Reese Blue Ox Bedsaver
- Thread starter shelsay
- Start date
jimtoo
Moderator
I have a Blue Ox Bedsaver,, never used it, thank goodness. A friend highpined his and he dropped his on the bed... he had more experience than I towing.. so I bought one to be safe. If I had it to do again now.. I would buy this one from Butch's Service. I don't know why they wait so long to come up with a simple saver like this. Add almost no weight to hitch, where the Blue Ox adds 30 lbs+_ ,, and makes the hitch harder to remove from the bed if you need to and you don't lose any bed space behind the hitch.
Jim M
Jim M
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
I recently installed the lock bar from Butch's Service. Looks like it will stop the pin sooner than the Blue Ox can capture it for about 80% less $$. Requires drilling four holes in the hitch plate, but very easy. Comes with drill bit and center punch, as well. Also does not take up any bed space.
Wolfpackers
Member
While both products would appear to catch the pin on an accidental release or hitch failure, the one from Butch's would not appear to save the bedrails in the event of "highpinning" during hookup. I would say more dropped fivers occur during the hookup process than while towing or unhooking....DAMHIKT.
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
What is "high pinning?" When aligning for hookup, I bring set the pin height so that the plate on the pin box is slightly low, relative to the hitch plate, and is forces the hitch head to rotate to allow the pin plate to ride up on it and set the pin into the jaws. Makes for a positive connection.
traveler44
Well-known member
I would like to see the Butch's system and how it bolts on to the hitch plate. Maybe somebody will have one at a rally this year. The Blue Ox I have now gives me some peace of mind after hearing about the rigs that have been dropped on the truck beds. I haven't dropped the rig yet but I did set the pin over the top of the Blue Ox and raise the landing legs one time to see if it would hold the weight and it tested out just fine.
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
The photos on their website are what it looks like on my hitch.
http://www.butchsservices.com/5601.html
I have the Blue Ox which I purchased at the same time I started RVing. Figured I should take all precautions. Our hitch is a Pullright Super fifth, however, and having used it constantly for two years I cannot see how the pin could accidently slip out of the hitch. Ulike some hitches I have seen which require the handle to manually locked, the Super Fifth automatically and positively locks and you cannot mistake a lock. I also note with the Blue OX that while it would save the bed rails it will not save the tailgate, certainly not with my pin box anyway. The back end of the pin box would hit the tailgate.
I haven't removed the Blue Ox but if I were to start again I wouldn't bother with it, certainly not with this hitch anyway.
I haven't removed the Blue Ox but if I were to start again I wouldn't bother with it, certainly not with this hitch anyway.
Wolfpackers
Member
High pinning would be raising the pin box too high for the pin to engage in the hitch, which allows the hitch to push the fifth wheel backwards instead of locking in. In that event, the landing gear legs could bend/fail allowing the fiver to land on the bedrails or (in my case) if using blocks under the landing gear (like a 2x on bottom with a 8x8 on top of that) it only takes an inch or so to push the fiver back enough to rotate the blocks and the fiver falls on the bedrails. There are probably more scenarios, but I can attest to one of them happening. My next rig will consist of a long bed truck and a standard pin box (not an extended one). Neither of those play into preventing the situation I experienced, but I did have the rear of the sloped, extended pinbox hit the bed rail in a semi tight backing turn when the campsite was a good bit lower than the roadway...hence the std pinbox. The standard pinbox would also allow the bedsaver device to be used without hitting the tailgate with the extended pinbox...I believe. Just my thoughts, not necessarily the Gospel.
on edit: next rig will also have faster operating landing gear, probably hydraulic. The slow electric landing gear is why I was using the blocks. I also don't like pulling the pin to lower the inner legs as I feel it adds more movement to the fiver while camped.
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
Since I get up on the side of the bed to put a padlock on the locking arm, it's very easy to see the big red handle on the rear locking bar. With the jaws of the hitch painted white, it's part of my procedure to eyeball it carefully to ensure the jaws are around the pin and the "head" of the pin is below the jaws. The Butch's bar is also visible, so it's another visual check. I tend to be slow and deliberate in what I do when hitching, since "haste makes waste" or in our cases, flattened truck beds.
MTPockets
Well-known member
Yeah =- all that
