Blue Ox mounts slipped

[krisinjersey]

We took delivery of our new Shamrock 233S on Wednesday. While at the dealership they installed the new Blue Ox Sway Control/Weight Distributing hitch assembly. We had negotiated the unit and install into the purchase.
The ride home was fine. The Expedition pulled the new unit without issue and the interstate was busy the whole way home and with big rigs all around us, we didn't have any sway issues.
When we got the unit home, family wanted to come over and explore,, and the guys wanted to see the new hitch. Taking a closer look, the paint on the inside of the tongue rails shows a row of circles where it appears the mounts "walked" themselves forward during the tow.
I am plenty capable of adjusting them to match the manufacturers instructions, so I'm just looking for some feedback.
Has this happened to any of you? Should I contact the dealer and to what end? The dealer is 3 hours south of us, so dragging it back down to tighten 2 bolts is not something I'm interested in burning the gas for.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[SaskCampers]

Sounds to me like the bolts we not tight enough. Maybe they backed out. I would consider locktite if you suspect that. We have been running a Blue Ox since 2010 with no issues and have had both the old snap up brackets and the rotary latches.

[windsurfdog]

Haven't seen anything like that on my BO setup. Almost sounds like the dealer had them set too far back. Thinking of the forces in play, I would think a well adjusted system would put downward force on the mount with very little if any forward/backward force. Will be interesting to see the measurements of where the mounts were set by the dealer compared to where they are now compared to spec. Please let us know.

[krisinjersey]

Mounts are both currently (post slip) at 29.5" back from the center of the coupler. If I set them at the original marks (set up from the dealer) I'm at 31.5" back from the center of the coupler. Either way, Blue Ox has told me to move the mounts to the factory recommended starting point of 29" back and set them and verify the chains are straight vertical. If they aren't, to relieve tension and move them to where they would be vertical. Once I find the correct placement, to relieve tension, tighten the bolts to 40 ft/lbs, apply loc tight to the jam nut and tighten it. BO tech support informed me to check the mounts at every stop, when I do my walk around, to ensure they are not moving. They also said the latches moving is not a common occurrence, but the set up being incorrect from the dealer is not uncommon.
I'm a manufacturers rep (I sell pool equipment) so I know all about issues like this with our stuff. That doesn't make the fact that BO hears about these being set up incorrectly by the dealer network on a frequent interval very comforting. But that's a rant for another day.

[CNYCamper]

Originally Posted by krisinjersey

We took delivery of our new Shamrock 233S on Wednesday.
Has this happened to any of you? Should I contact the dealer and to what end? The dealer is 3 hours south of us, so dragging it back down to tighten 2 bolts is not something I'm interested in burning the gas for.
Thanks in advance for the help.

Kris -

I would contact the dealer to make them aware and include your conversation with Blue Ox. Even though you're going to do the work yourself, the dealer should be advised that their staff needs some re-training so this doesn't happen to someone else. If I were a dealer I would want to know this; I would also be sending you a gift certificate for your trouble.
Congratulations on the new RV.

Lar

[uhduh camping]

Just a heads up. Make sure to raise the tongue jack high enough to unload the spring pressure every time when loading or unloading. It could be dangerous otherwise.

Back to your question. No brackets have never moved. With truck hitched and rig in straight line. I hung the chain with very little pressure so I could move bracket to get chain vertical. Then simply tighten bracket. No measuring necessary.

[wahoonc]

I have had brackets on several different brands walk along the rails. In every case it was dealer installed. After reinstalling them according to the MANUFACTURERS directions all has been fine. And the rig rode a lot better. I have no clue why the dealers can't seem to get things right in so many cases. The last trailer I bought they installed a 10,000# WDH on a trailer with a GVW of 3800#! Not at all amused with them.

Follow Blue Ox's recommendation.

Aaron

[rthomaslyons]

My hitch mounting brackets haven't moved and I've used them on two trailers but I did have a sway bar pop out of the hitch head a couple of times and that was disconcerting. I was on extremely rough roads at the time and creeping along at about 30 mph so no damage has been done. With the newer shorter Flagstaff I noticed less stability on the highway with winds and trucks passing and found by really cranking the chains another notch or two did the trick.

[thebrakeman]

With chains, it makes perfect sense that they would walk forward, given they were installed 2.5" too far back. They likely took their measurements from some edge/surface on the head, rather than from the center of the ball.
...or they took no measurements at all.

[TXFolkie]

Hmm, are you sure the dealer didn't just tighten them at a few different spots before they figured out where they went? It seems improbable for a mount to walk forward under that spring tension that bends those bars. If anything was to slip it seems like the bars would try to straighten themselves out and the mounts would walk back.

[windsurfdog]

Kris, with the instructions being as clear and concise as they are, there is no excuse for the dealer to have missed by 2.5".

Reading is your friend.

Sounds like you have adjusted them perfectly now. Enjoy your BO experience!

[FrankG]

I to left a dealer with a new TT and BO hitch with misaligned chain holders. Yep, read the instructions raised the hitch 3 inches and realigned the chain holders. Took it to the Home Depot level parking lot and did all the measuring to find the proper chain link to maintain a level hook-up. What a difference in handling.

The dealer I worked with pumps out 8 or so units a day. I really thought they would get it right, oh well. BTW the TT is flawless right out of the box they got something right.