Blue Ox tow bar question

[Rich W.]

Looking for any information on a discontinued Blue Ox tow bar model. It has a steel arms, and a large cast ball with 3 allen srews holding it together on an inner steel ball for a pivot point between the mount and arms. Hard to see the pivot point in the pic but thats the model.

If you’ve had any experiences with this type of tow bar, good or bad, I’d like to hear about it. I called Blue Ox and just got some general info but nothing specific although the tech said it was a good design, they never had any problems with it, and only discontinued it because “they are always looking for ways to improve their products”. So anything specific would be appreciated.

Thanks
Rich

 

[Neemer]

I have that model and have been using it for six-seven years. It’s been very reliable. 10K lbs capacity. Really well built and durable.

I sent it in to BO in ‘21 for refurb and the feedback I received was there was very little needing to be done to it.

 

[Rich W.]

It seems like an improvement over the two pivot point design, but they discontinued it for some reason, and there is probably more to it than what the tech said. I suspect this type was more expensive to manufacture.

 

[Gizmo]

I would do a google search for "BlueOx Tow Bar Failure" that might help you decide if you trust BlueOx. Read some of the replies on what they were told.

 

[Rich W.]

I did that (a little surprising and not all that flattering) but there were so many models it was hard to make a decision. Then I found the model # (BX7445 Aventa 10k lbs) and in the end didn’t like what I saw enough to use it.

But the price was right ($100), condition was excellent, year was 2014, the owner said he only used it 3-4 times which I could easily believe, but someone else really wanted it and I got the impression that he needed a deal on a tow bar a lot more than I did.

So I’ll keep using my 20 year old aluminum model for now and buy a new one before my next cross country trip.

 

[Magua]

That’s the model I have. It has been good for 5 years. Very little maintenance on it. I do a check on it twice a year. Clean and lube.

 

[Rich W.]

That’s the model I have. It has been good for 5 years. Very little maintenance on it. I do a check on it twice a year. Clean and lube.

The ball design made me nervous although thats one part of the system that there were no complaints about. Also most of the failed tow bars I saw were poorly maintained. One reviewer was upset because his tow bar was rusting….in Florida!

I took the reviews with a few grains of salt, but in the end snatching up a deal on a tow bar was far less important to me than to another camper. And he and his wife was quite appreciative.

This will also give me time to really shop for a good replacement - I’ll be looking for a 10k tow bar that will hook up to my BO mounts but it doesn’t necessarily have to be BO.

 

[Sand-dog]

Looking for any information on a discontinued Blue Ox tow bar model. It has a steel arms, and a large cast ball with 3 allen srews holding it together on an inner steel ball for a pivot point between the mount and arms. Hard to see the pivot point in the pic but thats the model.

If you’ve had any experiences with this type of tow bar, good or bad, I’d like to hear about it. I called Blue Ox and just got some general info but nothing specific although the tech said it was a good design, they never had any problems with it, and only discontinued it because “they are always looking for ways to improve their products”. So anything specific would be appreciated.

Thanks
Rich

View attachment 16433

Hey Rich I’ve use the blue ox for sometime feel very safe however it’s the square tube 2 ” the base plate I installed myself and uses metal pins which probably work better, definitely need some gusset welded onto the top for strength. See below

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

The ball design made me nervous although thats one part of the system that there were no complaints about. Also most of the failed tow bars I saw were poorly maintained. One reviewer was upset because his tow bar was rusting….in Florida!

I took the reviews with a few grains of salt, but in the end snatching up a deal on a tow bar was far less important to me than to another camper. And he and his wife was quite appreciative.

This will also give me time to really shop for a good replacement - I’ll be looking for a 10k tow bar that will hook up to my BO mounts but it doesn’t necessarily have to be BO.

We used a Blue Ox Aventa LX for about 10 years, with no issues. Had it serviced twice by Blue Ox at FMCA rallies. When we decided to replace it we went with the NSA Ready Brute Elite - they make clevises for pretty much every major tow bar and it works well.