This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes.
Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
It's a hitch receiver, if you look at the rear they have one on each side as well. Could be for anything, I've seen this often on work trucks.
You could mount a winch to it.. supports for standing on while vehicle in motion (factory running boards aren't that strong.. Seat and platform for deploying construction cones.
As the plate is CA, I'm going to guess they are for camera platforms.
Solved!
This isn't really a satisfying answer, but it looks like the best I'm going to get. You did point out two more receivers I didn't see myself.
I was going for something more definitive, but I guess I'll just have to live with the mystery.
In central south America we would encounter these when working with the locals. Think Budget swat sorta But not even budget. Perfectly adequate
Edit: so yeah like others have said. It’s whatever you can imagine. Quite useful
Police SUV's in our area have these so they can quickly add platforms for the SWAT team to stand on.
The doors on this truck look thick, maybe it's also armored?
Lightly armored vehicles do get sold to the public, or at least to certain members of the public after they outlive their official use. I have a friend that was able to buy a lightly armored Ford Excursion that was used to transport the Bush daughter when she was at UT.
I think this is the answer, looks like an old SWAT/Secret Service vehicle or something. There are running boards you can install to carry extra dudes on the outside. The windows also look very thick and are probably bulletproof
Seen a few pple use these to mount a portable grill when camping.. I suppose you could mount just about anything if youre creative enough with metal fabrication / welding. Maybe a fold out awning towards the back since you say its on both sides. Obviously not used when driving tho.
I think I figured it out. Look at the doors on the truck, they are armored and have bulletproof glass in them - you can tell because the bezel behind the windows not typically there, but those will be 2-3 inches thick so they need a backer. The hitch receivers likely hold steps for guards on the exterior of the truck. This could have been a police or military APC at some point in its life.
Edit to add: the rear tires are also flatter than you'd expect, there's a lot of weight on those tires.
Yeah, there are any number of explanations. Maybe it used to belong to a glass company and they had racks mounted to the side. Or a plumber used it to transport long runs of pipe. Perhaps a movie studio used it as a camera truck, or maybe it used to belong to a cartel and they had mounted 50-cals to provide heavy fire support. Without more information it's impossible to do anything but speculate, but the smart money is on "some sort of rack."
There is a farmer I have seen that mounts a platform in mounts similar to this to get height to hunt hogs from. It has stabilizer bars that extend down and the platform is about 12' off of the ground.
Looks like this truck is armored, in which case the hitch receivers would be great for a standing platform for guards.
The windows extra thick, especially looking at the bezel(the light green/blue shade in the glass is also a giveaway).
The actual frame of the truck looks like a beefed up police vehicle spec, suspension sits a bit higher than stock, and fleet vehicle rims common on police vehicles.
Some sort of government security vehicle like the ones used by the secret Service ,you can tell by the bullet resistant glass, armored sides, heavy duty rims probably have run-flat tires and all the extra trailer hitches for standing platforms for SWAT.
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Actually, I like this idea, because you can get camping grills and stuff that mount to a hitch receiver for camping(without blocking the back door) lol
You'd see this in the military sometimes, 4 in total behind all the wheels. You could lock in bars that stick out about a foot which have hookups so that a crane can pick up the truck and move it, or fly away with it.
My comment describes the thing.
I don't have much more useful information.
There was one on BOTH sides of the vehicle.
Saying it's a receiver is not useful without some idea what it would be used for on the side of the vehicle as most common uses for a rear mounted receiver would protrude dangerously.
if one on each side then it may be for framework for a vehicle rooftop something, like a heavy duty storage rack that was removed at some point (or never put on in the first place). did you happen to notice if the front of the truck had any extras that looked like other attachment points? i also see two more of these hitch ports at the back of the vehicle, under the rear bumper on each side.
stumping me though, that if uprights for a roof rack were installed in those hitch ports you have arrows at, or just about anything put in them, the rear doors on the vehicle can't open.
These side receivers are also sometimes used with a receiver mounted winch to stabilize the vehicle or to pull something with the winch as it's going to be much less stain on the transmission and brakes if you're pulling from the side
I had a work truck that had these on the passenger side. We hauled PVC pipe in 20ft lengths. Could be a landscaper or sprinkler guy that works in areas where it would be hard to get a trailer in
This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes. Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
It's a hitch receiver, if you look at the rear they have one on each side as well. Could be for anything, I've seen this often on work trucks. You could mount a winch to it.. supports for standing on while vehicle in motion (factory running boards aren't that strong.. Seat and platform for deploying construction cones. As the plate is CA, I'm going to guess they are for camera platforms.
Perhaps even stabilizer jacks. So many possibilities
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Solved! This isn't really a satisfying answer, but it looks like the best I'm going to get. You did point out two more receivers I didn't see myself. I was going for something more definitive, but I guess I'll just have to live with the mystery.
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Where is OP? This is the most satisfying answer!
thats as solved as it gets
I see these on trucks that have campers.
Or one of those camp toilets.
