#1 REASON TO HAVE A TRAILER HITCH (Even if you never tow anything)

How about you don't walk so close to the back of other trucks in parking lots?

 

And assholes like you should be getting tickets for leaving them in all the time. You don't need to have a hitch in unless you are towing something, it's simple. They are removable for a reason.

 

Just my two cents but if someone hits you in the rear, while you have a hitch in place, hard enough to cause frame damage you are just shit out of luck. The same hit with no hitch is going to mess your truck up bad, most likely causing air bag deployment. With vehicles nowadays this generally causes insurance companies to scrap the vehicle because airbags are expensive enough to have their own forum. Besides in GA is doesn't matter, if you get rear ended the driver behind you is at fault 100% of the time.

 

Haha wouldn't be a problem if people watched where they walked

 

Seriously.

 

Holy cow! Can opener hello! Great hitch, have them on both my Taco and Runner. Enforce tailgating and distracted drivers than what I have on my hitch.

 

There is definitely a probably unanswerable question about what speed ranges would you be better off without the hitch vs. so fast it just doesn't matter. But the drop down hitches do create a very big lever arm and it makes a surprisingly big difference in how easy it is to bend a frame with an empty receiver vs. one with a drop down hitch in it. The lever arm matters a lot when it comes to bending the frame. However, just having the receiver there is already a problem and you'd be even better off without the receiver at all - though of course that isn't very useful if you ever tow anything ever!

As to the airbags, Tacomas have very high resale and the airbags are rarely enough to come close to total a Tacoma. Even a many year old Tacoma is going to be in the $15K to $20K value and the airbags all together are just a few thousand. In addition, the airbags don't deploy in rear end collisions with a Tacoma. Do a little searching and you'll see more than one dashcam of a TW member being rear ended with a totaled bent frame and no airbags deploying. In fact if air bags deploy in a rear end that is really a malfunction of the airbag system. The exception being a chain reaction where the rear end kicks you into the vehicle in front of you which can deploy the air bags.

 

Personally I like the satisfaction of NOT having to take time off from work to deal with accidents emanating from jackasses that rear-end my vehicle. If my trailer hitch assists in that requirement then I have succeeded. Not all rear-end collisions result in frame damage. If you are too afraid to leave yours in with concern about other people's vehicles (or your own) that is your business. Lets look at some facts first, rather than witty quips about noses and faces:

*Approximately 75% of all rear end collisions are less than 10 mph.

*56% of all rear end crashes are straight on.

*Only 14.2% of the people that hit you in the rear will miss your receiver hitch entirely.

*48% of the people that hit you in the rear – are not slowing down.

*It is better to have under-ride than over-ride. Under-ride will give lower acceleration in the first part of the crash.

*Low speed rear end collisions (less than 10 mph) accentuate the whiplash more than high speed ones.

*80% of all rear end collisions are caused by driver inattention.

*The acceleration of the occupant when hit from the rear is 2.5 times or more then that of the bullet vehicle.

*94% of all rear end collisions occur on straight roads.

*Women are twice as likely to end up with a whiplash injury as a man.

*32.1% of all fleet injuries are caused by the rear end collision.

Source: http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com

For your reading pleasure I have compiled a few instances where hitches have assisted others in averting damage to their (or other) vehicles:


Here we have a 2010 Titan:

http://www.titantalk.com/forums/tit...0-trailer-hitch-receiver-saved-my-bumper.html

Good story from I-65 in Nashville:

http://travel.thefuntimesguide.com/2004/12/caraccidents.php

Another instance of NO bumper damage:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs...have-trailer-hitch-even-if-you-dont-have-boat

Bumper saved on a Saturn VUE:

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-63888.html

Toyota Tundra: Wrangler testimonial:

http://www.wranglerforum.com/f274/d-shackle-saved-my-a-203392.html

How about a Honda Pilot?

http://www.piloteers.org/forums/69-2003-2008-pilot/26581-trailer-hitch-saved-my-04-pilot-ex-l.html

Here we have a full-size Bronco:

http://www.fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66041

How about a Tacoma verses Red Honda Civic:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ball-mount-saved-bumper.30612/

Then there’s the 2013 F-150 XLT 4x4:

http://www.fordf150.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=74722

Chevy Colorado:

http://coloradofans.com/forums/61-g...ll-rear-end-collision-causes-alot-damage.html

Jeep verses Durango:

http://www.jeepgarage.org/f73/tow-hitch-saved-my-wk2-20553.html

How about a Jeep Grand Cherokee at a Taco Bell drive-thru:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1254180

F-150:

http://www.f150forum.com/f38/leaving-hitch-step-289632/

Here’s a Mazda 3:

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?53489-Trailer-hitch-saved-my-rear-bumper!

