I'm sitting at a stop sign on the way to work when "bam", my 3 month-old GMC duelly gets rear-ended by a car. I had not removed my hitch thank goodness because I had zero damage and the car folded in around the hitch http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gif. I think I will just leave it on from now on.

I am now on my third truck (first diesel) that I do not take the hitch out EVER for just that exact reason.

Not always,


Little car rear ended my wife and son while they were waiting for a car to turn. They saw it coming and the car lifed the back end of the truck. The impact bent the hitch down and the frame went with it. $1200 later it was all better.

Had that happen to a friend; he ended up getting cited for having it in there; don't remember how they managed to do that to him but it did end up costing him quite a bit; I also know that here in PA there are some cops that are writing written warnings if they see you with them in there. I personally take mine out every time.

That is bullsh!t. I don't leave mine in because I mostly use the goose hitch but it is the drivers responsibility to not hit you, not for you to cushion their blow. Course the law prevails but what a pain to pull the ball when using it on a regular basis.

I think I'd rather take a citation then a damaged truck any day.


Dennis

I leave a big ol' pintle hitch in mine. Had to pry a new Taurus off it last year. Had to break out the Rust-o-leum to touch up the hitch. Taurus didn't fair too well...............

I don't leave mine in because I got tired of hitting my shins on ithttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Angry.gif.

......... I'm laughing just thinking about this..... My Dad and I will "bump" each others trucks, much more so when there new...kind'a breaks them in. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Embarrased.gif Anyhow, he bumps me with the hitch on...and his truck got hooked on my hitch. I didn't realize he was hooked until attempting to "run" away. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif We were laughing so hard. Like a Pirate, my Dad said; Tried to get away aurghhhh? We neede a little help getting them apart. I had to get three BIG fellas standing on the bumper to release the thing.....


You know, when your laughing ya just dont think. All I had to do was take the pin out........oh well, it was still a riot. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif


I say leave'm in! http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Clap.gif





Burner----------> http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Big Smile.gifEdited by: Burner

i had a 8" drop hitch in my 97 until they day i sold it.. i know have an extented 12k 4" drop w/ 2 5/16 ball on my dmax. been there since i bought it and i'll never take it out.. it saved my 97 once and my dmax once.. i probably tow a trailer twice a year but its nice knowing its there when you see someone speeding into your rear bumper! the last honda to hit it lost a radiator and i didn't get a scratch!

happend to me bout a year ago in the dually bout 4 miles from my house. old ford tempo. and the lady ran. LOL i had no damage i would have just let here go. 6 months later same lady rear ended me at the same light pullin my open car trailer.and she ran again!!!!!!! too much to the rest of that story to tell.

I never take mine out because I pull a trailer at least twice a week. Plus if some car hits me they deserve to lose their radiator...http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif

Okay, B-rad, you can't leave us hanging like that. . . do tell.


Dennis

Frick 'em if they write you a ticket for leaving it in. I had to take mine out the other day to get a tow, but other than that, the hitch had been in my old truck for 8 years without being removed...


I was rear ended twice in the old truck, just scratched the ball...the Volvo and Mercedes had a little more damamge...





And by the way, Vote for George W!

I think I would haft to take one of those tickets to court along with the jerk cop who wrote it, so he could show the judge and me where in the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Law Book its written or says its against the law to drive around with a hitch in the receiver, next thing you know they'll be wanting us to install ICC Bars on our trucks.

I think I would haft to take one of those tickets to court along with the jerk cop who wrote it, so he could show the judge and me where in the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Law Book its written or says its against the law to drive around with a hitch in the receiver, next thing you know they'll be wanting us to install ICC Bars on our trucks.


I thought the 05s had them now http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif

I was stopped at stoplight (hitch in place) when a new Lexus driven by a rich b***h hit me. No damage to me but punctured grill and radiator on hers. She called PD for accident report so I waited. She was ranting and raving about damage to her car and demanded that he write a ticket. He did, to her!!!

one of my favorites

I don't leave mine in because I got tired of hitting my shins on ithttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Angry.gif.


I've done that a couple of times, but I still choose to leave it in. Mine is a solid piece, not hollow, so its rather heavy and bulky . . . and I am lazy.


No one has hit me yet, but I am ready for when they do. I have heard that the reason some people get cited for leaving the hitch in, is that there is an object protruding past the "vehicle" thereby defeating the safety mechanism (bumper) of said vehicle.


