Coming from a dude that drives a truck and tows frequently, it should be illegal to drive with a hitch in your truck if you’re not trailering anything.
I know these guys are parked, just throwing out my opinion.
I have a tow bar on my sedan and I toss the hitch in my trunk when it's not in use. I don't need to accidentally bash into shit when I'm backing up or let the elements slowly eat it.
no cause i've cracked my shins in a walmart parking lot with these damn hitches sticking into the drive aisle... (I've also seen people with these hitches back into cars too... just take them out...
Backing in a big ass truck into car size parking spots is way easier to both get in and out. Remove hitch, don’t back in as far or park further away in a spot that doesn’t require backing in.
A huge truck like this would have a hitch stick out into the lane if it hadn't backed in. Also, it's
s still a problem to drive with a hitch if it's not being used. It effectively renders all the safety features of your truck ineffective in the case of a rear-end collision, making an accident more harmful that it needs to be for all parties. Its also really hard to see when parallel parking, and someone may thing they have more room than they do, judging by where your bumper begins.
As someone who drives large van, I intentionally often have to overhang sidewalks like this as the parking spots are too short for the vehicle.
If you pull in there’s only about 1.5’ ahead of the front tire but have multiple feet off the hanging into the roadway.
By backing in i can get out of the roadway with the negative side effect of having multiple feet hang over the sidewalk.
Obviously best practice is to avoid the spots that are next to sidewalks and try to find ones so that my back end hangs over low traffic grass but sometimes these spots are the only ones there are
Usually they back in so it doesn't stick so far out in the road. Id rather have someone bust their shin as opposed to someone buried in their phones to hit it with their car. Trucks are getting bigger and the parking spaces are getting smaller
If you hit it with your shin hard enough to require a new shin, you should look where you’re walking instead of keeping your face in your phone. Also I am a huge proponent for backing into stalls. For safety reasons. It makes for a quicker getaway if the need arises
They do stick out pretty far. They should at least have to hang flags on them. Require little rainbow flags and they'll just take off the hitches when not in use.
Oh course these are also the same kind of people who used to hang truck nuts on their vehicles. Do with that what you will.
As someone that actually tows shit, this is 100% right. I have tried thinking of a reason to keep it in many times and I have never found a pro other than it is ready to go which doesn’t actually make sense because you can just keep it in the bed of the truck.
Where I live you can get a ticket for parking like this.
Arizona law (ARS 28-873) bans stopping or parking on a sidewalk, and that applies even if only part of your vehicle is over it. A hitch hanging past your driveway onto the walkway counts as obstructing it, especially if it narrows the path for wheelchairs or strollers. In practice, enforcement usually happens after a complaint, but it is a citable offense.
I'm a big fan of my step bumper hitch. Doesn't make the truck any longer than it already is, and it's rated for 5000 pounds and 500 pounds of tongue weight, which is fine enough for me at this point in time.
Before anyone tells me that step bumpers aren't rated that high, it's a 1989 dodge d250. The bumper is indeed rated that high.
I was stopped at a stop sign, some dude high off his balls rear ended me. I had my hitch in. His car was totaled and there wasn’t a dent to mine. This is why I think it should be illegal. I know it was this guys fault but for the speed he was going it shouldn’t have totaled his car.
I disagree. I have been rear ended at least three times and my hitch is what the small car ran into and therefore kept my truck from taking damage. Sure, if it’s a faster vehicle, there’s a higher chance of frame taking damage.
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u/SturdyStubs 2h ago
Coming from a dude that drives a truck and tows frequently, it should be illegal to drive with a hitch in your truck if you’re not trailering anything.
I know these guys are parked, just throwing out my opinion.