Safe to leave hitch receiver installed?

[Old Red Replacement]

It weighs 80 lbs, take it off when not using the camper, Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch assembly now+$200 what I paid 7/20 when we got
camper.

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[JACKSMYDOG]

Me too. Someone parked their car on my rear bumper while I was at a nearby store. Put in a bump step, and I plan on leaving it there until I need to tow something.
ok, I didn't pull ENTIRELY into my parking spot (did that hoping there wouldn't be a clod who pulls all the way up to my bumper... wrong)

I don't understand. You parked taking just a little of the second spot but leaving enough room for someone to squeeze in, and you are surprised someone parked too close to you?

When I need 2 spots, I take enough of both to ensure no one else can squeeze in, and I do it at the back of the lot, so no one wants to squeeze in.

 

[pbethel]

Me too. Someone parked their car on my rear bumper while I was at a nearby store. Put in a bump step, and I plan on leaving it there until I need to tow something.
ok, I didn't pull ENTIRELY into my parking spot (did that hoping there wouldn't be a clod who pulls all the way up to my bumper... wrong)

You really can't b***h when you are taking two spaces. And the car in it's space didn't hit you.

 

[Trustable]

Oh dang it now I’ve gotta buy a shackle hitch..

I just leave the shackle hitch in w/o the shackle in the summer. It’s easy enough to screw in. I’m paranoid about somebody stealing it, I doubt it would happen in the tiny place I live but still. In the winter I typically leave the shackle on it if I know it’s gonna snow.

 

[Augie81]

Me too. Someone parked their car on my rear bumper while I was at a nearby store. Put in a bump step, and I plan on leaving it there until I need to tow something.
ok, I didn't pull ENTIRELY into my parking spot (did that hoping there wouldn't be a clod who pulls all the way up to my bumper... wrong)

Interesting take I guess.

 

[jmelair]

I don't understand. You parked taking just a little of the second spot but leaving enough room for someone to squeeze in, and you are surprised someone parked too close to you?

When I need 2 spots, I take enough of both to ensure no one else can squeeze in, and I do it at the back of the lot, so no one wants to squeeze in.

in my defense, the Ranger is still new (<3 weeks now), I'm not 100% used to how far I can pull up when I park facing out of the space like I did, and yes, it would have taken a second to look and see that I wasn't up far enough, so that's on me, but the guy who pulled up didn't realize he hit the truck? (at least if there was any damage, it was on his car, the hitch receiver wasn't marked)

 

[ppfd]

There’s this cool thing in your radio screen, when you put the truck in reverse, this neat little camera turns on like magic!
Then you can see the parking lines and park in your spot like a decent human.
I use it all the time, it really is amazing ?

 

[FordFreak]

I got rear-ended. I leave mine in 24/7 now. It adds 11" to my bumper. Go ahead and do it again...

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

in my defense, the Ranger is still new (<3 weeks now), I'm not 100% used to how far I can pull up when I park facing out of the space like I did, and yes, it would have taken a second to look and see that I wasn't up far enough, so that's on me, but the guy who pulled up didn't realize he hit the truck? (at least if there was any damage, it was on his car, the hitch receiver wasn't marked)

I wasn't really raggin' on you, just chirpin'.

As @ppfd noted, if you have the camera, it is really handy even when pulling forward through a spot like that. Pop it in reverse when you think you're good, and it will show you. I use it all the time when I pull through a spot just to make sure I'm where I want to be.

Agreed it doesn't mean they should hit you, but we don't really know if they did. Personally, if that were my car and I really cared about it, I'd never park where they did just for the potential movement when you jump in or drop it in gear. If I didn't care about my car (which is most of the cars I've ever owned) I'd park like that just out of spite

 

[subquark]

I wasn't really raggin' on you, just chirpin'.

As @ppfd noted, if you have the camera, it is really handy even when pulling forward through a spot like that. Pop it in reverse when you think you're good, and it will show you. I use it all the time when I pull through a spot just to make sure I'm where I want to be.

Agreed it doesn't mean they should hit you, but we don't really know if they did. Personally, if that were my car and I really cared about it, I'd never park where they did just for the potential movement when you jump in or drop it in gear. If I didn't care about my car (which is most of the cars I've ever owned) I'd park like that just out of spite

Need a high-speed reverse damper with tailgate cap spikes.

 

[Magnetetic]

I was rear ended by some stupid kid, while I had my hitch receiver recovery point installed on a stock height/stock rear bumper Ranger. He hit me at probably 10-15 mph while I was stopped at a light. No damage to the Ranger, but the recovery point penetrated the radiator on his mom's Infiniti, completely disabling that vehicle. He asked me what he should do, I told him that was his problem, and drove off.

Same thing happened to me!

 

[JohnnyO]

I don't care if it is a dry heat! When there are three digits in the temperature, it is too blasted HOT!

I'd still take that in the summer over 5 months of cold and wet every year.

 

[Tom_C]

I'm just learning how to park in the spot. I have learned that I need to pull WAY more forward than the lines.

But with that said, if some A-hole hits my bumper, then that's in them. Seriously. Um, did you not see the car/dumper in front of you?

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

I haven't looked into it, but a friend of mine told me that there's a fine in ON for keeping a ball hitch on when not in use; not sure if that would also apply to the recovery shackle. Either way, I keep mine in my "bed bin"; I don't use it often enough that it makes sense to leave it, and I definitely have to deal with the rust issue that others have mentioned.

I've thought a couple of times about putting in a hitch cover; anyone have experience with them, and do they really do much to protect the receiver? If so, what would you recommend?

No such law in Ontario specific to a trailer hitch or anything in your receiver, but they can tag you for blocking your license plate if the view is obstructed, so depending on how your vehicle is configured and what type of hitch you run, it ight be a problem to leave it in.

 

[ylwjacket]

This is what I leave in mine, with locking pin of course

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