Thank God for the Reese hitch!

[OVERKILL]

Was driving home from the bank today, turned onto a street that is on a hill, and then stopped about 30ft later behind a bus.

There comes a Dodge Caravan just BOMBING down the hill, and I'm watching in my rear-view slightly concerned.... I'm a good distance from the bus in front of me and just barely holding the truck with my brakes.

The van is HARD on the brakes and stops VERY close behind me, then I hear screeching tires and BANG, then the van bangs into the back of the Expedition.

I'm pretty upset, hop out of the Expedition, cursing, asking "what the ****"? Look at the back of the truck, no marks!

Look at the front of the van, there's a nice square imprint in the license plate of the van in the shape of my Reese hitch receiver.

It would appear as though the guy following the seniors in the van was not paying attention, or didn't quite have the braking fortitude of the van, as he plowed right into the back of the van with significant damage to the van and his Mazda car.

I go back to the truck for a minute. Don't leave. Wait a bit. Get back out and calmly walk over the lady who has gotten out of the passenger seat of the van, conferring with her husband (both are elderly) and the young man who has hit them.

She asks if I am OK, I reply I am fine and that I sustained no damage. She looks at me questioningly and I explain she hit my hitch receiver, and she gets a shocked look and says "uh oh! I wonder what the front of the van looks like!". She comes around and sees the damage, which was very minor compared to what happened in the back.

I was able to leave after that.

Thank God for class-3 hitches!!

 

[meep]

I have often wondered... if the hitch is stronger than the vehicle it's bolted to... how does the frame fair in a collision?

Mike

 

[chevrofreak]

I am actually of the belief that you should be require to remove hitch balls/tow hooks from the receiver when they are not in use. They completely negate the purpose of the bumper.

 

[Boomer]

But check underneath. Frame can be bent but not visible to the eye. Go to a body shop and have it checked. Insist that the insurance company of the guy who hit you pay for the exam and any damage! Make sure all of the doors open on your truck as well.

 

[hate2work]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
But check underneath. Frame can be bent but not visible to the eye. Go to a body shop and have it checked. Insist that the insurance company of the guy who hit you pay for the exam and any damage! Make sure all of the doors open on your truck as well.


Good advice

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
But check underneath. Frame can be bent but not visible to the eye. Go to a body shop and have it checked. Insist that the insurance company of the guy who hit you pay for the exam and any damage! Make sure all of the doors open on your truck as well.


He hit me at like 2Km/h. The hitch did not even go through his plastic bumper, just distorted his license plate and the mount for it.

Definitely not a frame-bending impact. Given that the vehicle has like an 11,000lb towing capacity with that hitch, I'm pretty sure the frame is just fine.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I am actually of the belief that you should be require to remove hitch balls/tow hooks from the receiver when they are not in use. They completely negate the purpose of the bumper.

The only purpose of "bumpers" these days is to look good, other than that they just shatter or bend making a 5mph hit expensive... The only car I've owned with a bumper made to do anything was my 81 Omega, it had 1/4" thick aluminum bumpers on shocks. My mother in law backed into it one day with her 1998 civic shattering that bumper, nothing happened to the Omega...

My Dad's F150 with a class 4 hitch got hit the same way as Overkill, except he had on the big load balancer, anti sway hitch ball on. He had it checked out at the local garage, no damage.

Ian

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
But check underneath. Frame can be bent but not visible to the eye. Go to a body shop and have it checked. Insist that the insurance company of the guy who hit you pay for the exam and any damage! Make sure all of the doors open on your truck as well.


It's an Expedition, not a Jeep

(a good friend has a Grand Cherokee who's rear doors would not open after an accident last week).

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I am actually of the belief that you should be require to remove hitch balls/tow hooks from the receiver when they are not in use. They completely negate the purpose of the bumper.

The only purpose of "bumpers" these days is to look good, other than that they just shatter or bend making a 5mph hit expensive... The only car I've owned with a bumper made to do anything was my 81 Omega, it had 1/4" thick aluminum bumpers on shocks. My mother in law backed into it one day with her 1998 civic shattering that bumper, nothing happened to the Omega...

