Funny but true.

Last year, I was about 4 cars from a Stoplight when I feel this shudder. I look up in the rearview and this white GM utility van just smacked me. Turns out, a 2004 Dodge Ram rearended the van (at speed...driver on cellphone got citation) and knocked the van into the T100. Thanks to the suspension lift, the van ate my drawtite receiver and left a 2" depression in the GM plastic grill/valance. The T100 received no damage. There was no claim. Just an inconvenient wait for the cops with rubberneckers wondering what happened.
AIG (van's insurer) had nerve to not only solicit me for insurance coverage (It was their freakin driver that tagged me) but continued for 6 months to send me literature and call about the "claim" (there was no claim). Amazing what "proper" letter to the chain of command can do...AIG has since stopped.

So last night, I get home about 8pm and find a note in my door. "Sorry about any damage. I hit your truck with my car. Please call. You neighbor checked out the truck and found no damage. My car is a mess". I had taken the maxima to work and the T100 was infront of my townhome. Properly parked. No one parks near it. So I grab the note and walk to the truck, and see some hand prints on the road dirt that has been on the bumper. I see no obvious damage but I do see plastic shards under the axle and rear of truck.
I call the number and find that a nearby "neighbor" that lives in the culdesac behind my house had pulled out and made a right turn. In so that she (woman) had a handicapped card (hanging from mirror) fall off and she tried to grab it. In that manuever (?) she pulled to her right and contacted my receiver hitch with her 2005 Cadillac CTX. She lost her headlight and tore up the fender in the process.
This morning (April fool's day..how appropriate) I took the digicam out and took a picture of the area behind the truck and of the plastic I found and put in the recycle bin. I inspected the rear (now with ample light) and found only rust-belt damage (Drawtite coating rusting from underneath near welds). All the bolts are straight and tight. Found a plastic mark on the hitch extender (that is what she contacted...as it holds the drop-down ball that I keep in truck so no one steals it).
Kinda annoyed me when I called and the husband answered, he sounded disturbed. Maybe not by my call, but I did pick up an ire about why my hitch stuck out. Believe me, I am well within my space, not in the lane and consider that 3" protrusion to be a "truck saver" and facet of the bumper. Besides, she hit my truck and under admission of guilt that she was distracted and the vehicle was in motion.
Handicapped...you betcha!

So... I had this notion I better go buy some $5 worth of lotto tickets...being lucky and all...and ho...the clerk accidently gives me a 6th ticket and says, ah keep it. Didn't win but hey. Can't beat that. So for all the griping and pickiness...the T is still here.

(Now, if I had drove the truck in with the alcan springs to weigh for someone, she would've rearended the maxima...that would have been far worse!)
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It always sucks to get hit. It is good that the woman left her info even if there was no damage. If a kid hit you they probably would have left and you'd be wondering why there were plastic pieces on the ground behind your truck.

I also like having a lifted truck as it gets the body somewhat out of harms way and my hitch has also protected my bed when I've been rear-ended. The hitch does make a nice radiator destroyer and leaves the other car with far worse damage.

I would take the truck in to a body shop and have them check it out just to make sure any hidden damage is discovered. They may find that the hitch should be replaced and then you can decide what to do with it.

I had a Blazer drive under my bumper last year, it put a small dent in my bumper which could only be destinguished by the way the chrome bent the light, the other driver's insurance company gave me a check for about $300, didnt replace my bumper, because honestly it didnt need to be, kind of makes me wonder if i had put my hitch back on how much more damage her blazer would have had...sad thing is she was kind of extra upset because she just got her car out of the body shop that week for a similar thing.

Heheheh. My unlifted T was lightly rear-ended by a Honda Accord a coupla years ago. No visible damage to my bumper, but the Accord's hood wuz gonna need some work!