his front end, so I shook his hand and told him the owner of the car was going to be way madder than I was, so I wished him good luck and sent him along.

So yes, I would leave the hitch in the receiver. It's one more layer of protection for you and one less thing to deal with when you come and go from your trips.

Those are some good stories.

I leave mine in the bumper of the truck. If you want to leave yours on the trailer it won't hurt anything so go ahead.

I just leave it in the hitch/truck side for short trips. if im staying put for a week or more i remove it completely and put it in a storage cubby.

Ah, thought it was to be permanent. Yes you could leave it in. Yes dont leave the bard on if you have them( I've actually seen that last trip).

He wants to pull the pin and pull away . I don't see a problem with that but you need to take all the tension off and It will be very hard to re hitch that way. If you have spring bars they need to be removed first. I personally unhitch the camper then remove the hitch and set it on a block of wood.

dedmiston wrote:
So yes, I would leave the hitch in the receiver.

He wants to leave the hitch attached to the trailer coupler at the campground, when he unhooks the truck.

Ok, ill post the same answer here as the other thread. If you leave it in for a few years it will rust and become one with the truck. All good if you never want to remove it. Problematic if you ever need to.

Family-of-five wrote:
I must be the exception here I like to take mine out of the way.Its always well greased and keeps the kids from cracking their shins.Makes it easier to load and unload the truck

Same here. I have one ball mount dedicated for the TT with WDH. It says in the camper whenever the TV and TT are disconnected. I keep my TT @ storage away from home, so it is always right where I need it. I don't want to hit it, get grease on my body or clothes, or let dirt and salt accumulate on it. I have one other adjustable height ball mount for all my other towing needs. It stays in my garage when not needed. It worked on two of my current vehicles, or I have loaned it to friends. Again, in my garage right where I need it to tow my smaller trailer which is in my yard.

With all the "stuff" in a rear bumper now (sensors, etc) I always leave the ball mount in the receiver (or I use a "Bully Step" in the receiver).

Eons ago one fall, riding with my Mom in her monstrous old station wagon with a hitch, we were stopped at an intersections when she yelled hang on - we're going to get hit!!! A smaller sedan was sliding on wet fallen leaves and piled into the back of the wagon - it destroyed his motor/radiator/heaven only knows what else. My Mom's wagon had a tiny scratch on the rear bumper. But along with that protection comes the knowledge that sooner or later your shin is going to kiss that thing....

dedmiston wrote:

So yes, I would leave the hitch in the receiver. It's one more layer of protection for you and one less thing to deal with when you come and go from your trips.

I agree and leave mine installed as well.

I must be the exception here I like to take mine out of the way.Its always well greased and keeps the kids from cracking their shins.Makes it easier to load and unload the truck