A small Rant - 9 yr old BlueOx Alpha Towbar

tim myers · 06-09-2023, 11:30 AM

I have a 9 year old BlueOx Alpha Towbar. I have taken good care of this towbar having it serviced at least annually, and checked often. Over the 9 years of ownership, it has pulled a 2013 CRV about 30,000 miles.

In preparation for my trip a week ago, I noticed a little slop on one of the bolts and re-torqued the bolts/nuts. It still wasn't to my liking so I contacted BlueOx for parts. They refused to sell them to me because my towbar fell into the 8 - 10 year replacement period.

I do not recall The 8 - 10 yer replacement being a thing when I purchased this towbar, and it is not written anywhere with in the warranty or installation/use information.

I could be wrong, but I think the 8 - 10 year replacement came into being when their Aventa was breaking at the weld joints. Not positive but I remember when that was happening people were not overly impressed with their reaction or lack there of.

There were a lot of BlueOx haters back then, and I did not jump on the band wagon as my Alpha was working well. However with this refusal to provide support, I am faced with buying a new tow bar and you better believe it isn't going to be a BlueOx.

So last night I purchased an e-Trailer XHD with limited Lifetime warranty. Demco builds this towbar foe e-Trailer and it should get me through to the end of my camping life time.

There I feel better, wasn't a very loud rant, just a little frustration. Now to crawl under the CRV and make sure the BlueOx base plate is still mounted solid.

Morich · 06-09-2023, 12:42 PM

When I saw the "small vent" part, I was sure you were wanting to add one of those 2" round ones that are meant to keep ones foot from pressing down too hard on the gas pedal!
I have access to an online site which sells those and it just happens to match what my wife uses for her online business!

I, like you, had no complaints about the Blue Ox but had not heard about a limited lifetime! Maybe I traded it just in time?
Actually, I'm kind of enjoying the break from not owning an RV!

MicroMinnie · 06-09-2023, 01:49 PM

Cuz lawyers got involved I’m sure.
Except for cats and mortgage payment never owned anything for 9 years so cudos to you.

Morich · 06-09-2023, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicroMinnie

Cuz lawyers got involved I’m sure.
Except for cats and mortgage payment never owned anything for 9 years so cudos to you.

I've found one of the few ways to avoid having complaints with the small stuff on Rv is to trade often and pass those complaints right back to the dealers who are very happy to pass new ones on to me!!
One way to keep the tank senors working? Keep getting new ones!

**creativepart** · 06-09-2023, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morich

When I saw the "small vent" part, I was sure you were wanting to add one of those 2" round ones....!

Sorry Richard, to avoid confusion, I changed "Vent" to "Rant" in the Title. Sorry to mess up your post.

Rant or Vent, very similar descriptions. But for Google Searches into the future (10 years?) RANT is a better search term for this thread than Vent. Especially when someone is searching for a vent of some kind.

BirchyBoy · 06-10-2023, 10:18 AM

Did you look at ETrailer for the parts? I can’t guarantee it’s correct, but they list bolts for the Alpha (post 2010) for $2.50.

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Acc...m-Blue_Ox.aspx

tim myers · 06-10-2023, 11:39 PM

The issue was that the part I felt I needed was not even identified on any of the BlueOx documentation, so I dont even know what it is called, and BlueOx will neither identify it or sell it to me. My new e-trailer XHD arrived today, so my vent, rant, teed off comments have subsided now.

davismills · 06-11-2023, 10:23 AM

I just replaced my 11-year-old Ready Brute tow bar with their newest model. I really didn't see any problems with the old one, just changed out of precaution.

lenore · 06-11-2023, 03:48 PM

I had a loose Blue ox bar at the GNR last year, the Blue OX folks came over and looked at my bar, yup over 10 years, however when we went back to his booth he handed me some washers kit to rebuild my bar....very nice of him. By the way he said my bar was safe.

canucc00 · 06-14-2023, 04:57 PM

So learning from this “rant” I should be buying a rebuild kit before my tow bar is 8 years old?

Heating man · 06-15-2023, 06:05 AM

I had a similar situation with blue Ox. I have an older tow bar and it had some rust on it so I disassembled it to paint it. The main bolt that hooks the bar up when not in use was damaged. I was told latter that this happens when hooked up to a car and it is pulled through a change in elevation such as going up into a drive. Blue Ox would not sell this part to me due to the age of the tow bar. I was in Florida at the time. I called a hitch shop called the Hitching post in Ocala Florida. They said they had the part. I took the tow bar over there for inspection and to install the bolt. They did not agree with Blue Ox. They checked the bar and replaced the bolt. The tow bar I have is built very well, pivot parts are cast iron and the tech said it was better built than the new ones. He saw no problem with replacing the bolt. He said it was still safe.

Joeantolik32 · 06-15-2023, 05:17 PM

These things do wear out. This tow bar is a Demco Aluminator, it is at least 12 years old, we have had it for 8 years and towed an F150 50K miles. I will not let our new one get 12 years old.
I do not fault Demco purchased there 7500lb dominator

tim myers · 06-23-2023, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lenore

I had a loose Blue ox bar at the GNR last year, the Blue OX folks came over and looked at my bar, yup over 10 years, however when we went back to his booth he handed me some washers kit to rebuild my bar....very nice of him. By the way he said my bar was safe.

I am sure that would have been the case with mine as well, I have taken very good care of it. I don't go to rally's and they were not willing to even talk to me about it. That is bad PR on their part.

tim myers · 06-23-2023, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canucc00

So learning from this “rant” I should be buying a rebuild kit before my tow bar is 8 years old?

Rebuild kits which consist of replacement plastic washers and nylon nuts are available, and I could have purchased one from either Amazon or e-Trailer. I had another part that I felt was showing some wear and thought it would be a good idea to replace it. I went to my documentation and this part is not identified, so I contacted BlueOx and was told I needed to buy a new one.