Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[RandyT]

Again that is not what I said. I said you are liable for additional damages, damages over and above what would have occurred had you not had a spike sticking out of the back of your vehicle.

You are trying to pretend I said your drawbar makes you responsible for all damages when getting rear-ended.

Sorry, but that is incorrect, you are not liable for additional damage to the offending vehicle. The hitch is a standard, commonly accepted legal attachment and does not cause you any additional liability for damage to the vehicle that hits you. The person that hit you is at fault and the damage caused by your vehicle is not an issue.

Liable for what damages???? Your the one not making sense.

Your not liable for any damages if someone hits you.

If you back into some, then yes your liable for damages.

I think this falls under intent. If you do something that is intended to increase the amount of damage then there is some liabiiltiy. So a standard hitch would not be a liablity issue, but if you say extend that hitch back an additional foot for the purpose of intentionally damaging the radiator and/or engine, or in the case of somebody that keeps getting their driveway markers damaged decides to put that marker inside of a piece of pipe that is say 8 inches high for the purpose of damaging the engine and transmission oil pans then there is some liability involved.

 

[Dftodd]

I think this falls under intent. If you do something that is intended to increase the amount of damage then there is some liabiiltiy. So a standard hitch would not be a liablity issue, but if you say extend that hitch back an additional foot for the purpose of intentionally damaging the radiator and/or engine, or in the case of somebody that keeps getting their driveway markers damaged decides to put that marker inside of a piece of pipe that is say 8 inches high for the purpose of damaging the engine and transmission oil pans then there is some liability involved.

Intents a mother to prove. During prime camping season, I left my weight distribution reciever for the camper installed on the truck unless I had to haul my landscape trailer for any reason.

It sat higher and stuck out further than the normal tri-ball hitch that is normally on my truck.

It would also do quite a bit more damage if someone struck it.

The reason it didn't get removed unless it was necessary. The bloody thing weighed 60 lbs and was awkward to install or remove.

My intent was to "not" throw out my back by handling the thing more than I had to.

 

[Oaktree]

I tried to remove the hitch from my last company truck before it was traded. After 4 years it had rusted into place so badly that I couldn't get it out... even after hooking a chain to a tree and pulling in 4 Lo. The steel in those isn't the highest quality and rusts easily. That's why when Diggin was posting about his '98 Yukon I suggested he replace the receiver.

I hear ya on that! I also once had a truck that didn't get used for towing much and the inside of the receiver rusted enough so you couldn't get a hitch in without a lot of scraping & filing of the receiver.
I'll spray mine with Fluid Film once a year now.

 

[seville009]

 

[ning]

The truth is having your draw bar and ball in your hitch isn’t going to make a lot of difference in a major impact. In a minor one it might poke a hole is someone’s car and take out a radiator.

My truck isn't "lifted" per se - I think there was a factory lift with the "off-road package" - and the tires a a bit bigger than stock but not huge, but there's still quite a bit of space between the road and the back bumper, so a small car under heavy braking could easily find itself completely wedged under the back of the truck... unless they hit my drop hitch. If they're lucky, the drop hitch will help slow them down in the event of a substantial rear-ending, and it may spread out the shock I feel on the back of my seat (and possibly reduce some whiplash as well - I did feel a bit once when my truck got rear-ended, but the soreness went away in a few days, good thing about a big truck is it doesn't bounce forwards very quickly).

Between that and the convenience of keeping the hitch in its best place and using it as a step, I'm keeping it there.

 

[John0829]

If they're lucky, the drop hitch will help slow them down in the event of a substantial rear-ending, and it may spread out the shock I feel on the back of my seat (and possibly reduce some whiplash as well -

Actually a study was done (by Jeff Mohr) that showed the hitch transfers more of the energy to the vehicle because it is mounted to the frame where as the bumper has a degree of crumple to absorb some of the impact.

I agree with his study, the hitch transfers more of the energy to the frame increasing the whiplash. BUT, I was rear ended in 2008 by a semi on the interstate and think the hitch is what let me be here today. The added strength of the hitch added to the rigidness of the frame stopped the rear end and back hatch of the SUV I was driving at the back of the front seats. Everyone who saw the vehicle said I should not have survived, I'll never know if the hitch made a difference or not.

 

[RandyT]

Actually a study was done (by Jeff Mohr) that showed the hitch transfers more of the energy to the vehicle because it is mounted to the frame where as the bumper has a degree of crumple to absorb some of the impact.

I agree with his study, the hitch transfers more of the energy to the frame increasing the whiplash. BUT, I was rear ended in 2008 by a semi on the interstate and think the hitch is what let me be here today. The added strength of the hitch added to the rigidness of the frame stopped the rear end and back hatch of the SUV I was driving at the back of the front seats. Everyone who saw the vehicle said I should not have survived, I'll never know if the hitch made a difference or not.

But there are a lot of pickup trucks were the bumper doesn't meet highway safety standards if the hitch has been removed from the vehicle. Basically the hitch is the bumper and the bumper is the decorative cover.

 

[Dftodd]

Came across this today.

Someone had an oopsy

 

[ptsg]

Well, this sucks. Everyone was ok though, just minor injuries on the tractor driver.

 

[tacticalturnip]

My goodness, did a car take the front axle out?!