Community Forums

tombottcat · 03-27-2021, 09:29 PM

have the ball and socket type ball is loose and wont support itself when un hooked now and no visible wear is showing but still solid when hooked up so should i be concerned

Skip426 · 03-27-2021, 09:35 PM

By won't support itself , do you mean the arms drop to the ground when disconnected from the toad ?

I'm pretty sure my Blue Ox wouldn't do that when it was brand new.
40,000 miles and still tight when hooked up .

RVThere · 03-27-2021, 10:00 PM

Or are you saying the ball hitch is loose in the receiver?

SargeW · 03-27-2021, 10:36 PM

Be very careful, I had a catastrophic failure with an Aventa tow bar. The ball mechanism can become sloppy and that allows the internals to get much more wear that can't be seen, or tightened for that matter. Mine snapped at the ball and left my Jeep sitting in the middle of traffic. Report any abnormalities to BO and attempt to get a resolution.

USMCRET · 03-28-2021, 03:05 AM

How old is your tow bar? Mine is six years old and starting to get a little loose.

TJDave · 03-28-2021, 07:58 AM

I have an Aventa II ball n socket type I bought used. It never held it's own weight. Flopped to the ground. I started reading about it and all the failures. It is a discontinued design. I could never find a reason why. I used it for a few years on a 2016 Jeep without problems, but was still worried about it when I bought a new 2020 Jeep. So, I bought its replacement, an Avail 10,000# tow bar. It is much easier to hook up and disconnect without it flopping all over the place, and the new non-binding latches. It is also a bit longer, which I like.
Now I am reading about Avail failures. Good grief!

SargeW · 03-28-2021, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by USMCRET

How old is your tow bar? Mine is six years old and starting to get a little loose.

Mine was 30 days past 3 years old. It failed at the shaft that connected the articulating ball to the tow arms. I know the specific date because BO denied warranty because it was 30 days past the date of manufacture!

At the same time the tow bar failed to hooks for the safety cables also ripped out on the BO tow plate. Needless to say, after that experience I dumped everything BO and walked away.

John24RLS · 03-30-2021, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombottcat

have the ball and socket type ball is loose and wont support itself when un hooked now and no visible wear is showing but still solid when hooked up so should i be concerned

You can call Blue Ox at 800-228-9289. You can send the tow bar back to them for
free shipping both ways and $150.00 service fee. They will only service one that is 8 years or newer. They will take it all apart, clean and service as necessary. If they discover any major parts broken then you may have to pay extra.
Good Luck!

dmctlc · 03-30-2021, 09:43 PM

First the $150 "includes" shipping and second I'm not sure how old yours is but if it's within the warranty period and they find any issues it would be covered under the warranty. I've had issues lately and have been on the phone a few times with the tech, I think his name was Steve and thats how he explained it to me. I have an Avail and mine is 3 yrs. old so the warranty runs out in end of April so I need to decide whether to send it back myself. BTW my arms drop when I disconnect so I make sure they are gently eased down.