Blue Ox Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
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2026 Ford F-150
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2026 Ford F-150
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If you care about keeping a factory look when you’re not towing, this setup keeps things neat. The hidden design sits flush with the chassis so nothing bulky sticks out past the bumper. When you’re done towing, the arms twist off easily and the receivers get capped with covers that keep dirt and debris out. It leaves a clean finish and keeps you from bumping your leg against any exposed hardware.
This kit uses a simple twist-lock system so you can attach or remove the arms in seconds. Just insert them into the receivers, rotate until they lock, and secure with the pin. When it’s time to unhook, pull the pin, twist back, and slide them out. The design makes connecting your tow bar straightforward whether you’re at home or out on the road.
The base plate bolts directly to the chassis—no welding required. Its sturdy steel build spreads towing force evenly across the frame to help reduce stress on your suspension during long hauls. Powder-coated steel resists rust and corrosion, so it stays solid through years of use. Specs include a distance between brackets of 24" and a bracket height of 22".
If you already have a tow bar system, this kit pairs right up with Blue Ox tow bars for a secure connection. It can also work with Roadmaster tow bars using adapter RM-031 or RM-031-5 and with Demco tow bars using adapter DM9523041 (all sold separately). Integrated mounting points make it easy to add an electrical connector plug bracket (sold separately) to keep your wiring tidy.
You don’t need special tools or welding for this one. The base plate bolts securely to your vehicle’s chassis using the included mounting hardware. Most installs run around four hours depending on experience level, making it doable for handy DIYers looking for a weekend project that fits cleanly and works reliably every time they tow.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
96% were satisfied with this product
4% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
The Blue Ox base plate kit was installed without a hitch on our 2024 Maverick Hybrid. It was a perfect fit! It was installed by Fantasy Truck, a referred installer of etrailer, in Odessa, MO. Brett was very easy to work with and did an excellent job! I highly recommend the Blue Ox baseplate and Brett @ Fantasy Truck!
Base bar bend dimension tolerance is OK. Hole true position tolerances are pretty poor relative to the frame holes. The steel is powder coated black, but they didn't bother to clean the weld spatter off before painting, and lots of sharp little bumps cut your hands as you try to fit the bar.
The instructions are mediocre and the photographs are terrible. This is the worst instruction set photographs I have ever come across. They give you little bad bat black and white one and 1/2 x 2 inch photographs on the little booklet pages. Paragraphs are poorly written for referencing hard to see photographs. Correct and professional instruction sets should have exploded diagrams not photographs the step-by-step instructions are overly detailed for some things and totally leave out critical instructions. For example, what do you do when your clearance to the back face of the hole is much smaller than the bolt length than therefore you have to pry the hell out of the radiator support. I ended up cracking the radiator support doing this. The booklet should be twice as big, contain good diagrams, and be an 8 1/2 x 11 page in color. So you can actually figure out what it is. I stared at some of these pictures for five minutes each.
I tell you, were it not for having a lot invested in my motorhome, this job alone would make me consider selling it to not have to tow the car. For the price you pay on this bar I would've expected better.
The job took me most of a day because I had to do it over and over again. Because of the bad instructions.
Product: B+
Final fitment: A
Process instructions: D
Buying experience: A-
(Photo taken before I installed the safety cables)
Fits my 2013 mini cooper non turbo. Does take a few hours to install this Fit was good. The hardest part is removing the front bumper and reinstalling it. You do have to cut the lower bumper grill in three places take your time locating the exact spots for cuts. I have pulled Mini Cooper about seven thousand miles now with this Blue Ox and has worked great
I was given a Blue Ox Tow Bar and needed Base Plates for my Ford F150. In my online search, E-Trailer had the best price, so I ordered them. Delivery was a few days earlier than expected. I read the installation instructions and it sounded fairly simple to install, so I decided to tackle it myself. I began it about six pm and had the job completed and cleaned up in just over two hours. The job required removal of the bumper and tow hooks and drilling of two holes. Also William at E-trailer was of great help in the correct parts and keeping me informed of the delivery.
