Demco, Roadmaster or Blue Ox ????

[RVPA]

Just ordering a 43' DP & will be setting up 2 cars to tow. A 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee & a 2017 Chevy Malibu.

Having a change in mind about the Blue Ox as I have read about a dew failures. So I am thinking Roadmaster but I have been looking at the not as popular Demco tow-bars & Base Plates.

Why is it that Demco is not up there with the Roadmaster or Blue Ox?

[blakeloke]

I can't really answer your question about Demco but we've been using Blue Ox baseplates and tow bars for over 10 years without a problem.  Past 8 years we've been towing a Dodge Ram 3500 and recently started towing a 2016 Grand Cherokee.

Blake

[hermanmullins]

My vote is for Blue OX, 2017 Chevrolet Malibu and an M&G auxiliary brake system.

Too many issues on the Jeep Grand Cherokee for towing.

 

Herman 

[manholt]

I'll agree on two out of three...I'm a Roadmaster fan, I have had Blu Ox and it was fine for a Heavy Duty, Chevy, Duramax 2500 crew cab.  For anything up to 5,000lbs my vore is the Sterling 6,000. 

[wildebill308]

I am a big fan of Blue Ox and I haven't heard of any verifiable problems with them. I also like that when I disconnect my toad I don't have all that towbar sticking on the front. You have to look close to see it is set up to tow. My towbar is rated to 10,000 pounds so I can tow nearly anything I can get a base plate for.

Bill

[CarlAda]

Don't know much about Demco, but I don't think you'd go wrong with either Roadmaster or Blue Ox...they both make fine products.  I'd just look at the mounting plate for your particular toad and figure out which manufacturer (a) has the available plate and (b) is the most concealed when not being towed.

[five]

Any will work, I have a Blue Ox.  No problems.

[jleamont]

I used Roadmaster at work for our shop runner trucks we would use to fetch tractors for maintenance. Always towed the small pickup back via Pintle hook and a Roadmaster tow bar. Those were heavily abused and Never had a problem.

I have a Demco Commander for the last 5 years, no problems no repairs or rebuilds. Looks and works as if it was new and it sits out in the weather all year. A few things I like about it, the light cord and safety cables are teathered to it so it stays organized and everything is right there.

[hobart]

Can not say why DEMCO is not mentioned as much but can say that their customer service is good. Have towed with DEMCO for 10 years and have had no problems. Like RVi brake as Ialso tow 2 different cars and only wanted to buy 1 brake system.

[manholt]

2 of the 3 does heavy advertising! 

[BillAdams]

I used a Roadmaster tow bar until it broke and changed to the Blue Ox.  I like the operation of the Blue Ox better and have never had an issues with it.

[tbutler]

I purchased a Roadmaster Sterling tow bar when we quit towing with a dolly.  It was used on two coaches for a total of 79,000 miles before I broke it.  Believe them when they say that you can't back up when towing!  You actually can fudge a few feet but eventually you will break the tow bar.  It wasn't a catastrophic failure, one arm simply quit locking so had to send it for repair.  There was  no damage to the car, it didn't break loose.

I returned the damaged tow bar to Roadmaster, they determined it was not repairable and offered me a rebuilt one for about half the price of the original.  The replacement now has 104,000 miles on it (being treated much better) and is still serviceable.

Beyond that, I had one other problem, one removable bracket that connects the base plate to the actual tow attachment broke after 131,000 miles of use.  I had the other one welded earlier that year and did notice some wear on the other but should have had it welded at that time.  Everything wears out eventually.  Consider your level of use, how many miles do you drive a year?  It's the miles and how you treat them that will wear them out.

Both vehicles we towed during that time were near the 6000 pound capacity of the Sterling tow bar.

[BennieH]

We've used a Demco Excalibar for 12 years now. Have not had any problems with it and it is a 7,000# rated. Easy to use. We have used nothing but their baseplates and I installed all my own. Instructions are very good and they were fairly easy to do.

Last year I put new seals and dust boots on it. Cost around $50 for the parts.

[ianbullock]

I vote Blue Ox having used both over the years..

[deenad]

On 10/23/2016 at 1:36 PM, manholt said:

I'll agree on two out of three...I'm a Roadmaster fan, I have had Blu Ox and it was fine for a Heavy Duty, Chevy, Duramax 2500 crew cab.  For anything up to 5,000lbs my vore is the Sterling 6,000. 

New Sterling is 8,000#'s. No change in the bar, just higher strength safety cables.

Several Blue Ox failures being reported on other forums. The knuckle/ball breaks. Blue Ox claims their is no problem but the failure pictures say otherwise. I have yet to see one RoadMaster failure that was due to the bar itself breaking. I did see one that the bracket bolts worked loose and the owner didn't check them as required.

[wildebill308]

I have Blue OX Aventa it is rated at 10,000 lbs My bar is the old style. I would buy another one. The only failures I have seen/heard about had to do with the operator bottoming out and over stressing the tow bar.

Bill