Tow Bar Height Difference coach to tow car

[g_man1146]

Hi Dan,

Sorry to hear of your tow problems. I have a Blue Ox aluminum tow
bar and FYI, last fall at the RITV, the Blue Ox folks came by and
swapped the aluminum tube to a steel one. They must be aware there
were problems. Now, whether or not a level tow bar would have a
problem, we don't know. Mine, on the LXi, with a Jeep is almost
dead level. They seem to be good people to deal with but may give
you a hard time on covering any damage because of the height
difference disclaimer. Hope they fix you up.

Rich D. '99LXi43' CT



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Dan Weaver"
wrote:
> When using a tow bar and towing a car 4 wheels down, Blue Ox
> recommends a max difference of 4" from coach receiver to
attachment
> point on the toad. None of our Birds are even close to this with
> 95% of tow cars.
>
> I "had" a 10 inch difference, using a aluminum Blue Ox Alladin tow
> bar rated at 5,000 pounds, towing a Geo Prizm approx weight 2500
> lbs, total towing miles about 10,000 in 3 years.
>
> Last week on a trip, I hit a series of large bumps and dips that
> were not readily visible, so I did not slow down in time. The Blue
> Ox sheared at the exact entry point into the receiver on the coach,
> so the car and the rest of the tow bar broke loose attached only by
> the safety cables. "Luckily", this was in a safe area to pull over
> rather than the 1 lane interstate construction I had just left,
> where I would have backed up traffic for miles, and likely had
> greater damage.
>
> To complete the trip I bought a Blue Ox Aventa II steel tow bar
> reated at 10,000 lbs. I will be sending the aluminum broken bar to
> Blue Ox, and they will repair it at no charge other than my
shipping
> cost. That still leaves me 2 bars, and a damaged tow car.
>
> I will be buying a 4" drop hitch, and am changing to a taller tow
> car (was doing so anyway), and plan to keep and run the 10,000
pound
> bar and sell the 5,000 pound bar.
>
> If you are towing 4 down, check your height difference, and
consider
> a drop receiver hitch.
>
> Dan
> 94 Bluebird BMC 37'