Hitch Armor

I have heard of this, but never actually verified it. It was just people talking, and you know how reliable that is.
Anyway, I am in Louisiana and have had city cops and State troopers behind me with my ball mount in and never got stopped.
I would imagine if it is a law its one of those that they don't care about normally, but if you get stopped for something else and are acting foolish they will add that to the list.

 

FIFY

 

Yea this thing looks like a piece of shit actually now that I am looking at alternatives. Anybody have any good hitch armor to protect against a rear end low-speed collision?

$129 Tyger Auto TG-HS8U81238 Hitch Armor Compatible with Vehicles with 2" Hitch Receiver | Textured Black | Hitch Step | Rear Bumper Guard Protector | with Pin Lock and Stabilizer

https://www.amazon.com/Tyger-Auto-T...UTF8&qid=1546062273&sr=1-19&keywords=bumpstep

and

$72 Smittybilt Beaver Step (Black) - 27046B 18 x 6 x 1"es

https://www.amazon.com/Smittybilt-2...UTF8&qid=1546062273&sr=1-13&keywords=bumpstep

look good

 

Is it just me or does this thing look like a coupler for a rail car?

 

For that to work, you would have to back straight and center into the object behind you.
I would put more faith in the backup camera.

 

I like the smittybuilt one

 

Any links to those laws? Curious how that addresses leaving a ball mount in or using a hitch mounted basket or bike rack.

 

That’s exactly what I was wondering. I’ve heard of cops issuing tickets for blocked tail-lights because of bike racks and overloaded baskets which makes some sense. I have also heard rumors that some of the rack manufacturers (Yakima, Thule, Saris, Kuat) are lobbying against these laws. I might also mention that the in NY, a license plate frame that blocks any part of the plate is technically illegal and, as stated in above posts, could give an officer a reason to stop or ticket a driver.

 

I was curious so I started to google it so far I've found MA, MI, NY, VA and PA

 

I can see blocking the license plate or tail lights being an issue, but wonder how they address a ball mount or a step.

 

I bought one of those triple ball hitches off Amazon for $20, looks like a freaking mace and now everyone keeps a good distance. The beefer the hitch the better.

 

I wouldn't be able to close my garage door. Yes it's that snugly in there......

 

I have the Smittybilt one. Very stout. Within the first week I had some texting moron test it for me in a parking lot. Her car's grille didn't like it.

 

I can't say I'd buy the product, but I have had an idiot back his trailer hitch into my formerly super cool star wars hitch cover. Parked at the airport, when I get closer to the truck, I'm thinking that dudes backed up a little tight for me to drop the tailgate and throw my bags in the bed. When I'm there, his hitch is about 3" from my cover and my cover's clearly been hit. Instead of the rubber pad, I'd advocate some type of flame thrower or automatic sledge hammer device so that less careful people would know for sure that they'd caused an incident.

 

Thanks. The question is would this smittybuilt amplify damage to the frame if you got rear ended?

I am thinking the weathertech would just snap off as it is plastic.

 

The car I traded in for my for my 2019 Taco was a Subaru Outback. I had just had UHaul install a hitch on it and I had a ball in it when this girl who was looking at her phone rearended me going about 40 when I was at a total stop in traffic on the freeway. First words out of her was "I TOTALLY WASN'T LOOKING AT MY PHONE". It did mess up the towing setup and of course the unibody got compress and was $$$ to get sections replaced...but you could barely tell it.

On the other hand that hitch went right through her radiator like a battering ram and her car was totalled...had to be towed. So since then got me thinking maybe a just long chuck of steel to skewer any tailer gaters or phone gazers.

 

Bumper dumper

http://bumperdumper.com

 

that would work. fork em, and coat your rearender with turds.

 

Seems like a way to be nice to the car that hits you. It's their fault. Let their insurance deal with it. Now, something that would teach them a lesson, like a beefy ass saw blade, would be nice.