Help with Blue Ox WDH

bucsplace · 08-21-2012, 11:23 PM

Has anyone expereinced problems with the Blue Ox Sway Pro. I had one that was defective. The bolts to regulate sway stripped after two trips and would stay tight creating a white knuckle drive all the way home. When the unit was returned and replaced it came with a new "old" style hitch that did not have the bolts along with a one page press release that Blue Ox was going back to the tilted head design and scrapping the sway bolts. On my first trip with the new "old" hitch I was all over the road. I pack very light as it was a short trip so I am sure it did not have anything to do with the packing weight. I have a Palomino 29QBS-K. My TV is a Ford F-150 Ecoboost with towing package and 3.73. I have an appointment at the dealership on Thursday. I think I want to change to the Reese Dual Cam. I have read many of the posts on this forum over the past three days about WDH. Just curious if others have had problems with Blue Ox.

Rsgtivr6 · 08-21-2012, 11:54 PM

I'd check out the Equil-i-zer brand hitch or Fastway E2 equivelent friction bars. They both get rave reviews and are easy to use. If I had not got the Curt round bar thrown in w/installation, I would have gone with the Equil-i-zer.
The Reese Dual Cam is a good system as well. Just tossing the other heavy hitters into the mix for consideration.

great white · 08-22-2012, 04:06 AM

I use a husky centerline wd hitch. Very happy with it. Similar to equ-I-liser design.

Then there's Hensley and pro pride.

Many options if you're looking at replacement...

bucsplace · 08-22-2012, 08:48 PM

Thanks I've read a ton on this forum about other WDH. Really curious about other 's experiences with the Blue Ox Sway Pro. Not much recent material out there on that hitch.

slipf18 · 08-22-2012, 09:35 PM

We tow our Surveyor SP-240 using a Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH. Works perfectly and eliminates or mitigates all sway. If you are referring to the bolts which adjust the friction on the WD sway bars, be aware that they should only be tightened with a torque wrench. The bolts are set at 40 ft. lbs. at the factory, and you can tighten them up to around 90-100 ft. lbs. We have torqued ours to 50 ft. lbs. and it works just fine for us. The Blue Ox is a very robust and well designed product. It WILL work if your have the correct set of bars installed for the weight of your TT and have set up your hitch properly. Good luck!

bucsplace · 08-23-2012, 06:13 AM

Thanks they have recently eliminated the fiction control sway bolts and have gone back to their old design of just a tilted head. I liked my hitch with the friction bolts but when one snapped and stripped Blue Ox replaced it with the new "old" tilted hitch. Hasn't worked well since.

Big Dawg · 08-23-2012, 06:32 AM

I use the Blue Ox, and I have not had a issue yet. It works great for me.

punkaccountant · 08-23-2012, 07:43 AM

There is a pretty lengthy write-up on the new design of the Blue Ox hitch on RV.net. I would check it out as it may answer your question. Look in the Towing sub-forum for the thread titled "Getting Rid of my Dual Cam System." the relevant info is a couple pages into that thread.

mhartzel · 08-23-2012, 07:52 AM

The only "problem" I've had with my SwayPro so far is that one of the friction control bolts got a little loose. Other than that, I've experienced no problems or sway even with large semi-trucks passing at high speed.

punkaccountant · 08-23-2012, 08:19 AM

I think the OP's issue is that Blue Ox changed the design of their hitch. He had their older style but when it needed serviced it was replaced with their newer style which no one has any experience with yet.

MtnGuy · 08-23-2012, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by punkaccountant

There is a pretty lengthy write-up on the new design of the Blue Ox hitch on RV.net. I would check it out as it may answer your question. Look in the Towing sub-forum for the thread titled "Getting Rid of my Dual Cam System." the relevant info is a couple pages into that thread.

GASP........I can't believe you made reference to "that other forum" !!!

Here is the link: RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Towing: Getting Rid of my Dual Cam system

mhartzel · 08-23-2012, 08:32 AM

From what I just read regarding the "new" Blue Ox hitch, their research found that the hitch head angle had less to do with the sway prevention than the tension on the bars. This was with the newer rotating latches they have. The hitch head angle is now a fixed angle and the spring bar heads are assembled at an angle similar to the caster of your front wheels allowing the bars to "self-center" and reduce dog-tracking.

bucsplace · 08-23-2012, 11:00 AM

I had my appointment today. I was all set to have them replace the Blue Ox with a Reese Dual Cam. The dealership that installed the hitch said the ball was set to low. Their mistake - they apologized but it sure doesn't instill confidence in them. They raised the hitch ball height. I took it for a test drive with them and was able to drive without any sway. I had trucks passing me and didn't notice any sway. I was able to make a quick lane change at 75 mph with little to no sway. The only problem now is that I get quite a bit if bucking up and down. I leave for s trip tomorrow that requires a long drive do we will see. I am going to call Blue Ox today. Dealer said the bucking was due to height the ball needed to at for sway control. I am the sway is eliminated but the bucking may be an issue. Jury still out on the hitch but I will say it is the easiest hitch to hook up no matter how the TV and TT are situated. No noise, difficulty backing up, or making sharp turns with the system. Thanks for the posts especially the one leading me to RV.net!!!

bucsplace · 09-13-2012, 09:53 PM

Still working on setting my blue ox sway pro hitch up. I fianlly have it so there is little to no sway which is nice. Still have buckung up and down but the blue ox rep just set me new bars 750 lbs. that will hopefully address that issue. Despite my initial concerns this is the easist hitch to hook up, no issues backing up and can make sharp turns forward and backward. I will say that blue ox customer service has been outstanding. The blue ox rep has been great. Can't wait to try the new bars and hopefully all will go well!!! It has been refreashing to see a company go out of their way to make sure everything is just right!!!!!

SaskCampers · 09-14-2012, 07:08 PM

We drove almost 4000 miles this summer with our Blue Ox and have a total of over 12,000 miles with it and I would not trade it for anything save for maybe a Pro Pride or Hensley.

bucsplace · 09-25-2012, 04:05 PM

What is your TT and TV? What weight bars are you using?

ScottnKimmer · 09-25-2012, 07:03 PM

Have also have one with many thousands of miles. Trips vary from very short to many hours and miles. We back in without disconnecting and we turn as tight as possible without issue. We used to have a minor amount of bounce but that was due to the trucks suspension not being as strong as was needed and it only happened on serious dips in the road. We only ever felt uncomfortable behind tanker trucks and their cylinder shape. No other wind or road condition has caused us to be fearful. It is the tilt head design and it sounds like that is the one that works.

It sounds like they are working with you to correct your issues and get you towing solid as a rock.

SaskCampers · 09-26-2012, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bucsplace

What is your TT and TV? What weight bars are you using?

At the time we had our 2008 Ram 2500 4x4 Megacab and our trailer is a 34 1/2' V-Lite with abt 800lbs tongue weight. I am running the 1000lb bars. Our hitch has the old style very heavy bars. WHen we first got it we had 1500lb bars and had some bounce issue but the dealer traded us straight across for the 1000lb ones, also had to weld a small extension the the bottom of the shank to drop the head to the lowest holes possible as the Dodge sat very high at the receiver. All has been good since.

You may also like: