Blue Ox Failure - My Bad?

[tmw188]

Yes good point! They really favor closing in one direction, difficult to clasp it the other way.

[GWBGE]

Originally Posted by tmw188

Yes good point! They really favor closing in one direction, difficult to clasp it the other way.

That would explain how I got home Wednesday and one of my clips was missing. I know it was there when I stopped for fuel an hour earlier. Fortunately the pin was still fully in place.

I ordered locking pins just to be safe.

[AKIQPilot]

I know everyone has a technique that works for them, I use a slightly different technique to ensure my hitch pins don’t work themselves out. I was reluctant to lock the toad to the towbar for reasons stated here many times.

I like the D Handles hitch pins because they are easy to install and remove. They also give me a loop to attach bungee cords too. I use standard lynch pins to ensure the hitch pins don’t work their way out. The bungee cords keep the hitch pins pulled toward the center for additional insurance they won’t work themselves outward and fall out. The bungee cords also prevent the hitch pins from twisting and turning upside down which could allow the lynch pins to fall out of the opened or the ring failed. A quick glance tells me everything is in place and secure and I can even see the orange bungees in the rear view camera.

[Winger2]

Originally Posted by AKIQPilot

I know everyone has a technique that works for them, I use a slightly different technique to ensure my hitch pins don’t work themselves out. I was reluctant to lock the toad to the towbar for reasons stated here many times.

I like the D Handles hitch pins because they are easy to install and remove. They also give me a loop to attach bungee cords too. I use standard lynch pins to ensure the hitch pins don’t work their way out. The bungee cords keep the hitch pins pulled toward the center for additional insurance they won’t work themselves outward and fall out. The bungee cords also prevent the hitch pins from twisting and turning upside down which could allow the lynch pins to fall out of the opened or the ring failed. A quick glance tells me everything is in place and secure and I can even see the orange bungees in the rear view camera.

Attachment 364772

You know, thats a great idea.

[LMHS]

A few decades ago, we towed a popup camper down to FL from NC for a family vacation. We stopped overnight at a motel. Did our normal walk-around before we collected up what we needed for overnight. The next morning the safety chain was gone. It was there the night before. There was another trailer in the parking lot when we went in but gone the next morning. We towed the camper to our destination without the safety chain. We purchased another one once there. I put threaded links (with locktite) on the chain. While sitting in Cordele GA at a RR crossing while waiting for one of the trains to finally get thru, I noticed a couple of teenage boys walk between a motorhome and their towed. It looked like they touched the tow bar. Actually they stepped on it but it looked like they did "something" else. This was back when I was dumb enough to try and stop an RVer if I noticed something wrong. I finally got them to pull over at a Wal-Mart (after passing 4 parking lots they could have easily pulled into). You would have thought I was trying to mug the morons. So I told them what I had seen (and that they left the steps out). Seems they were missing a linchpin from the tow bar. After that, I swapped my linchpins and anything else was was easily removed with threaded links glued closed with red locktite (My tow bar stays on my jeep 24/7) and the safety cable is connected to the Jeep with a threaded link glued with red locktite and the other side is hooked onto the hitch receiver and secured with a keyed pin lock when it's not wrapped around the towbar on the jeep and locked in place. It won't prevent someone from stealing my safety cable but I don't worry about someone EASILY removing my threaded links. BTW, I have found that it takes a pissed off 90LB girl with a hack saw less than 1 minutes to saw thru one of a Master brand hitch pin lock (she couldn't find her key to unlock it and remove her hitch haul). So for an overnight, no it's still not theft-proof. But for a quick opportunity theft, it's probably okay. I also carry extra threaded links, extra ball receiver (it's dropped a little lower) and an extra pin for the receiver in the jeep. It doesn't take up very much room. I've also witnessed more than one hitch ball removed from vehicles while the owner was in a store shopping. First time it happened, the person waved at me, like they had a right to the thing. I didn't realize it was stolen until the woman came out from the store and made a comment about it. We were shocked. I walked right back into the store and bought a lock set. Some people will steal anything simply because they can.

