Used Tow Bar Values

[Don_Parrish]

This is NOT an offer to buy or sell a tow bar.
In that there is a current post asking about tow bars, I'm encouraged to ask how to determine the value of a used one.
Somewhere between what the seller wants and what a buyer is willing to pay is a starting point. I'm assuming most people want to "horse trade" on something of this nature.
Is it a percentage of the original price, percentage of the same new,
age, miles used for towing? All assuming no damage and in fair to good cosmetics. Whether buying or selling starting at the wrong point could mean no interest or unwittingly making it a give-away.
Thoughts or experience out there.
Thanks, Don Parrish

[2manytoyz]

I purchased a used Roadmaster Falcon 2 tow bar for our Jeep. Got if for $357 on eBay. This worked fine, but I eventually bought the complete service kit for it from Etrailer. https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Roadmaster/RM-910003-60.html The video showing the process is here: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-review-roadmaster-service-kit-for-falcon-2-towbar-rm910003-65.aspx

I also purchased a used Roadmaster EvenBrake 9400 from eBay. Paid $497. Worked well for a year or two, then a seal started leaking, causing the compressor to cycle quickly. The replacement seal was under $10, and took less than an hour to take the unit apart, fix the issue, and clean up the inside. Details here: http://2manytoyz.com/RoadMaster-EvenBrake-Repair.html

Both items work perfectly, but did take some effort on my part. I used to work in the aerospace field as a tech, so this type of work is very easy for me. You can take a look at the links above, and decide if you're willing to potentially do this type of work, or look into having it done. But even buying it new, eventually this type of equipment needs servicing.

[Thunder_Mountai]

We just purchased a Blue Ox Alpha II with safety cables, 8" Blue Ox hitch lift, and 7 to 4 pin cable for $500 on Craigs List. It came with original purchase receipts. It was obviously very lightly used as advertised. So, we were in it for a bit over 40% of original cost. Also bought a Brake Buddy II unused in the box for $500. Again that is under 50% of the original price.

[n0arp]

crawford wrote:
every tow bar I have seen once you pull forward they lock in place. So braking device has nothing to do with it. sounds like they either never locked or was broken.

Exactly. They were locked in, but one of the locks broke during the incident. That was mentioned on the first page:



Also, with the InvisiBrake there is a small but notable delay (<1s) in the braking of the TOAD. And soft, long springs don't do you any favors when it comes to preventing the TOAD from diving.

[crawford]

every tow bar I have seen once you pull forward they lock in place. So braking device has nothing to do with it. sounds like they either never locked or was broken.

[bighatnohorse]

If the auxiliary brake was working properly, why did the Jeep dive under the tow bars?

[n0arp]

DSDP Don wrote:
I had a 10 year old Roadmaster Blackhawk 2, 10K tow bar. I missed a dip in the road and bottomed out the coach. Because I tow a Ford Raptor with 13" of front end travel, it bent the tow bar like a pretzel (determination/theory developed after speaking with Roadmaster.

I think that travel is definitely a factor here. We have a ton of travel on our JL now with the MetalCloak GameChanger 3.5 suspension, which allowed it to easily push up and under the bar and as you said, bend it like a pretzel. We didn't bottom out, but the travel still came into play somewhere.

The Blue Ox Allure we switched to has been great so far. Towed it over a mile of pitted slickrock and off-kilter sand to get out of our last site, through some tight gas-station turns, and an hour or so of highway so far, and had no issues with binding or anything else. The clunking I was concerned about with the pintle is a non-issue.

[DSDP_Don]

I had a 10 year old Roadmaster Blackhawk 2, 10K tow bar. I missed a dip in the road and bottomed out the coach. Because I tow a Ford Raptor with 13" of front end travel, it bent the tow bar like a pretzel (determination/theory developed after speaking with Roadmaster.

Not wanting to drive the toad home separately, I ordered a new Roadmaster 10K bar that was delivered to the campground. Amazon price $1000.00.

