Warning! Blue Ox owners

[jubileee]

Learned the hard way 50 years ago that all pins should be installed pointing to ditch or low side of road in case of locking failure. Low side of road will Keep pin worked in that direction and keep pressure off locking device. Not always possible. With my Roadmaster hooked to tow, I have one pin that points the wrong direction and that pin is drilled out and gets a paddle lock.

[TonyDtorch]

many of the hitch receiver-pins,  are held in place with that simple cotter pin....(that occasionally falls off) 

[NY_Dutch]

Learned the hard way 50 years ago that all pins should be installed pointing to ditch or low side of road in case of locking failure. Low side of road will Keep pin worked in that direction and keep pressure off locking device. Not always possible. With my Roadmaster hooked to tow, I have one pin that points the wrong direction and that pin is drilled out and gets a paddle lock.

My two tow bar arm pins actually move in opposite directions while underway, both towards the outside away from the center. With the clips on the outsides they never touch anything, and could literally fall off with likely no damage since the pins would still stay in place. Not that I plan to test that though.

[John Beard]

I have a Roadmaster Sterling All Terrain system. I learned a thing in this thread, thanks NY_Dutch

[Bill N]

I am the OP of the blue ox issue, several have asked how do I know the pin sheared? I don’t. It could have been the locking ring failed and worked its way out and dropped on the highway. In either case, I had a failure of the Blue Ox system which could have been a complete disaster! I hooked up the tow system, my wife doubled checked the system prior to us leaving the RV resort and this incident occurred an hour later while on the interstate.
Thanks for your replies.

I had the same thing happen but the clevis pin did not fall completely  out.  I happened to notice at a rest stop where I always check over the tow bar that the safety clip on the clevis pin was  missing and the pin itself was about half way out.  My tow bar is also a Blue Ox and I think it is an Aladdin or the  5000 lb model.  Anyway I decided I had to figure a way to keep the safety clip from coming out of the clevis pin.  To do this I simply use one of those short elastic cords that come in a loop with a ball  on the end.  On each arm, I install the clevis and safety clip as normal and then snake  the cord around the safety clip and entire connection to keep it in place.  No problems since then.  But I can see where what you encountered can happen very easily with the system they use.  It is the safety clip that is the culprit.  I doubt your clevis pin sheared   - it probably just worked its way out after the safety clip came out.  Hope this helps.

PS:  I now carry an extra set of clevis and safety pins that I picked up at Camping World or got from Blue Ox - not sure which. But a farm supply store could probably also provide suitable parts.

Bill

[Stephen S.]

I see that Blue Ox does offer pins with lynch pin keepers for $15/pr. I don't recall now whether our pins originally came with our Blue Ox base plate, or our NSA ReadyBrute tow bar.

http://www.blueox.com/towing-accessories/84-0140/

My Blue Ox came with the lynch pins. I check the towbar every time I get out of the RV. Gas station, restaurant, any reason I'm away from the RV I do a walkaround before getting back in the drivers seat.

[Bill N]

My Blue Ox came with the lynch pins. I check the towbar every time I get out of the RV. Gas station, restaurant, any reason I'm away from the RV I do a walkaround before getting back in the drivers seat.

When you say 'lynch pins' are you talking about the pin that goes through the clevis and has a circular spring loaded loop on the end that flips over to hold it in place?  If so that is the style that I have and lost one.  Now I just loop that little stretch cord with the ball through the loop and then around the whole connection and snap the ball into the loop to hold it all in place.  I am making it sound more complicated than it really it. BUT, like you Stephen, I still check those clevis pin connections at every stop.

Bill

[NY_Dutch]

My Blue Ox came with the lynch pins. I check the towbar every time I get out of the RV. Gas station, restaurant, any reason I'm away from the RV I do a walkaround before getting back in the drivers seat.

In thinking it through, I believe my pins came with our ReadyBrute tow bar, not our Blue Ox base plate. I say that, because I've had two base plates, and while I have the pairs of removable horns from the two, I only have one set of original pins, and a second set I bought at Tractor Supply. Both sets of pins use a "hairpin" retainer clip though.

[Gary RV_Wizard]

When you say 'lynch pins' are you talking about the pin that goes through the clevis and has a circular spring loaded loop on the end that flips over to hold it in place?

Yes - that is the device known as a lynch pin. They should be pretty much failure-proof if the spring is flipped over the right way but have been know to snap back if the loop is flipped the opposite way. The loop will lie tightly against the shaft when oriented the right way (as shown in the photo below).

