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Old 08-13-2020, 03:08 PM   #1
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Blue Ox Failure

[ATTACH]297012[/ATTACHAttachment 297013]Attachment 297012

In the last mile of a Motorhome trip, the tow bar broke. It happened while exiting an interstate highway. I engaged the PAC engine brake to slow the Motorhome and felt the truck colliding into the back. Fortunately I didn’t have to stop at the exit and continued on to next street. The truck would tracked way to the right on the remaining arm. The air line separated to the truck, so no air brakes. The last two stops were “up hill” and I managed to stop both vehicles without any further damage.
This tow bar is rated at 7500 lbs and had no issues. Last year I lubricated the sliders and used it 3 times previously this year. This failure surprised me. I hope this is a rare event for Motorhome’s owners.
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:12 PM   #2
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:14 PM   #3
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:40 PM   #4
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That's horrible!

Just rebuilt my Blue Ox with new washers, but it looks like yours actually broke at the end of a rod.

Just curious, did your breakaway cable actuate your toad brake?

Also, how old is your hitch?
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:40 PM   #5
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How old is the tow bar and how many towing miles on it?
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Old 08-13-2020, 03:57 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Craig36 View Post
That's horrible!

Just rebuilt my Blue Ox with new washers, but it looks like yours actually broke at the end of a rod.

Just curious, did your breakaway cable actuate your toad brake?

Also, how old is your hitch?


No, the safety pin didn't pull out. One arm and both safety cables kept the truck from breaking away. I brought the Motorhome in 2012 and the tow bar was included.
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:02 PM   #7
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How old is the tow bar and how many towing miles on it?


Probably at least 15,000 miles. I'm the second owner of the Motorhome and I don't know when the tow bar was put in service.
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:11 PM   #8
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Blue Ox says tow bars have a usable life of (I think) 10 or 11 years. Then they want you to buy a new one. In talking with the customer service guy, he admitted it was more about how much it is used, and how rough the usage was.

I pull a full size 1998 SUV, with the Aladdin 4325 that the date code says was from 2011 so I guess I need to replace in a couple more years.

If you are curious, you can call Blue OX with the serial number off your hitch, they will tell you the year it was made. In light of the failure, they might also give you a deal on a replacement bar.
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:35 PM   #9
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Blue Ox says tow bars have a usable life of (I think) 10 or 11 years. Then they want you to buy a new one. In talking with the customer service guy, he admitted it was more about how much it is used, and how rough the usage was.



I pull a full size 1998 SUV, with the Aladdin 4325 that the date code says was from 2011 so I guess I need to replace in a couple more years.



If you are curious, you can call Blue OX with the serial number off your hitch, they will tell you the year it was made. In light of the failure, they might also give you a deal on a replacement bar.


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Knowledge is King. There's no warning on the tow bar about when to "take out of service". So, I didn't know about a time limitation.
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:40 PM   #10
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Have you figured out what went wrong yet. It would be interesting to see a close-up picture of both of the ends that separated.
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:51 PM   #11
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Have you figured out what went wrong yet. It would be interesting to see a close-up picture of both of the ends that separated.


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Separated at the lock mechanism.
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Old 08-13-2020, 04:55 PM   #12
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Towin that big ol ford might want to look at 10,000 lb. tow bar.
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Old 08-13-2020, 05:04 PM   #13
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Whatever you do, make sure you file a report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/
Work with Blue Ox, but don't hold your breath there. My experience is that BO will blow you off and try to blame you. Anything but them. The NHTSA report puts pressure on BO and may not show immediate action, but will document a known deficiency. Reports like these begin the process that many times end up in product recalls.
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Old 08-13-2020, 05:55 PM   #14
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Towin that big ol ford might want to look at 10,000 lb. tow bar.


The truck weighs less than 6800 lbs with me in it. Weigh in and out at the landfill. The tow bar was rated for load. Regardless, it failed.
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