My Blue Ox Sway Pro Experience (Bad, but now resolved)

[freymann]

I bought a 19 foot trailer about 10 years ago and it came with the basic Reese Weight distribution bars and the anti sway bar and did the job.

We later upgraded to a heavier 21 foot travel trailer and brought the Reese system with us. I guess it worked ok.

Last year we upgraded again to a 26 foot TT after upgrading our tow vehicle (2008 Ford F150 XLT Crew CAb). The Reese system moved with us but I didn't feel it was doing a good job with the 26 footer so I decided, after changing TV again (to a 2010 Dodge Ram Quad Cab) that I still wasn't happy with the way the TT towed so I was going to buy a new weight distribution system with anti sway.

I had decided on looking at the Husky Centre Line, Eqaulizer, and Blue Ox Sway Pro.

I called a dealer that was recommended to me, Peterborough RV and discussed my 3 choices. Rick said he doesn't recommend the Husky at all, said they prefer the Equalizer and when I mentioned Blue Ox he said they have never installed one but have only heard great things about the company. My friend has the Blue Ox, same truck, and a 28 foot TT, so I decided to go with Blue Ox.

I arranged a time when we were camping in Peterborough to have the old Reese system removed and the new Blue Ox installed at the end of one our camping trip in the area. Peterborough RV said this was the first Blue Ox system they have installed in 17 years of being in the business.

The tech seemed to have issues with the driver's side rotating latch coming undone and rotating and dropping the chains and bar when he lowered the rig to check for level. I witnessed this twice during the installation. This was a Monday and the tech didn't seem to be a good mood at all that day.

After more than an hour I am told everything is fine and I can leave. No instructions provided.

It towed home very well and I felt pleased.

Get home and try to remove the thing? I end up with cuts and bruises and **** near a broken arm.

I find their rotating latches to be a real problem. Instead of facing the trailer frame, where you have lots of room and lots of leverage, you have to position your body facing the front of your trailer to get leverage to rotate the latch. On the other side you have to face the rear of your truck.

The little "wrench" they provide to rotate the latch is small and awkward and rides too close to the bar and trailer frame. It can be difficult to have your hand around the wrench and rotate it because there's no room for your hand when you rotate past the bar or trailer frame. This thing requires a good half rotation or more to lock or unlock, so it's pretty difficult to spin it without finding your hand or arms dangerously close to something.

Even raising the trailer and TV didn't seem to help out much here. Who wants to risk injury every time you hook up and disconnect?

Ok, so I figure maybe it's just me. When we leave on our next trip I am careful to try and not position the wrench where I can't get hurt. Easier said then done.

It was a struggle and was scary trying to work with this system and not injure yourself. Wearing gloves helps prevent srapes and scratches.

I made it through a couple trips but then found out when backing up, the driver's side latch would rotate and come undone, causing the bar to hit the ground, and if on grass or dirt, it would embed itself and you would have to drive the truck forward and have somebody pulling on the chains to get it lose and over far enough that you could remove it. Not too handy when on a busy path.

I called Peterborough RV a couple of times to let Rick know I wasn't very happy with the system. I suggested they remove it and install the Equalizer system instead. Rick said NO as the warehouse won't accept used returns. When I explained the above issues to him all he said was he would call Blue Ox and see what they advise. Oh boy.

After 2 days of waiting I called Blue Ox myself and they decided to ship me replacement latches. When I asked for a refund they said that was up to Peterborough RV not them.

The new rotating latches arrive and Fed-Ex wanted $60 in import fees. I refused delivery as why would I want to spend more money on a system I don't like?!

I call Blue Ox back. Now they tell me if I had made the payment they would have paid me back. Oh well. So they agree to send another.

In the meantime I continue to struggle with putting it on and taking it off and it continues to pop off the driver's side bar when I back up. I advise Peterborough RV but my concerns seem to fall upon deaf ears.

Second replacement package arrives, no extra fees from Fed-Ex. I remove the driver's side rotating latch and place it next to the new one. I can see right away that the locking pin is not doing the correct job on the original. It barely goes into the hole! Glad it never rotated while we were driving down the highway!

I install the replacement, call Blue Ox to tell them what I discovered, ask them to speak to Peterborough RV.

We just did our last trip last weekend and I'm still struggling with this system. It is not pleasant to hook up and even worse to take off.

