Thanks for making this video! Now I know what & how to do it, and in 1 hour I will be done. Have been watching you guys since 2016,....and as always,....safe travels.
I checked with Blue Ox and they also recommend the grease inside of the boot. I have been using a silicon dry lubricant but I will now use the grease and will hopefully get a better sliding action. BTW, I love your videos and they have been very helpful. Keep them coming! Stu
Thank you, Peter! Well, I know it was your voice, but maybe those were John's hands. Anyway, heading back from a summer in Alaska (Montana at the moment) and compiling a list of things to do ourselves, or have done. Now, thanks to you guys, I can put "servicing the Blue Ox tow bar" into the "doing it ourselves" category. :-) Thank you! :-)
When you said "ball" pivot, I figured you had the higher-capacity Aventa steel bar. We have the Aladdin, since our toad only weights about 3,500 lbs, and 5,000 lb capacity was fine for us. Ours always has to be held up when connecting, so we probably have even more grease on our pivot than you do. lol Thanks for the tip about PB. We'll keep an eye out for it.
We have the steel Avanta. PB Blaster has a great line of lube products, but I think the one I used did "too" good of a job. The arms flop down toward the ground now when I'm hooking up, so no functional problem with towing, but just makes it a bit squirrely when attaching to the tow vehicle. Maybe I'll try some lithium grease. Thanks for the quick reply!!
Not familiar with PB Blaster, but we lube the pivot points with the same all-purpose lithium grease as the arms. It might depend on your model though, as we have the aluminum bar and the steel one uses a different pivot mechanism (the "ball" you describe sounds like that one).
Hi guys. Love your videos. They have given me the courage to take on many repairs and maintenance myself, rather than paying for same. I always remove the tabs from my vehicle base plate whenever we reach our destination. I am paranoid that someone desperate for cash will steal them for their scrap metal value. I figure the few seconds it takes to remove them is less aggrivation than having to replace them in Timbuktu if stolen. Anyway, for the eight or so years we have had our tow bar, on two different vehicles, we have never lubed the tabs or the receiver hole in the the baseplate. It seems like the lube will just attract and hold grit and grime from the road. Granted, the tab and base plate receiver hole get a slight film of rust powder but they go in super easy and we've never had to clean them. Just my two cents.
Thanks so much, Doug! We lubricate our tow clips periodically with a thin coat of light grease, because they get "sticky" taking in the in and out if we don't. The remove ours as well, but not all the time. If we're only staying in a particular spot for a night or two, we don't bother. We remove them more to prevent bashing our shins on them than for security, although that does depend on where we are. If we're in a place we don't feel very secure (not very common), we'll take them out for the same reason you do... because it's a lot less trouble than replacing them, even if the odds of them walking are small. ;-)
Great Video, but I kept watching wondering what the 2 small ties would be used for in the video. Saw no need for them, still great video, I thought this was all I needed to do to replace my boots, but appreciate the video
You'd think so, but it really hasn't been bad at all. And whatever does get in there seems to be cleaned up nicely with each application of new grease every 6 months or so. I'm sure there are alternatives out there like bicycle chain dry lube, etc. If you have a good suggestion for a better alternative, please do comment! Thanks Stu.
Thanks for making this video! Now I know what & how to do it, and in 1 hour I will be done. Have been watching you guys since 2016,....and as always,....safe travels.
Blue ox is a excellent product. This clip on showing maintenance is excellent, clear and to the point. Thank you :))
I checked with Blue Ox and they also recommend the grease inside of the boot. I have been using a silicon dry lubricant but I will now use the grease and will hopefully get a better sliding action. BTW, I love your videos and they have been very helpful. Keep them coming!
Stu
Thank you, Peter! Well, I know it was your voice, but maybe those were John's hands. Anyway, heading back from a summer in Alaska (Montana at the moment) and compiling a list of things to do ourselves, or have done. Now, thanks to you guys, I can put "servicing the Blue Ox tow bar" into the "doing it ourselves" category. :-) Thank you! :-)
Excellent! And those were indeed my (Peter’s) hands. 😁 Thanks Neal.
@@RVgeeks You are very welcome. Thanks for the clarification, Peter! :-) Best wishes to you and John!
When you said "ball" pivot, I figured you had the higher-capacity Aventa steel bar. We have the Aladdin, since our toad only weights about 3,500 lbs, and 5,000 lb capacity was fine for us. Ours always has to be held up when connecting, so we probably have even more grease on our pivot than you do. lol Thanks for the tip about PB. We'll keep an eye out for it.
We have the steel Avanta. PB Blaster has a great line of lube products, but I think the one I used did "too" good of a job. The arms flop down toward the ground now when I'm hooking up, so no functional problem with towing, but just makes it a bit squirrely when attaching to the tow vehicle. Maybe I'll try some lithium grease. Thanks for the quick reply!!
Not familiar with PB Blaster, but we lube the pivot points with the same all-purpose lithium grease as the arms. It might depend on your model though, as we have the aluminum bar and the steel one uses a different pivot mechanism (the "ball" you describe sounds like that one).
Hi guys. Love your videos. They have given me the courage to take on many repairs and maintenance myself, rather than paying for same.
I always remove the tabs from my vehicle base plate whenever we reach our destination. I am paranoid that someone desperate for cash will steal them for their scrap metal value. I figure the few seconds it takes to remove them is less aggrivation than having to replace them in Timbuktu if stolen.
Anyway, for the eight or so years we have had our tow bar, on two different vehicles, we have never lubed the tabs or the receiver hole in the the baseplate. It seems like the lube will just attract and hold grit and grime from the road. Granted, the tab and base plate receiver hole get a slight film of rust powder but they go in super easy and we've never had to clean them.
Just my two cents.
Thanks so much, Doug! We lubricate our tow clips periodically with a thin coat of light grease, because they get "sticky" taking in the in and out if we don't. The remove ours as well, but not all the time. If we're only staying in a particular spot for a night or two, we don't bother. We remove them more to prevent bashing our shins on them than for security, although that does depend on where we are. If we're in a place we don't feel very secure (not very common), we'll take them out for the same reason you do... because it's a lot less trouble than replacing them, even if the odds of them walking are small. ;-)
Great Video, but I kept watching wondering what the 2 small ties would be used for in the video. Saw no need for them, still great video, I thought this was all I needed to do to replace my boots, but appreciate the video
Very cool. Thank you.
Question… why run the cables under the hitch rather than over the hitch? That was how our dealer showed us.
Thank you!!
You'd think so, but it really hasn't been bad at all. And whatever does get in there seems to be cleaned up nicely with each application of new grease every 6 months or so. I'm sure there are alternatives out there like bicycle chain dry lube, etc. If you have a good suggestion for a better alternative, please do comment! Thanks Stu.
Thanks
Looks like an easy job but don't you think the greece will attract dirt to the locking pins?
Stu
Good vid! Do you know how to lube the pivot ball? Mine was getting hard to move, so I used PB Blaster, but that loosened it up too much. Thanks.
Thank
Hey, you said you love your blue ox tow bar. Ha hah just kidding I know this was 9 years ago.. But you must have enjoyed it at 1 time.
It was good, but non-binding models are especially awesome, no matter what brand. 😁