Leave Hitch In Receiver?

[mudcat]

Do you leave your hitch in your receiver or do you pull it out and store it?
I always leave mine in. Today I noticed some rust on the receiver pin and it got me thinking.

 

[Highbeam]

I always pull it out and put in a decorative plug. Point being that with the big old hitch sticking out there I am likely to receive a painful knock in the shins accompanied by a greasy smear to add insult to injury. I raise the trailer off the ball, then slide the hitch out and leave it on the ground right beneath the trailer tongue. I don't even remove the WD tension bars.

I also have always thought that if I got rear ended with that receiver in there that the impact could twist my frame more than just the naked receiver.

 

[George2615]

I always take mine out as well. Mainly for theft reasons. I had a couple stolen before I bought a locking pin to secure the hitch. Then since it was locked I left it on for about a year or so. When it came time to take it off the lock was so froze up from the weather that the key wouldn't go in. Had to torch off the locking pin and drive out what was left with a punch. Have taken them out ever since. I also use a dab of grease on all four sides and usually pop in a cover plate in the receiver. Like Highbeam said, by taking it out your less likely to ram your shin / leg into it or get grease on your clothes. Leaving it in will lead to it rusting in place as well and you may have a hard time getting it back out later.

 

[midlf]

If you leave it in corrosion may make it virtually permanent. I pull mine out after use, grease it, push it in and out to spread the grease around, and use a cover. I also grease the hitch before I put it into the receiver.

 

[txdon]

...hitch sticking out there I am likely to receive a painful knock in the shins.... I also have always thought that if I got rear ended with that receiver in there that the impact could twist my frame more than just the naked receiver.

I have left mine in for the past five years and have a new bruise each month on the shins to prove it. When I got rear-ended by a taxi I had no damage but the ball in the hitch tore his license plate in half.

 

[roxynoodle]

They are highly prone to theft around here. I take mine out and store it under the back seat. I had a Dodge decorative plug in there with a locking pin and also had mine corrode due to weather. I could turn the key but not pull the lock off the pin. Had to cut it off with a reciproating saw.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I have left mine in for the past five years and have a new bruise each month on the shins to prove it. When I got rear-ended by a taxi I had no damage but the ball in the hitch tore his license plate in half.

In an effort to re-grow skin on my shins, I started taking mine out when not in use.

A couple years ago, I was using a jack hammer and trailer type portable compressor (courtesy of my employer) for a home project. I needed a pintle hitch for towing it. I bought one that mounts on a reciever hitch. The very first time I drove home, with just the pintle hook sticking out of the hitch, a fellow (who'd had a bit to drink) ran into the back of my Dodge at a stoplight. It scratched the paint on the hitch. His Toyota minitruck ended up wasting the grill, radiator, transmission oil cooler, air conditioning coil, fan, bumper, and his drivers license.

 

[RayH]

Sometimes I take mine out, sometimes I leave it in.
I did get rearended by a guy in a Mercedes because he decided there was something in his newspaper that was more important than stopping. Did nothing to my hitch insert but left a nice weird looking pattern imprinted into his hood.

 

[firemanpat2910]

I have a locked aluminum insert with the interchangable 3 ball system that stays on the truck at all times. When I used steel inserts they used to rust in to the point my tractor could not pull them out.

 

[howlin_wolf]

The very first time I drove home, with just the pintle hook sticking out of the hitch, a fellow (who'd had a bit to drink) ran into the back of my Dodge at a stoplight. It scratched the paint on the hitch. His Toyota minitruck ended up wasting the grill, radiator, transmission oil cooler, air conditioning coil, fan, bumper, and his drivers license.

Yes, these come in handy against the folks who like to park their $500, 1980, 4 color, smoke bellowing, uninsured, rust bucket half way into your parking spot and a quarter of an inch off of your bumper in parking lots. My pintle hook is one with a ball on it and adjustable drop. It's a good 20 pound hunk of steel. I've seen several license plate holders, Grill/bumper pieces and paint chips laying behind me when I come out, but never any car there. My bumper still looks brand new, but I wonder if any of those people have learned how to stay in their own parking spot yet?