Boost_Crazy said:In reply to rslifkin :
It's also makes it more likely to get your truck totaled in a rear ended. It's a big lever, and it does not take much of an impact to bend the end of the frame.
Feeling uncharitable this morning, if your truck is tall enough that you need an 8" drop hitch to tow anything, good riddance when it gets totaled. It's not a tragedy, it's one down and many more to go.
(grumble grumble old-man-yells-at-cloud.jpg)
When I tow locally, I use a pin and remove the hitch when not in use and throw it into a milk crate I keep in the bed of my pickup. Whenever I have a long tow, I use a Grade 8 bolt, flat washer, lock washer and a nylon locking nut to secure the hitch into the receiver. It takes one minute to put in and tighten and you never worry about losing it. 2 old wrenches live in the milk crate as well. I keep 4 hitches in the truck at all times each with a different drop depending on which trailer I need to drag around.
I use to safety wire the clip in place. Mostly because I had a set of aircraft safety wire pliers. That added level of difficulty I hoped would cause people to move on to someone else's rig
mtn (Forum Supporter) said:Mr_Asa said:I've never ever taken the hitch off of my truck. Changed the ball once or twice, but never taken the hitch off. Might as well weld the pin on.
That can get you a ticket in some states. I doubt it has ever been used on its own, though.
I needed a break from working on putting down some tile so I went and did some looking at various statues in various states and some other internet sleuthing. I have heard that same thing repeated over and over through the years but I've never actually seen anyone able to name an actual state with an actual statute that makes that unlawful. There are statutes that prohibit the obstruction of the license plate, and Illinois had a proposed bit of legislation that would have banned anything protruding more than 4". But that bill died years ago and has no indication of being resurrected and if your hitch ball isn't blocking the license plate - which 99 out of a hundred receiver hitches wouldn't - I can find no state which has a law against that.
I didn't read 51 motor vehicle codes, so I'm willing to be proven wrong, but as far as I can tell there is no way to get a ticket for that in the US.
wae said:mtn (Forum Supporter) said:Mr_Asa said:I've never ever taken the hitch off of my truck. Changed the ball once or twice, but never taken the hitch off. Might as well weld the pin on.
That can get you a ticket in some states. I doubt it has ever been used on its own, though.
I needed a break from working on putting down some tile so I went and did some looking at various statues in various states and some other internet sleuthing. I have heard that same thing repeated over and over through the years but I've never actually seen anyone able to name an actual state with an actual statute that makes that unlawful. There are statutes that prohibit the obstruction of the license plate, and Illinois had a proposed bit of legislation that would have banned anything protruding more than 4". But that bill died years ago and has no indication of being resurrected and if your hitch ball isn't blocking the license plate - which 99 out of a hundred receiver hitches wouldn't - I can find no state which has a law against that.
I didn't read 51 motor vehicle codes, so I'm willing to be proven wrong, but as far as I can tell there is no way to get a ticket for that in the US.
Very well could be. I'm just repeating what an LEO told me.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:Boost_Crazy said:In reply to rslifkin :
It's also makes it more likely to get your truck totaled in a rear ended. It's a big lever, and it does not take much of an impact to bend the end of the frame.
Feeling uncharitable this morning, if your truck is tall enough that you need an 8" drop hitch to tow anything, good riddance when it gets totaled. It's not a tragedy, it's one down and many more to go.
(grumble grumble old-man-yells-at-cloud.jpg)
Even with a zero drop hitch, the actual receiver is usually slung below the frame out at the end. Put a good hit into that and it's like it was designed to bend the frame down.
I've had the Reese locking pin picture since 1999 with no failures. I leave it on all the time.
I don't really give a shot if somebody else walks into my hitch, but I sure hate it when I do.
I ran the exact same locking pin as in the OP for thousands of towing miles without issue. I'm guessing it just didn't get fully seated, or had a one-off failure.
A few years ago, we got rear-ended with the hitch installed. It did bend the hitch, but not the frame. It also saved a lot of sheet metal... Not sure which is worse... totaled due to frame damage or all new bed/bumpers, etc...?
Streetwiseguy said:I don't really give a shot if somebody else walks into my hitch, but I sure hate it when I do.
That was my point too!!
Hurts like hell!
I towed an empty car dolly from NC to Charlestown, SC and the bouncing of the empty dolly vibrated the hitch pin style below loose. The safety chains caught the dolly and I noticed it right away. I had a spare pin with me, but I *still* sent to a local big box store and got a locking pin. That's never come loose.
The bicycle carrier I have has a bolt that threads into the carrier through the hitch and gets held in place with a cotter pin. I kind of wish all of them worked like that, and after reading this thread I might just go buy a bolt, washers and a locking nut like Lotusseven7 posted.
In reply to mtn (Forum Supporter) :
I was a LEO for 10 years and that is a BS charge. It gives the LEO a reason to pull you over and look for other things like contraband. I can not say muc for other states other than PA and GA but tieing up the courts with a charge like that is a waste of the LEO's time, the courts time, and tax payers money. IF you get charge with that, go to court. If that is the reason you were pulled over and they found other charges, well, that may well be on you and shame on you for not having afe equipment.
APEowner said:I'm with Keith on this one. Both on the likely failure mode and the need for consistently hooking up all the safety stuff. I've been using a locking hitch pin since I happened to notice that someone swiped the clip out of my conventional in the parking lot at Carlisle sometime around 1995. I had one no-name lock fail the tug test after I thought I had locked it but I haven't had any other issues in the over 100k miles I've towed in the years since. Actually, that's not true. I once had to cut a lock off after it had rusted in place.
