base plate for toad is bent
I'm towing a 2000 Chevy Tracker I have Blue Ox base plate & tow bar. The left side attachment tab is bent down I have no idea how this happened Any idea's how this happened & what I can do to fix ...
Forum Discussion
tropical36 wrote:Waiting on you to eat your words against Blue Ox as OP clearly stated it was install fault. What say you?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.
