Hitch Laws

[Sbb]

I finally shoveled out and dropped my AS off for maintaince work today. The tech made a comment that I should really take my hitch off when not in use. I could get a ticket because there are laws in certain states. I had no idea. I take mine out for winter but leave in for Summer, I have dual cam Reese which is very heavy.(I like the one idea of putting an adjustable dolly to move hitch around). Does anyone know of such a law? Anyone know where to find a state by state by state list?

The reason for law is if I am In a parking lot, no one walking by can walk into it and get hurt.

[andreasduess]

Not sure how helpful non-US info is to you, but here in Ontario you must remove the hitch at all times when not towing. It's considered a safety hazard.

[xrvr]

I have heard that and also wonder if it is true. Jim

[Sbb]

Hmmm, had no idea, it took 2 hours to drive home without AS today, i was checking out hitches on trucks and cars. Most had them in in State of NY. Will be interesting to see. If I ever get to Canada with AS, I will be sure to remove.

[RickDavis]

i have heard stories about tickets in NY state. A few years ago I tried to research it on google and the results were inconclusive beyond some lady state rep perhaps having walked into one and barking her shins.

The potential problem with removing the head is it is too much weight for some with bad backs or who are quite elderly.
Still hearing NY state stories but none are first person

In the past I rarely removed mine. Now with the new Dodge which is longer and also has a drop bar I do remove it but that is primarily so I can clear the curb backing into a spot on the perimeter of a parking lot so the truck doesn't stick out so far

[andreasduess]

I also think it kind of depends. Removing a Hensley stinger is just common sense, but I do see ball hitches installed with nobody bothering the driver.

[featherbedder]

A litle off but a few yrs. ago Il. legisl. had law red. to sign that if had any hitch on veh. if had. accident even if parked you were at fault. Sud. they real. that many had hitch on cars, needless to say was not signed into law. some of STUPID laws........ they enact. Bill

[Sbb]

My RV guy in NY State, that is where I was today. Time to google a little.

[mojo]

In some states and Canada it appears to be illegal to have an extension beyond the rear bumper. In other states it is illegal if the hitch obstructs the rear license plate. In the West, there are so many trucks with some kind of hitch, bike rack or cargo carrier in place that I have never heard of anyone being stopped. I have rock tamers on my Hensley stinger, so no, it does not come out when I am unhitched and traveling around. But I do try to back into spots that have curbs or bushes behind me, especially after one idiot speared their front fascia on the stinger. Guess it helped prevent them from ramming the rear bumper!

[Jammer]

Have heard this rumor many times but never seen a statue cited or a 1st-hand report of having received a ticket.

[scamp]

I leave mine on when at campgrounds or when visiting towns etc when leaving trailer at campground ,and try to be courteous and try and back into spots in a way so no one walks or drives into it ,but never leave it on for summer, I never knew it's the law to remove it here in ontario!

[Rich W]

I found something on carinsurance.com, but it's not very helpful. It says to contact your state department of motor vehicles but there's still the issue of local ordinances that could still be a problem. Mostly, it's been an issue of not covering the license plate. I know I've never been stopped or questioned about it and I've towed boats for decades, leaving the hitch on during the entire vacation.

Anyway, here's the link, from 2010:

Is it legal to have a trailer hitch with a ball on vehicle?

[Sbb]

In NJ we have plates front and back. My hitch sits below plate. I do wonder how that works when those add on carriers are slid into a reciever, the kind that can hold dead animals or coolers. They totally block the lic plate. Actually as does my bike carrier on the back. Gezz I am a police target for sure.. Any retire law enforcement streamers out there? Can we spray our hitches safety yellow?

[r carl]

Its possible that leaving the hitch on could save your plastic and styrofoam bumper from damage. What ever happened to those 5mph bumpers that came out in 1974?

[moosetags]

Granted, it has been some time, but I was formerly a City of Tallahassee, Florida, Police Department Motorcycle Officer. During that several year period, I dealt almost exclusively with traffic enforcement and motor vehicle accident investigation.

I do not recall any statute of the Uniform Traffic Code that prohibited the operation of a motor vehicle with a trailer hitch attached to the rear. The only regulation along that line that I can recall is that a load or object that extends 36" or more past the rear of a vehicle must be marked by a red flag or light.

Brian

[robert claus]

I hate people who leave their hitch in the receiver - it's simply lazy. I watched a woman driving a truck with the hitch in back into my parked car which was in the space behind her. Then, she left me with a nice dent in my front bumper.
I take mine out of the receiver even if I've just pulled forward from the trailer in my driveway, and stow it under the trailer. It keeps me from walking into it, or getting grease on my clothes.

[J. Morgan]

A person should only need to walk into a hitch once to thereafter watch where they are walking.

I am conscious of , and watch for hitches in parking lots.

And yea, it freaking hurts, but I knew whose fault it was when I did it.

[63air]

Urban myth in Illinois, rare you will ever see a farm truck without some kind if hitch and we have lots of farms.

[Rich W]

I searched the Illinois web site for any bill that has anything to do with trailer hitches and found nothing. I found a web site where someone had posted that there was a bill HB3669 first proposed in 2009 but when I search that bill number I find a bill that references a penalty for concealed carry permits.

I know in my state (KY) you cannot block the license plate with a hitch or one of those metal grates in the hitch (or block it with anything else). But having a law and having the police enforce it are two different things. I boat with a number of guys, we all tow boats, no one has ever been stopped for having the hitch still in the receiver. I've never even heard of anyone getting a ticket for this. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

[Skater]

I used to leave the one for the B190 in place, but it was a small hitch bar and ball for towing the dolly, and it didn't stick out much beyond the spare tire and ladder, so the odds of walking into it were practically zero.

I never leave our Reese hitch head in the truck. Much easier to walk into it, and much easier to back into something with it in place.