[Bill N]

Yes - that is the device known as a lynch pin. They should be pretty much failure-proof if the spring is flipped over the right way but have been know to snap back if the loop is flipped the opposite way. The loop will lie tightly against the shaft when oriented the right way (as shown in the photo below).

Yep, that is the one Gary and I always took care to position it the right way on the clevis pin but still managed to lose one.  I think that would be a rare case.  I loop my small circular stretch cord through the loop and then encircle the rest of the connection to give a second safety feature to keep it in place.  Thanks for the photo.

Bill

[mrschwarz]

I have always used locked pins that require a key to remove. It eliminates someone playing a 'joke' on me. It also provides positive engagement. If the lock is still on the pin, I know I'm good.

[Tom]

Good suggestion Michael. I have the same situation with tow pins.

[Corky]

I too used lynch pins up until this spring when I nearly lost my Wrangler. One of the pins had decided to jump for freedom leaving the Jeep with only one attachment. Good thing we were in a position to be able to pull over and get things back in order. I now use bolts with nylock nuts instead of any type of pin. Yes - it takes a minute longer to fix or remove but I am now quit confident that everything will be in place at the end of the day.

Corky

[Tom]

I too used lynch pins up until ... One of the pins had decided to jump for freedom leaving the Jeep with only one attachment.

Corky, I believe that's the first report I've seen about a lynch pin coming off. A good reminder that nothing is foolproof.

[mrschwarz]

... A good reminder that nothing is foolproof.

To a sufficiently motivated fool!

[Lou Schneider]

When you say 'lynch pins' are you talking about the pin that goes through the clevis and has a circular spring loaded loop on the end that flips over to hold it in place?  If so that is the style that I have and lost one.  Now I just loop that little stretch cord with the ball through the loop and then around the whole connection and snap the ball into the loop to hold it all in place.  I am making it sound more complicated than it really it. BUT, like you Stephen, I still check those clevis pin connections at every stop.

Bill

I'd get a couple of replacement lynch pins instead of relying on a bungee cord to hold the clevis pin in place.  They're available at any well stocked hardware store.

[John Beard]

After reading the experiences of the respondents I have switched to locking hitch pins. I already had several in my shop so the switch over was painless.

[Bill N]

I'd get a couple of replacement lynch pins instead of relying on a bungee cord to hold the clevis pin in place.  They're available at any well stocked hardware store.

Think you misread my post or I phrased it poorly.  The bungee cords are holding the lynch pins closed - not the clevis pins but they do hold the whole shebang together the way I have them threaded.  I also carry a spare set of lynch pins.

[NY_Dutch]

After reading the experiences of the respondents I have switched to locking hitch pins. I already had several in my shop so the switch over was painless.

Many of those locking pins can be defeated with as little as a single hammer blow or just popping the locks off with a large screwdriver. Personally, I'd rather be able to disconnect my toad quickly if needed...

[John Beard]

Many of those locking pins can be defeated with as little as a single hammer blow or just popping the locks off with a large screwdriver. Personally, I'd rather be able to disconnect my toad quickly if needed...

I thought about an emergency disconnect too, so I bought a couple of hitch pins this morning that I hope is the best of both worlds. It is a 5/8" x 3 1/2" hitch pin with lynch pins attached by a small chain to the pin itself. It will be difficult losing the lynch pin, and if installed correctly should serve me well for a few years.

I've been using the same pins and clips for about 5 years on various towing platforms. I am not an expert on metallurgy but it seemed prudent to replace the used pins.

Before this topic came up here in the forum I was asking myself questions about the pins and clips, and their reliability over the long term. 

[NY_Dutch]

Sounds good to me, John!

[BRex]

Funny how nobody, after the first post, has had experience or knowledge of their pins shearing off. Maybe BlueOx isn't so bad after all?

Our set up is 10+ years old, except for a different tow plate due to buying a different car. Certainly pins can be popped off, drop off etc, but break off?

[PAPA BARE]

The last trip i had an emergency stop where it bent the 2" tubing on the ready brake and the blue ox system was not hurt. Ready fixed it with no problem.

[TonyDtorch]

Funny how nobody, after the first post, has had experience or knowledge of their pins shearing off. Maybe BlueOx isn't so bad after all?

That's why the BlueOx guy on the phone asked him if he had any pieces of the broken pin.

A sheared pin never really happens.  lost pin,  yes.