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Old 01-15-2025, 05:54 AM   #1
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Which Blue Ox Sway Pro Bars?

We are new AS owners with a 2017 International Signature 25. It came with the Blue Ox Sway Pro setup wit BXW750 spring bars. Should I be using the BXW1000 bars instead?
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Old 01-15-2025, 06:02 AM   #2
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we use 1000lb with our Fc 25FB
its best to use bars that are rated higher than the tongue weight
our TW was 750 lbs thus the 1000 lb bars work well

if too high , then there too stiff

it there too low i.e. less than TW, then they won't work very well
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Old 01-15-2025, 06:57 AM   #3
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Thanks so much for your response waninae39, greatly appreciated! That makes sense to me, I was worried that the stiffer bars would be harder on the trailer.
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Old 01-15-2025, 09:49 AM   #4
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Like waninae39, we use 1000 lbs bars on our 27’ Globetrotter which has a lighter tongue than a 25’ front bed Airstream at the time.

You didn’t mention what tow vehicle you have which can be a factor. How much weight transfer you need to level the tow vehicle comes in to play. The more weight you need to transfer, the tighter you’ll need to make the bars.

We used to tow with 3 1’2’ links showing but found with our 3/4 ton truck, I could loosen them by one link and still have enough sway control. I didn’t have to transfer a lot of weight because the 3/4 ton truck’s rear suspension could handle it.

You can learn a lot by going to a CAT scaler and doing the 3-pass method. Measure the front and rear wheel openings on the truck to see how much each adjustment affected the weight transfer. Also, the readings from your weigh tickets will reveal what’s really happening.

Good luck!
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Old 01-15-2025, 09:52 AM   #5
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IMO, one should go with the lowest bars that get the job done. Step one is to weigh the tongue of the trailer, not rely on the factory specs. (Airstream said mine was 903 when in reality it's 1125.)
So I'm over on the 1000# bars but way below needing the 1500# bars.
Next consideration is the trailer in motion, not just on the scale. With the rash of frame flex problems I want as soft a bar as practical. Too often bridge transitions or pre-cast sections leave me with "Humpty-humpty" up and down motion. Too stiff and that force gets transferred to the frame.
So, in my humble opinion, I'm going with the 1000# bars even though I'm over. I can make up the WD by subtracting a link, but still have the more flexible bars.
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Old 01-15-2025, 11:44 AM   #6
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I use the 1000# with my 25FB but I did make a couple of trips with the 750# while waiting for the heavier bars to arrive with no issues, using the 1000# bars with a 2500 Ram are sufficient, 1500# just seem to be too stiff for my application.
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Old 01-15-2025, 12:21 PM   #7
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this is a good article from Andy at CANAMRV in London ON
https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/post/hit...n-payload-486/

and

https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/post/hit...izing-hitches/
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Old 01-15-2025, 05:03 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ceparosa View Post
We are new AS owners with a 2017 International Signature 25. It came with the Blue Ox Sway Pro setup with BXW750 spring bars. Should I be using the BXW1000 bars instead?
What is your loaded for camping tongue weight and how much weight are you moving back to the steering axle?
The 750 lb bars that you have should move 500 lbs without a problem.

POI...We use 1000 lb bars to move 720lbs, with a 1200 lb tongue weight.

Bob
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Old 01-15-2025, 11:55 PM   #9
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I went to the 1000 pound on mine. They bent a lot less and are easier to hook up.
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Old 01-19-2025, 11:18 AM   #10
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Blue Ox Sway Bar