I emailed Connor at Blue Ox to state how unsatisfied I am with this thing and I print a copy and write a short letter to Peterborough RV stating how disappointed I am with them, the dealer, for not standing behind what they sell.

My goal was to upgrade to the latest and greatest and instead I am stuck with a system that is dangerous and difficult to use.

Based on my experience, I cannot recommend the Blux Ox Sway Pro system and I certainly do not recommend Peterborough RV either.

I don't have $1100.00 CDN to throw away again but when I do have some bucks I will have Blue Ox system removed and something else installed in its place.

In the meantime I can only cross my fingers and hope I don't hurt myself when hooking up.

What a huge disappointment.

[lots2seeinmyrv]

wowens79 wrote:
Great to hear that Blue Ox took care of you!!! Make me feel good about my purchase of one.

Really glad that your issue is fixed!

x2...we are very happy with our Blue Ox. Glad the OP received so much insight and input on this forum to resolve this issue along with the excellent customer service from Blue Ox.

[Acdii]

Aside from all the bickering, and finger pointing, I found this thread useful. First and foremost, trust but verify comes to mind with dealers. I have dealt with Ford on several occasions, and trust me, mechanics are nothing more than paid wrench jockeys now. Very few of the new breed know how to troubleshoot without the great cloud computer telling them where to go. The same holds true for RV dealers. They are assemblers, they basically pull the pieces out of the box and bolt them together, regardless of if they are done correctly or not. It is up to us to verify they did it correctly.

I ran into the same issue with my trailer when I first towed it home. I was under the assumption the dealer knew what they were doing and knew what the trailers weight was since that is their job, to sell and hookup trailers. I was wrong. My drive home was a handful and I thought "what the hell did I get into" and found out after getting it home, and reviewing all the dealer did, then getting the manual out for my 10+ year old hitch, that the guy who hooked it up was an idiot. The ball was too high, so there was NO weight on the bars. After taking it all apart, taking all the measurements and putting it all back together correctly, now it works perfectly. Its an old Husky round bar system that pulls my Coleman 274BH just fine. I added a single friction sway bar to it and sway is no longer an issue, no more porpoising, just nice level towing. When a cross wind hits, the entire rig moves, and I doubt that either of the two mentioned systems would prevent that.

At first I thought I had to wrong bars and almost made the mistake of purchasing heavier bars for my hitch, and had I done so, it would have had a negative effect. What I did was buy a cheap $9 bathroom scale from wallyworld, cut a couple foot long pieces of copper pipe, and screwed two 7' long 2 x 4's together and weighed my loaded trailers tongue, and found it fell well under the weight of my existing bars. In my case I had the correct hitch, it was just incorrectly setup. In the OP's case, not only was it incorrectly setup, it had the wrong bars. What I find disturbing is that the RV dealer doesn't have a tongue scale. You would think it would be a standard tool in their inventory considering they sell hitches and would need to know the actual tongue weight in order to sell the proper hitch.

What everyone can take away from this thread, know the tongue weight, and make darn sure the installer did the job properly. Two things I did, I took a regular construction level and placed it on the floor of the trailer and leveled it, then installed bubble levels on the side and front. Then I was able to get the proper measurements for the tongue height. I also made a simple tongue scale to get the actual weight.

So when a n00b (or anyone for that matter) goes in to get a hitch installed, make sure the dealer does A). level the trailer and B). weighs the tongue. If they don't do both, seek another installer. If the OP's dealer had done those two items, he would have been a happy camper, no pun intended.

[jus2shy]

Sound Guy, these items may be common sense to those that have been around trailers and automobiles for most of their life, but look into all the owners who can't even maintain their own personal automobiles, let alone actually bring them into a dealership to be properly serviced (and hence rely on the expertise of a dealership to recommend the right things for them). Some people are like this. just read This thread on reddit to see the stuff mechanics have to put up with on a day to day basis.

The OP was a cut above and took matters into their own hands to resolve the mystery, and the hitch vendor also stepped up to provide support. Apparently this has been a good teaching moment for the OP and this thread will continue to exist to be a teaching moment for those that choose to read this stuff (Note: Those that choose to read this stuff). Most people wouldn't take the extra effort to make things right or do thorough research in the first place, they would just acquiesce that "Well I guess this is how it's supposed to be cuz the experts said so". Many people fall into that trap. I'm not making excuses, but we do need to acknowledge that most people won't put in the effort to truly understand something if it works well enough for them. Hell, the Glen Jackson bridge was plugged up a few weeks back because someone's travel trailer became detached and blocked 3 out of 4 lanes of southbound traffic. Guess that owner should had known better, but the event still happened... People....

