Roadmaster Direct-Connect Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
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2005 Ford Expedition
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2005 Ford Expedition
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When you’re not towing, the front of your vehicle stays clean and uncluttered. The hidden brackets sit farther back than standard mounts, keeping them virtually invisible once the drawbars are removed. Built-in pull rings make it simple to unlock, twist, and remove the arms, leaving nothing in sight to snag or scuff. It’s a slick setup that maintains a factory look when you’re just driving around.
Getting ready to tow takes only a few steps. The direct-connect drawbars slide into the brackets, twist to lock, and click securely into place—no separate quick-disconnect crossbar needed. When it’s time to unhook, pull the built-in release ring, twist back, and the arm comes right out. The process is quick, clean, and doesn’t require extra parts hanging off your tow bar.
Every bracket is computer-cut from all-steel material for strength you can count on through thousands of miles of towing. The black powder coat finish resists corrosion and road wear so it keeps looking good season after season. This setup bolts directly to the frame with no welding required, spreading towing forces evenly across solid mounting points.
Each kit is made to bolt directly to your vehicle’s frame for a precise fit. It’s compatible with Roadmaster motor-home-mounted tow bars that slide into a trailer hitch—like the Nighthawk, Sterling, Blackhawk, Blackhawk 2, Falcon, or Falcon 2. Instructions and all mounting hardware come included so you have what you need for a straightforward install.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today, on our 2014 Fiat 500L, we're going to be taking a look at and installing the Roadmaster EZ5 Base Plate Kit with Removable Arms, part number RM-522014-5. This is what your base plate is going to look like once it's installed in the vehicle. Nice, sleek, tucked away, the only thing that is going to be sticking out is going to be those chain tie-downs until you place on your arms. Place it in, let go, rotate it, and it's clicked and locked in place. They come with a bracket and the self-tapping screws to make way for that wiring harness. The first thing we're going to need to do is remove the six Phillips head screws on the bottom side of the fascia securing it to the core support. You're going to have three here: one, two, three, and three here: one, two, and three. Now, keep in mind that the six fasteners here on the passenger side are going to be the same to remove on the driver side. Now, on the inside of the fender, we're going to be moving to next, to remove the Phillips fastener here, and here, as well as the T30 Torx bit fastener located here at the seam.
Keep in mind that you will need to move your tires and adjust them to one side or the other to get in here to remove these. Now, if the Torx bit fastener is undone in the wheel wells and all the rest of the Phillips head screws underneath, we'll be able to open up the hood and remove the other Torx bit fasteners securing the top plate here. Now, we'll go ahead and remove the front fascia and bumper. First thing we'll do is pull out and away to remove the bumper. We're going to pull out on the bottom corner to remove it from the locking tab here. Once we have it out and away, we can go ahead and start peeling it back, making sure that once we get out a little bit to where we can get behind it, we'll disconnect the lights. You'll see the light harness right here and we'll just reach in, press in, and disconnect that. All right, you're going to notice that there's going to be another harness down below.
I'm going to go ahead and disconnect it from this one here. That'll be for the fog lights. Next step is going to be to loosen up these nuts securing the coolant lines here. Now, be very careful here that you don't break them or bend them too much. The reason we're going to need to move them is because they're in the way of the factory bolts securing the bumper. Now, we're going to need to replace our bumper with that base plate, so we're going to loosen those up and this should give us enough movement to be able to move them out of the way. We're going to go ahead and loosen up our fifteen-millimeter bolts securing our bumper to the frame.
This side is going to be your most difficult, especially on the bottom side, down here, but if we can get these ones out, the rest of it we can get with our power tool. Now, it's okay to pull these out since we do have the alignment tabs securing it still, so you can go ahead and pull them out and you won't need to worry about securing and holding the bumper down. Now, we'll go ahead and remove the three ten-millimeter alignment tab nuts. Then, there is one on the passenger side. You'll want to pull the bumper straight out, and you'll need to pull it over the top of the coolant lines. We're going to remove the radiator shroud next.
