Demco Classic Base Plate Kit - Fixed Arms
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2003 Ford Explorer
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2003 Ford Explorer
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This setup has proven itself over thousands of miles of towing without a hitch. The sturdy steel design doesn’t just handle the load—it actually reinforces the front end for added confidence on long runs. Towing forces are spread evenly across the chassis to keep stress off the suspension, so the ride stays solid mile after mile.
If you like a clean front end, this one keeps things tidy. The fixed-arm style eliminates bulky crossbars or large brackets, leaving only the base plate tabs visible once installed. Hidden reinforcement keeps the look sleek while still giving you dependable attachment points you can count on every time you hook up.
There’s no welding needed here—just a solid bolt-on job with included hardware and clear instructions. The kit mounts directly to the chassis for a permanent fit that stays put. Everything you need for install is in the box, so getting ready to tow is a straightforward garage project instead of a fabrication job.
Whether you already run a Demco tow bar or use another brand, this kit’s got you covered. It works with all Demco tow bars and can adapt to other manufacturers’ models with specific adapters (sold separately). The built-in electrical bracket also gives you a spot to mount a round connector plug, keeping your wiring neat and within easy reach when you’re ready to roll.
For reference when planning your rig, the distance between brackets is 21" center-to-center and the bracket height is 16". The tabs have a 3/4" gap, measure 3/8" thick, and include a 1/2" hole for securing the tow bar pin—tight, precise fitment that makes hooking up quick and reliable every time.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hello neighbors, it's Brad here from Etrailer. And today I'm in Boyden, Iowa at the Demco headquarters and manufacturing facility where we got to see Demco products made. And these are all products that I handle on a daily basis when doing flat tows, fifth wheels, or even couplers. They cover so many different towing products and they have plenty of experts here to break down some of their products a little bit more, to give you some understanding as well as allow me to ask those questions on products that I handle every day. So Verlin, when it comes to flat down vehicle, one of the main components is gonna be a base plate. So what is a base plate So the base plate is basically where the tow bar is going to attach from the motor home to the towed vehicle.
And you'll see here today, we've got a base plate already installed on this Colorado, and then we've got another one just sitting here so people kinda get an idea of what it looks like. But it's our attaching point to the frame of the vehicle, basically. Brad So yeah, I mean, as you're towing a vehicle, it's essentially becoming a trailer. It's like making sure that you have a coupler that's gonna be strong enough to tow it. Verlin Absolutely.
So you also have a few attachment points along with any flat tow components, not only just the arms, but also safety chain loops as well as some of your components. Six pole braking systems along that as well. Yeah, so talk through that a little bit. So this particular base plate in this application on a Colorado, we happen to remove the OEM tow hooks and we're bolting into the tow hooks. And then we're reinforcing that because a flat tow is just a little bit different than towing your vehicle out of the snow or the mud.
You know, you've got the stopping and the turning forces that are a little bit different than your standard let's tow it out of the mud type situation. So that is what those brackets are. Yeah, we've got the attaching points there. Also include the little bracket here for four-point or six-point electrical connection, as well we've got the holes built in for the airline connection. And I see you've got the tab there in your hand, Brad.
That's right. Yeah, and that's something, you know, you're not always flat towing your vehicle and you wanted to kind of go back to a OEMs look. And that's where removable arms come in place. So pretty simple. These just slide in, give it a quarter turn, and then you're gonna be able to put that pin in place and it's ready to go. You can hook your tow bar up. But you guys also include, got some caps here. Verlin Yeah, there's a little packet of caps and basically kind of snap the cap off when you're ready to tow. Put the removable pull tab in there and you're set to tow. When you're done, keep the dirt water and road debris out. Just snap the cap right in place. Brad Now the safety cables, what's the point of the safety cables So you know, Demco is always really concerned about everybody's towing as safely as possible. And while we build these to the best of our ability and FEA test all of our base plates before they go out into production, there's always a chance that something catastrophic could happen. And in that event, we have a extra set of safety cables. So we have one set of safety cables coming from the coach to the truck. This set of safety cables is going to attach to the base plate and around a secure part of the frame. So in the event we had a bolt failure or something to that effect, we do have one more secondary link to keep that towed vehicle behind your motor home. Now traditionally, if you're looking at base plates, they're ever seen them depending on the vehicle, they don't all look like this. Absolutely not, no. And every vehicle is different. So when our engineers design a base plate, they've got to look at the structure behind the front face shield of the vehicle and find out what is the best, safest, and strongest way to tow that vehicle. And they use computer modeling as well as FEA testing on every base plate to make sure that we're gonna keep that vehicle behind your motor home. So today it's on a Colorado, but there's also, we got a few other vehicles. Absolutely. You can cover a whole spectrum of vehicles with base plates. Absolutely, yeah. If the vehicle's towable, we try to get a base plate to fit it. And what we do there is we have a network of auto dealers around the area here that we work with as well as customers bring in their vehicles and we'll fit them up and design a base plate for their vehicle. And not only is the base plates gonna be your foundation for flat towing, but you guys also offer tow bars, braking systems, really everything to get your car down the road. Absolutely, yeah. Brad After seeing your guys' manufacturing facility, I got to see these made in America. Verlin Made right here in the USA, right in Boyden, Iowa. Awesome, thank you Verlin. All right, thank you.
Ratings & Reviews
This Product came surprisingly fast! I was very impressed with the way it was packed! Very well For a heavy part! The Part is so impressively made, I hate to cover it up!
I HAD A VERY PLEASANT EXPERIENCE! The products work great. I enjoy dealing with people that have understanding of the products and are able to communicate to the consumer in a very pleasant manor.
Thank you!
They for right where the original tow hooks were. The only problem was the one bolt on each side was hard to get tight due to the location in the cutout of the pin attachment.
