Recent catastrophic Blue Ox towbar failure

[stearn]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

I guess I'll be the first to disagree then, any thing made by anyone can have problems at some time or another.

I think most of us agree that these things do have limited life span. I think some of us believe that when we purchase an item, we are relying on the manufacture for it's safety, and longevity. I for one think that something as important as a tow bar has a "weak point" the owners of the product should at the very least be notified of a potential problem! I had the impression that BO was a top shelf operation, and never thought I would be treated so cool when I called for some help!! I never expected something for nothing. I also did not expect to be sent miles away to find someone to order the parts I needed, that ultimately took over a month to get.
I just wish that when in a bind BO would be able to send the needed parts( at a cost) to get their customer back on the road.
Sorry to rant, but I am very disappointed with the Blue Ox could care less attitude! BTY my yoke broke while traveling to Texas , My AVENTA is 5 yrs old and had been checked, and washers replaced two years ago.

[Shadowcatche]

This is a case where I would disagree. Anything that is such a strong safety issue should be idiot proof and over designed so there is no possibility of catastrophic failure endangering others. OR a clear warning that an inspection and certification must happen on a specified time line i.e. your propane tank. That was the reason I recommended contacting the NHTSA. Aluminum is not an appropriate material and should never have been used.

[walt2137]

Originally Posted by colo.kids

Thanks for all the thoughts and comments. The bottomline is these towbars indeed have a lifetime (which I did not know about--my mistake) and cannot be taken for granted.



This is very interesting and supports the position taken by BO in the case of my failed unit. And as someone said mine was admittedly used so one cannot be sure how mistreated it was in its previous life.



Frankly, I think BO should do an inspection of this nature without charge. While some will argue they should be paid for their service, I would argue such service should be a part of customer relations. As a small business owner myself I certainly would not charge a customer for such an inspection of my product to see if it was failing or needed adjustment.

Attached is a photo of the failed part. And BTW as I said what irked me most was BO's failure to even care or offer some words of apology (without of course admitting any guilt on their part).

They did it Free until a few yrs ago, at the last Perry FMCA Rally they started charging but Roadmaster did the inspection Free dont know about now.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Elf

+1

One nice thing, among many, about the Ready Brute is that you can adapt it to any manufacturer's baseplate.

RoadMaster also offers adapters for other makes.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by colo.kids

In that case I agree with you that it was money well spent and I also applaud with BO willing to provide the inspection without charge. My opinion of the company is improving.

When I was towing four down I had mine inspected and rebuilt free of charge by RoadMaster. Seems like I took it in last year before heading out to Fresno and Yuma which is the last time I towed the Odyssey four down.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Shadowcatche

This is a case where I would disagree. Anything that is such a strong safety issue should be idiot proof and over designed so there is no possibility of catastrophic failure endangering others. OR a clear warning that an inspection and certification must happen on a specified time line i.e. your propane tank. That was the reason I recommended contacting the NHTSA. Aluminum is not an appropriate material and should never have been used.

The permanently mounted horizontal cylinders in MH's don't need to be recertified like the removable tanks on TT's and 5th wheels. Why? I don't know.