You're going to have two screws fastening it to the front, and then two little push fasteners up here at the top. This will be removed from the vehicle in case if the factory bumper would ever need to be reinstalled. Press in the tabs on the back side here and pull out. Now, we're going to go ahead and put our base plate in place, lining it up with the alignment tabs on the bottom first. Remember to get your passenger side in first and rotate it over since you do have the coolant lines in the way. Once we have it in place, we can go ahead and let it rest while we get the hardware to secure it. We're going to go ahead and temporarily fasten the two top ones on each side, so that way we can put our red Loctite on and secure our bottom ones in place. Once we have those in place, we'll come back, remove the top ones on both sides, that way we know that it's going to be aligned perfectly, and then put the red Loctite on those and fasten them down. All right, now we'll go ahead and place red lock tight on our factory bolts and re-secure them. Make sure that you hand thread them in first just to make sure that they're going to be in there correctly and not cross-threaded. Now, we'll go ahead and repeat that here on the passenger side. Remember, you may need to bend these out a little bit, just to get the bolts back into the holes, but you don't want to bend on them too much since they are pressurized lines. All right, now we'll go ahead and mark our fascia to make our cuts and trim it away to fit over our base plate. You can note the instructions to find out the exact notches that you're going to need to cut in your specific bumper. Note that different models will require different trimming. This is going to be the driver side and we're going to start off by removing this one here, we'll just mark it with the paint pen where we're going to notch it. We'll be removing this whole area here, and then it'll just be reversed on the other side. Now that we've got our inserts cut out, we'll go ahead and clean it up with a carpenter's knife. Now, we'll go ahead and torque our factory bolts to manufacturer specifications. Now, we'll go ahead and re-secure our coolant lines here on the passenger side. Just for safe keeping and in case any future owner of the vehicle wants to place the factory bumper back on, we're going to go ahead and put these alignment fastener nuts back in place as well. Now, we'll go ahead and put our bumper back in place. Remember that we'll slide in the bottom first, then we'll make those connections to our lights. Once we have those in place, go ahead and slide the top up in. That will do it for our review and installation of the Roadmaster EZ5 Base Plate Kit with Removable Arms, part number RM-522014-5, on our 2014 Fiat 500L. You can find this and everything else right here at eTrailer.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Quality product for my new 2024 Ford Escape Hybrid AWD ST Line. Came with decent instructions that got me through installation without issue. Installation required drilling only two holes through the plastic lower grille opening for the insertion of the tow arms. Everything else was completely "bolt-on". The breakaway switch, safety cable tabs, and the wiring receptacle all fit through existing openings in the lower grille providing a "clean" finished look.
I originally purchased a Blue Ox baseplate to install since I already had a tow bar. Upon removing the front grill, I was surprised to find the used Element I had purchased already had the front bumper caps removed and 2 braces installed. Thanks to the photos on etrailer reviews and product info, I was able to determine that the vehicle had previously had a roadmaster baseplate installed! I purchased this unit and it fit perfectly onto the already installed braces. Seems very solid and high-quality so far.
A clean look on my 2025 Ford Maverick Hybrid after following e-trailer's detailed installation instructions.
Installation was fairly straightforward, kudos to e-trailer for the videos, looks great, everyone says it looks factory installed, love the low profile base plate without the bar, also love that the hook ups are detachable and can be removed when not towing, gives it an overall cleaner look. Installed it right at the campground without issues, took about 3 hours to install, with our rubicon only had to widen the top holes as the second set of holes were already the size of the bolts needed. This is the 3rd base blare we have installed and they get easier each time.
