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TOW BAR TUNEUPS
When was the last time your had your towbar tuned up.
Bushing and bolt periodic replacement is key for a healthy, long lasting towbar. It also helps to limit the “slop” we tend to get in our towbars as they age from use. They are our single link between our coach’s and are vehicles we tow. No one wants to see in their mirror, their towed heading off into the weeds being left behind.
Both Blue Ox and Roadmaster have programs especially at large rallies where they have techs who run around inspecting motorhomers towbars for defects and slop. You may also, at owners expense ship you towbar to the manufacture for a tune up, Also, you local towbar retailer maybe able to perform the tune up at your expense. We stopped at Blue OX a few years ago, and waited while they tuned both of our Aventa II’s and it ended up being complimentary.
We have also found experiencing an on the road issue, we now carry a spare towbar on board as back up until we can get the other repaired. With the advent of the likes of Craigslist, towing accesories can be bought for cents-on-the-dollar. Having 2 motorhomes, ’84 Classic Airstream 270 and the bus, between them, we now have 3 Aventa II towbars
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5 Replies
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That is good advice. For those who have an aging tow bar it is possible it needs repairs or is about to need repairs. If you are uncomfortable doing the work yourself the manufacturers have ways in which you can get them taken care of and rebuilt to factory new condition either at rallies or by sending them to the factory.
If you are comfortable doing the work yourself you can buy kits to rebush the extendible arms and to install new internal parts.
Seeing your toad separate from the coach or watching an arm fail to lock and seeing the toad banging around behind the coach can turn a fun trip into a not so pleasant experience. Take the time to at least give the tow bar a very good inspection to make sure there is no excessive play, to insure no parts are showing signs of wear, and to make sure the locking mechanisms do lock the arms securely. It should like preaching, but a little time spent making sure the tow bar is in good shape will save a lot of grief.
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Ditto the good advise… I had a Blue Ox towbar that got worn and didn’t even realize it until someone told me there was quite a bit of movement on our Jeep while driving beside me. I replaced it with a heavier Blue Ox and now pay more attention to the towbar condition.
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Just today while getting a part replaced on our GMC I took advantage of the toad on the service rack taking a look at base plate and safety cables. Everything was tight.
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RoadMaster’s we page in the Q&A section statesa tow bar is godd for only 70,000 miles. I don’tknow if this fact or selling tow bars.
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If you disassemble a tow bar you will see several areas that are subjected to wear and damage as a result of the toad being alternately pulled and then the toad doing pushing as we travel. That back and forth motion from accelerating, stopping, going up hills, going down hills and making turns is constantly wearing and beating on the various parts that are under the greatest strains. Every movable joint is affected, holes elongate, pins get worn, and as the slop between parts increases the speed with which damage occurs also increases so I don’t doubt the manufacturers have a suggested service life.
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