Once home, I was able to order both arms ($250) and rebuilt the tow bar. It had been serviced and rebuilt at Quartzsite, two years earlier. They only rebuild with new plastic washers, they don't clean the internals. It was actually easy to rebuild. I cleaned it up and lubed and tighten the joints. I put it on Craigslist and someone got a great 10K tow bar for $350.00, one third the cost new.

That tow bar was as good as new when I sold it.

[Grit_dog]

A used tow bar is no different than a used ________ (insert any mechanical device). It's worth what it's worth and if one isn't knowledgeable or comfortable assessing it's condition prior to purchase, then that's why they sell new ones.

If you wouldn't buy a used truck because you don't know what was plugged into the trailer hitch or a used lawn mower because you don't know a spindle bearing from an idler pulley, then buy new.

[camper_ron]

Thanks for the detailed response. I have a blue ox and have used it to tow my jeep liberty over 96,000 miles I did have it rebuilt at Quartzsite by Blue ox some years ago. only problems I have had where with the jeep frame and the receiver on the motorhome.

thanks, r0n....

[rdhetrick]

Tinstar wrote:
I don't know how anyone gets their tow bar "inspected" or rebuilt or repaired. I have a Blue Ox that I have attempted to have looked at but Blue Ox NEVER responds to email.

Interesting, mine is also a Blue Ox. I've not tried to get it checked out, but was thinking about trying this summer.

[n0arp]

camper_ron wrote:
What did you do to bend the shafts both the same direction?

We just stopped. Yes, the bar was perfectly level between the tow and toad on flat ground, and yes we use auxiliary braking (Roadmaster Invisibrake) and tested that it was working after the incident.

One of the arms no longer locks into place, and has a rattle when you shake it - like some teeth sheared off.

The pivot point, if you look closely at it, is bent on the vertical axis. When it bent there, the Jeep dived under the bars pushing them upwards. It actually pushed them upwards enough so that the pivot bolt hit the grill/hood, which is what the damage to the Jeep was. The bars are both bent in the same direction and that direction would have been vertical, not side to side as it appears with the bars on the ground.

I installed a Blue Ox baseplate yesterday and am going to use an Allure 10K bar with pintle, which is better suited to the way we use this and will better handle the weight as our Jeep keeps gaining. We probably won't determine exactly what happened, but I think there were multiple contributing factors:

• Unknown use history prior to purchase
  
• Teeth or locking mechanism failure in one of the bars
  
• Metal fatigue at pivot point
  
• Soft front springs that made it easier for the Jeep to dive under the bar
  
• Jeep weighing ~5500lbs, getting close to the 6K limit
  
• Bar has been used to tow the Jeep off-road on some fairly gnarly terrain
  

[camper_ron]

jshupe wrote:

rdhetrick wrote:
I'm sure there are lots of opinions on this, but for me, I wouldn't take the chance buying a used towbar. The manufacturer of mine recommends "service" every year or two if I remember correctly. If a new one cost $1k and a used one was $500, I personally couldn't justify saving $500 for something that has a lot riding behind it! For others, it's an acceptable risk.

Don't get me wrong, I buy used stuff all the time, but in my mind, some used things just aren't worth the risk. Fire Extinguishers are another thing that comes to mind!

I very rarely buy used equipment - but in an unusual move, bought a used tow bar. Horrible mistake. 5K miles later, it failed and is costing me a little over $3K to fix.




It left an impression from where the main pivot bolt hit the hood and grill.



This happened at the very end of a 10hr travel day -- at least we were close to our destination.

What did you do to bend the shafts both the same direction?

[zb39]

I bought a road master sterling about 25 years ago. After 100k miles of towing I could see some wear on it. Shipped it to Road master under there warranty to always rebuild to like new for half the cost of a new one.
They didn't have some parts I needed so they shipped me a brand new one. Still using it and when I hit another 100k I will send it in.

[Tinstar]

I don't know how anyone gets their tow bar "inspected" or rebuilt or repaired. I have a Blue Ox that I have attempted to have looked at but Blue Ox NEVER responds to email.