/
Blue Ox/
Removable Draw Bars/
Twist Lock AttachmentItem # BX1725
Retail:$529.00
Our Price: $429.95
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This strong and durable base plate kit is custom designed to fit your vehicle. The hidden reinforcements, along with the removable bracket arms, provide a clean, unobtrusive look when your car is not being towed.
Features:
Specs:
Installation Details 
2019 - 2019 Chevrolet Spark ACTIV - Manual transmission
2019 - 2019 Chevrolet Spark LS - Manual transmission - with Active Air Shutters
2019 - 2019 Chevrolet Spark LS - Manual transmission - without Active Air Shutters
2017 - 2018 Chevrolet Spark Manual transmission - excluding ACTIV - with Active Air Shutters
2017 - 2018 Chevrolet Spark Manual transmission - excluding ACTIV - without Active Air Shutters
2016 - 2016 Chevrolet Spark Manual transmission - with Active Air Shutters
2016 - 2016 Chevrolet Spark Manual transmission - without Active Air Shutters
Video of Blue Ox Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Speaker 1: Today on our 2017 Chevrolet Spark we're gonna take a look at and show you how to install the Blue Ox Base Plate Kit with removable arms. Part number is BX1725. Now, here's what your baseplate's gonna look like installed. As you can see with the removable arms we're able to really camouflage it, it doesn't add a whole lot of difference in the look quality of the front of your vehicle.What you'll have exposed is gonna be the pocket, and where you'll add your removable arms. You'll see they provide dust caps to keep dirt and debris out. You just want to slide your arm in.
And rotate it into it's locked position. Gonna have your safety chain connection point here right beside it. Very east to attach to attach a quick link there.The base plates also gonna have two bars that come out. That's for attaching a bracket two if you want to use a sick full rounder 00:00:47 for a full round. As you can see, our customer has opted for a four flat.
So, we'll just let that hang there. It offers an attachment point for your breakaway switch, which is typically gonna be required for any braking system. And again, over here, safety chain connection point and our other removable arm attachment point location.Now, to remove the arms you're simply gonna pull on the pin, rotate and remove. Then of course you always wanna put your caps back in just to keep dirt and debris from building up inside. Now our installation's gonna begin here with the hood open.
We're gonna have a 10 millimeter bolt and a pushpin fastener to remove on both sides.So, we've got those here and also here. Now the socket we'll use is gonna be 10 millimeters, it's not a large 10 millimeter bolt. You just wanna get that removed. Then on our push pin fastener here we want to pull out the center section of it, you can use a little screwdriver.You can see you're just using a pick here. And then once that's up, even if it separates, that's fine.
Then we'll just pop out the inside of it.Now, on both of our wheel wells we're gonna have pushpin fasteners here that hold the fender liner to the fascia. We want to take both of those out. We'll do that on both sides.Now if we pull back that fender liner, just kind of push in on it, right here there's a 7 millimeter headed screw that we need to remove. It's the screw that holds the fascia to the fender well here. It's gonna be right there.We'll do that on our passenger side as well. Now we'll come to the underside of the fascia, right around this area. All the way across we've got eight screws here that we're gonna be removing. Now, if you have this little lip that runs around the bottom edge, we want to avoid the ones that are actually holding that on, so like, this one here. We're gonna avoid that one, we want to remove these. We've got one here.For all these we'll use a 7 millimeter socket. We're gonna have the one here. This'll be our third one on the driver's side. Then we'll have the three here on our passenger side to take out.Now, if your vehicle's equipped with fog lights, you want to pull back and down on our fender liner there, reach right up inside, and you can see the maroon plug here on the back side of the light. And on the top there's a small lock. So, you pull back on that. Then you'll press down on the tab, just wiggle it to separate.You see there's that little gray lock. Just slide that back. And then you'll just press down on that tab. Now with the help of an extra set of hands we're gonna get our fascia pulled off. You're gonna start right at the intersection of the fascia and the fender well here. So, you just very gently pull out, work your way all the way up the seam there.Then we'll get it set aside somewhere safe. You can use the paper inside of your Blue Ox kit, kind of lay that and let it rest on top if you'd like. Now we're gonna trim out the plastic panel that comes down here on each side of the vehicle. We want to measure down from the bumper about 3.5 inches, and make a mark.Now, we're gonna trim all the way around that line at the 3.5 inch mark and we're gonna be removing this upper section. Now, we're gonna use a pair of aviation snips here to cut. You might have to clean it up a little bit with a razor knife if you can't cut all the way through.There's a little wire on the back here for your sensor. You want to avoid cutting that, of course. Now, right here where you can see this Christmas tree fastener come through, from the backside is that sensor wire. So we're gonna pull that out. And then right here on the bottom side of the bumper there's a pushpin fastener. We'll also remove that.And we're gonna remove this, do the same thing on the other side, and of course we'll still need to clean up that edge a little. Now, across the top of the bumper beam here we've got four push pin fasteners that we want to remove.Take the four of those out. You want to grab our 13 millimeter socket. We're gonna remove the four bolts that hold our bumper beam on on each side. The first one I remove I always thread it back in a little bit, just to hold it. Just give that one or two turns, that'll hold our beam in place while we're over working on the other side.Now, here on the passenger side, these are the four locations where that bumper beam was held in place. We want to come right down the frame here to the second hole, you can see it here. You need to get that enlarged to 3/8ths of an inch. You have to be very careful of your line here. You don't want to do any damage to that.Now we're gonna use a little rust preventative spray paint, just go over that hole lightly, just to prevent any rusting down the road. Now we're gonna grab our base plate. We want to grab a couple of our 3/8ths bolts here. And the rear hole on our base plate's gonna align with the hole we just drilled out.Now, the passenger side is the only one that was, required drilling. Just slide it up and in here. Once you get your hole lined up . So, slide your bolt through there, that'll hold it in position for us. Just like that. We can use one of those on each side just to hold it for now. Now we're gonna use Red Loctite on all of our bolts. Don't need a bunch, just enough to cover the threads well.Then we'll take our handle nut, that's gonna fit inside of the frame. Then we want to thread it right on to the bolt we put in. You'll notice as we put it on we want to have our lock washer in place as well. Now we'll just repeat that process for our driver's side as well.Now we'll get our baseplate leveled out. Now, once you've leveled the vehicle and the base plate, or at least got your level to match both of them, we're ready to get those bolts we just installed snug down and torqued to specification.Now, they're 3/8ths bolts. So you'll want to use a 9/16ths socket. Now, we'll take the handle off of our handle nut here. I like to pry out on it, right up by the nut plate. You put a little bend in it then you should just be able to move it back and forth. And it'll break off.Now, we can use the two remaining holes in our baseplate on each side of the vehicle, and drill holes out to 3/8ths of an inch there. Now we'll take our handle nuts here, place bolts through, remember Red Loctite on. And we'll get these threaded in, get them started.Now we'll get those snugged down and torqued to specification. Now we'll head over to our driver's side and we'll repeat that same process there. Should just be able bend our wires back and forth here, break them loose, get them out of the way. Now we'll get our bumper beam put back in position here.Gonna do that, just gonna line up the four holes and put our factory hardware back in. Now we're gonna realign the bumper and tighten our bolts down. You'll notice the marks where the washers we're previously. You can see it underneath there. To get your bumper back in line just make sure you have those lined up when you tighten it down.Now, we'll do the same thing over on the other side. And our bumper should be right back in line. Now we want to go through and torque down all eight of our fasteners. Now we want to install our permanent safety cables. They're gonna be attaching to this large hole in the base plate. Just want to go around some larger pieces of steel, so we're gonna go around the frame here and also the lower bumper structure there. Go right over, grab that, you just want to bring that loop down.Bring both ends right back up. Get them attached right there. You want to be sure this isn't rubbing up against any moving parts or anything that it might damage. Place a quick link through, attach our cables. Thread that down. With the 15 millimeter just gonna give it a little torque.Now we can head over to the passenger side and do the same thing. If you'd like to you can use a zip tie just to bunch up your excess right down here. Now as part of our