Relative Something

What do you do if you want to tow something? You simply hook up the trailer to your truck, right? For most of the last year, we didn’t have a truck. Well, we have one now. Cyndie did most of the research, and took care of the purchase. When we got it home, I noticed there was nothing to “hitch” a trailer to beneath the bumper. Cyndie assured me she had asked for one with a tow package, but we didn’t see what was needed to tow trailers.

Since there were some other issues we wanted addressed –including an oil change, spare tire hanger, and bulb replacement in the back-up lights– Cyndie scheduled a service appointment that included mounting a hitch that would allow us to pull trailers. They told her there were no hitches in stock, so they would need to special order one, and that meant the appointment would be delayed a week.

Well, that day came and went, and neither one of us remembered to drop the truck off for service. It’s embarrassing, …and I haven’t even gotten to the embarrassing part yet.

On the morning of the rescheduled appointment date, we rushed to get the truck in before Cyndie left for work. They hadn’t opened yet, but I spotted someone inside and he opened a door for me to drop off the keys. When Cyndie had made the original appointment, she neglected to mention the back-up light, and I didn’t think to say anything about it when I gave the man the keys. I needed to call after I got back to our house. He asked for my number, so he could let me know when the work was done and the truck was ready to be picked up.

This is one of the gray areas of responsibility in Cyndie’s and my relationship. I wanted her to take care of it, because I am not good at dealing with things I don’t understand. She is much more brave than me, and dives right into things she doesn’t understand, but I’m sure she preferred to have me just handle the whole thing. She made the appointment, and now I was the one dealing with the details. I felt stuck in the middle. I gave him my number, and became their contact person.

The first call came early in the day. He tells me, “There already is a hitch on your truck.”

This is what is visible of our “hitch.”

Picture me at that point. I really am not very fond of that feeling of humiliation. “Really?” I guess we don’t need that hitch you special ordered then… I try to buy some time while I figure out how to reply, knowing that I have no idea about the actual details of anything to do with tow hitches. “So, we just need the ball mounted?” I don’t even know what I am really asking. He says we just need a receiver, but they don’t carry any. I asked him a couple more questions and quickly deduced there were still variables for which I had no answer. I told him we would look into the remaining parts we needed for towing, ourselves.

I immediately searched for images of “tow hitches” and “hitch receivers,” and found some consolation as to why it seems confusing. The names for all the different parts involved don’t appear to be universal. I will admit, I assumed a trailer hitch was the obvious ball that is commonly seen mounted to the back of pickup trucks. It’s not quite that simple.

Here are two examples of what I found:

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We need a ball mount, and a trailer ball. Unfortunately, there are an almost infinite variety of each, allowing for a wide variety of trailer and towing options. We don’t actually have a trailer, but have been offered use of them already on a variety of occasions. I’m going to pick something as close as possible to the middle range of the most likely scenario we expect to face. For all other situations that arise, I’ll buy what is needed when the time comes.

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