Either way, I'll leave mine in, until I get a warning, if I ever do. :)

I had a '97 gasser and got rear ended so hard that it creased my frame above my back tire and the hitch was pointed straight down with the frame. It didn't do me a whole lot of good that day, but I know it will help in the future so I think i'll just leave it in.

We leave ours in too. I'll have to check with some cops in our family about that. I thought that if something was hanging out or sticking out of the truck, even a hitch, it had to be a certain length before it was a problem, and that is why you have to "flag" objects when they are a certain length out. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gifI dunno... just a thought.


I hate people riding my rear-end, so when we are in the truck and they get to close.. I just think- "well if they keep creeping up at a stop, they are only going to damage their vehicle with that hitch" then smoke them out... lol- that usually backs them off.


Sunny

I drive around with this on the back of mine and no one ever stays behind me long enough to run into me.

Only have one ticket so far. I told the officer he can put the ticket in the attached bucket.


http://www.bumperdumper.com/bumper2.htmhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Evil Smile.gif

What about your tailgate if it's down? What about the lumber in the bed with the red flag on it? All of that is legal! Don't need to have a redflag on the hitch because it doesn't stick out past the bumper more than 3 feet. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif Sometimes I gotta wonder about the cop's mental condition...http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Disapprove.gif (no offense meant to any here...)


As for me, I take it out because I want to avoid anyone hitting me at all. Around here if the traffic isn't on your ass the whole time, it's considered a light traffic day. We run around here at 70+ with only a few c-hairs of space in between.

i was looking into a step bumper for the rear hitch reciever about 89.00 black .idont know how thick the metal is . and how it would hold up on a rear impact


has anybody have one of these http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cool.gif

Kendall69


You got to be sh#tting me!


heheheh

the reason i dont keep mine in is because i got the adj one that goes up and down and has 3 differnt balls on it. i dont want that to dissapear for no reason. my hitch is about 2 feet long also.

I use a 3 ft. extension for towing with the camper, one time I jumped in the truck at the campground and headed in to town forgeting about the hitch and the camper was off. Got pulled over and told to remove it on the spot (which I thought was fair). http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/HiHi.gif But no ticket !!!

I leave my hitch on most of the time unless im in a area that looks like somone might steal it. Whenever me and some freinds sit on the back tailgate they always end up hittin my hitch, which is very greasy. Other then that it has been nothin but a knee buster.

I use the Convert-A-Ball setup, does anyone else? I like being able to swap from 1&7/8 to 2" to 2&5/16 with just a flick of the pin. Well, that and the fact the the whole system is rated for 10,000lbs with 2,000 lbs of tounge weight. They make standard steel sets and Stainless sets, so I opted for the stainless.


Two reason I use this setup.... #1 I'm lazy about changing the ball size and #2 I don't wan't to get sued for "over loading" the ball and hitch. ............. I gots too many lawyer friends.... Pulling just 7 or 8k and have a wreck with the trailer and hurt someone...they will stick you any way possible. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Cry.gif





Burner

I am on my third truck and have allways left my hitch in
and all fo them have been hit at least once
2000 GMC Sonoma 4X4 2 times
2002 GMC Sierra 2500HD(8.1L) 3 times
2004.5 GMC Siera 2500HD(LLY DURAMAX) 1 time in 8000 miles

I guess each state is different. I just read in the Florida statutes that anything protruding four feet or more must be flagged. Nothing in there about your ball sticking out. I also checked on seat belts. Common sense says wear them and it is something I always do, but if you get pulled the law in Florida only applies to vehicles under 5000 pounds. So you can get out of it if you forget and you get pulled.

It's going the same way as plow frames. The real reason the plows have all become completely removable is because of the unfair advantage of all that angle iron on the front of your truck in a collision. The insurance co.'s (after getting ******ed by the laywers) lobby'd the DOT, who in turn lobby'd the plow manufacturers...bla bla bla. You know how it goes. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Ermm.gif


This is why the increasing resistance to drawbars being left in!


Any unfair advantage over and above your vehicles built in crash zones and standards...is getting to be a no-no!


It's too bad, I always left my old style conventional Fisher plow headgear on year 'round...oh, and a big nasty drawbar sticking out the back...and drove like hell. http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif