base plate for toad is bent

Thanks everybody!!!!!
Blue Ox said not to bend it back & something about heating it up would not ber good.
It's only bent 1/4-1/2 inches.
It looks like the bolts fell out....so my fault....I didn't use Loctite red.
I can't believe it took 10 years for the bolts to fall off, they should have been rusted solid by now
What other base plate would you suggest?

tropical36 wrote:

Effy wrote:
Trying to follow this thread and somewhere it got really confusing. If I am following correctly; OP had bent baseplate, the assumption was that it was a part failure, Blue OX is offering to replace, in the meantime OP realizes that perhaps it's not a failure at all but that bolts may have backed out - this would mean user error from not checking the bolts. Unclear as to whether the OP has updated Blue Ox on this or not.

The rest of the thread seems like a lot of noise. Personally I think something as critical as a bent baseplate towing your car, using some of the suggestions here to bend it back is a huge mistake. I have worked with metal a lot especially steel and bending it compromises the structural integrity. Bending it back makes it worse, let alone any cracks that may have happened in the process - especially if there are welds.

You could take it to a metal shop, but by the time it's either bent or cut and re-welded, ground and painted I am not sure you'd save a lot of money or be any better off from a safety perspective.

Amazing how folks that spend so much money on RV's and cars and towing and everything else that goes with the RV life, get so cheap on things that can have such an impact on safety. I don't think safety is the time to get cheap.

I believe the OP said that it was $430 plus labor to replace, so doesn't look like B. Ox is offering anything. Also that the bolts were sheared off, so.........again, my suggestion would be to replace, but with something else other than what he has now.

No, per the OP about 5 posts ago:

Tropical36......Thanks
But I'm starting to think it might be my fault, at least in part.
I managed to recover 2 of the nuts from inside the cars frame.
Neither had the remains of a bolt, that rules out sheared bolts.
Now I need to figure out if I can bend the base plate back up.
I'm sure I can't do it while its on the car.

Effy wrote:
Trying to follow this thread and somewhere it got really confusing. If I am following correctly; OP had bent baseplate, the assumption was that it was a part failure, Blue OX is offering to replace, in the meantime OP realizes that perhaps it's not a failure at all but that bolts may have backed out - this would mean user error from not checking the bolts. Unclear as to whether the OP has updated Blue Ox on this or not.

The rest of the thread seems like a lot of noise. Personally I think something as critical as a bent baseplate towing your car, using some of the suggestions here to bend it back is a huge mistake. I have worked with metal a lot especially steel and bending it compromises the structural integrity. Bending it back makes it worse, let alone any cracks that may have happened in the process - especially if there are welds.

You could take it to a metal shop, but by the time it's either bent or cut and re-welded, ground and painted I am not sure you'd save a lot of money or be any better off from a safety perspective.

Amazing how folks that spend so much money on RV's and cars and towing and everything else that goes with the RV life, get so cheap on things that can have such an impact on safety. I don't think safety is the time to get cheap.

I believe the OP said that it was $430 plus labor to replace, so doesn't look like B. Ox is offering anything. Also that the bolts were sheared off, so.........again, my suggestion would be to replace, but with something else other than what he has now.

Trying to follow this thread and somewhere it got really confusing. If I am following correctly; OP had bent baseplate, the assumption was that it was a part failure, Blue OX is offering to replace, in the meantime OP realizes that perhaps it's not a failure at all but that bolts may have backed out - this would mean user error from not checking the bolts. Unclear as to whether the OP has updated Blue Ox on this or not.

The rest of the thread seems like a lot of noise. Personally I think something as critical as a bent baseplate towing your car, using some of the suggestions here to bend it back is a huge mistake. I have worked with metal a lot especially steel and bending it compromises the structural integrity. Bending it back makes it worse, let alone any cracks that may have happened in the process - especially if there are welds.

You could take it to a metal shop, but by the time it's either bent or cut and re-welded, ground and painted I am not sure you'd save a lot of money or be any better off from a safety perspective.

Amazing how folks that spend so much money on RV's and cars and towing and everything else that goes with the RV life, get so cheap on things that can have such an impact on safety. I don't think safety is the time to get cheap.

Pirate wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

cdl2 wrote:
I got the bolts & nuts from Blue Ox, & finally removed the grill cover & the bumper cover.
The left side(drivers side) of the base plate is bent down.
I tied to push it up & get the holes to line up.
No luck with that.
A new base plate is $430.

Ya gotta be kidding me. It's bent and they actually have their hand out for $430, when they should be giving you the #430, so you can buy something worth having. Am I just imagining things or is it actually true of most all tow bar and base plate failures, I've read about, involve Blue Ox?
And then, I keep hearing that they are such a good company, because they stand by their product and will readily replace defective items. HELLO!.....and having a bullet proof product is what one should be looking for, not one that repeatedly fails and gets replaced with the exact same part.

BLue Ox makes great products. Why should they replace this due to install error? I've been here for years and can count on one hand (maybe) the number of BLue Ox failures.

And how many DEMCO or other brand failures, have you heard of and wouldn't begin to know, how you could possibly bend mine? Even one, is one too many and especially if it might be yours. Also, what's with this long bar that I see on a Blue Ox and one that must be stored somewhere, if you don't want to be carrying it around on the front of your toad?
As for having a toad with a frame, most certainly if you can and with mine, it doesn't just bolt to the frame, but is in behind the bumper plates, before being bolted, so technically, even with broken bolts it can't just pull off straightaway and with side bolts, as well it can't come out from behind the frame plates.

Using a toad with unibody construction is a typical starting point that leads to unsafe conditions. The sheet metal used to form the body flexes at base plate attachment points and work hardens leading to failure. A breakaway break system is a Band-Aid on a bad situation. Purchase a toad with a real frame to bolt your base plate on and avoid most of your breakaway problems

tropical36 wrote:

cdl2 wrote:
I got the bolts & nuts from Blue Ox, & finally removed the grill cover & the bumper cover.
The left side(drivers side) of the base plate is bent down.
I tied to push it up & get the holes to line up.
No luck with that.
A new base plate is $430.

Ya gotta be kidding me. It's bent and they actually have their hand out for $430, when they should be giving you the #430, so you can buy something worth having. Am I just imagining things or is it actually true of most all tow bar and base plate failures, I've read about, involve Blue Ox?
And then, I keep hearing that they are such a good company, because they stand by their product and will readily replace defective items. HELLO!.....and having a bullet proof product is what one should be looking for, not one that repeatedly fails and gets replaced with the exact same part.

BLue Ox makes great products. Why should they replace this due to install error? I've been here for years and can count on one hand (maybe) the number of BLue Ox failures.

wildmanbaker wrote:
I guess I know my place now.

No, you had a good point but towing 3-5K lbs at 65mph should call for no compromise on safety. Your belief is great for the tractor or something like that.

cdl2 wrote:
Tropical36......Thanks
But I'm starting to think it might be my fault, at least in part.
I managed to recover 2 of the nuts from inside the cars frame.
Neither had the remains of a bolt, that rules out sheared bolts.
Now I need to figure out if I can bend the base plate back up.
I'm sure I can't do it while its on the car.

Can you possibly use a different brand base plate and get some adapters to fit your tow bars?
I just can't imagine my Demco base plate doing anything, other than to pull the Jeep's frame apart into two pieces, maybe.

Sonora......what about a automobile frame straightening shop?