kit you're also gonna get a breakaway switch mount. That's designed for you to mount right here on the front side of the bumper. You can do it with the tab out, or with the tab back. Really, it's gonna depend on your breakaway switch.This one happens to be a longer breakaway switch, so we'll be mounting ours this way. That's just gonna help us keep it even with the front of our wiring bars here. Like I said, if you need to, you've got a shorter breakaway switch, you can flip that around and get it out a little further.We'll just one of the provided self-tapping screws to get that mounted in location. Then we're gonna center our breakaway switch between our safety cable connection point here, and our wiring mount there. You can pick a location that you like anywhere in here.We use that as the center point. Once we have that mounted where we want it we use our self-tapping screw here. Just to start the middle of the hole. So we can enlarge it.Now, we'll just get our brackets secure. Now we're just gonna use a couple of zip ties to go around our base plate, and secure our breakaway switch wiring, and any other wiring we might need for our tow system to work. Get those snipped off.Now we're gonna test fit our fascia back on the vehicle. And you can see here, our breakaway switch, it's the first thing to make contact with the back of the fascia. So we're gonna mark that. And trim out an area. Gonna go through there.Start by taking out the area we have in yellow, test it again and see how it fits. I'm gonna use side cutters to make my initial rough cuts. Then we can clean them up with our razor knife. Next area we'll trim is gonna be for our safety cable connection points there. And we're just gonna test it and cut, trim until we have room to get our fascia slid into position. Once that area's cleared out we'll start making room for our removable arms attachment point.Now we'll go back across our bumper beam, we want to push those four push pin fasteners back in place. Now with our fascia back on our vehicle loosely installed, you'll kind of see how everything's gonna look. All of our tabs have clearance, so they can come out here, readily accessible. If you're staying with four pole wiring you can run it right through one of the slots there.Then you just want to gently put everything back on, and then we just want to reverse the process we used for removing the fascia to get it back in place. Now, once you get your fascia back in place, don't forget to reconnect your fog lights. You can do it by reaching in right here, or up from the bottom like we did before.Now, with all of our fasteners back in place that's gonna complete our installation of the Blue Ox Base Plate Kit with Removable Arms, part number BX1725 on our 2017 Chevrolet Spark.
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (846 Customer Reviews)
This strong and durable base plate kit is custom designed to fit your vehicle. The hidden reinforcements, along with the removable bracket arms, provide a clean, unobtrusive look when your car is not being towed.I recently bought a Spark to use as a toad for my toyhauler. The next step was to select a baseplate, towbar, light system, etc. I wanted a baseplate that would be as inocuous as possible when not in use and be simple to connect and detatch. The Blue Ox 1725 seemed to fit the bill. I combined it with the Curt towbar and a Blue Ox adapter, which resulted in a nice clean and simple system. The staff at Etrailer went out of their way to answer my questions and to insure that my order was delivered quickly. Great service as always. The install went smoothly thanks to the great instalkation video. I am very happy with the way that it turned out. 560621
Purchased for my 2017 Spark. My installer stated that the product installed perfectly, based on the included instructions. Ready to flat tow my car. 638097
I cannot say enough good things about etrailer. With the help of Kim P., I ordered a base plate, tow bar and a couple of other items. The first surprise is that the free shipping was almost more like express shipping. I received everything 4 days later. When I went back to the etrailer to order another part, I noticed that the base plate price had dropped by $60. The second surprise was when I contacted Kim about the price drop. Thanks to her quick action, etrailer refunded the $60 dollar difference. It was a sincere pleasure to work with Kim and etrailer. Great web site, great products, and great customer service. 596654
Installed perfectly as per instructions 555282
Well it came fast enough but I will have an opportunity to get it installed for a few days. Chedi was very helpful and I will buy the rest of the towing parts I need for my 2018 Spark and RV 543560
