Warning! Blue Ox owners

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Clevis pins are common things you see laying along the side of the freeway,  they lose their spring value and fall off.
 
wstuart said:
Thank you Dutch!  Now I got it!  When I put my pins in I put them in from the outside, with the cotter pin on the inside.  The only reason I do it this way is I find it easier to pull them out to the outside, dont smack my fingers as much.  Thanks for the explanation.  I think I will pick up a couple more of the cotter pins just in case.  I guess I could get a couple extra pins from blue ox.
Thanks again

My spare pins came from Tractor Supply, and my extra clips from a local hardware store. I added a couple of small welded rings to the clips to make them easier to remove.
 
[quote author=TonyDtorch]Clevis pins are common things you see laying along the side of the freeway,  they lose their spring value and fall off.[/quote]

Maybe I should buy replacements and change them periodically  ???
 
Huh... took me a while to realize you all are using the "hairpin" type retainers on your hitch. My BlueOx came with the lynch pin type that has a spring loaded ring that snaps over the main pin. The only way it is coming off is if I don't put in on the correct way. It is plainly visible from a distance if it is on correctly.

The pin itself is sturdier than the hairpin type. It will be decades before it wears out.

[edit] dropping in a pic of the hitch on the VW.

 

Attachments

  • 20160412_175950-800x800.jpg
    20160412_175950-800x800.jpg
    136.2 KB · Views: 65
Here is a story of interest to this subject.

http://wheelingit.us/2016/10/28/our-first-rv-accident-tow-comes-loose-in-nc/
 
Thanks for the link. Their photos clearly show the difference between the cotter pin on the Blue Ox and the clevis pin (aka linch pin) on the Roadmaster. They also show the difference in the two tow pins. Just curious what they have at the coach end of the tow bar  ???

I suspect that many folks have towed boats, trailers and cars with a cotter pin to keep the tow pin in place. I know we towed boats that way until we switched to a locking  style of tow pin.
 
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/
 
I lost one of the pins that came with my blue ox but i caught it before the pin worked out. I replaced with pins from tractor supply. Have not had a problem after switching.
 
Tractor Supply is a good source if you have one near you. (We had one open a year or so ago.)
 
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.
 
many of the hitch receiver-pins,  are held in place with that simple cotter pin....(that occasionally falls off) 
 

Attachments

  • cotter pin.jpg
    cotter pin.jpg
    114.8 KB · Views: 10
jubileee said:
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. ;)
 
I have a Roadmaster Sterling All Terrain system. I learned a thing in this thread, thanks NY_Dutch
 
Fatboy01 said:
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
 
NY_Dutch said:
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.
 
Stephen S. said:
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
 
Stephen S. said:
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.
 
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).
 

Attachments

  • lynch.jpg
    lynch.jpg
    148.3 KB · Views: 12
Gary RV_Wizard said:
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
 

Forum statistics

Threads
131,749
Posts
1,384,212
Members
137,520
Latest member
jeep3501
Back
Top Bottom