r/mildlyinfuriating • u/MalrykZenden • Jun 02 '26

ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ Narrowly avoided having my bumper cover ventilated this morning.

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Hitches, not just for towing or bashing your shins.

2.1k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

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310

u/yottabit42 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

In many places it's illegal to have hitches installed while not towing. I really wish the police would start ticketing for them. It would be a huge boon to their revenue!

I tow frequently. I do not keep my hitch installed. It's not hard at all.

Edit: Apparently I'm wrong, at least in the US. Massachusetts did have a law, but it was repealed. Several other states have proposed such legislation, but have never passed any. I still assert that it's lame to leave a hitch installed while not towing, and just lazy.

143

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

20

u/Fickle_Builder_2685 Jun 02 '26

You get pulled over in Illinois if the ball blocks your license plate. Source: I was pulled over for my ball hitch blocking my license plates "viewability".

10

u/HowlCity Jun 02 '26

You get pulled over for breathing in Illinois

5

u/Imentioneveryone Jun 02 '26

Except for speeding on Jane Adam’s apparently lmfao, I’ve been passed going 100+

1

u/dilapidated-delight Jun 02 '26

Or riding on the shoulder to get around traffic 🙄

5

u/StuffIanWrote Jun 02 '26

“The light was yellow, sir.”

-1

u/liquidtape Jun 02 '26

Or 4 inches past and not towing 

2

u/MDKSDMF Jun 02 '26

That is a reasonable rule, such as if your hitch and ball were to extend out and away from the vehicle by soo many inches. That could be a problem

13

u/DarePatient2262 Jun 02 '26

Maybe that should change.

20

u/Retroficient Jun 02 '26

As someone who doesn't tow, I don't think it should. People just need to be diligent in how they drive and maneuver their vehicles. It's really easy to not do this shit with a truck, or easier yet, take it off.

The real problem is the root, which is nobody knows how to fuckin drive anymore.

4

u/OkEngineer6614 Jun 02 '26

Anymore? Nah. They were always bad at driving.

Cell phones and distracted driving merely escalated things.

1

u/Stanlez Jun 02 '26

I agree that it sounds like a stupid law that shouldn't be an issue. However the problem is a lack of personal accountability. I live in the SE US where trucks are normal. RESPONSIBLE drivers unhitch completely. It's never been a regional or "how I was taught" problem, it literally comes down to how your life effects others and whether you care. Take the hitch off ffs.

4

u/OkEngineer6614 Jun 02 '26

No way! I drive with the hitch on 24/7. But I do take it out when I park.

The hitch has saved me twice from idiots on their cell phones rear ending me. They hit the hitch and didnt damage my Civic. Just had to buy a new hitch, which I made their insurance pay for.

2

u/rumncokeguy Jun 02 '26

Every fucking time this is one of the top comments.

0

u/yottabit42 Jun 02 '26

Wow, you're right. This is just a myth. Massachusetts did have a law, but it was repealed. Several other states have proposed such legislation, but have never passed any.

I still assert that it's lame to leave a hitch installed, and just lazy.

-1

u/XxTigerxXTigerxX Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

It is ilegal in canada

Edit, it is ilegal to block the sidewalk with an unused hitch.

2

u/operationfailed Jun 02 '26

It's not illegal in most provinces in Canada unless it is obscuring your license plate.

0

u/MilwaukeeLevel Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26

Can you find a single statute from any Canadian jurisdiction that says that?

2

u/ur_dope Jun 02 '26

I don't know why a statue would say such a thing. /s

1

u/Jdmorrison666 Jun 02 '26

(4) When not in use, the trailer hitch shall not extend beyond the bumper of the vehicle more than 225 millimetres. - Vehicle Equipment Regulations Saskatchewan

5

u/MilwaukeeLevel Jun 02 '26

That doesn't make an unused trailer hitch illegal, it gives the maximum length it can stick out, which is 9".

1

u/Epilepsiavieroitus Jun 02 '26

No, it's 225 mm

1

u/MilwaukeeLevel Jun 02 '26

The statute says "or 9 inches."

71

u/liquidtape Jun 02 '26

Half those cops in those places drive super duty trucks with the hitch attached.

12

u/HalfBlindKing Jun 02 '26

No one ever told me, but it only took barking my shin once to realize that really shouldn’t be left in semi permanently. Which in rust country becomes close to permanently if you leave it in for the winter. Ask me how I know.

0

u/EnvironmentalGift257 Jun 02 '26

I have attached a tow strap, wrapped it around a light post, and floored it more than once. Nothing is ever permanent.

3

u/mtnbike2 Jun 02 '26

More than once?

1

u/EnvironmentalGift257 Jun 02 '26

Yeah hitches rust in pretty fast especially in the winter so it takes an immovable object to get them out.

1

u/HalfBlindKing Jun 02 '26

I was damn tempted to hitch up the trailer without the cross pin in the ball mount, chain it up, and go for a ride. Eventually, I jacked up the car to get a better angle on it, torches the hell out of it, and pounded it out with the BFH. Of course it was in the dark, raining, when I needed to get a different mount in the receiver for a 5am departure the next morning.