It took closer to 5 hours by myself!! Actually fairly simple install. If I had another one to do now it would probably take 3 hours. Some of the bolts were a pain with my large hands. It only pokes out a little. Very happy with this hitch!!
The quality of this base plate is very good. On my 1990 Cherokee the spacing of the 1/2" bolt holes required me to enlarge the holes for proper fit. The instructions are shamefully poor quality as are the installation photos in the instructions. Demco needs to improve.
Received shipment fast. I ordered the wrong adapters and call customer service right after delivery. Got excellent service from Brittany ordered the right adapter, got a return label while on the phone to my email. Installed the demco base plates with a few problems. Fit was tight but nothing a small mallet couldn't handle. They do mention in instructions that you may need to elongate one of the holes. Mine was for a 2016 GMC 2500. Definitely need to make hole bigger on the truck frame. I would do it before inserting the baseplate. Otherwise great product good tight fit.
Fast delivery and great price. Replaced an old Roadmaster baseplate (which was a shin-getter) for my Saturn Vue, with a Demco baseplate. Fits perfect! New baseplate is barely exposed to my shins. Directions were very clear, and I installed it in about 2 hours. It even came with the thread lock required. etrailer communicated every step of my shipment, even following up after delivery.
Poor paint quality. Paint was chipping off down to the metal even before I got them out of the box. Like everything else anymore, over priced and lacking quality.
The product is built well, however, the bumper doesn't go back onto the car flush like it was before mounting the base plate. On another note, it would be useful if the instructions mentioned leaving the front bumper off while installing other products like the diode kit, and the fuse by-pass switches,as well as the break away kit.
One year follow up....
The Demco unit is a solid base plate overall. Basemount mounting holes are slightly off compared to the frame which made installation slightly difficult, however, not too difficult to rectify. Unit works well with just over 3000 miles in the past year.
After reviewing the top name brands for tow bars I was really exited first with Roadmaster's pin style base plate connectors, but when I realized that it would require cutting and possibly drilling I took a second look and decided to install the Demco base plates and get the tow bar from them as well.
These plates can be installed in a mere 2 hours if you have all the tools ready to go. I have the fortunate luck that my truck is equipped with the air suspension and so lifting it to the highest setting and driving up on 12in ramps gave me ample amount of room to work under the front bumper area.
The installation is seriously easy and requires no special tools, other than a set of metric sockets and a torque wrench. The factory tow hooks are removed and these base plates fit in the exact same space without any cutting, not even the plastic cover behind the pumper needed to be removed (though for some odd reason the instructions did and I followed them on the driver side but when I realized that I could install the plate without this step, I omitted it on the passenger side). Despite my initial worry of wanting a nearly invisible look, these bars are remarkably clean looking.
I purchased this with the intent of having my local RV repair shop install it for me. I was curious about how it was installed so I read the directions and thought, this doesn’t look that hard. I was right. The directions were clear and accurate and in a little over two hours I was closing the hood on a finished install. Quality all the way around and really fast shipping. Three days after placing my order it was delivered.
One of the mounting holes on top of the frame, the welded nut, is out of alignment and I ended up using the bolt from my OEM tow hooks. Perhaps consider a pilot point for these especially if nuts are not in plane with the rest of the assembly. Other than that the tow bar is operating great. Nice low profile and blends into the stock ranger front end. Fits well with the Curt adjustable tow bar.
Have not used it yet, but probably the easiest thing to install just simple three bolts. and I don’t believe that you could find anybody to ship something. Any faster.
These were a perfect fit for my 2026 Sierra 2500HD. The instructions are in desperate need of being updated. I was able to complete the installation without removing the grill and bumper. All that was required was the removal of the tow hook and enlarging the facia hole to accommodate the baseplate.
Great service - ordered Sunday night, delivered Wednesday lunch time, installed Wednesday afternoon. Excellent information, instructions - took about 4 hours, had to file 2 bolt holes a slight bit, but the fit was very good.
I am very happy with the baseplate and would recommend it to anyone.
Before and after pictures attached.
wrong part!!!
1998 Jeep Cherokee Lim ited
This is the second time we've ordered these kits. They work very well for our needs, staff is very helpful and responsive, and shipping is fast.
Received on time and installed as directed. I'm 78 and only had one problem, that of having to bend down a tab on the vehicle frame. Had to go buy a punch. However, the left base plate front holes for the tow bar attaching pin was not in alignment. The pin would not go through. Contacted etrailer and received a replacement in no time. Removed the bad one and reinstalled the new one. Then took the vehicle to my hitch guy for brake wiring. He double checked my work and said everything was in great order and a good fit. With the virus lockdown, I have not towed other than home from getting the brakes set up. But that worked ok.
Perfect fit on a 2001 Chevy Tracker feels solid looks good
Fairly ez to install Have not towed it yet am waiting on towbar
So that I can try it out
They fit our 2007 Hummer H-3 perfectly. Very easy to install and appear to be well built. We have only used them for a test pull and they worked perfectly.
The kit was easy to install. Quality control could be better. I wasted time trying to get the frame mounts fitted, because they had them labelled backwards. Some of the nuts they supplied were the wrong thread. It has a real good thick paint job. But that tends to make things hard to put together. I had to sand down the Falcon adapters. I also had to modify the fog light spoiler, but that was a given as it is a rare option. All in all, it looks good and works fine.
Well made and easy too install…
Just sold the Tracker that the base plate was installed on but it had several thousand miles of towing on it with no problems . Installation was not too difficult , and it hardly showed . Seems a bit expensive for what it is , but it is custom made so I get it . Very heavy duty steel with the bonus of it actually reinforces the front end of the Tracker .
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