Roadmaster Crossbar-Style Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
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2000 Jeep Cherokee
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2000 Jeep Cherokee
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If you like keeping your front end looking stock when you’re not towing, this kit makes it easy. The hidden bracket design keeps things out of sight, and once the drawbars are removed, the remaining brackets are virtually invisible—tucked inside the grille where they’re protected from scrapes and scuffs. It’s a clean setup that blends right in when you’re driving around town.
Connecting your tow bar doesn’t get much simpler. The removable drawbars slide into place and lock with a quick twist—no pins or clips required. When you’re done towing, just twist them back and pull them out. It’s a smooth, tool-free system that makes hookup straightforward whether you’re in your driveway or setting up on the road.
This base plate kit is made from computer-cut, all-steel construction for exceptional strength and reliability. The black powder coat finish adds durability and corrosion resistance, holding up well against weather and road grime. It’s built for long-term use and designed to handle the stress of towing mile after mile.
You don’t need special tools or fabrication to get this mounted up. The brackets bolt directly to your vehicle’s frame and come with instructions and mounting hardware. The design keeps installation simple while ensuring a precise fit once everything is tightened down.
This crossbar-style base plate kit is compatible with Roadmaster tow bars when used with the quick-disconnect crossbar (910021-00 – sold separately). That means you can integrate it right into your existing towing gear without hassle, keeping everything lined up and ready to roll whenever the next trip calls.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today on our 2014 Nissan Versa, you're gonna be taking a look at and I'm gonna show you how to install the Road Master Easy-to-Base Plate kit with removal arms, part number 52353-1. It's gonna be one of five main components in a flat tow setup. The other four are gonna be your safety cables, your wiring, your breaking system, and your tow bar. This is what our base plate looks like when it's installed. This is going to give us a solid mounting point for our tow bar, when we're flat towing our Nissan. In a solid connection point between our RV and our Nissan while we're flat towing it.
This base plate is gonna work with quick disconnects and all Road Master tow bars. It's also gonna have twist lock removal arms. Simply slide them in, twist them, and they lock into place. Then we're gonna have our safety chain loops, then we're gonna have two rods for any wiring accessories you may want to add later on. This base plate is gonna have a black powder coat finish that's gonna resist any rust or corrosion.As you can see, it fits nicely inside the bumper fascia.
We have nothing that's protruding out, so it maintains a nice, clean look on the front of the vehicle. There's not gonna be any welding or drilling required. It's gonna mount directly to the frame rail and it's going to take the place of your bumper beam. First thing we need to do to start our installation is we need to remove our fascia. We're gonna start by removing the push-pin fasteners across the top here.
Take a flat head screwdriver, we're gonna pry off the center. What we wanna do is we wanna get the base out with it. Next we're gonna take a T25 torx bit, we're gonna have two torx head screws on each side, right at the lower corner of the fascia. Right at the lower, center part of our fascia, we're gonna have two ten millimeter head bolts we need to remove. And on each side of those bolts, we're gonna have two plastic push-pin fasteners.Here on our driver side, we're gonna have a few other push-pin fasteners we need to remove because this part here, this part of our fender liner, we're gonna have to pull it back once we get these off to get access to a ten millimeter bolt.
So we'll go ahead and pull these off the same way. Your directions do not say this, or don't tell you this, so. Only on our driver's side, we're gonna have a push-pin fastener on the inside of our fender liner, on the front side of our tire. We're gonna pull back our fender liner, we got a ten millimeter bolt there attaching our front fascia to our fender. We're gonna have one of those bolts on each side of the vehicle. Next thing we're gonna do, with an extra set of hands, we're gonna go ahead and remove our fascia. If you have fog lights you wanna disconnect those now or as you're taking this off, so make sure you don't just pull the fascia off.We're gonna start on the outside by our tires and work our way into this. We're just gonna slowly pry outward, and then we'll set our fascia aside once we get it off in a safe place. Next we're gonna remove the shock absorption pad. This will not be reinstalled. And then here on our driver side only, this pad that goes to our air dam, we'll take a trip panel tool, and we need to pop it off of our bumper beam. Next we're gonna take a 13 millimeter socket, on our passenger side we're gonna have four nuts to remove, on our driver side we're only gonna have three. So we'll go ahead and remove that, we're gonna remove our bumper core, and this will not be getting reinstalled.On our passenger side, on the back side of our bumper core, we're gonna have a push-pin fastener holding in this panel. There. Pull that out, you can remove your bumper core. Once we remove our bumper core, we're gonna go ahead and remove this panel right here. We'll have another fastener right down here on the bottom. Next thing we need to do is we're gonna have to remove this panel here on our driver side, this plastic air deflector. We're gonna have a couple push-pin fasteners up here on the top. We're gonna have one holding this in place but we're gonna have two that are holding this which slide into the top of it, so pull this one out here, and then the