# New Member Confession



## jlb (Nov 5, 2005)

Hi all: I've been activelly "lurking" on this fantastic site (I don't like that word as it conveys some "sneaky" activity but I guess it is the vernacular) since May. Honestly, I have been reluctant to get the reprimand for what this forum considers a totally unsafe TV/TT combo. I totally understand the physics and limitations of this combo and am VERY careful at all times to take this into account. I have had minimal problem with sway, but do experience moderate porpoising - I might be able to tweak my hitch set-up, but the Blue OX Sway-Pro does an excellent job. I limit my speed to 55mph and always use the manual lever on the Prodigy for all breaking. I want the trailer to "pull" the TV to a stop. I know this sounds like an unnesessary procedure but I feel more in control this way and actually enjoy the manual process - (I wish a manual trans. was robust enough to tow with - It is the same "feeling" of control). I do understand that in an emergency my set-up may fail. If we wanted to avoid all risk we shouldn't be towing at all.
Now that I have been through confession







, I would like to thank you all for the valuable wealth of information on this site and become an active participant







. 
JLB


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## ee4308 (Aug 23, 2005)

jlb,

Welcome to the site and feel free to jump in any time with any questions/information. Hate you put it off since May, but the main thing is you are here now. sunny I am kinda like you about the speed, 55 is fine with me when towing. Different people will always have different ideas. Whatever works for you ought to be ok till you are ready to upgrade. Happy Camping!!


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Welcome to the forum. While folks here may sometimes be vocal about towing safety, it is in the best interest of all involved. I truely feel that you would get a lot worse on that "other" forum.

Join in, and I would be interested in knowing more about the Blue Ox hitch.

Tim


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Welcome to the site, even though you've been around a while 









I'm with Tim, not too many blue ox systems around, how do you like it?

Mike


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## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

Welcome to Outbackers.com!


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## Fire44 (Mar 6, 2005)

Welcome to the site. It is a wealth of information.

Gary


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## Devildog (Sep 8, 2005)

Welcome JLB, it is a great site with a wealth of info!


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

Welcome JLB to the group.
Clad you decided to join after lurking for so long.

Don


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## Fred n Ethel (Aug 30, 2005)

Welcome to the site.

Enjoy your TT.

Happy camping

action


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Not sure why you are using the MANUAL braking on the prodigy .. in fact .. this is cause for alarm... if you do not feel that the trailer and the TV are stopping at the same velocity then increase the seting frm B1 to B2 or B2 to B3 .. manual activting the brake controller does two things...

1. Bypasses a pretty darn good inertia type computerized control within the Prodigy which senses a thousand times a second the best voltage/pressure to apply to the brake..

2. Wil rapidly cause your TT brakes to heat up, wear out and possibly fail since you are applying more stopping force to the TT then the TV and ths the brakes on the TT are trying to stop also the TV...

just my .02...but the only time you should use the manual.. in my opinion .. is the first trip of the day to make sure that your brakes work and then if you are getting more sway during a truck bypass and want to get that under control...


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## drobe5150 (Jan 21, 2005)

jlb

welcome action to the group.

please don't be shy any more

darrel


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## Reverie (Aug 9, 2004)

Welcome aboard!

Lots of people like to give lots of informed opinions. What separates us from the other sites is that we always maintain a sense of humor and show a measure of understanding. I love the weight debates but in the end it always depends upon the captain of the ship. If the captain gives up control (you never "Lose" control) the ship crashes. So many factors go into safe towing it's hard to pass judgement on others. In the service I would tow 18 ton aircraft with two ton tow vehicles. Of course I didn't tow them at 65 mph.

I tow my 28BHS with a Tundra. I have heard about it from the beginning and expect to continue hearing about it in the future. It doesn't effect my enjoyment of our trailer. I pay a lot of attention to setup, keep my speed down and stay very aware of my surroundings. I also avoid semis like the plague.

Reverie


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## jlb (Nov 5, 2005)

Glad to be aboard. I don't know why the Blue Ox Sway-Pro is not more popular, other than it is fairly new to the market (one year or so?) It appears to be very heavy duty and well made. Concept is good, performance is good - although I have no other experience to compare it to, adjustment is easy (especially ball and WD bar angle) and hookup is easy and _clean_.
Ghosty, your posts are always mechanically sound and spot on. You are probably (definitely) right about the trailer brakes - I do try to use my transmission as much as possible. I still like the TT to pull on the TV. I find that using the boost settings on the Prodigy produces an initial surge which is annoying. The boost settings would be much smoother if they increased the rate of voltage increase rather than start it at a higher voltage - this would eliminate the initial surge.

http://www.blueox.us/Hitches/swaypro.htm


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

jlb said:


> Glad to be aboard. I don't know why the Blue Ox Sway-Pro is not more popular, other than it is fairly new to the market (one year or so?) It appears to be very heavy duty and well made. Concept is good, performance is good - although I have no other experience to compare it to, adjustment is easy (especially ball and WD bar angle) and hookup is easy and _clean_.
> Ghosty, your posts are always mechanically sound and spot on. You are probably (definitely) right about the trailer brakes - I do try to use my transmission as much as possible. I still like the TT to pull on the TV. I find that using the boost settings on the Prodigy produces an initial surge which is annoying. The boost settings would be much smoother if they increased the rate of voltage increase rather than start it at a higher voltage - this would eliminate the initial surge.
> 
> http://www.blueox.us/Hitches/swaypro.htm
> [snapback]62523[/snapback]​


The Boost setting is mainly for people that tow too much trailer for the TV and need that initial high to get things slowing down. I use no boost for my set up and am very happy. Also there is no rate of increase in the prodigy, if it is set up correctly you will not feel a push or pull from the trailer when stopping it should feel like you do not have a trailer but if you like that feel and want to replace the trailer brakes sooner then necessary you can set the max voltage higher then it really needs to be and then use a lower boost.

My control is set to 7.5 and most of the time when stopping it is in the 2.5 to 3.0 range.

What are the settings that you have in your control?


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## jlb (Nov 5, 2005)

CampherAndy, "The Boost setting is mainly for people that tow too much trailer for the TV" - that is me. I guess I am just trying to get the feel of a $3000 Hensley from a $500 blue Ox. I use no boost (dont like the surge) with a setting of 10-12. I can't keep it that high if the road isn't perfectly dry -lockup.


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## DANJOGAVINMO (Apr 17, 2004)

wow, am I the the only one who keeps my prodigy set lower? with brakes depressed and voltage at steady hold state, mine is set at about a 2.0









Danny


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Braking is something that each individual adjusts to his or her style of driving. The only thing I have a question about is, and correct me if I am wrong, when using the manual braking the brake lights on the TT are not working. Am I right or wrong about this.

"Let's Go Camping"

Crawfish


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Crawfish said:


> Braking is something that each individual adjusts to his or her style of driving. The only thing I have a question about is, and correct me if I am wrong, when using the manual braking the brake lights on the TT are not working. Am I right or wrong about this.
> 
> "Let's Go Camping"
> 
> ...


As far as I know, the trailer brake lights will not activate until the TV brakes are applied. They feed from the brake light wiring on the TV...if I am wrong, please someone correct me!!!









Steve


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

huntr70 said:


> Crawfish said:
> 
> 
> > Braking is something that each individual adjusts to his or her style of driving. The only thing I have a question about is, and correct me if I am wrong, when using the manual braking the brake lights on the TT are not working. Am I right or wrong about this.
> ...


No brake pedal no brake lights. Different circuit.


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