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I have used Blue Ox towing products exclusively for close to 10 years. With the Maverick I had the Blue Ox baseplate here at my shop before the Maverick was at the Dealer. Already had a Blue Ox Alpha towbar and Patriot braking system. Install went well, I took care to make the cutouts in the fascia as neat and with almost no clearance around the tabs and mount bases.
The first thing I noticed was that it really spread out the towbar arms. The Maverick/Blue Ox setup has a 41" spacing between the posts where you mount the towbar. Most base plates are 24-28" between the towbar mounts. I knew this would greatly lower the amount of turning radius before the towbar runs out of room to swivel. When I checked that I was...alarmed that it was binding just pulling out of my street onto the cross street!
This was the start of the problems. Called Blue Ox. They said the 41" between posts is Non-Standard. OK...what do I do about it? They told me their Avail and Ascent towbars were 2" longer than the Alpha. I can tell you that isn't going to make much difference after my calculations on it.
NO WHERE IN THE BLUE OX MOUNTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BASE PLATE, AND NO WHERE ON THE BLUE OX WEBSITE/SALES LITERATURE DOES IT SAY THIS BASE PLATE REQUIRES A SPECIAL TOWBAR!
Had that been the case, I would have bought the recommended towbar with the base plate at the same time. I bought a Ready Brake Elite II towbar. It did have a bit more clearance in turns. But I could still not make full lock turns until I unhooked the Maverick.
THE BLUE OX BASE PLATE FAILED ON ME DURING A 2800 MILE TRIP!
At a rest stop I got out and done a thorough check on everything ( coach, toad, and towing gear). When pulling out I had to hit the brake hard at very slow speed. Nothing like the tires slid, didn't even need to come to a full stop. On I went. At the overnight rv park stop.....WOW! The base plate posts were pointing out to each side!
Upon returning home I removed the front fascia. Called Blue Ox and sent pictures. Then shipped them the parts for inspection. I knew when I looked at them I did NOT want another set of those parts! Ordered and installed a Roadmaster base plate.
I was asking and expecting a refund of the original purchase price of the Blue Ox base plate and $39 that I paid for some fascia covers off ebay to cover the ripped fascia.
Blue Ox denied my claim saying the towbars I used were too short for this application.
I won't lose any sleep over the money. I have a MUCH more secure towing setup now, that is what really matters.
I don't have degree in engineering. But I own a business that might make some think I need one. I think I know what is wrong. There are three things that I can attribute to the failure.
1: The mounting points are too wide at 41". Even Blue Ox stated this in an e-mail. You would have to have a towbar much longer than practical to give the same angle spread and load handling that a standard mounting distance would offer.
2: There is no substantial crossbar between the base plates. Both Demco and Roadmaster have substantial base plate crossbars. This is crucial even MORE on a wide mounting point such as these have. This is because as you spread the mounting point, the tow bar angle of spread changes so that it introduces considerable LATERAL forces into the towbar mounting point. Like a scissor action, the towbar wants to push OUT when absorbing braking load. Not just the standard fore and aft thrust of towing and braking you would have with a typical mounting point spread. Most base plate crossbars are 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" or larger square. With the towbar mounting points securely welded into them.
3: Not only is there not a substantial crossbar compared to other competitors, the small bar they use is mounted well ABOVE the towbar mounting points. This allows the base plate to twist away and up under load.
There is more to this, but I simply want everyone to have information I was not provided with.
Below are a couple pics. Notice the angle of the towbar. Tells you how much the parts were bent and out of shape!
The first thing I noticed was that it really spread out the towbar arms. The Maverick/Blue Ox setup has a 41" spacing between the posts where you mount the towbar. Most base plates are 24-28" between the towbar mounts. I knew this would greatly lower the amount of turning radius before the towbar runs out of room to swivel. When I checked that I was...alarmed that it was binding just pulling out of my street onto the cross street!
This was the start of the problems. Called Blue Ox. They said the 41" between posts is Non-Standard. OK...what do I do about it? They told me their Avail and Ascent towbars were 2" longer than the Alpha. I can tell you that isn't going to make much difference after my calculations on it.
NO WHERE IN THE BLUE OX MOUNTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE BASE PLATE, AND NO WHERE ON THE BLUE OX WEBSITE/SALES LITERATURE DOES IT SAY THIS BASE PLATE REQUIRES A SPECIAL TOWBAR!
Had that been the case, I would have bought the recommended towbar with the base plate at the same time. I bought a Ready Brake Elite II towbar. It did have a bit more clearance in turns. But I could still not make full lock turns until I unhooked the Maverick.
THE BLUE OX BASE PLATE FAILED ON ME DURING A 2800 MILE TRIP!
At a rest stop I got out and done a thorough check on everything ( coach, toad, and towing gear). When pulling out I had to hit the brake hard at very slow speed. Nothing like the tires slid, didn't even need to come to a full stop. On I went. At the overnight rv park stop.....WOW! The base plate posts were pointing out to each side!
Upon returning home I removed the front fascia. Called Blue Ox and sent pictures. Then shipped them the parts for inspection. I knew when I looked at them I did NOT want another set of those parts! Ordered and installed a Roadmaster base plate.
I was asking and expecting a refund of the original purchase price of the Blue Ox base plate and $39 that I paid for some fascia covers off ebay to cover the ripped fascia.
Blue Ox denied my claim saying the towbars I used were too short for this application.
I won't lose any sleep over the money. I have a MUCH more secure towing setup now, that is what really matters.
I don't have degree in engineering. But I own a business that might make some think I need one. I think I know what is wrong. There are three things that I can attribute to the failure.
1: The mounting points are too wide at 41". Even Blue Ox stated this in an e-mail. You would have to have a towbar much longer than practical to give the same angle spread and load handling that a standard mounting distance would offer.
2: There is no substantial crossbar between the base plates. Both Demco and Roadmaster have substantial base plate crossbars. This is crucial even MORE on a wide mounting point such as these have. This is because as you spread the mounting point, the tow bar angle of spread changes so that it introduces considerable LATERAL forces into the towbar mounting point. Like a scissor action, the towbar wants to push OUT when absorbing braking load. Not just the standard fore and aft thrust of towing and braking you would have with a typical mounting point spread. Most base plate crossbars are 1/4" thick and 1 1/2" or larger square. With the towbar mounting points securely welded into them.
3: Not only is there not a substantial crossbar compared to other competitors, the small bar they use is mounted well ABOVE the towbar mounting points. This allows the base plate to twist away and up under load.
There is more to this, but I simply want everyone to have information I was not provided with.
Below are a couple pics. Notice the angle of the towbar. Tells you how much the parts were bent and out of shape!
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