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Old 03-13-2016, 09:17 AM   #21
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Dumpster, not sure if it will help but check out the videos on the Blue Ox web site. Also they have excellant and very helpful customer service. Give them a call with your questions.

I have experienced high side wind conditions a couple of times. Absolutely no drama involved. The Jeep gets buffered around but the trailer tracks true. Just south of Birmingham had a 16+ wheel jack knife in front of me. I went into panic mode stop. ABS activated and stopped me only 20 ft from the big rig. Little busy worried about what was happening in front of me but as far as I can tell the Airstream stayed on track right behind me with no unexpected actions.
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Old 03-13-2016, 11:22 AM   #22
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Is there a good source for the Ox?
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Old 03-13-2016, 11:31 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by PecanMan5 View Post
Is there a good source for the Ox?

When I bought mine last year, all the places I checked had about the same price.
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Old 03-13-2016, 12:14 PM   #24
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Thanks for this thread. I was up late last night researching hitches, and will be ordering a BOSP today.
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Old 03-13-2016, 12:44 PM   #25
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The OX is a very good system for us. With right at 800# on a 1000# Blue OX it has preformed very well from Texas to Montana, Colorado. Washington and all points in between.

After being trained by the dealership we learned to back straight up to the AS on as level a surface as possible. Hitch the ball and lock it. Then run the jack up until the AS hitch picks up the TV about an inch or two. Put the spring bars in place and count the links to be equal both sides and connect to the couplers on the AS frame. No muss no fuss on bother.

When you run the jack in departure mode your all set!

Repeat this in reverse when you un-hitch and the chains disengage with very little stress and no brused of broken body parts.

Now the issue we had with our first Blue OX. One of the spring bars bent. Yes bent. After unhooking, the bar did not recover to a straight bar! After a long conversation with the factory it was determined that the bar was defective and it was replaced at once! I paid the FedEx cost and was happy to do so.

Could not have asked for a better experience from dealer or factory. Even received a flowup call.

Happy Trails.
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Old 03-13-2016, 01:15 PM   #26
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Originally Posted by Dumpster View Post


I am hoping to start an informative thread about this hitch. Info, help, tips, do's, buy it, or don't. What I would like to avoid is why every other hitch on the planet is better. I don't care about your Hensley, PP, Reese DC, EQ, etc. I also don't want to hear about your undocumented, unpublished 'research' on why brand 'Y' is better. I would like to stick to real-world experience of Sway Pro owners.

Now that we have dealt with that unpleasantness, let's get busy.........

I have been a proud owner of brand xxxxxx for about 12 years. Prior to that, I had brand yyyyyyy. Yyyyyy was crap, so I switched to xxxxxx. I had solid performance, both in sway control, and load-equalization. But one day it hit me(after listening to episode #196 of theVAP)- these load bars are rock-solid. If I go over a big dip, incline, or even pull out of my driveway, these bars are not going to bend. But something else is. My receiver hitch, truck frame, or God forbid, the A-frame of my trailer. Is there a better mousetrap?

So that is where I am at; the Blue Ox Sway Pro. As advertised, it does it all. It arrived yesterday in a well packed box from Etr*****. I have to travel 500+ miles to pick up my new-to-me trailer. All I will have is my toolbox, my new Sway Pro, and 500 more tense towing miles ahead of me. Setup looks fairly straightforward. Any tips or tricks you have that I don't need to learn the hard way would be much appreciated. I will also do my best to do the same going forward.

Thanks in advance,
Dumpster
Dumpster, I walked the same walk until last summer. At the rally in Farmington I looked over the Blue Ox, listened to all the comments and I realized what my problems have been with the different hitches. So I decided to give it one more try with the Blue Ox. It was the best decision. It works just like its advertised. You will be pleased I am sure.
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Old 03-13-2016, 02:10 PM   #27
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Auto adjusting shocks

I have a Cadillac EXT truck that has self leveling shocks, the dealer hooked up my Blue Ox and drove it around the building before setting the final adjustment as the shocks changed the position of the back of my truck. Great hitch😄
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Old 03-13-2016, 02:29 PM   #28
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Originally Posted by PecanMan5 View Post
Is there a good source for the Ox?
I bought mine thru the local Airstream dealership. They had the best price I could find with a substantial discount from MSRP. I did have to pay extra for a longer drop bar. After talking to Blue Ox they refunded what I paid for the drop bar. It should of been a direct swap.
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Old 03-13-2016, 02:46 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by AWCHIEF View Post
I bought mine thru the local Airstream dealership. They had the best price I could find with a substantial discount from MSRP. I did have to pay extra for a longer drop bar. After talking to Blue Ox they refunded what I paid for the drop bar. It should of been a direct swap.
I think your local dealer is the same dealer I got my latest trailer from and they wanted considerably more for the hitch (installed granted) than what I got it for mail order and installed it in 30 minutes in the parking lot. I also asked about the longer drop shank and was told it was an extra cost with no swap. This was in Oct last year and I've since heard BO has instituted a program to credit dealers on the cost of the standard shank against a different one. BO also told me via phone last year that the hitch only came with the standard shank and any other length was an additional cost.