The baseplate is not for those unfamiliar with tinkering with parts/cars. To install the baseplate, I removed the front undercarriage plastic unit, the front grill and loosened the fenders. Instructions were good and all parts fit as they should. I had to cut the plastic grill in several areas to fit the attachments, but when completed, it looked as if the car came that way. Of course, that was step one. Step two was the installation and wiring of brake lights, and step three was the wiring and installation of the braking system. This all took two or three days working at my pace. All in all, a very good installation. I would do it again. 381615
Great pictures and instructions. Took about 2 hours, taking extra care not to damage my 1 month old Chevy Spark. 341072
Man... Carla was excellent. All we have to do now is find someone in my area that can install this stuff with similar efficiency. Do you have any references for me that can do this install quickly? Dennis 277587
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
The base plate was fairly easy to install on our 2013 Honda C-RV. The videos on etrailer are very helpful, giving us the confidence to do the job in our own garage. The only problem with installation was that the holes didn't quite line up after removing the bumper. I think that was noted in the instructions. The removable arms work well and we have had no issues. We have been using this product towing our car behind our motor home for over 15K miles in the last year without incident. I recommend this product. 352325
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Arrived earlier than expected and was exactly what I had ordered, fit like a glove. Service could not have been better. The salesperson really knew their product. I really saved quite a bit of money ordering through them. They emailed and called several times to make sure everything was as I had ordered. A great company to deal with. 615380
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I've bought at least one other product from etrailer in addition to the base plate for my 2008 Jeep Liberty. The plate and appurtenances fit like a glove and work great. etrailer had the best price and, as before, kept me informed about when the product would be delivered and delivered on time. Great company. 486224
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
George, just finished install of blue ox base plate on my 2015 Buick enclave not for the faint of hand to install but all is well if u are good take your time some caution when drilling lower frame holes as inner holes are close but excellent fit and finish thanks for a great product 312252
Blue ox base plate is still great just a note for users you may need to lube the inside of the holes where the aluminum adapters for the tow bar connection is as one time I could not turn it to lock in for towing this solved the problem
Ed B - 10/27/2017Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Great product. Well designed and easy to install. Only difficulties during the installation are those plastic fasteners on vehicle-- suggest buying about six to have on hand for re-installation, as no matter how careful you are ...plastic is plastic, if you know what I mean. Very informative installation video that will assist anyone thinking of buying or installing this unit. If you're handy with tools, go for it! Note: I took the text from the video and created a simple instruction "list" for buddy and I to follow along, to be ensure we didn't miss any steps as pictures on actual instructions were not too useful. Also, the baseplate comes with a nice step bracket for easy break-away switch mounting, which was a plus. 225837
ETrailer customer service rocks!Thank you for the follow-up.To date, base plate was installed using your VERY helpful tutorials andvideo clips, which saved me cost of installation.No towing as of yet... baseplate was installed as pre-plan to pendingretirement.Thanks
Tall P - 09/21/2016Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Product was not in stock had to wait about 3 weeks ??But they sent me 2 e mails when it came it was on the date they it would arrive I installed the base plate the next day the time it took was about 7hrs total fit very nice the only problem I had I did not understand the directions on cutting the tabs on the back of the grill they hit the base plate when I try to reinstall the grill but I figured in out then it all came together looks great 3 screws in bottom of lower valance that screw to bottom of radiator I had to drill new holes body part hit base plate very close fit but great product 373334