[SoundGuy]

TomG2 wrote:
Not sure why you think you need to end the thread, unless you simply want to get the last word. I think we have all learned something here and there may still be something more to be gained from your experience. Maybe not.

The OP PM'd me instructing me to "give it a rest". Unfortunately, he's missing the point that on a public forum we're all here to learn through the process of discussion. Apparently he doesn't agree and wants to end it. 🙂

In another post Hawkeye-8 said - "Others have commented about not knowing your weights. I would bet a nice dinner that if a accurate poll was done, less than 5% of travel trailer owners have ever weighed their setup." I wouldn't disagree at all ... but that's no excuse for anyone to not sit down with a pen, paper, and calculator and at least estimate what their trailer's gross weight and gross tongue weight will average as typically loaded for a camping trip. We ALL can do that. Here's mine. 🙂

[wowens79]

Great to hear that Blue Ox took care of you!!! Make me feel good about my purchase of one.

Really glad that your issue is fixed!

[TomG2]

Not sure why you think you need to end the thread, unless you simply want to get the last word. I think we have all learned something here and there may still be something more to be gained from your experience. Maybe not.

[freymann]

I would now consider this thread finished. If you want to debate the logistics between the relationship of a RV owner and the Dealer then please start a new thread.

In my case, two issues were discovered.

#1: Ball height was 3 inches too low
#2: I require 1500 pound bars instead of 1000 pound bars

I have already brought my hitch head to a friend's and we have raised the ball height and are within specs.

Today I spoke with Roxanne from Blue Ox to confirm my findings and she has gracefully offered to exchange the bars and finally bring to a conclusion my issues with the Blue Ox Sway Pro system.

I have also been speaking with Connor from Blue Ox. I can recall during my first phone call with Connor that he said something along the line of "I hope we can work together to resolve your issues so you can feel happy and safe with our Blue Ox Sway Pro system" -- I'm happy to say that with his patience and desire to work with me, that I actually do like the Sway Pro system now, and I'm very happy to be able to utilize this system in the manner it was designed.

Thank you Blue Ox.

[RevStarscream]

freymann wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:

hohenwald48 wrote:
The only person with a real vested interest in proper installation and adjustment is the owner/operator. If you don't want the responsibility of proper ownership and usage of your own RV equipment you might think about considering a different hobby. That's just the way it is. RV aren't cars, aren't built like cars, don't have the quality control of cars and would be completely out of most folks financial reach if they were.

Well put, couldn't agree more ... and one doesn't have to be an "expert" to achieve responsible RV ownership, just a bit of time and interest. :B

Maybe I'm reading these comments wrong, but I feel compelled to add one more post here...

We upgraded to our 4th travel trailer, 26 feet long. Each time we bought a new trailer the dealer involved, all different dealers, told me that my Reese Weight Distribution and anti sway bar system was fine.

I could tell, as the driver, that it wasn't "fine" with the most recent 26 footer (and over 2 different tow vehicles) and being the responsible RV owner I researched Weight Distribution and Anti Sway systems and came up with 3 I felt were worth looking at.

I then discussed my concerns that I was after a proper tow package with Peterborough RV, a model was chosen, and an appointment to have the old system removed and the new system installed was made.

You go to a Dentist to have your teeth cared for. I went to a RV Dealer to have my RV cared for. I was being responsible for my RV and the safety of my family and those on the highway with me.

After the install I could tell something was wrong with the system and I complained about it. The dealer wasn't interested but fortunately Blue Ox was, and wanted to ensure that I was a happy customer of theirs. My dealer? *shrugs* Beats me.

Now with some of my own leg work, some more research, and a good discussion on this forum, two issues were found and will be resolved. I've already had the ball raised 3 inches and now I'm working on exchanging the bars.

Mission accomplished.

Let's conclude this thread on a happy note 🙂 and be proud that the RV.NET forums has helped another RV'er and possibly other RV'ers in the future that may find themselves in a similar situation and can read our content and learn from it.

Glad to hear it is working out for you in the end.

[hawkeye-08]

freymann wrote:


Maybe I'm reading these comments wrong, but I feel compelled to add one more post here...