one here.Just do it like that. And then, we're gonna have another one right down here in this corner. There. And pull this out, and it will not be reinstalled. Next on our passenger's side, our washer fluid reservoir, we're gonna have a Phillip's head screw holding it in place. Go ahead and remove that, and it's just a plastic one so we don't have to push. Get that out. Next we're gonna take a ten millimeter head socket, we're gonna have two ten millimeter head bolts on the bottom of our reservoir bottle. Go ahead and remove those. Right on the back side of our willow liner, or the front side of our willow liner, back side top of our bottle here we're gonna have a third one we need to remove. Now we're just gonna lift our bottle off and we're gonna let it hang just like that.Next on our driver side, we're gonna have our radiator reservoir bottle. Ten millimeter head bolt on the top, go ahead and remove that. Our radiator reservoir bottle, we're just gonna pull up on it and make sure it's loose, then we're gonna slide it out of the way. Now let's set our main receiver brace in place, we're gonna line up the plate with the bolts coming out of our frame, just like that. Got that on both sides. Right on the inside, we're gonna have two push-pin fasteners, this is on our drivers side, on the inside of our air dam. Go ahead and remove those. And we're gonna set this aside for now.Once you remove your air dam, go ahead and reinstall the nuts to hold your receiver brace, or your main receiver brace in place. Here on our passenger side, you don't necessarily have to use the tape because you have plenty of room to reach in there. Driver's side you will have to, so I'm gonna show you how to do it so you can do it on the driver's side. Take that pipe spacer, and you're gonna have a bracket that looks like this for each side. It's actually gonna sit like this. This part is gonna be on the inside of the frame rail. We want the side that's gonna be on the inside of the frame rail, take this pipe space here and set it on over top that hole, then you take some tape and tape it to it. Cut the tape out the center of the hole, and set it just like this. I have two short teks bolts like this, gonna make sure we're using loctite on all of our bolts. Now the loctite does not come with your kit, your Basic Plate kit, so you will need to pick some of that up. You'll find some here on our website. Here at etrailor.com.We're gonna go down through the hole like that, you want two holes there, you lock washer in the nut, we're just gonna loosly install those for now. We're gonna take the long teks bolt, we're gonna go through and brace it like that in through the fold, and it's gonna come to the outside, out here where our washer is, where it was. We're gonna go ahead and file that up with a lock washer and a nut. Here on driver side, as I mentioned, you are gonna have to tape that space around there. To get the bolt in, if you reach up, right back in between your radiator and your frame here, you can slide that bolt into place right behind our air dam is where it came through. Next we're gonna tighten and torx all of our hardware to the specifications in the instructions.Next we can reinstall our washer reservoir and our radiator fluid reservoir. Reinstall your air dam. Once you get your base plate all tightened back down, you get everything back in place, go ahead and reinstall your fascia. Depending on which model Versa you have, you may have to do a little bit of trimming around your base plate. In our case, we did not. It just slid right into place. So if you're gonna stop here and just install your base plate, go ahead and reinstall all your hardware in reverse order from the way you took it out. If you're putting in a breaking system or any wiring, that wiring kit or stain plate dealer or air force one, it's a good idea while you have your fascia off to start installing that because it's easier to run all the wires back behind it.That'll do it for a look at an installation on the Road Master Easy-to-Base Plate kit with removable arms, part number 52353-1 on our 2014 Nissan Versa.
Ratings & Reviews
2018 Fiat Abarth install - Videos of install from etrailer helped a bunch. My 2018 fog lights on the Abarth required some trimming on the inside of the bumper cover. Photos in the instructions did not accurately depict my 2018 Abarth, but taking the grill and fog light assemblies off of the bumper cover allowed me to see what needed trimming. Basically a 1 inch notch with the dremel did the trick. I also got the rock guardian and falcon all terrain tow bar. super quick to assemble and disconnect. CLEAN LOOKING INSTALL WHEN EVERYTHING IS REMOVED.
This base plate was installed on a 2008 Kia Spectra. The bracket is strong and not really hard to work with HOWEVER,,,,,,,,,, I am used to the BlueOx base plate which is much easier to "hook up". Unfortunately, BlueOx did not make a base plate to fit my vehicle. That is not a big problem as I'm usually not in any hurry and it only takes maybe 5 minutes longer to "hook up".
The biggest problem with the RoadMaster base plate is that due to the way it is bolted to the frame, it only allows for a 6-inch ground clearance on the front of the vehicle. I have to be very careful with any "dips" in the road, especially on cross streets. Six inches may not sound like much but since the tires are several feet behind the base plate, it reduces that ground clearance greatly. It also will not clear the concrete "stop blocks" in front of many parking spaces.
If you are not very careful and keep this in mind, you may likely bend the frame of your car when you come to one of these sudden impacts. I haven't bent anything yet but it has certainly been shocking when it hits. Most of the time, the impact will cause the base plate to scrape and lift the car to the height to clear the obstacle.
I've attached a picture with a ruler in the view.
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
Very helpful at the ordering desk. Received product when promised
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