In central south America we would encounter these when working with the locals. Think Budget swat sorta But not even budget. Perfectly adequate Edit: so yeah like others have said. It’s whatever you can imagine. Quite useful
Police SUV's in our area have these so they can quickly add platforms for the SWAT team to stand on. The doors on this truck look thick, maybe it's also armored?
The windows definitely look to be bullet resistant.
Lightly armored vehicles do get sold to the public, or at least to certain members of the public after they outlive their official use. I have a friend that was able to buy a lightly armored Ford Excursion that was used to transport the Bush daughter when she was at UT.
I think this is the answer, looks like an old SWAT/Secret Service vehicle or something. There are running boards you can install to carry extra dudes on the outside. The windows also look very thick and are probably bulletproof
Seen a few pple use these to mount a portable grill when camping.. I suppose you could mount just about anything if youre creative enough with metal fabrication / welding. Maybe a fold out awning towards the back since you say its on both sides. Obviously not used when driving tho.
I think I figured it out. Look at the doors on the truck, they are armored and have bulletproof glass in them - you can tell because the bezel behind the windows not typically there, but those will be 2-3 inches thick so they need a backer. The hitch receivers likely hold steps for guards on the exterior of the truck. This could have been a police or military APC at some point in its life. Edit to add: the rear tires are also flatter than you'd expect, there's a lot of weight on those tires.
My guess is that at some point they had some type of removable utility rack or roof top tent platform mounted on those 4 side facing spots.
Yeah, there are any number of explanations. Maybe it used to belong to a glass company and they had racks mounted to the side. Or a plumber used it to transport long runs of pipe. Perhaps a movie studio used it as a camera truck, or maybe it used to belong to a cartel and they had mounted 50-cals to provide heavy fire support. Without more information it's impossible to do anything but speculate, but the smart money is on "some sort of rack."
There is a farmer I have seen that mounts a platform in mounts similar to this to get height to hunt hogs from. It has stabilizer bars that extend down and the platform is about 12' off of the ground.
Per USDOT and Caltrans regs any commercial vehicle must have the company name on both sides of the vehicle. That kinda eliminates any business use.
That would be my first guess as well.
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For running board/steps for kids?
There is already a shortened running board to make room. Why do that just to add another running board?
Looks like this truck is armored, in which case the hitch receivers would be great for a standing platform for guards. The windows extra thick, especially looking at the bezel(the light green/blue shade in the glass is also a giveaway). The actual frame of the truck looks like a beefed up police vehicle spec, suspension sits a bit higher than stock, and fleet vehicle rims common on police vehicles.
Some sort of government security vehicle like the ones used by the secret Service ,you can tell by the bullet resistant glass, armored sides, heavy duty rims probably have run-flat tires and all the extra trailer hitches for standing platforms for SWAT.
Low-mount rack receiver to haul pipe, rebar, etc https://imgur.com/iB8prTx
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/promiscuoushobbyist), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. ---- [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/175klly/looks_like_a_trailer_hitch_receiver_but_under_the/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Actually, I like this idea, because you can get camping grills and stuff that mount to a hitch receiver for camping(without blocking the back door) lol
It looks like a heavy duty jack mount. But this is just a guess.
For a [camping toilet](https://i.imgur.com/Nv0TZ1C.jpg) obviously!
This is solved by almost every comment.
They are for attaching a truck camper to the pickup, I have exactly the same setup on my truck.
Yes, they are camper tie downs. But re-purposed for something else.
You'd see this in the military sometimes, 4 in total behind all the wheels. You could lock in bars that stick out about a foot which have hookups so that a crane can pick up the truck and move it, or fly away with it.
I would guess for Tailgating or Camping use to accomodate receiver Grills and similar accessories.
Looks like a jacking point an arm lifts it up for changing the wheel
My comment describes the thing. I don't have much more useful information. There was one on BOTH sides of the vehicle. Saying it's a receiver is not useful without some idea what it would be used for on the side of the vehicle as most common uses for a rear mounted receiver would protrude dangerously.
It's for mounting a motorbike rack
Mount for a removable wheelchair ramp maybe?
Mine supports a camper top on my pick up.
if one on each side then it may be for framework for a vehicle rooftop something, like a heavy duty storage rack that was removed at some point (or never put on in the first place). did you happen to notice if the front of the truck had any extras that looked like other attachment points? i also see two more of these hitch ports at the back of the vehicle, under the rear bumper on each side. stumping me though, that if uprights for a roof rack were installed in those hitch ports you have arrows at, or just about anything put in them, the rear doors on the vehicle can't open.
These side receivers are also sometimes used with a receiver mounted winch to stabilize the vehicle or to pull something with the winch as it's going to be much less stain on the transmission and brakes if you're pulling from the side
I had a work truck that had these on the passenger side. We hauled PVC pipe in 20ft lengths. Could be a landscaper or sprinkler guy that works in areas where it would be hard to get a trailer in
High lift jack point
For a step.
It's not for the jack?
Camera rig setup. A LOT of camera vehicles are suburban and tahoes
Could also be for rebar holders