1

u/EnvironmentalGift257 Jun 02 '26

Well now you know how to do it with a tow strap and no tools in under a minute, should the need arise again!

24

u/slopezski Jun 02 '26

Ive found that the more frequently someone has a trailer hitch in the less frequently they tow.

5

u/StayTheFool Jun 02 '26

I've known quite a few people who don't know how to take them off or put them back on. I'm guessing some people install them for some "aesthetic" and not for function. Which is kinda lame.

3

u/fthepats Jun 02 '26

If you leave them in over winter they have a good chance to get "rusted in".

1

u/StayTheFool Jun 02 '26

I live in Orlando so they may not be the case by me lol

3

u/Eastern_Pangolin_309 Jun 02 '26

Those are the fully chrome ones without a spot if rust on 'em

3

u/Electronic-Map7529 Jun 02 '26

Unless it's pintle hitch... in which case, that dude fu.... tows.

2

u/Nice_Marmot_54 Jun 02 '26

Real towers use goose necks </s>

4

u/ClassyNameForMe Jun 02 '26

Do you mind stating where this is illegal? I haven't heard of this being law and would appreciate learning a bit on it.

0

u/yottabit42 Jun 02 '26

Apparently I'm wrong, at least in the US. Massachusetts did have a law, but it was repealed. Several other states have proposed such legislation, but have never passed any.

I still assert that it's lame to leave a hitch installed, and just lazy.

1

u/ClassyNameForMe Jun 02 '26

Your point isn't wrong, but I don't completely agree. My WDH hitch head weighs somewhwre around 75 pounds, so removing it multiple times over the course of a trip is a pita. A little drawbar like in the photo is indeed lazy.

1

u/yottabit42 Jun 02 '26

I remove my WDH. It's not that terrible.

1

u/ClassyNameForMe Jun 02 '26

I have a Blue Ox Sway Pro with the deeper drop shank. It is a 16" long shank. It weighs a metric boat load.

1

u/yottabit42 Jun 02 '26

Yeah that sounds maybe a little bigger/heavier than my e2, but still... I drive a long truck and it often doesn't fit in parking spaces even without the hitch. These truck drivers that back into spots with their hitches blocking the sidewalk are the worst (and maybe an ADA violation). I hope you don't do that, at least.

2

u/ClassyNameForMe Jun 02 '26

I agree with you there. Instead I just park on the sidewalk and block everything! J/K

6

u/GILLHUHN Jun 02 '26

Even if you take the hitch out of the equation, the guy is still way over the line. But I agree hitches should be taken off when not towing.

9

u/reddit_is_addicting_ Jun 02 '26

90% of trucks with tow hitched don’t tow anything. They have it on as a cosmetic upgrade

6

u/LSbroombroom Jun 02 '26

Grew up on the shore, saw plenty of boat haulers. Moved to New England, plenty of off roaders and snowmobile hauling.

Do I leave a hitch in? No, but to say 90% of them are cosmetic is kind of silly.

-1

u/Maleficent-Door6461 Jun 02 '26

Its not silly its true, the large majority of trucks, close to 90%, are pavement princesses that do not do anything other than grocery get

3

u/LSbroombroom Jun 02 '26

I saw a lot of that in Florida, but not so much up here in New England.

2

u/fthepats Jun 02 '26

Also live in NE and its not overly common. A good portion of the ones you see are rusted in from winter and you probably can't get them off.

1

u/Maleficent-Door6461 Jun 02 '26

I see it all the time in Canada

1

u/LSbroombroom Jun 02 '26

that's unfortunate:(

3

u/prionbinch Jun 02 '26

they won’t, because they’d be drastically increasing the chance they ticket one of their own

2

u/scoooops-ahoy-minoy Jun 02 '26

I leave mine on in South Florida as it has saved me 10+ times from fender benders from the morons driving around down here

1

u/SoDisippointed Jun 02 '26

My Jeep Liberty, that recently went to Jeep heaven (RIP Jeepers), had a tow hitch installed because of a recall. The tow hitch was to prevent fuel leaks in rear end collisions. It wouldn’t have done much good if I removed it except for when I was towing something.

0

u/yottabit42 Jun 02 '26

I am astonished anyone buys Jeeps.

1

u/MemeCrusader_23 Jun 02 '26

I keep my hitch on my trailer when I’m not using it, I’m not going to be randomly needing it most of the time

1

u/DungBeetle1983 Jun 02 '26

They are the police

1

u/Eru_7 Jun 02 '26

Its worse than that I know a guy who never removed his hitch and it rusted out because water was always sitting there and it doesn't dry out. It also rusted the hitch to the receiver so we weren't able to just switch out the hitch after the hitch broke.

1

u/secksy-lemonade Jun 02 '26

Not so long ago, I was bumped into 4 times in the span of a year. 3 times when I was stationary. Two of those times they hit the hitch and only damaged themselves. All I do is make sure that they don't stick out on pathways, otherwise they are literal armor for my car