Put this on a 2014 Honda CR-V. This is a very well made base plate setup! The overall design, welds and powder coating are outstanding! Shipping was super fast too! The install video by etrailer was close to perfect and really helped to take the "scary" out of doing the job. The only change I would like to see in the video is during the grill removal. He says to just yank it forward to get the clips to release. Unfortunately, most of the specialized clips broke doing it this way. Had I known, I would have slipped a thin tool just below the grill to get the clips to unlock/release. Also, on the wrap around, bumper cover, some of the tabs on the bumper cover ripped out and I had to do some creative plastic welding or fiberglass resin/cloth to repair. These clips have a release tab also. I suggest finding specific videos on youtube to remove the plastic body parts and grill. I got it all done and it works perfectly! I really love the almost invisible tow receivers on the car (when the arms are removed). Our last toad was a 1997 Nissan Hardbody pickup that has permanent knee busting/shin smashing protrusions. I am super happy with everything we have bought from etrailer over the past 18 years!
The folks at etrailer are fantastic. I didn't know everything I needed to tow my car behind our RV... but they did! Everything I needed was in the boxes and the videos made it all come together. Thank you to everyone at etrailer!
It mounted up just as the instructions said it would. From previous research I was not surprised when some of the mounting did not align perfectly. Had to use a dremel tool to make it work. The product looks very sturdy from its design. I’m happy with it and look forward to RV traveling.
Good product. If you are reasonably handy and have some tools, you can install this yourself in a few hours. I'm a mechanic, it took me a little over 2 hours to install on my own toad. The fit is good, there are 4 holes you have to drill, otherwise it is plug and play. When you insert and twist lock the tow bar mounts into their sockets they feel a little sloppy but they are secure, and i never noticed any rattle when towing. Overall i give it a 4 out of 5 for easy install and clean look after install. Pic included of installed base plate.
This was a bit of a challenge to install on a 2026 Chevrolet Colorado Z71. One item to be aware of, as you take off the front Facia of the truck for the install, there are two Facia "brakets" that attach to the front fenders that seem like they are use once plastic snaps. Three of the 4 snaps broke off on both sides when I removed the facia. These are about $35 a piece from Chevy and prevent you from making this a 1 day job. Additionally, there are 2 7mm screws/bolts that connect one of the coolers to the back of the bumper support and these are a real problem to get back in - over an hour of time and every 1/4" tool in my arsenal was needed to find a way to get these started. Finally, one of the Connecting Plates (Passenger side) needed to holes to be elongated to enable all the bolts to be started. Finally - you need to put the Brakaway bracket on the driver side, to have enough cable to reach you brake system. Probably have 4 hours in the disassembly and installation of the Direct-Connect Plate. Now waiting a couple days for the plastic brackets from Chevy to complete the install. Good Luck!!
Excellent base plate, just as my wife requested, she didn’t want too much metal visible in front of the bumper. Installation instructions were a bit confusing for me, but I’ll clarify, for me.
Very fast shipping, and the install was easy. Great product
2002 Honda CR-V. Easy to install. Two and a half hours, and stopped to eat a sandwich. To install the spacers inside the roll frame on the car I used an extension magnet to reach in there and position them. As you can see NO cutting was needed on the bumper cover!
Now I have to figure out the easiest way to run the wiring for the lights.
Thanks Lauren A for your help!
Awesome instructions! Install was fairly easy. Product is very high quality and solid construction. Thank you E Trailer!
I installed this base plate on a 2018 Miata RF. I think I recall something about it taking 3.5 hours and my initial estimate was 3.5 days. It actually took a bit longer than that, but I was not pushing myself and did not have the luxury of having the vehicle on a lift but had it up on two ramps for the front wheels.
The order came pretty quickly, probably about 4 or 5 days between the time I placed it and UPS delivered it. The parts were well packaged and it came with a printed set of instructions. I had watched the video install on another Miata and if it weren't for that I'm not sure I would have tried it. I'm not a pro mechanic by any means but have worked on my own vehicles now for over 40 years. And I'm not a spring chicken either, so all the up and down working on the car can tire me fairly quickly. But if you are not in a rush and go carefully it can be done.
