# Do You Keep Your Tt Hitch On All Year Round?



## TNFiddler (Jun 13, 2005)

Hello -

My TT is winterized and I've contemplated taking off my TT hitch off the back of my truck, but I like the advantages:

1. Extra (extended) bumper. I can only imagine what type of damage it would do to a car if they bumped me on accident (drive thru, parking lot, etc). I would much rather replace a $100-$200 hitch instead of a $1000 bumper!

2. The looks. I like advertising that I use my truck to actually pull things.









But - I wonder if there are negatives to leaving it on there. It is locked and secure, so no worries about theft. I did notice that the bolts are showing a little rust from the weather (no garage). Also - it is quite heavy - do you think there is unecessary wear and tear on my truck?

Curious on your thoughts and the best practice.

I hope everyone is enjoying this mild winter so far. I've already made reservations at several Corp campgrounds - right now is the best time to get that prime spot!!!

TNFiddler


----------



## ee4308 (Aug 23, 2005)

TNFiddler,

Main thing I could think of would be theft, but you mentioned having it secured. Hope so. Also, best watch out for you shins as you walk behind the TV. If you hit that hitch with your leg, its gonna smart.







BTW, we would love to have you pull down to Logan's Landing in Alpine, AL for the Southeastern Spring 06 Rally 5-7 May 06. sunny We have one Outbacker coming from above Chattanooga. Check the post and get on board.


----------



## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

The only problem I have ever had with it was walking into it in the dark.....







Ouch, It really hurts.

I though that there was some law in MD that said you were not supposed to just drive around with it in the truck. Then again, you don't live in "the peoples republic of Maryland" and everyone does it any way!!!!!!

Happy Outbacking!

Tim


----------



## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

I always took my Equalizer hitch off after each trip since it stuck out so far. I have left my 5th wheel hitch on because we'll be going camping soon. I also leave my regular ball hitch on most of the time, never know when I may need it. Use a ball cover if you can.


----------



## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

Mine sticks out almost 12 inches, I do not leave it on the truck at a campground. If I walked around your truck say in a Home Depot lot and hit my shins, retaliation with the board I was carrying? I myself would not but some would. It hurts like hell, I have hit my own.

John


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

I pull mine but there are plenty of people that leave them on year round.


----------



## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

I would say the biggest problem is the shins. Have you every walked into one of those??? It will make the baddest man in the world cry like a little girl.

I would be afraid of backing into a parking spot and hitting another car/truck wit it. I didn't notice what kind of TV yo have but when I have to back the Suburban into a parking spot it is very easy to get to close to the car that is already there.

Also I have traded for trucks at work that have had ball mounts left in them for REALLY long times and we have had to heat them to break them loose, sometime that doesn't work. Now I am talking about mounts that have been in the hitch for years and years.

As for wear and tear on your truck....I don't think that that extra weight is enought to cause any problems.

Gary


----------



## mjs518 (Oct 24, 2004)

Bumpers are designed for safety reasons, to help save people from injury and death. There has been quite alot of debate over bumper height in recent years for obvious reasons. Equally as obvious, to me anyway, is having your hitch protrude out from your bumper (up to 12 inches in some cases) when not necessary. Please consider removing your hitch when not in use. You might just be saving someone some serious injury. Its pretty easy for alot of smaller cars to take a nose dive under your bumper in a crash and just think about where the hitch ball might end up








'nuff said


----------



## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

I usually remove it from the truck because even though its locked, It's one less thing for "Them" to steal.


----------



## shaela21 (Aug 16, 2005)

I have always removed mine when not towing, even when I had a regular class 2 hitch for the PU. But with the WDH, well, that adds another 10 inches to the back of the truck, and in the parking lot that can be dangerous. And I know who would be the first one to walk into the darn thing. It is right at that height that make the shin glow purple for a week







.
I also remove it to avoid theft. That thing was expensive, and the last thing I want to do is replace it. Even with a locking thing through the holes, if someone wants it, they will get it. 
Maintenance is the last reason I remove it. Inside it stay dry and clean, and the ball has a nice thin layer of grease on it. 
So those are my reasons for removing the hitch.


