Roadmaster Crossbar-Style Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
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2016 Freightliner Sprinter 2500
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2016 Freightliner Sprinter 2500
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This setup keeps your front end clean when you’re not hitched up. The removable drawbars slide out with two hitch pins, leaving behind brackets that are tucked within the grille and nearly invisible. It gives a smooth, factory look without bulky attachments sticking out or collecting road grime.
You can count on this kit for serious durability. The brackets are made from computer-cut, all-steel material that provides exceptional strength and solid weld points. A black powder coat finish adds corrosion resistance so the hardware holds up through long trips and all kinds of weather without flaking or rusting.
This base plate kit is easy to install with the included instructions and mounting hardware—no welding needed. The custom design ensures the brackets line up exactly with the vehicle’s frame mounts for a precise fit. It’s a solid bolt-on job that keeps everything aligned and ready for reliable flat towing.
If you’re running a Roadmaster tow bar, this kit ties in neatly using the quick-disconnect crossbar (910021-00, sold separately). That lets you hook up fast without fussing with alignment every time. Once the arms are off, the front end stays protected from scrapes and scuffs while still ready for your next trip.
Ratings & Reviews
Great product for my 2014 Wrangler. Good materials, solid attachment to vehicle, and looks good. The e trailer installation video was great for assisting installation. Made the install much quicker and easier. The most difficult procedure for me was disconnecting the wiring harness on the back of the bumper. An old tack puller (or tool of similar design) would have been great for leveraging the pins out of their holes. Cutting the air dam was a slow process to ensure I didn't cut too much. A paper template to mark where to cut the air dam would make this process much simpler. Again, I can't emphasize enough how great the installation video was for making the steps easier.
After comparing Demco, RoadMaster, and Blue Ox base plate costs, mounting procedures, etc for my 2012 Fiat Sport, I decided to go with RoadMaster (Kit #522013-1A) for two main reasons: 1) I had the tow bar and mount adapters from another product that were the same specs as the RoadMaster tow bar and adapters to attach to the base plate, and 2) no drilling or other modifications required to mount the base plates. Blue Ox (Kit #BX2800) required I buy their tow bar and other unique configuration adapters PLUS drill two half-inch holes on either side where the base plate mounted AND hammering flat the tips on the corners of the bumper bracket the frame where the base plate mounted. Blue Ox did provide better details on the removal of the facia and bolt removal and torquing actions required for the Fiat. My biggest challenge was the removal of the facia without damaging the clips or other damage to it. Once it was off, the action of removing the bumper core from the end of the frame rails and bolting on the base plate was slick! I took a little over 4 hours to do this, but it was because I wanted to do it right, without damage, and have the confidence I could tow without issues. (Not sure how sequence will show, but labeled the pictures as "Before," "Removal," "Installation," "Finished," and "Ready to Tow.")
This was the second base plate kit from etrailer that I have installed, the first being on our ‘03 Outback and this one on our new to us 2015 Subaru CrossTrek. As usual the response, shipping and delivery from etrailer was prompt and curious. They are my go to place for anything towing related.
Installation of this kit went well with only a few issues, most of which were related to our vehicle not the kit. I knew the car had been hit lightly on the LF corner, but could find nothing of concern body or frame wise when I looked the car over before buying it. Turns out the front bumper reinforcement had been tweaked a tad which made lining the bolt holes up with the holes in the base plates a tad challenging. This made the small angle brackets that go inside the frame heads tough to line up, but in the end it all fit. I did find that it was unnecessary to pull the washer reservoir or the left headlight to access the nut and washer for the long 1/2” bolt. You can easily reach and see the place from underneath after pulling the plastic encapsulation panel. When drilling that 1/2” hole be sure to angle the drill bit UP a tad otherwise you may end up having to grind a flat on the side of the large, thick washer as you can see in my picture from underneath. I used shrink wrap over the nut and bolt since there’s a wiring harness right against it. The picture of the baseplate differs a bit from the pictures so I guess they made some changes. All in all a great kit!
The Jeep project went very well everything fit great and worked well. I really love Roadmaster products and quality and your company is the best place to purchase them. I sold the Jeep and replaced it with a new 2019 Chevy Equinox 2.0 L AWD and just purchased and installed the following items from you and installed them, RM-156-25 & RM-156-75 Battery Charge Line Kit, RM-146-7 Flex Coil Kit, RM-523193-4 EZ4 Plate Kit, RM-88333 Custom Seat Adapter, RM-751489 Stop Light Switch Kit and a RM-98160 Second Vehicle Brake Kit w/brakeaway. All these parts were in stock and arrived quickly and normal with you people, I really enjoy the o-line vidios as I do all my own installs. Thank you so much for your great service.
I will attach pictures of my install, you will see how I was able to fab a bracket and attach it to the existing mount on the base plate to mount the brakeaway switch and the air connection for the brake system.
I also fabricated a tail light bar as I didn't want to use mag-lights or splice into the factory lights and bulbs installed into the lights would not work as the factory brake lights will come on when the brake system is applyed and the turn siginals would not be visable.
Thanks for all you do, I would and do recommend you people to everyone who needs your products. Rob
The installation took me about 7 hours, the facia removal was tedious , between the installation videos and instructions, I performed the task. This bar has one con, the pull rings on the removal bars are flimsy , my first pull stretched one out. I’m sure trailer has a fix for this under warranty, I hope.