Not sure what present policy is.
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Old 03-13-2016, 02:47 PM   #30
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Originally Posted by Dumpster View Post
-- snip -- Can you elaborate on the BOSP performance in these conditions relative to other hitches -- snip --

-- snip -- how this hitch design is supposed to deal with sway -- snip -- the tongue to on side or the other, significant force would be required. Am I thinking about this correctly? -- snip -
Dumpster - Never used another hitch, so no comparison from real world experience available here. From what we have read of others experience, they do not feel the wiggle or it does not exist. Either is certainly possible when your TV is a 1 ton, as mass does have advantages. We learned to drive with cars that could reverse course quite quickly and developed a rather sensitive reaction to lateral movement. Our current ride has very sensitive steering and takes a bit of concentration to not over control directional changes. So this all may be a personal problem. We continue the investigation.

BOSP deals with sway by providing spring force to maintain directional stability. Head angle amplifies the spring preload to provide the force to achieve this control. So, yes you are thinking correctly.

Your significant force point deserves a note of caution. Several folks have mentioned the stored energy in the spring bars and encourage raising the tongue jack to reduce the preload prior to disconnecting the chains. Kind of points to their experience with the design using significant force and a need to respect that force a bit. Not difficult, just important to achieve an uneventful trip.

The other point that deserves comment is that all hitches are a compromise of one type or another. Sway control generally works up to a point. That point is beyond the boundary conditions that most folks experience. If you find that your rig stability strays, it is likely that a more conservative approach would improve the stability. Unlike Mark Donahue who found that pushing his CanAm Porsche faster gave him more stability, our rigs do not have much down force to help us.

What concerns me most with your investigation is that it sounds like you may be significantly concerned about stability in slick conditions. I suspect that discussion can only be addressed by a very small population of drivers who have the experience and a technical understanding of the subject. The only understanding we have is to park it and not go there.

Drive safe and enjoy the smiles. Pat
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Old 03-13-2016, 02:56 PM   #31
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At first I didn't like the Blue Ox. Afraid of the kick back when releasing the chains until I figured out that raising the TT which releases the tension makes everything "easy peasy". I can now hook up and unhook within a matter of minutes. The 2016 27FB tows beautifully behind the 2015 Silverado High Country Duramax. I have to be careful because I forget I am towing something. Once you determine how many links you need for the proper tension, mark the last link with paint so you don't have to count the links evertime. Also mark the direction of the chain release. Be sure the misses knows how to do all of this so she can help. I do the unhooking most of the time by myself so the Mr. can run in and get a cold one for us once I have finished.
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Old 03-13-2016, 05:02 PM   #32
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The Blue Ox instructions recommend greasing the swivel arms (zerk fittings) each time you hook them up. Seems a bit overkill to me, but I'm no expert. I travel with the grease gun, an extra grease cartridge, and several rags to clean up the old extruded grease, and regrease at least every other hookup. The sway bars connect and disconnect easily, and do not require grease.
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Old 03-13-2016, 05:28 PM   #33
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I traded a creaky Equalizer for a Blue Ox several years ago and am very satisfied with it.
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Old 03-13-2016, 06:07 PM   #34
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I have a question about WDH's so I'll pipe in here. I went from a Yukon Denali to a 2500 crew cab duramax as my tow vehicle. The Yukon squatted quite a bit when hooked up to a 1975 31' land yacht and the WDH was necessary to keep the front wheels on the ground. Empty advertised weight for the trailer is 5000 lbs and 500 lbs tongue weight. Now the tongue weight has little or no effect on the attitude of the truck. The weight bars are 800 lbs. After leveling everything, should I just use less chain links, meaning less weight distribution, or does anyone bother with the WDH with a 3/4 or 1 ton.
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Old 03-13-2016, 07:09 PM   #35
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Quote:
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The Blue Ox instructions recommend greasing the swivel arms (zerk fittings) each time you hook them up. Seems a bit overkill to me, but I'm no expert. I travel with the grease gun, an extra grease cartridge, and several rags to clean up the old extruded grease, and regrease at least every other hookup. The sway bars connect and disconnect easily, and do not require grease.