----------



## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I always remove the hitch when not towing
And when I'm towing I usually don't remove it for short trips
But try to cover it with something that is visible
But long trips I usually remove it because of sight seeing
And one hit on the shins and you'll think about removing









Don


----------



## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

I leave it on -- chicks dig it ....









actually its a state law that if you have a real truck that you must leave your hitch on..LOL


----------



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

I find that people don't tailgate quite as much with my Equal-i-zer hitch hanging out the back. At least the smart ones don't!









I must say that, had I had it on when I was rear-ended by the 15 year old unlicensed driver - talking on her cell phone - in her mom's 'stolen' Subaru, it would have been a much more satisfying experience!









Happy Trails,
Doug


----------



## nascarcamper (Jan 27, 2005)

If I left mine in for more than a month it would probably rust in place and I'd never get it out.


----------



## ee4308 (Aug 23, 2005)

Ghosty said:


> I leave it on -- chicks dig it ....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ghosty,

You don't happen to haul a bale of hay around in the back also do you?


----------



## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

ee4308 said:


> Ghosty said:
> 
> 
> > I leave it on -- chicks dig it ....
> ...


I believe TX also has a law on the books that requires a 20/20 be hung in the back window while the a coondawgg rides loose in the open bed


----------



## nascarcamper (Jan 27, 2005)

wolfwood said:


> ee4308 said:
> 
> 
> > Ghosty said:
> ...


Out here it's no muffler, rod holders and a black lab in the back.


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

I remove mine after every trip and leave it with the trailer (my parents house) No reason to bring it with back to my house.


----------



## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

I take mine out after every camping trip. I really do not why except I started to do and it is just habbit now. I also take my bike rack and small ball hitch out after every use as well. I think I do because my TV looks cleaner without it.

Thor


----------



## shake1969 (Sep 21, 2004)

I think you meant 30-30. Never heard of a 20-20. Except that Barbara Walters thing on ABC. 

I take mine off. It jacks with my backup warning system, basically the system thinks I've got a trailer behind me and beeps like crazy everytime I put it in R. Yeah, there is a shut off, but it resets after the key is turned to off.

Enjoy your hitch.


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Mine comes off too.....

It fits in the front storage compartment of the OB, so that's where it goes.

I let it in if I am camping for a weekend, but usually pull it if we are out for a week.

Steve


----------



## Dreamtimers (Mar 7, 2005)

nascarcamper said:


> wolfwood said:
> 
> 
> > ee4308 said:
> ...


I thought all the rod holders were required to be bolted to the brush bumper in the front! (from another coastal TarHeel)


















shake1969 said:


> I think you meant 30-30. Never heard of a 20-20. Except that Barbara Walters thing on ABC.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


There is a 25-20, but who would want such a whimpy rifle.









Dreamtimers


----------



## TNFiddler (Jun 13, 2005)

I like the looks of it on there, so I think I'll leave it on. Granted - I know you can take your knees off with that thing if you walk around, but I'm so used to it being there now, I'm ok with it. I will consider putting a bright tennis ball on it though, just as a visible sign...

Having a truck, I rarely - very rarely - ever back into a parking space, unless there is no other vehicle directly behind me.

It does make a racket when I go over a speed bump.

It also makes a good conversation piece.









-TNF


----------



## GlenninTexas (Aug 11, 2004)

Just wondering out loud here, maybe Ghosty can help answer this question.

Is the any possibility you could be held liable if some (other than you or immediate family) were to walk into the hitch while it was parked say in a mal parking lot. Or for that matter, if someone backed their vehicle into it and caused damage to their car.
I wonder if there could be a case made that you were negligent for leaving the hitch on when it wa not being actively used?

Regards, Glenn


----------



## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

nascarcamper said:


> wolfwood said:
> 
> 
> > ee4308 said:
> ...


----------



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Glenn,

Anybody can sue you for anything. Dosen't mean they will win!

As far as someone else backing into the hitch. That is their problem, just as if they rear ended you. The other driver carries the responsibility here.