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Great base plate - -super service from etrailer. Couple of hints, at least for install on a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited: 1) the phillips push pins that hold the belly pan on come out best with a light touch on the driver. I buggered up 2 figuring that out. 2) the plate seems to be too narrow to fit, but with a rubber mallet and some persuasion, it will. 3) Use a corded drill for the holes into the frame. My 19.2 volt didn't have the grunt to get it done even with swapping out batteries repeatedly. 4) Directions don' t say anything about how to level the plate after the first (lower) bolt is in, but probably best to have it level or even slightly angled down or away from the grill (gives better clearance for the electric connection below the license plate frame). Wish the electrical connection had black spring return for the cover and the screws to mount it were black. Also wish Blue Ox didn't put a white part number label and the orange warning label on the FRONT, visible section of the plate. Why not the back? I installed it myself. Took half a day and 2 scraped knuckles, but not to tough of a job with the right tools. My third or fourth purchase from etrailer and all have been quick, reasonably priced, marked by good communication and respectful. Works for me! Thanks etrailer! 41767
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Good fit. Instructions mis leading somewhat. 2018 Jeep JL does not have 7 metal screws holding bumper shields but plastic screws that need special tool to unscrew. I pulled them out and replaced with metal screws in reinstallation. After tow bar installation the lower plastic shield will require cutting to reinstall. I left this off and did not reinstall. Looks fine and save if towbar is removed later. Did by me self and took about 2.5 hours. 602635
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Installation pic 411274
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
received the plate installed it in less than three hours, have yet to hook it up though. Great , fast shipping! The only issue were the cheap plastic push pins on the shield of the Jeep. 81899
8000 miles and still tight! When we get there rest assured the frame will make it!
Steve S - 05/24/2014Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Great Product... fit as subscribed on 2011 Ford Ranger,easy to follow instructions. There was no communication from e-trailer. After 8 days of nothing I had to call, product at that time had not even been shipped. Very Disappointing. Not so sure I'll buy from them again. 281955
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I like the design and relatively easy install - I did it myself on a Honda CRV after I watched the great etrailer videos online. These walked me thru the install steps. Very helpful. 574165
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
The base plate was phone ordered on Wednesday and received the following Monday. Wife and I installed it Tuesday on a 2015 Jeep Rubicon. The most difficult part was cutting the belly pan to fit over it. (It always is it seems. Everything else was routine. Thanks for your help in getting the correct part number straight for us. Joe and Joyce 172278
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Received your product in good timing. I have it installed as the installation was not difficult. Will be using it during my vacation which is a trek across our province. 208904
This is our second year to use your product. Just got back from a three weekvacation and used your product and find it excellent. We passed informationalong to many friends we met during that time and gave them the name of yourcompany. Thank you for the excellent service and look forward to many yearsof using the tow package
Albert C - 08/23/2016Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I really like the way the baseplate hides in the grill. The car tows great I have to say that it took three shipments from blue Ox to get the right part but then it went on very easily on my 2017 Corolla Directions are mostly correct There is one other bolted on part that needs to be removed prior to fitment but not mentioned in the directions . At all times everyone was very nice to me. I was a little frustrated and checked with roadmaster because their site said their baseplate would not fit my car because of the adaptive cruise etc. I called them with my new found knowledge about location of the electronics and they checked and confirmed their base plate fits my car so this is another option if you feel like shifting a Toyota 499810
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Great base plate, real solid construction, thick powder coat, and all aligned well. Biggest pain to expect at install is all the plastic pop-rivets on the Subaru front bumper. The alignment and hardware was all perfect otherwise. And best of all, you can barely see the connections inside the bumper with the attachment pins removed. Great product. 225392
Thanks for reaching out. We ended up selling the car, but the base plate worked perfect for us. I really like how the car towed, just did like how it drove !We are considering our next options, so we will definitely be back with etrailer to get our next plates and tow wiring.Thanks.
