Patent ID: 8851495

Claim:
A hitch step for insertion into a hollow vehicle hitch receiver, the hitch step comprising: a substantially hollow step body having a height, a width transverse to an axis of the vehicle hitch receiver and a depth in parallel to the axis, at least one transverse support member inside the step body having a thickness that is many times less that the depth of the step body, the transverse member transversely extending for at least a substantial portion of the step body and extending in a vertical direction for at least a substantial portion of the height of the step body, at least one external face of the step body in parallel to the axis being open; a substantially hollow tongue having a rear end joined to the step body and a front end axially displaced from the rear end, the tongue sized to be slidably received into the vehicle hitch receiver and in use providing the sole support for the step body, the tongue having a height and a width transverse to the axis, the width of the tongue being many times less than the width of the step body; a throat region of the tongue adjoining the step body and extending forwardly from the step body along the axis, at least one external face of the throat region being in parallel to the axis and being open, a plurality of vertically disposed reinforcing plates of the throat region extending from the open face to either a horizontal panel or to an opposed external face of the throat region; and a forward region of the tongue extending forwardly from the throat region of the tongue, the forward region having at least one external face parallel to the axis which is open and a vertical plate disposed in parallel to the axis, the vertical plate having a thickness in a transverse direction that is many times less than the width of the tongue, a height of the vertical plate extending for at least a substantial portion of the height of the tongue, at least one trailer hitch pin hole formed to transversely extend through the vertical plate; wherein the step body and the tongue are integrally molded of a thermoplastic elastomer.