Blazer verses sedan:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1007781/posts

VW Golf TDI:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=99994

From Texas:

http://texags.com/forums/46/topics/2144336

Here we have a 2009 Ford Escape XLS:

http://www.fixya.com/cars/t23626557-front_end_fender_bender_busted_radiator

Story involving a 2002 Cherokee WJ Limited:

http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f5/got-rear-ended-ball-trailer-hitch-152449/

Subaru Forrester verses Ford Escort:

http://www.goprofanatics.com/archive/index.php/t-4118.html

Honda Accord incident:

http://honda-tech.com/honda-accord-.../rear-ended-another-car-front-damage-3233801/

Another Jeep:

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/archive/index.php/t-77842.html

How about a Volvo 740:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/archive/index.php/t-131813.html

 

Yeah....if I'm not mistaken South Carolina is the same about rear end collisions. Trailer hitch or not....I got excellent insurance on my Tacoma and as long as my family is safe....I'm not worried about the truck.

 

Yes

 

I have worked numerous traffic accidents with 1st/2nd gen Tacomas and have seen air bag activation with rear end crashes. Airbags do deploy in rear end collisions, just because there instances were they do not, does not mean non-deployment will always occur. No two accidents are the same, even if they appear similar in circumstances.

 

I have never walked in to a trailer hitch (my own or another) in over 35 years of driving and owning cars/trucks. Using your logic we should make it illegal in all states to erect highway/road barriers, light poles etc because someone might hit it. Can't have anything on Earth that might do damage to someone NOT paying attention now can we? In the military we called this situational awareness, and it appears that you need to brush up on it. Here's some short articles that may assist you in gaining more focus while walking or driving:

http://ronbergeron.hubpages.com/hub...Safety-Through-Awareness-of-Your-Surroundings
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/flaur...ashes-dont-happen-i_b_4261277.html?1384357314
http://www.self-reliance-works.com/situational-awareness-how-aware-are-you/
https://smartchoicedriver.wordpress...uational-awareness-drills-in-driver-training/

 

Thanks for the direct experience from the field!

 

My concern is primarily about the safety of the occupants of my vehicle. But yes, I agree the hitch will certainly make it far less likely you'll be dealing with a claim for damage to your truck from a low speed collision.

But rather than cherry picking some stats from your source let's look at the source article directly itself:

http://alerts.nationalsafetycommission.com/2011/04/how-receiver-hitches-affect-rear-end.html

And let's provide some apropos full quotes from it so that others reading this thread will properly understand the trade off they are making between insurable vehicle damage and injury to themselves by leaving hitches in. Again, from the very source you pulled your stats from:

So folks need to think about whether they are more worried about time talking to an adjuster and going to a body shop compared to trips to the doctor, pharmacy and possibly very long term chronic pain. Again, that trade off is a personal decision. But it is a real trade off. Fewer damaged bumpers for more soft tissue damage.

And to that point, again a direct quote from the NSC article:

So again, do you value your bumper or your neck more? You are right, I probably shouldn't tell other people what their decision should be with that trade off. It is their bumper and their neck. But it isn't very responsible to post "leave your hitch in and you'll reduce bumper damage" without also pointing out there is a significant downside.

 

Agreed, you have read the source material and provided a balanced counterpoint. There's pros and cons with everything in life! But the preponderance of rear end collisions (75% according to the source) were 10 MPH or less.....

 

Yep, agree. You've got to make your choices about lots of things and convenience of not having to deal with the more common low speed collision is certainly a reasonable choice for convenience. I mean after all if we were all about safety we wouldn't ever drive anywhere! You are always trading convenience against safety all day long. Different strokes for different folks and all.

Cheers!

 

That does not comply with Florida. I call my hitch " I wish you would". I've had my truck for 8 month. And already had two dump ass driver hit me. And they wish they wouldn't of.

 

Ease off the throttle

I agree you shouldn't be walking that close to a stranger's vehicle unless you're a thief.

Also, it's not illegal in Montana. Maybe you should go to California if you like their laws better.

 

If you really think people aren't going to hit you when you have a hitch in when someone getting rear ended is caused 90% of the time because the rear driver wasn't paying attention I don't know what to say

 

I don't agree with the "hooray for me and eff the next guy" attitude. Bumpers are there for a reason.