This is why I do a walk around and physical check everytime I come back to my rig, even if all I do is stop to take a leak. Lot of sick folks out there who do not like nice things. Swiping the pin is easy, quick, and can really ruin your day. Also check your lighting connections at the same time for the same reason along with the coupler for the ball. Last thing I would want to do is lose my nice varnished antique sailboat to some lowlife who just wants to watch the world burn.
dean1484 said:I use to safety wire the clip in place. Mostly because I had a set of aircraft safety wire pliers. That added level of difficulty I hoped would cause people to move on to someone else's rig
This is a great idea that I will definitely steal.
Do quick lesson learned here for me:
1. Keep a spare hitch pin and clip in the truck.
2. Drill the receiver and drawbar to accept 2 pins.
Also, there are 2 (at least) different sizes of pins, make sure yours isn't rattling. Learned that when putting a bike rack on a family members car.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Boost_Crazy said:In reply to rslifkin :
It's also makes it more likely to get your truck totaled in a rear ended. It's a big lever, and it does not take much of an impact to bend the end of the frame.
Feeling uncharitable this morning, if your truck is tall enough that you need an 8" drop hitch to tow anything, good riddance when it gets totaled. It's not a tragedy, it's one down and many more to go.
(grumble grumble old-man-yells-at-cloud.jpg)
Actually I was talking about a stock truck getting hit with a stock car. Still quite a height difference, the receiver itself is below the frame, and any drop makes a longer lever. My truck was totaled is such a fashion, without a hitch in the receiver. Mine was ever so slightly bent, only discovered a few days later when the body shop was measuring everything. I bought the truck back with a salvage title. Had I had receiver in, it would have been much worse, or could have been damaged in a milder collision.
wae said:mtn (Forum Supporter) said:Mr_Asa said:I've never ever taken the hitch off of my truck. Changed the ball once or twice, but never taken the hitch off. Might as well weld the pin on.
That can get you a ticket in some states. I doubt it has ever been used on its own, though.
I needed a break from working on putting down some tile so I went and did some looking at various statues in various states and some other internet sleuthing. I have heard that same thing repeated over and over through the years but I've never actually seen anyone able to name an actual state with an actual statute that makes that unlawful. There are statutes that prohibit the obstruction of the license plate, and Illinois had a proposed bit of legislation that would have banned anything protruding more than 4". But that bill died years ago and has no indication of being resurrected and if your hitch ball isn't blocking the license plate - which 99 out of a hundred receiver hitches wouldn't - I can find no state which has a law against that.
I didn't read 51 motor vehicle codes, so I'm willing to be proven wrong, but as far as I can tell there is no way to get a ticket for that in the US.
I was always told it was illegal, but never looked it up. So today I looked it up.
Answer: Inconclusive. PA law says you can't have dangerous protrusions that would cause additional damage to pedestrians or any additional damage to other vehicles in a collision. Basically, the law says you can't have anything that would alter the crash test results. Obviously no one gives a flying hoot about it because overlanders are always putting spare tires on swing-out jeep-style tailgates and big fabricated bumpers with winches. Sounds like one of those laws that happens after the fact. Seems like so many laws in PA are enforced AFTER you damage someone. The hitch is fine until you back into someone and break their leg with it, then the hitch is a liability. Same goes for our snow removal laws. You don't technically have to remove snow from your entire vehicle before you drive, but if a big chunk of snow falls in your own windshield or causes someone else to die, THEN you're in trouble for having snow on your vehicle. It falls under the obstructed view law.
When I lived in TX, I worked for a custom shop. A customer wanted a mad max-style rat rod, so we included a bunch of those spike lug nuts on the bumper. It wouldn't pass safety inspection. I suppose all the OTR trucks that have 60 spike lug nuts on their wheels is fine, but 15 on the front bumper of a rat rod is just too much. 
I don't stress over it. I splurged for a stainless insert and a stainless convert-a-ball so I could leave mine in all the time and just swap balls. The only thing it has damaged is my shins.
To the OP's original thought. My guess is that it was just a faulty pin/lock. I don't live in a high theft area so I just use the J-shaped pin with the snap-in spring pin. I tow a lot and haven't had any failures. I had a locking pin once and it seemed fine, but after a year the brass lock mechanism was hopelessly corroded. I tried lube, heat, everything and the key just wouldn't turn. Had to drill it out. I figured if anyone stole my insert, buying a new insert isn't much more expensive than buying the fancy locking pin, so I just use a regular pin.
Either way, glad you are safe.
I’ve always used this style of “clip” on my hitch pins. I also install it so that the angled part of the hitch pin is down and the clip points toward the ground, in theory of it were to loosen gravity would still help retain it
mechanicalmeanderings said:I’ve always used this style of “clip” on my hitch pins. I also install it so that the angled part of the hitch pin is down and the clip points toward the ground, in theory of it were to loosen gravity would still help retain it
You do know that the pins can rotate during normal use.
This picture I took this weekend seems appropriate for this thread. Three hitch pins on a Nissan Rogue
I never thought about someone stealing the clip out of my hitch pin. Dang it.
In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :
I'm no longer surprised at what people will do.
A couple years ago I returned from snowmobiling to load the sleds and found someone had stolen the pin that secures the tilting deck. All I can see is that someone lost theirs and took mine because it was convenient for them, but may my day really inconvenient. Now I lock the pin in tow vehicle when out snowmobiling.
In reply to dean1484 :
Yes, for sure, but for the first few minutes of the drive gravity is on my side! And I feel like I tried.
I lost a sketchy trailer once on the freeway this way. I pulled out of a parking lot with a dip and must have just kissed the pavement with the spring clip (i had a riser receiver). When it slid out it also snapped the chain. Now I run a grade 8 bolt and lock nut.
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