I basically regrease mine at the beginning of a long trip. Sometime I forget and then get to it when I remember? I do not worry about it for little short local trips. I think greasing with every use is a bit overkill.
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Old 03-13-2016, 08:06 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by Dumpster View Post
After taking everything out of the box, I have some observations-

Good - The finish is nice. It appears to have a thick, powder coat. Fairly heavy-duty, and bulky. I also like that I don't have to mess with the pitch of the hitch head. Or could that be a negative later?

Bad - just like my last hitch, the shank is considerably smaller than the receiver on my TV. There goes the nice finish if I have to weld a shim on it to shore it up. Other ball mounts I have around the garage fit tightly into my receiver. No biggie. Been there and done that.

The other notable is that I expected the swivel joints where the bars go, to have some friction on them. Zip. I understand that the design of this hitch doesn't rely on friction at that point, but still surprised. These puppies are free-wheelin'.

Also had the tow ball mounted by a local shop. Just like other brands, a deep-well socket is needed. 1-7/8", I think. Well beyond what I have in my toolbox.
As an aside; for those of you who do have a 1-7/8" socket, remember that..........
The 2-5/8" ball nut usually calls for 450 ft.lb. of torque, well above a 1/2" torque wrench's range. My torque wrench will go up to 250 ft. lb. still well under the requirement. However........
By lubricating the threads, and the nut face generously with C-5 Colloidal Copper, or 'Never Seize' or similar, you can reduce the specified torque by 40%.
This will give you about 270 ft. lb.,; not very far from the torque wrench's max. pull, and that's a lot of pull!
Me? I put the assembly in the receiver, sit on the ground, put my foot on the bumper for reaction, and pull the wrench.

If you really want that little extra bit of tightness, you can use a 'Johnson' bar and pull it about 5 degrees tighter, but why bother.
If you do NOT tighten the ball bolt properly, you risk a failure by ' fatigue break'.
(Information used as a former Premier Fastener corp. rep.)
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Old 03-13-2016, 08:44 PM   #37
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I have a question about WDH's so I'll pipe in here. I went from a Yukon Denali to a 2500 crew cab duramax as my tow vehicle. The Yukon squatted quite a bit when hooked up to a 1975 31' land yacht and the WDH was necessary to keep the front wheels on the ground. Empty advertised weight for the trailer is 5000 lbs and 500 lbs tongue weight. Now the tongue weight has little or no effect on the attitude of the truck. The weight bars are 800 lbs. After leveling everything, should I just use less chain links, meaning less weight distribution, or does anyone bother with the WDH with a 3/4 or 1 ton.
You need a minimum of 2" of flex in the spring bars to preload the hitch for sway control. Beyond that, the choice of bars and weight distribution is somewhat a rig specific tweak. Suggest you contact the Blue Ox tech support for a better answer to your question. Pat
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Old 03-13-2016, 09:33 PM   #38
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All- Thanks! This is great. This was the kind of discussion I was looking to generate, and benefit from.

PKI - I appreciate you letting me know that this is your first equalizing hitch. All of your observations are very helpful, and insightful. What I will say, is after my whopping 12+ years of towing (admittedly not that much), I have never had a hitch that made me feel invincible. There is always something reminding me that there are 2 1/2 tons hooked to my bumper. Twitches, jerks, noises, any and all making me think that this is the time that the death sway starts.
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Old 03-13-2016, 10:03 PM   #39
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All- -- snip -- equalizing hitch. -- snip -- never made me feel invincible. -- snip -- the death sway starts.
With a major brand that will be eternally linked to the term "equilizer" I would reject such a description for the BOSP. They are enough different in design and function that such terminology is confusing and inaccurate. The key attribute of the BOSP is the flexibility of the TV to TT connection while providing sway control.

Invincible - that is exactly the point of why active driving is the primary element in safe towing.

Death sway? - Just how fast do you drive that Dumpster? Pat
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Old 03-13-2016, 10:58 PM   #40
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I bought mine thru the local Airstream dealership. They had the best price I could find with a substantial discount from MSRP. I did have to pay extra for a longer drop bar. After talking to Blue Ox they refunded what I paid for the drop bar. It should of been a direct swap.

I found mine last night through a Sponsored Link on Amazon. It was only $450 new, and they had 11 units left. I kept looking today, and realized that this was a killer price, so I jumped on it. By the time I returned to Amazon, they only had 1 left. I double checked and they are now listed as $577 on Amazon.
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