A "+1" to every single post above... and mine was mounted on the back of my car so every time I walked into it, it hit my lower shin. I think I have permanent dents in both legs from that damn thing.
Best video I ever saw was one of those bass fishing shows on TV. The host was carrying a deep charge battery from his trolling motor and was going to put it in the back of his pickup. Whacked the hitch, dropped the battery, and string of bleeped out expletives came rolling out....come to think of it I think it was Roland. Anyway, good for him for leaving it in the show.
while back I impaled a tailgating chick,s Corolla on my hitch [after several brake light warnings] She had amazingly creative language about that, especially after the trooper wrote her for following to closely..
I always pull the mount out of the receiver when I'm not using it. Not only is it safer, but it will eventually rust and stick if you leave it for a long time. My son-in-law had a pintle hitch stolen off the back of his truck when he stopped to buy a couple of parts at an auto parts store.