[tmw188]

It’s actually hard to get them clipped down the wrong way can’t see how that happens? Maybe they are shot?

[alanmritz]

When I started towing I bought a lot of equipment from a man who had the experience you did and someone pulled a pin. From then on he used locks on the pins. I always used locks. The only time I had a problem was when I left the lock unlocked Vehicle I was driving the toad and one of my pins fell out.


QUOTE=jmosberg;6167257]Here's my story, it's sad but true. On the way back from Florida at the end of March after "the season", we had just crossed the state line from SC into NC on I95. Pulled into the welcome center and went to the truck area. A mix of 18 wheelers and various RV's has it full. But the racehorse inside me was calling. I could see ahead on the exit from the truck area to where it merged with cars leaving their area to get back on I95, a spot between two trucks. So I pulled in there. Watched from inside as a couple of departing trucks went past, so I knew there was enough clearance. Could have gone in the back, but we figured we would stretch and walk to the restrooms. My Equinox was due for a 5 minute run, so I got that going and locked everything up. When we came back, I put the Equinox in tow mode and we took off.

After a couple of hours we were planning to stop at a Pilot in about 15 minutes for gas, when I noticed in my rear camera that the Equinox was swaying back and forth. I knew something was not right with our Blue Ox (Combined with Air Force braking) and pulled over. The Driver's side leg assembly on the Blue Ox had come loose from the bracket on the Equinox. The 1/2 inch pin and the locking quick pin (with the ring) were missing. Additionally, the D-ring on the small orange wire cable was disconnected from the breakaway switch on the Equinox and lying on the ground.

Fortunately, no body damage to the car or coach. One of the bottom lights on the coach was smashed out, probably by the bar of the tow defender, which was bent. The 6 pin connector for the lights on the Equinox was broken off it's brackets. And the Blue Ox casing was split, probably from the sway, and I will need to replace it. The good news is no major damage to car or coach and I didn't cause an accident.

We got it all unhooked and stabilized. And DW drove the Equinox and followed me the rest of the way home. She later reported that as we got back on the highway and got up to speed, she saw a paper fly off that was under one of the wiper blades.

It is entirely possible that failed to secure the locking quick pin properly when I hooked up the day before (it was 530 am). But if I also failed to connect the d-ring to the breakaway switch, then that meant two failures on my part.

Now for the conspiracy theory...did a trucker who was angry at me and all the other Rver's for taking up their space, sabotage my hook-up? Or did someone else for whatever reason? Taking out that locking quick pin and disconnecting the d-ring from the breakaway switch could have caused me pain in that I could not tow anymore, without necessarily leading to an accident.

Trust me, I've learned a huge lesson - always inspect the hook-up after an overnight or being away from the coach. But has anyone else heard of this kind of mischief being done to a tow hook-up?

Thanks for listening.[/QUOTE]

[Kcinfl]

I had a similar experience as I stopped at the rest area checked the lock pin was missing and the pin was 80% of the way out, I believe the problem was the lock pin was flipped the wrong way to the round side instead of the flat side of pin. What it has done check and recheck and me and the Mrs. always check each other's work. We also carry extra pins.

[Tpguess]

We placed a "Super Magnet" (about 1/2" circle <1/8 " thick) on the blue Ox receiver that has the pin holes through it. The magnet will make it very difficult or impossible for the locking pin to fall out and allow the large main pin to fall out. Always check anyway... you just never know...

[Old Dinghy]

Many years ago we were heading east on I-10 with our DP and stopped in the first rest area in FL we came to near several semis. We took our dogs out of the Coach for a walk and break, returned to the coach, and drove off. Less than a mile down the road out toad was wagging back and forth wildly so I slowly pulled over and got out to check the issue. The pin that holds the hitch into the receiver was missing. Apparently it stayed in just long enough to get up to speed before the hitch fell out and started dragging on the road.

Two lessons:
1. ALWAYS check the toad setup prior to leaving, and lock the hitch pin.
2. There are apt to be some jealous or hateful folks around who enjoy destroying “rich” folks possessions.