Now, if you park in a parking space such that your hitch is over the line for the space behind you, they might have a case.









Happy Trails,
Doug


----------



## TNFiddler (Jun 13, 2005)

GlenninTexas said:


> Just wondering out loud here, maybe Ghosty can help answer this question.
> 
> Is the any possibility you could be held liable if some (other than you or immediate family) were to walk into the hitch while it was parked say in a mal parking lot. Or for that matter, if someone backed their vehicle into it and caused damage to their car.
> I wonder if there could be a case made that you were negligent for leaving the hitch on when it wa not being actively used?
> ...


I guess the same question could also be ask to pulling an empty utility trailor if there isn't anything in it (ie, "not being actively used"). Some of those trailors are so low that if you don't look down, you could feasibly not see it and run (or walk) into it.

TNF


----------



## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I have heard there are some states that have made it illegal to leave it in, not sure which ones and not sure if it is true.

As to a small utility trailer, when I tow my open car trailer with no car on it, I put a flag on a pole at the rear corners to make it more visible.

John


----------



## Humpty (Apr 20, 2005)

Large TV (Suburban) + Small garage = Hith removed when not in use. If not, we can not close the garage door.










The equalizer hitch stays in the garage. I do keep 2 draw bars in the small compartment in the back of the burb. One has a 2" ball, the other has a 1 7/8" ball.

Chris


----------



## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

I don't keep mine on the Suburban. There's plenty of room in the storage compartment on the 31RQS. I put all the hitch gear in there plus the battery, plus...I guess, whatver I wanted to.......Heck I could almost put the Suburban in there!









Mark


----------



## snsgraham (May 18, 2004)

Here is something that I would consider a no-no.
Like many of us, I use an Eze-Lift WD hitch that has the spring bars in the hitch. Where these bars snap into the hitch is supposed to be greased to prevent galling and such. We all know that a greased anything is a dirt/kid/dog magnet. Think about all of the dirt and gravel kicked up by the front wheels on the TV that is flying up into those holes whithout the bars in place. Just sort of hanging out there in the grease waiting for you to put those bars back in.
No, I take my hitch off as soon as I get home. When I am camping I disconnect it from the TT but leave the bars connected to the hitch.

BTW, one of those 12 gauge coach guns/alley cleaners looks the most impressive in the back window of a pickup.









Scott


----------



## gregjoyal (Jan 25, 2005)

If you were ever rear-ended, I've heard the argument that you want your bumper to abosrb the impact and not the hitch which is directly attached to the frame...

Of course, I argue that if you get hit so hard that the hitch causes the frame to bend or be damaged, your bumper probably wouldn't have saved you anyways.

I normally remove whatever I am towing with (wd setup, or regular draw bar) when I'm not planning to tow for some time...


----------



## gkaasmith (Aug 2, 2005)

TNFiddler said:


> 2. The looks. I like advertising that I use my truck to actually pull things.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


DH keeps his on for the same reason. It looks tough. I must admit, it is a monster.


----------



## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

PDX_Doug said:


> Now, if you park in a parking space such that your hitch is over the line for the space behind you, they might have a case.
> 
> 
> 
> ...










Well, maybe - but did you ever try to get a cop to come to a party in a private parking lot? In this part of the world, anyway, they just don't - unless there are injuries. Otherwise, they'll tell you it didn't happen on a public street and it's a civil matter.

Slug

RV show this weekend, up by the airport in Kansas City...


----------



## fishingmarlin (Nov 27, 2005)

My brother-in-law left his in and needed to switch to a smaller ball. We tried banging it with a sledge hammer, heating with a torch, tied a chain to it which was tied to a concrete pole (I don't suggest this nor was this my idea). We sprayed the receiver with a ton of rust removal compounds and NOTHING. Ended up having to cut the ball off and he got the ball with a pin for switching out sizes.

So with that in mind and the amount of cussing from bashing your shins I would say take it out!! Not only that someone could cut the lock and these are not cheap to replace.


----------



## nynethead (Sep 23, 2005)

I sore my whole setup inside away from the elements during the off season, figure it will make it last longer


----------

