Blue Ox Sway Pro Quetion

I have had bo issues or problems with my Blue Ox set up w/1500 lb bars. Have towed about 10,000 miles with this set up and not one problem what so ever.

Very unscientific observation, but it seems to me that hitching and unhitching my Blue Ox is easier and takes less time than my friend's Equalizer. Plus, as mentioned, it also seems to be cleaner since the grease is contained in the Blue Ox head. I've moved from trailer to trailer and TV to TV and it was easy in both cases. The only thing I needed to do was upgrade from 1000lb bars to 1500lb bars due to the increased tongue weight of the new TT. The dealer flipped the head over from the old TV to the new one and got it set up in minutes. The Blue Ox is also essentially silent both in forward and reverse. I'm very happy with it.

Good call.

It's the caster angle that make the difference. I'm not an expert and this is how it's been explained to me from Blue Ox and others.

The caster works just like it does on a vehicle. Steering is very unstable with negative or neutral caster at the wheels. The steering wheel will not self center and after turning the corner you'd have to turn the steering wheel back to go in a straight line. At high speeds the wheels will wobble and make the vehicle unstable. So cars are built with positive caster. This forward projection causes the wheels to self center and become more stable at speed since they now want to maintain a straight line.

From what I understand the angle that's built into the hitch head creates the caster effect. The caster angle points rearward towards the trailer. This creates positive caster for the trailer. The bars and the caster work together to create a self centering force (sway control). It's what causes the trailer to want to maintain a straight line. Other trunnion hitches have less to no caster in the hitch head, so they have to rely on something else for self centering. Like the cams in the Reese Straight Line or a friction bar in others. The Blue Ox does the same thing without the additional parts.

Some say that you can fiddle with other hitch heads to create the same caster effect by adjusting head tilt all the way down. The Blue Ox has it all built in. Take it out of the box, put it on, and you're done.

A little bit off topic but can anybody explain the theory behind how the Blue Ox Sway Pro prevents sway? It looks just like any other torsion bar type WD hitch to me.

Mike, I posted install instructions earlier and they have a link on their site to a video. Easy install that they claim can be done in 30 minutes which is not far off.

I think you will enjoy the smoother ride as well.

Decided on the Blue Ox Sway Pro. Just ordered it. Thought I might have found it here locally at the Camping World, but they'd have to order it. Figured I could do that easier and cheaper. Should be here Weds, good lord willing and the creek don't rise.

At the end of the day, I think both the Equalizer and the Blue Ox are great setups.

Mike

Walaby wrote:
Got a note back from Tech support just now. Like we suspected the hitch will provide up to 10" rise OR DROP from zero. That's not how their website reads, but what I was hoping was the case.

Now need to finalize a decision. I think I'd be happy with either one. Will see.

Mike

There you go, an answer from their tech support on Saturday, can't get much better help than that.

Got a note back from Tech support just now. Like we suspected the hitch will provide up to 10" rise OR DROP from zero. That's not how their website reads, but what I was hoping was the case.

Now need to finalize a decision. I think I'd be happy with either one. Will see.

Mike

My 1500 came with a 7 hole receiver. Depending on how you flip it there are 4 hitch head positions below or above the receiver. If you need one of the other shanks, they'll FedEX you one along with a return label to send the other one back. The hitch head needs to be at to 1" higher than the height of the leveled coupler. You may be able to get enough drop out of the standard one.