I practice #1 which tends to limit #2 in my travels to this day. Safe travels.

[THenne1713]

TWO POINTS: 1) You and Wife FAILED to walk around/ INSPECT TWICE before driveoff; 2) HOPE YOU WILL START THE WALKAROUND/ INSPECTION?

[ac7nj]

This applies to 5th wheel pin release too. There has been animosity between truckers and RV’ers for years.
Rest areas are also a place to watch out for.

[Steve 716]

On the days we travel, after we have set up and hooked up, we always check everything twice before leaving. We check our coach and toad electrical connections, including all lights. Occasionally we find some of our toad lights are intermittent. Spraying some CRC contact cleaner on all of our cable contacts clears up the problem. We make sure our toad is in the correct towing mode, that no alarms are going off in our coach, and our bin doors are firmly locked. A little extra time can prevent possible issues.

We also carry a spare set of RV keys in the glove compartment of our toad. On our journey from Georgia to Alaska several years ago we watched a driver exit his truck to fill his gas tank. This was in rural Canada. He left his keys on the front seat and his dog sat on them, locking his doors. We were still laughing as we continued our travel.

A few years later I was sure I had strapped in my bike for travel. A few miles after we drove out some fellow drivers honked and pointed toward the rear of our coach. I pulled over and discovered my expensive bike had somehow fallen off of its carrier, I had been dragging it several miles, and it was destroyed in the process. I checked it twice before leaving our campground.

[Leonardos302]

Originally Posted by jmosberg

Here's my story, it's sad but true. On the way back from Florida at the end of March after "the season", we had just crossed the state line from SC into NC on I95. Pulled into the welcome center and went to the truck area. A mix of 18 wheelers and various RV's has it full. But the racehorse inside me was calling. I could see ahead on the exit from the truck area to where it merged with cars leaving their area to get back on I95, a spot between two trucks. So I pulled in there. Watched from inside as a couple of departing trucks went past, so I knew there was enough clearance. Could have gone in the back, but we figured we would stretch and walk to the restrooms. My Equinox was due for a 5 minute run, so I got that going and locked everything up. When we came back, I put the Equinox in tow mode and we took off.

After a couple of hours we were planning to stop at a Pilot in about 15 minutes for gas, when I noticed in my rear camera that the Equinox was swaying back and forth. I knew something was not right with our Blue Ox (Combined with Air Force braking) and pulled over. The Driver's side leg assembly on the Blue Ox had come loose from the bracket on the Equinox. The 1/2 inch pin and the locking quick pin (with the ring) were missing. Additionally, the D-ring on the small orange wire cable was disconnected from the breakaway switch on the Equinox and lying on the ground.

Fortunately, no body damage to the car or coach. One of the bottom lights on the coach was smashed out, probably by the bar of the tow defender, which was bent. The 6 pin connector for the lights on the Equinox was broken off it's brackets. And the Blue Ox casing was split, probably from the sway, and I will need to replace it. The good news is no major damage to car or coach and I didn't cause an accident.

We got it all unhooked and stabilized. And DW drove the Equinox and followed me the rest of the way home. She later reported that as we got back on the highway and got up to speed, she saw a paper fly off that was under one of the wiper blades.

It is entirely possible that failed to secure the locking quick pin properly when I hooked up the day before (it was 530 am). But if I also failed to connect the d-ring to the breakaway switch, then that meant two failures on my part.

Now for the conspiracy theory...did a trucker who was angry at me and all the other Rver's for taking up their space, sabotage my hook-up? Or did someone else for whatever reason? Taking out that locking quick pin and disconnecting the d-ring from the breakaway switch could have caused me pain in that I could not tow anymore, without necessarily leading to an accident.

Trust me, I've learned a huge lesson - always inspect the hook-up after an overnight or being away from the coach. But has anyone else heard of this kind of mischief being done to a tow hook-up?

Thanks for listening.

This happened to me going down a mountain in PA. I saw the car in my sideview mirror which I have never seen before. I do carry spare pins and now I always have the drinks facing the out so nothing inside can catch on them