We upgraded to our 4th travel trailer, 26 feet long. Each time we bought a new trailer the dealer involved, all different dealers, told me that my Reese Weight Distribution and anti sway bar system was fine.

I could tell, as the driver, that it wasn't "fine" with the most recent 26 footer (and over 2 different tow vehicles) and being the responsible RV owner I researched Weight Distribution and Anti Sway systems and came up with 3 I felt were worth looking at.

I then discussed my concerns that I was after a proper tow package with Peterborough RV, a model was chosen, and an appointment to have the old system removed and the new system installed was made.

You go to a Dentist to have your teeth cared for. I went to a RV Dealer to have my RV cared for. I was being responsible for my RV and the safety of my family and those on the highway with me.

After the install I could tell something was wrong with the system and I complained about it. The dealer wasn't interested but fortunately Blue Ox was, and wanted to ensure that I was a happy customer of theirs. My dealer? *shrugs* Beats me.

Now with some of my own leg work, some more research, and a good discussion on this forum, two issues were found and will be resolved. I've already had the ball raised 3 inches and now I'm working on exchanging the bars.

Mission accomplished.

Let's conclude this thread on a happy note 🙂 and be proud that the RV.NET forums has helped another RV'er and possibly other RV'ers in the future that may find themselves in a similar situation and can read our content and learn from it.

I agree with your post, almost wrote a similar one without reading the new posts this morning.

Others have commented about not knowing your weights. I would bet a nice dinner that if a accurate poll was done, less than 5% of travel trailer owners have ever weighed their setup. I knew I had some limits on our tow vehicle when we were shopping for our first trailer and knew that dry weights and sellers (private and dealer) would tell you anything to make the sale, so we bought a Sherline tongue scale and kept it in the tow vehicle we intended to use. When we were looking at a trailer for sale, if we liked it at all, the scale came out and we got a good read on the tongue weight. It saved us from several trailers that looked okay, but were too heavy.

I don't know your scale situation where you reside, but having an idea about your weights is a good thing, whether it is setting up WDH or replacing tires, or making decisions about having fresh water tank full when you leave home.

We stopped at a DOT weigh station that was closed, but we could still see electronic readout through window in door and got most of our weights on current trailer. We were loaded heavy for a family reunion so know that is likely the max we would ever tow. All within our limits (yes, we have the 1500lb bars, but thought the 1000lb might work with dry tongue weight listed on sticker...

Again, glad you are getting this taken care of... now you can get back to enjoying camping and not fighting your setup.

[Community Alumni]

SoundGuy wrote:

proxim2020 wrote:
Don't take my comments the wrong way. I know this is all new to you and you're still learning. We've all been there at some point.

Actually if you read the OP's original post you'll note he's not a newbie at all, having owned travel trailers previously, also equipped with weight distribution. I also have to disagree with another poster's comment that it's a "shame" that as RV owners we need to have some understanding of how the various systems work. The reality is that we all need to take a certain degree of ownership for our rigs, including the importance of understanding trailer gross weight, trailer gross tongue weight, and how that relates to weight distribution. For any trailer owner to not have any idea at all how much their trailer typically weighs when loaded for camping nor it's related gross tongue weight and to rely solely on a dealer to tell them is just inviting the sort of errors the OP has described. Critical I suppose but one might reasonably aruge the OP's Sway Pro issues were self induced, which is particularly unfortunate as he still hasn't modified the title of his thread discussion that as it is now reflects badly on Blue Ox which as we now know after all these pages of discussion bear no blame at all for the OP's unfortunate experience.

I was referring to the new hitch setup. Same basic principal as all the others, but with different components that are new to the OP. While I'm normally pretty good with RTFM, there's been many times in my life where I've exclaimed, "My new toy is here! F the manual! I'm ready to play!" That was normally followed by several minutes of swearing about how terrible of a design the product was. That is until my wife, who decided to help by actually reading the manual, points out what's wrong or needs to be adjusted lol. Meh, it happens. At some point in our lives we've all fired off an unjustified complaint toward a manufacturer.

I think the OP acknowledges the error of his way. You got the quarterback wrapped up. You don't have to pick him up and drill him into the ground lol. SoundGuy you're all right with me, but sometimes you come off as smooth as #4 steel wool lol.