The safety Cable installation left a little to be desired. I'm not sure if I installed it as designed. The cables we're really long enough to go aroiund the frame rails on our Jeep, under the Radiator mount, Aluminum Frame, I was only able to go around the Raditor mount on both sides. Didn't really seam like it was the right way, but I suspect it's only for if something comes loose that there isn't a catastrophic breakaway.
After installing over 500 baseplates on various vehicles, this one was probably the toughest one . It had the off road package on it . But it fit great after I had to remove a lot that had been bolted up for 27yrs.
Tried to install this baseplate. It was a challenge to say the least. It did not fit the frame of my Jeep YJ without making modifications to the mounting plates on the driver side. I had to use a cut off wheel and remove 3/16 of an inch from the driver side spacer (which is too long. See pictures) in order to get it to clear the frame. Also, instructions say to drill an additional 1/2 inch hole in the frame for a third mounting bolt. BUT....the internal frame construction doesn't allow the nut on a stick to pass under the existing reinforcements for the bolts that mount the steering gear to the frame. Nut is way too thick to pass under the internal tubing in the frame from manufacturer (AMC).
This was instilled on a 2024 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 truck. I watched your video online with this exact model truck and the words I remember most was “and we did not have to do any trimming”. Well my truck was certainly different than what was on video. Guess it’s because it’s a late build 2024 (end of September 2024) and the grill system was maybe what would appear on the 2025 models? There was lots of trimming involved. I also will tell you the mounting holes both for the frame and the bumper back plate did not line up and required some modifications to fit. I would like to say this job is not for the faint of heart. I luckily have a mechanical/machinist background so was able to get the job done. Have not tested it yet but will be soon. Good luck to those of you who are planning on installing it yourself. Just remember it can be done. Just take your time.
Items arrived in 2 days, free shipping. All appeared in new undamaged condition.
The Blue Ox base plate for my 2015 Kia Soul is well manufactured and, with a little bit of mechanical skill, easy to install. It fit perfectly without issues. Brad from etrailer provides a step-by-step installation video that is outstanding and nicely guides through the process from beginning to end. I highly recommend this Blue Ox base plate from etrailer.
Well the blue ox base plate actually fits my turbo engine. The Curt didn't fit as advertised.
Super high quality baseplate for towing by Blue Ox. Instructions, videos, shipping (one day!) and overall experience was awesome. A bit pricey but their quality and the additional support by E Trailer cannot be beat! BTW (E Trailer) the baseplate fits three different Jeep configurations but did not call out the Recon package. After looking at other brands which showed there's to fit the 3 variations AND the Recon, I figured it would fit and it DID. You should definitely upgrade to include the Recon Edition.
lways great to shop at etrailer, especially the tech experts. Royce did an awesome job with our order. Everything fit perfectly and the help video provided the guidance I needed.
We installed the baseplate on our 2023 Encore GX AWD as well as the light harness and breakaway switch. A couple of items were incorrect but Royce corrected the issues with no problems.
Thanks again etrailer!
2019 Ford Ranger baseplate worked and fitted fine for me. 73 yrs old took me a couple hours but took many breaks. Younger could do it less than hour I'm sure.
Also works fine with my Blue Ox tow bar.
Arrived this morning. All appears good no damage! Are the lock pins sold separately?
Installation required some modification on our part to fit our 2023 Grand Cherokee 4xe. We needed to buy longer bolts by 1/2 inch to attach the baseplate and also needed to bend a tab to fit the pedestrian alert . I’m not sure if the tab was moved during shipping or was shipped that way. In order to reattach the fascia we made those adjustments otherwise the instructions were clear and easy to follow.
Fit perfectly and is well made. The installation video eTrailer has on their website was helpful to visually understand how to install and clearer than the written instructions.
Kelsey was outstanding with her knowledge and assistance getting our new Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit ready to flat tow. Best customer service ever!! Thank You Kelsey
Do you have a question about this Tow Bar Base Plate?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Brooke M.
8/1/2023
If you are looking at the same brand for your tow bar, the lock pins will come with the tow bar like with part # BX7420.