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Old 07-10-2016, 01:30 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by freespirit View Post
its seems in Texas they don't give tickets for this since so many vehicles are driving with stingers and no trailer...guess keeping track of all the various laws in each state as it pertains to towing an rv is going to be a constant headache....


Well, they don't give tickets because there's no law against it.


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Old 07-10-2016, 01:34 PM   #22
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In the event of a rear end collision, a stinger will penetrate the bumper of the rear vehicle and cause more damage than a collision in which the bumpers meet. That could also be part of their rationale. But, it's true that many state governments never met a new law or fine they didn't like.


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laughing a bit thinking of old cars with real heavy bumpers that could take a collision in style....today about the only vehicle with anything that might actually have something similar to a real bumper is a truck!
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:08 PM   #23
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After a bunch of years now of having first the Andersen WDH, and now the Andersen Ultimate Fifth Wheel hitch, I have been forever converted to nylon balls, to avoid messy grease.
I get the advantage of the greaseless nylon-capped ball, but both the Andersen No-Sway WD and the Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Solution have special aluminum balls, neither of which is greaseless, right? The Ultimate is greaseless, because the coupler has a nylon insert; that would be a nice feature, and a nylon-capped ball with a conventional coupler would be similar.

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Sounds interesting, but don't you still need to grease the coupler which would then get grease on the nylon?
No. The mechanism in most hitches doesn't need much if any grease - it's only used in there to cut wear between the socket of the coupler and the ball; the nylon cap on the ball eliminates that.
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:12 PM   #24
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laughing a bit thinking of old cars with real heavy bumpers that could take a collision in style....today about the only vehicle with anything that might actually have something similar to a real bumper is a truck!
Pickup trucks don't have rigid bumpers either. Even our 1980 Chevy pickup had a thin steel outer bumper which had no meaningful support outboard of the frame mounts; a Toyota Truck (back before they called them "Tacoma") rear ended us (corner-to-corner) and folded the end of our bumper.

The old bumpers could "take" a collision, but they didn't absorb energy so collisions were jarring. You can't meet current safety requirements that way.

It is currently popular to fit massive steel bumpers to some styles of pickup trucks and SUVs, ostensibly for better approach and departure clearance off-road. Those things are presumably rigid.
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:20 PM   #25
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Probably something to do with having something extend beyond the normal dimensions of the vehicle and bumper. It is not flagged or equipped with warning lights... Just guessing, but probably in the Vehicle Code.....
Yes, I think so. Very easy to hit a ball mount because it is not seen. Also, one will likely hit someone else with it when backing.

In Texas now and anything that extends four feet behind the vehicle must be marked. I have seen the same 4' used in other states. Many ball mounts do not extend 4'. Some do maybe. We remove ours for the above reasons. Some states do prohibit them.

A couple prohibit keeping towing mirrors on when not towing. It seems that about all states require towing mirrors for towing or at least a lot of them.
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:30 PM   #26
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With this, Andersen is one company that has stepped to the plate with their full adjustable Rapid Hitch. I don't imagine it would work with most of the WDHs out there though.
https://www.andersenhitches.com/Cata...pid-hitch.aspx
I've never seen a WD head using aluminum components, but it could be done. On the other hand, those shear pins probably wouldn't cut it; Andersen's No-Sway WD racks are based on their EZ HD Hitch - their steel adjustable hitch rather than the aluminum Rapid Hitch - but must be used with bolts and not the pins.
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Old 07-10-2016, 02:47 PM   #27
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Never heard of anyone actually getting a ticket for it.
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Old 07-10-2016, 03:29 PM   #28
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This made me curious about legality issue. I couldn't find anything about Canada, and this was about the best I could find for the US:
Traffic Q&A The News Tribune
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Old 07-10-2016, 03:43 PM   #29
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This made me curious about legality issue. I couldn't find anything about Canada, and this was about the best I could find for the US:
Traffic Q&A The News Tribune
Yes, a ball mount would obscure the license plate which is probably covered just about everywhere.

Edit: Oh, no, does not obscure it but I do see many obscured with other things.

It is likely legal to keep it on but may cause the owner a problem. I remember Glenn saying that a car manual may say not to.
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Old 07-10-2016, 04:01 PM   #30
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Yes, a ball mount would obscure the license plate which is probably covered just about everywhere.
Not at all, at least on mine.
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Old 07-10-2016, 04:04 PM   #31
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Not at all, at least on mine.
I edited right before your message!
Perhaps there are some that it does obscure.
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Old 07-10-2016, 05:28 PM   #32
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I remember Glenn saying that a car manual may say not to.
While it may be legal, there are probably several safety implications. Modern cars and trucks are very carefully designed with energy absorption as a major component of crash safety. The hitch ball sticking out there could have significant consequences to both vehicles involved in rear end or other angular crashes that impact the rear.
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Old 07-10-2016, 06:00 PM   #33
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Obscuring the plate can be an issue, but of course it varies widely by vehicle. Many do not have the plate in the middle of the bumper (although most pickup trucks do), but even then the plate may still be well above the ball (like Robert's). Our Sienna's plate (like many vans and SUVs) is way up on the hatch. Then there's the occasional oddball offset plate location...


In any case, if there were a regulation relevant to this aspect, it would be about obscuring the plate, not specifically about leaving a ball mount in place when not towing.

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While it may be legal, there are probably several safety implications. Modern cars and trucks are very carefully designed with energy absorption as a major component of crash safety. The hitch ball sticking out there could have significant consequences to both vehicles involved in rear end or other angular crashes that impact the rear.
I agree.
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Old 07-10-2016, 06:19 PM   #34
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Lots of vehicles have blocked plates with all kinds of things.
Often on their ball mount.
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Old 07-10-2016, 06:32 PM   #35
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While it may be legal, there are probably several safety implications. Modern cars and trucks are very carefully designed with energy absorption as a major component of crash safety. The hitch ball sticking out there could have significant consequences to both vehicles involved in rear end or other angular crashes that impact the rear.
Yes, I thought about keeping it on which I did once but quickly realized that I like to back into parking spaces and that thing can really do damage if you hit someone's vehicle with it. We always take it off.
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Old 07-10-2016, 06:51 PM   #36
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I've never seen anyone get a ticket for a stinger without the trailer in our area, and many of them are so rusted in place that I doubt they can be removed.

We do have a sign on the local automatic car wash that states trailer hitches MUST be removed or the machine will abort the start of the wash & you won't get your $ back. I guess they have had problems with the spray arm tagging them.

I have been the habit of always removing mine (even the weight distribution hitch) when ever I unhook the trailer.
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Old 07-10-2016, 08:30 PM   #37
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A couple prohibit keeping towing mirrors on when not towing. It seems that about all states require towing mirrors for towing or at least a lot of them.
so is there a clear definition for what is considered a towing mirror that is consistent state to state?
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Old 07-10-2016, 08:37 PM   #38
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Old 07-10-2016, 08:38 PM   #39
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Lots of vehicles have blocked plates with all kinds of things.
Often on their ball mount.
had not considered that...need to check this with a different stinger and be sure the license plate is still clearly visible.
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Old 07-10-2016, 09:38 PM   #40
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so is there a clear definition for what is considered a towing mirror that is consistent state to state?
They all word it somewhat differently but what you may see is mirrors or mirror extensions. In the rare cases where they need to be removed, they will say that the extensions need to be retracted. As far as mirrors needed for towing, I would say not to go anywhere without them as they are so commonly required.
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