My Dad's F150 with a class 4 hitch got hit the same way as Overkill, except he had on the big load balancer, anti sway hitch ball on. He had it checked out at the local garage, no damage.

Ian


A bumper will spread the impact out over more area, which will allow it to absorb more of the impact. If a hitch goes through the bumper of the vehicle that hits it and impacts something solid like the engine block or frame, it's going to be a more violent impact for the occupants of the vehicle.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I am actually of the belief that you should be require to remove hitch balls/tow hooks from the receiver when they are not in use. They completely negate the purpose of the bumper.


There was no hitch in the receiver. The receiver is what the van hit.

Not to bring up the whole SUV and truck height thing, but my bumper would have hit his hood. And my Expedition is stock ride height. The hitch receiver is low enough that the first thing his bumper (and plate) hit was it.

 

[Rabbler]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

It's an Expedition, not a Jeep

(a good friend has a Grand Cherokee who's rear doors would not open after an accident last week).


Funny as I was reading your post I was recalling years ago I was rear-ended while driving a Grand Cherokee (98ish) that had a hitch and the exact same happened. The hitch took the brunt of the hit and folded the frame down, buckling the roof and jamming the rear doors.
Insurance just about wrote it off (2 yrs old)

 

[tig1]

Built Ford tough!

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
I am actually of the belief that you should be require to remove hitch balls/tow hooks from the receiver when they are not in use. They completely negate the purpose of the bumper.

The only purpose of "bumpers" these days is to look good, other than that they just shatter or bend making a 5mph hit expensive... The only car I've owned with a bumper made to do anything was my 81 Omega, it had 1/4" thick aluminum bumpers on shocks. My mother in law backed into it one day with her 1998 civic shattering that bumper, nothing happened to the Omega...

My Dad's F150 with a class 4 hitch got hit the same way as Overkill, except he had on the big load balancer, anti sway hitch ball on. He had it checked out at the local garage, no damage.

Ian


A bumper will spread the impact out over more area, which will allow it to absorb more of the impact. If a hitch goes through the bumper of the vehicle that hits it and impacts something solid like the engine block or frame, it's going to be a more violent impact for the occupants of the vehicle.


Yea right, if the impact is that bad the receiver is going to punch right through the other car and the bumpers will meet just fine.

As far as the frame bending comments, LOL.

A rear hitch is a good bumper protector.

 

[aaxb970]

Why do so many seniors drive vans ?

 

[wander2039]

I got rear-ended by a 96ish(?) Monte Carlo in my 00 F150. Had to replace the bumper and both my duals even though I had a hitch. Although the duals left two nice round holes through the plastic bumper and styrofoam underneath and the hitch left a square hole in the license plate. I guess I could brag it only left to small dents in the bumper.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: aaxb970
Why do so many seniors drive vans ?


They don't bend at the waist anymore and just kinda slide in.

As for the hitch vs bumper... look under a truck with hitch. Spreads to the two frame rails same as a bumper.

I would worry more about a drop hitch tweaking a frame than a straight-on one.

 

[ARB1977]

Its funny when i add my ball to the back of my truck. Most people seem to stay further back. With a 2.25" lift i can see that thing making some pretty good damage to someones hood.

 

[ViragoBry]

You should replace the ball with a 6" long harpoon when not in use. Then they'll REALLY stay back.

 

[meep]

Hey Overk1ll, (sorry about hijack) what year was your friend's GC? where was it hit?

M

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: meep
Hey Overk1ll, (sorry about hijack) what year was your friend's GC? where was it hit?

M


It's a 1998 IIRC, got hit by another SUV, larger, that slid on some ice, impact was probably 20 or 40Km/h. Rear bumper folded, tail-gate was crushed in, roof-line has a very noticeable distortion and the rear doors would both not open. Repair has been quoted at $3,200.00.