I’m traveling the States full time and have the blue ox sway bar with tension bars and it works fantastic
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Old 01-19-2025, 01:41 PM   #11
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Use what the dealer recommends.
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Old 01-19-2025, 02:03 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by ernesto62 View Post
Use what the dealer recommends.
If your talking about which WDH, AS now recommends Blue Ox. But if your talking about setting up your WDH, listening to the dealer on which WDH or how to set up, is not a blanket correct statement IMHO. Most dealers are not that "smart" on WDH, TV, and are more interested in the sale. Many here will agree on that, I am sure. You can find out a lot of good information here on the Forum, by watching Youtubes on WDH and Airstreams, by visiting the different websites of the WDH Mfg. also. The dealer/sales person is last person to take advise from unless you know he has experience in this area. Case in point, when I went to pick up my 2017 28', when new, I had experience and liked the Blue Ox Sway Pro set up from previous AS's I had owned. When I called Blue Ox techs, they recommended 1500lb bars which I had told the dealer in Portland prior to driving there from TX to pick up my unit. The dealer had included 1000lb bars, per his recommendation. He said my tongue weight was only 850lbs; I argued from experience with my 25's that it was likely over 1000lbs and asked him to get his sure scale. It pegged out at 1000lb, which surprised them. They set me up with 5.5 links showing on the sway bars, which were too loose and caused me to "porpoise" when I hit the highway shortly after I left the dealer, until I changed to 4.5 links showing. My actual scale weight came in at 1150lbs when I got to a cat scale. It was 4 years before I was able to get the links down to 3.5. Today, I still run with 3.5 links. Handles great.
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Old 01-19-2025, 02:33 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waninae39 View Post
we use 1000lb with our Fc 25FB
its best to use bars that are rated higher than the tongue weight
our TW was 750 lbs thus the 1000 lb bars work well

if too high , then there too stiff

it there too low i.e. less than TW, then they won't work very well
Do you currently own a TW? How do you like it? I just ordered one. They are adding the hitch in the sale. What’s the benefit of the 1000 over the 750?
Thx in advance
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Old 01-19-2025, 02:53 PM   #14
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"The dealer/sales person is last person to take advise from unless you know he has experience in this area." Very true. When we bought our previous SOB the dealer gave us 1000 pound bars for the Blue Ox Sway Pro. As measured at the Blue Ox factory later that year, the tongue weight was nearly 1,900 pounds. We got a set of 2,000 pound bars. The dealer also installed one of the brackets incorrectly.


I'm using the 1,000 pound bars on our Airstream. We don't have an accurate tongue weight (yet) but plan to get that when we head out in a couple of months. Since our trailer has a GVWR of 8,800 pounds, we ought to have a tongue weight of somewhere around 1,000 pounds. We're towing with a 2016 F350, so I suspect that I probably don't need much weight distributing, more sway control. I'll play around with it some as we start traveling in a month or six weeks.
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Old 01-19-2025, 03:30 PM   #15
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You might want to give this one a look:


https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/pro...ribution-hitch
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Old 01-19-2025, 03:33 PM   #16
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Whoops. Try this:


https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/pro...ribution-hitch
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Old 01-19-2025, 03:39 PM   #17
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You might think about doing away with the needlessly clunky and complex bars and chains setup and go with a simple and slick hydraulic system. Go to the website for B&W Hitches and check out the Continuum setup.
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Old 01-19-2025, 03:50 PM   #18
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The bars and chains are incredibly easy to use. Complete lash up with the blue ox takes around 5 minutes after you’ve done it a couple times. It’s a rock solid platform. Nothing complex about it. I’ve used the Blue ox Sway Pro and now use the Weigh Safe. Both are simple and effective.
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Old 01-20-2025, 10:48 AM   #19
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Thank you all for the comments. Very informative — thanks again for the insight!
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Old 01-20-2025, 01:11 PM   #20
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The bars and chains are incredibly easy to use. Complete lash up with the blue ox takes around 5 minutes after you’ve done it a couple times. It’s a rock solid platform. Nothing complex about it. I’ve used the Blue ox Sway Pro and now use the Weigh Safe. Both are simple and effective.
Agree; once you understand how to load/unload your Sway Pro bars on the Blue Ox using the power jack up front, it's pretty straight forward. I too can hook up in about 5 minuets tops. The earlier Blue Ox system came with a stamped metal wrench, which was terrible and dangerous, IMHO. I quickly switched to a 15" braker bar with socket and threw the BO wrench in my toolkit as back up....(I did forget my wrench on my bumper "once" while pulling out of a campground in WA...was glad I had the backup wrench!) Lesson learned; now I store the wrench in the Airboard rack I installed above my tanks in the tank cover, along with my gloves, 115-50A pigtail, and ball lub. (that lub is for the "hitch ball", by the way!)
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