It took a day to do most of the disassembly. I removed both headlights and the intake tube on the passenger side. That tube came out much easier then it went back in.
The next day I got the baseplate mounted which helped to start visualizing how it all would work. All of the holes for the 6mm bolts did not quite line up with the holes in the frame. I had to file one sides worth for a bit of extra clearance. From my experience on this install you really want to leave all the bolt on the loose side till you get everything situated.
A couple of days off for rain and the then I got to work on the bracing. Initially I though I didnt need to cut the top lip of the frame but I decided to go ahead and do it anyway since that part didnt seem to sit flat when bolted from the back end. I'm still not sure its really necessary as the hump clears the metal lip without cutting it.
I also ordered a 14" long 1/2" drill bit to cut the holes in the frame. It was a Bosch bit, wasnt very expensive and it went through the metal like the proverbial hot knife. I managed to get all the big bolts installed in a day with a great sense of satisfaction.
The next day I torqued down all the bolts and the mount felt very solid. They stress that you need to install all the bolts, but honestly I can't see the 6mm bolts doing much compared to the half inch bolts that do most or all of the work. But I put them in and tightened them all the same.
A couple of days spent to install the tail light wiring and then I got back on to putting the front clip back on. My car must have had an aftermarket grill since it did not match the pictures or the video. I tried to position it carefully to see where the parts that were going to stick out would be so I didnt cut out more than I needed to. So there was a good amount of back and forth, cut and fit. In the end I had to make some extra cuts for clearance for the safety cable tabs as well as the mount for the 6 wire connector. Until I made the extra cuts the lower part of the front clip would not seat correctly. Getting the clip in the right position so it fits under the lights also takes some finagling.
Figuring out where all the bolts go back in can be interesting. Take pictures where you can. Dont be too aggressive when working with plastic parts. Overall I'm satisfied with the install, but I have yet to try and hook it up to tow.
Easy to install needed to replace some fasteners as they broke removing front grill was able to get them from Amazon cheap
Easy installation! Etrailer videos are very informative and helpful! Always great to have a helper too!
This Road Master Direct connect base plate works perfectly for a 2020 ford transit cargo 250! Awesome service from etrailer as usual! The finished product can barely be seen through the front fascia!
It was shipped promply. I installed it myself using the included step by step instructions and videos from etrailer. It all went well (though I had to come back and reconnect the sensor plug- my bad).
I tow a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and this base plate is nearly invisible when not towing. Works well.
I bought and installed this tow plate one year ago on my 2013 Jeep Wrangler. I bought this particular plate due to the jeep having a Barricade off-road bumper. This plate attaches a bit lower than other plates and prevented having to modify the bumper. Installation was easy involving only hand tools. The plate comes with all needed bolts and attachments. I have towed this Jeep several thousand miles behind my RV with absolutely no issues. As an aside, I use a Roadmaster Night Hawk tow bar which is also an excellent product. Both are expensive, but I believe cheaping-out on safety is no a good idea. I highly recommend this product.
This works perfect with my Roadmaster tow bar. It was a little difficult to install since I had to remove the front end of the Trailblazer, but with the good directions that came with it and some you tube videos made the installation easier.
Had these installed at Lester’s Automotive in Boerne,Texas…First class service all the way. Paul and his crew worked through lunch for over 4 hours to install these on our 2026 Ford Ranger. Also ran the wire and hooked up my auxiliary tow lights. The price for this was very reasonable and would highly recommend them for all r.v. needs even if not real close to the Boerne area. R.V park within reasonable distance if needed.
Etrailer comes through again! This was a great savings as a used kit, but it was even better than the description online. I have installed (4) baseplates on and etrailer.com has given me great videos to watch and good instructions to follow. Couldn't be more pleased with the quality, service and delivery times.
Great product with very GOOD instructions! It virtually is unnoticeable on our Fiat 500L.
Hitch arrived on time, fit perfect, installation directions were great. Happy customer.
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