Keith C - 09/14/2016Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
My third Blue Ox Base Plate. Fit and function are perfect. Fits my existing (first) tow bar and the tab height is nearly exactly the same as my 12 year older Jeep so didn't even need to make any draw bar changes. 111481
Still attached and working perfectly. Continues to survive some rather intense back country trails with no complaints.
Alan B - 12/30/2014Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I have now installed the following on my 2017 Wrangler: Brake light relay kit . Hopkins Towed vehicle Tail Light wiring kit. Blue Ox base plate. Blue Ox Patriot Portable RF Braking System. All of this has taken about 3 days of work spread out over a week or so. Overall it went well. Not too many surprises. Crawling around under a car at 71 is a bit of a strain but I'll get over it. I must say that Donna P. has been a wonderful source of great information and has stayed right on top of the process. eTrailer has been a great source for this project. I would recommend you all with no hesitation. 396395
I am still in love with the products. My only issue is having enough time to use them more.
John M - 06/15/2018Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Installation on the Jeep Wrangler was very easy. All the directions were clear and accurate. I Remove the valance under the bumper, disconnect the Fog Lights, remove the 8 bolts under the bumper, and remove the front bumper. I used a 4' board and a floor jack to balance and lift the base place. the base plate was a very snug fit and need a little tap with a mallet to align and level. The Nuts with long wires welded to them were great in easing the installation. I spent more time looking for a 17/32 drill bit which I could not find that anything. A 1/2" worked find. The only help I need was marking the valance, I aligned and held in place while my wife mark both sides. 24574
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
After checking around for prices, I found etrailer to have what I needed and along with their expert advice and install videos, was very easy to get installed. Shipping was free and very fast. This was for a 2018 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 for flat towing behind my RV. Looking at their site now for some accessories for my RV. 469890
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Great product and fast service. 16425
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
fast friendly service and price matched when I found it cheaper plus 10%. Its not that hard to install even for a old guy who is a jack of all trades and master of none. 433567
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I ordered the Blue Ox Alpha tow bar, base plate and curt trailer hitch for my 08 Wrangler on Tuesday and it arrived on Friday. The installation for the base plate and trailer hitch went without a problem. The instructions were well written. Total installation time for both was less than 4 hours. Etrailer readily made good on their low price pledge and reimbursed me the price difference plus 10% when I found the base plate at a lower price than etrailer advertised. On my tow bar the dust boots were not properly attached and Judy at etrailer immediately ordered new zip ties and boots from Blue Ox. I will do business with these folks again. 344869
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Although I am commenting on this product, I actually would like to comment on the following products. I purchased a brake system, tow bar, base plates and wire harness from etrailer. All of my orders were filled in a timely manner. When I reached out for technical assistance, the advisors were readily accessible. All of the products were installed by me. All of the products were very easy to install by using the video and instructions. 337852
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
This baseplate is very well made and sturdy. I would rate it excellent but for 2 flaws: 1. My vehicle has a power steering cooler which the instructions say to relocate on the supplied brackets. Relocating as instructed puts excessive strain on the connecting hoses. I had to cut the pipes and add about 3 inches of rubber hose to the power steering cooler to make it fit comfortably. 2. Blue Ox do not provide any kind of support outside office hours. This type of product is typically installed by the user over a weekend and BO should provide support to their customers during this time. Overall, I would rate ease of install at 5 (out of 10) excluding the cooler issue. Hook up to the completed baseplate is a breeze. We have the Aventa II towbar which takes about 2 minutes to connect. 108372
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I am sending some pictures of my installation of the base plate and the wiring harness (TM783130) and the blue ox tow bar on my 2005 Honda CRV. It worked out OK although the instruction for the base plate ( BX2238) installation instructions could be improved some. Everything is installed and operational. Have towed the Honda 150 miles satisfactorily. Thanks for your interest. 468877
