Blue Ox Tow Bar
A little over a month ago we went to the dealer to have our new tow bar system installed on our coach.
We expected to be at the dealer for only two days and we wound up being stranded there for a few weeks due to a series of accidents. A punctured oil pan followed by a damaged awning. We are still waiting on the parts for the awning and we hope to be on our way as scheduled for November 1st although we did leave the dealer last week to spend a few weeks shivering in the cold at Sherkston Shores.
Winter is coming in early this year.
I put a video together on our tow bar system. It shows how to connect the tow bar, the car guard and the supplementary braking system.
I have put a few hours against the tow bar system since it was installed and all works well. The Lincoln tracks perfectly behind the coach and I am pleased with the Blue Ox product so far. It seems very well engineered and it is very straightforward to use.
I always put the power cable and the cable for the breakaway pin OVER the tow bars. That way they can’t droop down and get snagged on some road debris.
Hi Ken,
That is consistent with the product demo by Blue Ox on Andy’s YouTube channel over at Gadget Guru: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCW7c8CSws0 (see about 11:45 in the video where the Blue Ox rep places the lighting cable over the tow bar).
I had mentioned Andy’s video to the tech who walked me through the installation process. The tech gave me his rationale: under keeps the lighting cable and breakaway cable clear of the tow bar.
I’ve sent an email out to Blue Ox to get their perspective and I strongly suspect it will be over and not under.
I received a reply from Blue Ox and this was their recommendation:
We only recommend that the breakaway cable be above the tow bar. The safety cables and electrical cables should be under the tow bar that way they avoid the latch handles on the tow bar. The chance that either the safety cables or electrical cable would cause the latch handles to push down and unlock the leg while towing is very small but there is a chance. The breakaway cable is small enough where it doesn’t have enough weight to affect the latch handle.
Recommend you replace those removable tow bar attachment cotter pins and the hitch pin with locks as soon as you can. Why? Read this post: https://wheelingit.us/2016/10/28/our-first-rv-accident-tow-comes-loose-in-nc/.
Thanks Van!
I’ve followed Nina and Paul for many years and had read that post about their accident with their toad when it first happened. There are different perspectives on using hitch pin locks on tow bars (see this discussion: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/new-essex-burns-up-416626.html). Either way, it is important to always check the tow bar to ensure that it is good to go before starting out and after any stops along the way.