[Richard]

I had a scare this summer while traveling. At any stop I do a safety walk around. To my shock, I found the hitch pin safety clip was missing on one side where the tow bar attaches to the baseplate. Luckily for me the pin was still in place.

The rest of this is my opinion based on my experience. The tow bar and pins were new this year. The safety clips were this style https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hillman-1-3-4-i...lsrc=aw.ds I had never used this style before. I did learn soon after the install that there is a right way and a wrong way to install the pin and flip the ring.

It is my opinion that I either forgot to install the safety clip OR I flipped it the wrong direction and it flipped itself open. I cannot prove that. Forgot to install is the most likely culprit. 

Over the summer, I read two different stories from folks who had lost toads because the pins came out. Both individuals were convinced that someone removed the safety pins in a rest stop. They blamed it on truckers. In both cases the individuals were using the ring style safety pins. 

Coincidence? I don’t know. But homie won’t be using the ring style any more.

I now use this style. https://www.amazon.com/Curt-Manufacturin...3598&psc=1