[freymann]

SoundGuy wrote:

Ok, so this is what has me confused. :@ How could you possibly claim you "researched weight distribution and anti sway control" when you have no idea what your trailer's gross weight and gross tongue weight typically average loaded and ready to camp?

I was looking for current brands and models that were newer than my original Reese system that others have used and said good things about. I decided on three systems and then I approached a dealer to discuss each one.

Everyone just calm down and get back to reality.

This thread has gone so far off track I hate to even come back and see what the latest comment is.

[SoundGuy]

freymann wrote:
We upgraded to our 4th travel trailer, 26 feet long. Each time we bought a new trailer the dealer involved, all different dealers, told me that my Reese Weight Distribution and anti sway bar system was fine.

I could tell, as the driver, that it wasn't "fine" with the most recent 26 footer (and over 2 different tow vehicles) and being the responsible RV owner I researched Weight Distribution and Anti Sway systems and came up with 3 I felt were worth looking at.

I then discussed my concerns that I was after a proper tow package with Peterborough RV, a model was chosen, and an appointment to have the old system removed and the new system installed was made.

You go to a Dentist to have your teeth cared for. I went to a RV Dealer to have my RV cared for. I was being responsible for my RV and the safety of my family and those on the highway with me.

Ok, so this is what has me confused. :@ How could you possibly claim you "researched weight distribution and anti sway control" when you have no idea what your trailer's gross weight and gross tongue weight typically average loaded and ready to camp? :h Back on Page 5 of this discussion you said - "I have the 1000 pound bars. I have never had the tongue weight checked at a scale. The trailer manual states the tongue weight is 815 pounds." Say what?! ... how could one possibly select a suitable weight distribution system without knowing how much the trailer weighs or what it's average gross tongue weight may be? :h

Simply referring to a trailer's unloaded tongue weight as may be listed by the factory isn't being "responsible" as that number won't be anywhere near what it's actual gross tongue weight will be once the trailer is ready to go camping. While measuring a trailer's gross weight and gross tongue weight may not be as convenient for some as it is for others there's no excuse to not sit down with pen, paper, and calculator and come up with numbers that will at least put you into the ballpark. Instead, you apparently chose to rely solely on the dealer, as on Page 8 of this discussion, in response to your own statement - "One question the dealer, Peterborough RV, should have asked was: "What is your tongue weight?" I asked - "did this question not come up when you were first discussing weight distribution with whomever you were dealing with at the RV dealership?" ... to which you replied - "Nope. Never". So what you're saying is the dealer never brought up this very important issue ... but neither did you. That's hardly being "responsible", particularly when this isn't the first trailer you've ever owned. :R

From everything you've posted it would appear your dealer didn't take proper ownership of this problem but it's likewise apparent to me this episode was largely self induced as you didn't take the appropriate first steps to educate yourself on the subject of weight distribution and understand the importance of matching any system to the weights involved in your particular situation. As many have already pointed out, the reality is that like it or not the more you know about your recreational vehicle and how the various systems are intended to work the better prepared you'll be for any eventuality, including how to recognize a properly sized and installed weight distribution system. 🙂

[Huntindog]

hohenwald48 wrote:
It's true that you go to a dentist to get your teeth fixed. However, that's just not the way it works with RV dealerships. I'm sure there are some good ones with good techs but they are few and far between. It's unfortunate but you just can't trust the average dealer to tell you the facts and provide proper installations and repairs.

Sad but true. Folks who decide to operate an RV for fun need to be aware of that fact. RV'ing requires a lot of self education. Without it you will be disappointed. Maybe it's not fair but it is fact.

I'm seeing more and more folks in the campground who don't know an axle from a spring bar and sometimes it's just plain old scary.

All true. I doubt I could afford my TT if I had to rely on paying a dealership to do things for me... And I would be so frustrated with the workmanship, I would probably give it up.

[hohenwald48]

It's true that you go to a dentist to get your teeth fixed. However, that's just not the way it works with RV dealerships. I'm sure there are some good ones with good techs but they are few and far between. It's unfortunate but you just can't trust the average dealer to tell you the facts and provide proper installations and repairs.

Sad but true. Folks who decide to operate an RV for fun need to be aware of that fact. RV'ing requires a lot of self education. Without it you will be disappointed. Maybe it's not fair but it is fact.

I'm seeing more and more folks in the campground who don't know an axle from a spring bar and sometimes it's just plain old scary.