Etrailer was very easy to do business with and made it simple to ship my order directly to the RV shop that was going to install it. This was my first order from them, but I will definitely consider future purchases from them if I'm in need of something for my RV.
The representative (Sarah) was very helpful and knowledgeable, the prices are very reasonable and all my items arrived on time. When I called with a question, she was very polite, friendly and genuinely sounded like she enjoyed her job. When I discovered one of the items I ordered wasn’t needed, getting help to return was hassle free. I would recommend etrailer to anyone that needs anything RV or trailer related. I will definitely do business with them again. I am impressed.
We towed our 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 3000 miles last year, this is an ideal setup, discreet when not in use, solid, and easy to get on/off. Very please with the support I received from Roadmaster as one of the bolt was missing, was sent super quickly.
Not an easy install on a Trax but it is very well made and gives a clean look. I did customize by cutting down the 6 pin bracket supports to get it flush with front of the car.
Install pretty easy. You will have to change directions of one bolt due to obstruction ( frame). Cannot torque a few of the bolts. These are the ones with wire attached.
Rock guard needed addition trimming from factory instructions.
Awesome delivery speed, and a well made base plate for my 2007 Element. Installation was a breeze (thanks to my son’s heated shop) and I had to do no cutting to make this fit. I had a Stowmaster tow bar that came with my RV and etrailer was able to steer me to the correct missing parts to make this a really affordable installation. Now to get out of this snow!
Purchased for a 1997 Subaru Impreza. Delivery was amazingly fast! I didn't have it installed until a few months later, as my travel plans had stalled. It didn't quite bolt right on, but was close, and a friend had to modify it some to make it work. I still hear a grating noise when I turn too sharp on one side, but otherwise it's fine.
The front connection plates didn't line up with the holes, so had to have those modified, as well, in order to line up and attach to the tow bar. Once the new holes were drilled, I was able to hook up and go.
It's relatively easy to connect after finding a way to do it alone.
I've towed from CO to TX and all over TX with it with no problems.
Fit and finish is great, the illustration for what you trim on the bumper isn't great but otherwise pretty easy install (I ended up measuring between the mounts on the draw bar and just trimmed accordingly)
I’ve been purchasing products from ETrailer since 2005 and all the products I’ve purchased have been a great value. The products mentioned above installed perfectly and with the direct assistance from ETrailer everything fit as suggested. I will always interact with ETrailer as needs present themselves.
After ordering the wrong crossbar, etrailer sent the correct one for our Mini Cooper quickly. However I did have to modify most of the holes as the cross bar didn’t quite fit (but close). I had to drill the three main bolt holes to 11/16 so that the bar would go over the Mini’s 3 main bumper bolts on both sides. The two lower bolt holes (each side), needed to be drilled out 3 sizes larger to accommodate the 4 bolts that come with the kit. I had to drill out the Minis lower holes to better align with the crossbars lower holes. I would also like to note it being a pain in the knuckles to reach one of the three (each side) bolts to put the stock nuts on the bolt and then try and get them tight. (The main bolt pattern for the upper bumper is diamond shape, one up tow bolts lower. (The lower “inside” bolt on each side is the one that is hard to get to and tighten.) Sorry I didn’t get picks, I was in a rush to get the car back together. There’s an angle piece on the cross bar that blocks the hard to reach bolt, it would be helpful if that could be made more accessible to reach.
Overall the installation was great, however the process of drilling 3 - 1/2" holes in that little bumper that has a Rockwell Hardness of about 60, seems to be a bit over the top.The instructions are spot on, delivery was great, the quality of product was accurate. I am a happy boy!
Replaced same part that was damaged in a crash. I had used my original one for close to ten years without issue. Fast shipping from etrailer.
The Base plate kit is well made and came with all the necessary hardware.Installation is relatively straight forward. I did have to enlarge two of the holes that didn't quite line up. But overall I'd recommend it.
Bolted right up. Installation should be done with bumper on, as you can't fit the ends through the louvers without some convincing. Works great so far. Was able to use a Stowmaster 5000 with it.
Installation was a bit trying. Ended up looking very clean and almost invisible.
Using the tow bar worked super easy and our motorhome hardly noticed the Mini Cooper back there.
Came quickly and is very high quality. Great directions/video from road master makes the installation step by step easy to follow.
Skill level is probably at the intermediate level depending on experience.
The #118-3 is a perfect fit on my 1995 Geo Tracker. When you pull off the removable arms you would never know they are there. The Quality is very good easy to put on all you have to do is drill 4 holes the tube on the base plate fits into the tube on the frame of the tracker and with the 2 bolts it is a solid fit. I was worried about the plate nut getting it inside of the frame but it went in easy when you put it over the frame tube and use a thin piece of metal to slide it in place. I’m very happy with it. I probably could of got it on without taking my bumper off but with only 4 bolts holding my bumper on it made it easier
etrailer has been so good to work with! The base plates worked perfectly!
Installed on our 2008 Wrangler JK. Install was fairly easy. We tow the Jeep behind a 31' Class C Motorhome. Installation of tow bar brackets was very easy. The only thing I don't like is the square channel on both receiver brackets is larger than the removable front bracket arms which creates more play and potentially more ware on the front bracket arm and/or the square channel on the receiver bracket. I have monitored the parts on a two and half month trip last fall and will continue to monitor it for ware. Overall I'm very pleased with the part.
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