Tow Hitch pin not long enough

So I was taking the tow-hitch from the wife's car and trying for fit
on the Tacoma - the pin has a lock on it but does not protrude far
enough for the locking mechanism to work... bummer.





Then I found this jewel in the garage and it was for sure long enough and
locks up well. Even had both keys with it - do you guys trust this device?





Oh and now for some good news: Neighbor saw me swapping from car to car
and said hey I got a hitch-mount that I don't use anymore - and was happy
to get it out of his garage and give away - ( SCORE !! )...

 

My only 2 cents on locking pins is you eventually lose the key or the lock corrodes and you can't get it off when you need to.

 

BOLT lock pins are where it's at IMO.
Designed to be set to the trucks' key so you can't really ever lose the key. Been using them for 6/7 years now with great luck

 

If either scenario occurred it would be no loss really - but I don't want to lose it due to some rat-fink-thief ... due to the wife's wood-shop-tools eating up
the garage I have to park on the street - and if it ain't nailed down or locked tight it's gone... thievery - the worst.

 

Anything with a mechanism used near the underside of a truck is GOING to corrode - guaranteed.
The problem with a locking pin is the (false?) sense of security against theft that it gives. Which can translate into never removing it from your truck. If you never exercise and lubricate the mechanism, it WILL corrode and become non-functional. I just removed the hitch from my '06 before it got sold. It had a plain, old-fashioned pin that was so rusted I could barely get it out. Almost the same for the hitch/ball mount. That was in place since 2015 when the frame & hitch receiver was replaced. The previous hitch/ball mount installed in '06 could not be removed from the hitch receiver after about 9 years.

 

Interesting good to know and think about -
Note to self: Remove / replace the locking pin every 2-3 years and check the actual hitch yearly.

I live in the desert so that should some longevity, but not forever - I mean we get like 3 inches of rain over the course of a year.... but still.

 

I’ve used locking pins before and never had an issue except for the lock getting sticky, but the more I thought about it, if security isn’t a real issue, I trust the hitch pin clips a lot more!

 

Why even leave it in the receiver? I have mine stored in the truck so I have it available immediately but I don’t leave it installed.

This way you don’t wack your shin on it and it won’t get stolen unless the truck is broken into.

 

Duh - ( slaps self in face ) - heck I only use it when I pull the little camper - which due to Covid hasn't been much...
I could keep it inside the camper along with other gear so ... Duh
Got a trip to the Grand Canyon coming up in June
So ... yea ... take the ( insert colorful language here ) thing off and store it in the camper..

 

[QUOTE="2021SR5V64WD, post: 25436653, member: 360995"
Then I found this jewel in the garage and it was for sure long enough and
locks up well. Even had both keys with it - do you guys trust this device?
[/QUOTE]
Yes
I've got the same receiver lock, it came off my 00 Tacoma and is now on my 19. It is 20+ years old and still works great. Hit it with some sandpaper and a fresh coat of spray paint before last season. Lock came off the 00 no problem but receiver took quite a few hits from a 3 pound sledge to free the rust.

 

I got one of these - a ball mount with a built in locking hitch pin:

https://www.fastwaytrailer.com/flash-locking-ball-mount-lbm

I've always had problems with those locking pins seizing up. Plus I can now unlock and remove my ball mount without getting covered in the grimey mess from the fluid film under the truck.

 

Same fulton hitch pin/lock i've used for the last 30 years.

 

Agreed with @Snowater ... I have the same one on my truck and have never had any problems. I do wrap duct tape around that dirt cap, just to fully seal it. Maryland can be rough on locks... snow and salt in winters, and sand and salt summers at the shore. But again, no problems what so ever with the Curt lock. As far as the key... I keep one in center console, and one in jar of keys in the house. Be pretty hard to loose both! But then again, some people are just a little more special...

 

And if you have a hitch pin with a key, you'd better keep the key on your main key ring with your truck key. If you keep it on a separate key ring in a junk drawer, there's a 99.99% chance you'll lose it.

 

I spray WD-40 into the key hole and electrical tape it so salt and moisture doesn't get in there, i've had the same lock/key for 10 years and still working fine, I dont leave the hitch attached though when im not towing, so that may have something to do with longevity also

 

This one is 30+ years old and still works great. But it does not fit the receiver on my new Tacoma.

 

Interesting concept. I saw on their website, though, that you can only choose from base, SR and SR5 models for Tacoma. I'm guessing they don't have locks compatible with remote start TRD Tacomas with the weird little valet keys.

 

I keep my hitch receiver and lock together inside my cab when not towing anything, using a stainless hitch plug for the tow hitch. Lock looks and functions like new and i don't worry the hitch receiver gets rusted, and stuck in the tow hitch. The stainless plug never gets stuck either.

 

I used my hitch for the first time a few weeks ago. My locking hitch pin was too short to latch on the Tacoma. Fortunately I had a regular hitch pin that was just barely long enough to get the clip through.

 

Every locking pin I have ever used eventually froze up. I use hardened bolts.