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Most of today’s trailer hitches are easily removable. So why do people leave them on when not towing? When we weren’t towing we removed the hitch. Only time my dad didn’t remove the hitch was when it was built into the bumper.
Reason for my question is parking towers. The drive path is narrow and parking lanes short in length. Some trailer hitches stick out at least a foot from the rear bumper. Some stick out further. But all of these can easily be removed.
Some of those draw bars are expensive, and folks leave them locked in the receiver to avoid theft.....having it stolen and no way to tow your rig is not a good situation. After walking into ours a few times, I keep it in the bed of the truck and hope for the best.
Not removing a trailer hitch when not in use is one of my pet peeves, bang your shin on it once and you'll be just like me. Even if you are accustomed to it that is a pretty big hazard to others.
They do it for convenience. First you have to remove it, and then find a place to store it in the vehicle. Plus, some people tow things often, even daily, so it gets to be a pain to keep taking it on and off. Commercial guys may use theirs every day, so they just leave them on.
A secondary reason is, it protects your bumper. Other cars stay way back from you because they don't want to become impaled on the hitch.
When my truck was my primary vehicle I usually pulled the hitch when I wasn't using it. Now that it's just used for towing and as a backup vehicle I don't bother. As I get older I've also discovered that it makes a nice step for getting into the bed.
I call BS on the "reason for asking", by the way. In a parking garage with narrow lanes I'd expect the parking spaces to be angled. Given the width of the vehicle you'd expect to find a large hitch on, the protruding corner would stick out just as far as the hitch.
I remove mine when it is not being used. I don't want to bang my knee on it and I like the look of the custom cover with my business logo on the receiver.
I once read that someone was sued due to their hitch sticking out in a parking lot. Someone was walking along and banged their leg pretty bad and had to go to the hospital. The premise for the law suit was that the hitch was removable and not a permanent part of the truck so the owner should have removed it when it was not in use so it couldn't hurt someone.
I do not remember the outcome of this case but considering how everyone is now sue happy in America I wouldn't be surprised if the truck owner had to pay up.
When my truck was my primary vehicle I usually pulled the hitch when I wasn't using it. Now that it's just used for towing and as a backup vehicle I don't bother. As I get older I've also discovered that it makes a nice step for getting into the bed.
I call BS on the "reason for asking", by the way. In a parking garage with narrow lanes I'd expect the parking spaces to be angled. Given the width of the vehicle you'd expect to find a large hitch on, the protruding corner would stick out just as far as the hitch.
Two way travel in parking tower, parking lanes are straight in, not diagonal.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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For those of us that only tow a travel trailer 8-10 times a year like me, it's good to remove it, not only to prevent knee injuries but to make it easier to park without endangering the front end from passersby. There are many, however, that will tow a boat to the lake every weekend, and it's not practical to remove it every time, at least during the boating season. Then there are those that are in the landscape or construction business that tow a trailer every day.
They do it for convenience. First you have to remove it, and then find a place to store it in the vehicle. Plus, some people tow things often, even daily, so it gets to be a pain to keep taking it on and off. Commercial guys may use theirs every day, so they just leave them on.
A secondary reason is, it protects your bumper. Other cars stay way back from you because they don't want to become impaled on the hitch.
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