Good and Bad about Blue Ox Sway Pro
I just purchased a 2013 Cougar 32RBK travel trailer and I am towing it with a 2006 Ford F350 Crew Cab With the 6.0 Powerstroke. I am looking at getting the Blue Ox Sway Pro and would like to here the ...
Forum Discussion
OK I FINALLY SEE the affect as I was reading an old email from one of their engineers.
He stated this new head offers supperior sway control and now I see why. It finally just dawned on me and it's very simple but very effective.
First as mentioned, the spring bars bend much more than any other makers bars and Blue Ox took advantage of this.
They angled their head more than other heads because they can get away with it because the bars will bow, while other bars would be straighter interfereing with ground clearance and the such.
The steep angle, which is greater than the Reese trunnion, Equalizer brand and even Blue Oxs old head, allows the bar to swing up when pushed outward and load more, putting more push on that side, while the other bar swings inward and down, putting less force than normal, allowing the other side to push toward it, in that direction.
This force isn't done by other system because they don't have the steep head downward tilt that the Blue Ox head has, which is allowed by the bars ability to bend up and not have inteference issues.
The older head didn't have this steep downward tilt but relied on friction bolts in the head to control sway.
As the engineer pointed out to me, they wanted to do away with the friction bolts as they caused 'dog tracking' in his terminology.
I guess I didn't clearly understand it the first time I read it because I didn't realize it was the same tilt other makers use, but at a more extreme angle coupled with a spring bar that will bow to allow ground clearances.
The old head would also bend the bars BUT the head tilt angle wasn't as severe so the new system will likely have more chain links between the chain bracket and the bar. However with the new rotary latch, it's not as pronounced as the rotary latch limits the chain's motion, which in itself contributes to additional sway control.
I think I'll be purchasing this system. :)
He stated this new head offers supperior sway control and now I see why. It finally just dawned on me and it's very simple but very effective.
First as mentioned, the spring bars bend much more than any other makers bars and Blue Ox took advantage of this.
They angled their head more than other heads because they can get away with it because the bars will bow, while other bars would be straighter interfereing with ground clearance and the such.
The steep angle, which is greater than the Reese trunnion, Equalizer brand and even Blue Oxs old head, allows the bar to swing up when pushed outward and load more, putting more push on that side, while the other bar swings inward and down, putting less force than normal, allowing the other side to push toward it, in that direction.
This force isn't done by other system because they don't have the steep head downward tilt that the Blue Ox head has, which is allowed by the bars ability to bend up and not have inteference issues.
The older head didn't have this steep downward tilt but relied on friction bolts in the head to control sway.
As the engineer pointed out to me, they wanted to do away with the friction bolts as they caused 'dog tracking' in his terminology.
I guess I didn't clearly understand it the first time I read it because I didn't realize it was the same tilt other makers use, but at a more extreme angle coupled with a spring bar that will bow to allow ground clearances.
The old head would also bend the bars BUT the head tilt angle wasn't as severe so the new system will likely have more chain links between the chain bracket and the bar. However with the new rotary latch, it's not as pronounced as the rotary latch limits the chain's motion, which in itself contributes to additional sway control.
I think I'll be purchasing this system. :)