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Great product. Well designed and easy to install. Only difficulties during the installation are those plastic fasteners on vehicle-- suggest buying about six to have on hand for re-installation, as no matter how careful you are ...plastic is plastic, if you know what I mean. Very informative installation video that will assist anyone thinking of buying or installing this unit. If you're handy with tools, go for it! Note: I took the text from the video and created a simple instruction "list" for buddy and I to follow along, to be ensure we didn't miss any steps as pictures on actual instructions were not too useful. 225836
ETrailer customer service rocks!Thank you for the follow-up.To date, base plate was installed using your VERY helpful tutorials andvideo clips, which saved me cost of installation.No towing as of yet... baseplate was installed as pre-plan to pendingretirement.Thanks
Tall P - 09/21/2016Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Baseplate Installation: I called several RV and trailer hitch centers. Parts and installation ranged from $2,050 to $2,200! Yikes! I read many installation reviews that concerned me about installing this tow bar myself on my 2003 Honda CRV. One reviewer took over 7 hours; some gave up. Yet, some reviewer didn't have difficulties. I view eTrailer's install video on a 2003 Honda Element, similar to the CRV; didn't seem all that difficult, but it's what you don't see that can be the problem. Received the tow bar before the expected delivery date! Read the instruction; watch the video again, and said, what the heck. Before I started, I purchased a new, high-quality 13/32" bit, Locktite (red), and six push rivets from Honda (I figured I break a few, and I did, and some were missing). Working slowly and reading the instructions, I had the front end off in 45 min (Steps 1-4). Removed the metal bumper, drilled and set frame support bolts, and removed the bumper flange in an hour (Steps 5-8). I did grind smooth and primer the removed flange area (photo). My 86 y.o. father-in-law help me with the baseplate attachment. Took our time; did a dry fit to see how the receivers fit through the grill; drilled, set bolts, and safety cable; all in less than an hour (Steps 9-11). I stood back and couldn't believe it was installed; what did I miss? Nothing. Reassembled the front end. Didn't have to cut the grill. I am most pleased. 212462
Perfectly!
Rebecca O - 07/16/2016Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
etrailer is 5 stars all the way. I ordered before noon on monday and the parts show up before noon on wednesday. I wasn't even ready for them yet! I ordered the rm-155 tail light kit and it installed easily the next day. I'm still working on the baseplate but it looks well made and all parts are there. There is no install with the tow bar but again it looks well made and all the parts are there. I will try and update after it's completed but life is getting in the way with family, again. I wish all e retailers were this good. 422711
After several thousand miles on this baseplate, there have been no issues. I am now to the point where I can hook up the car myself in under 5 minutes start to finish. The install was easier than I expected but I do have a 2 post lift in my garage. Fit and finish of the baseplate is very good and has gone through snow and rain also salt on the road. Would I use etrailer again? Absolutely!
Dave L - 08/18/2018Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Have yet to tow with the recently installed base plate. Comments on install instructions: While the base plate is still off the vehicle, verify the self-tapping screws that secure the wiring receptacle snugly fit and will tighten. In my case, the provided self-tapping screws were too small and would not tighten to hold the electrical connector in place. I ended up using a 1/4-20 tap to cut threads into the bracket. Regretfully I didn't notice this until after the base plate was installed, while finishing up the wiring. There is little room to work a tap once everything is back in place! When removing the windshield washer reservoir, there is a connector securing the filler spout inside the engine compartment that the installation instructions & installation video neglect to tell you to remove prior to pulling the reservoir down & out. Base plate mounting plates were bowed inward by nearly 3/8" making it extremely difficult to slide into position to drill mounting holes; suggest verifying the clear spacing between the plate at the crossbar and then again at the edge furthest away from the cross bar. If short, use a hydraulic jack and some timber spacers to spread out to proper width. Finished install looks great, I'll supplement my review after towing. 522349
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Product and installation video was quite helpful. The video made it seem simple and straight foward some of the details on the hard to reach components in the vehicle could have been more detailed. I was missing 2 of the 8.8 bolts and had to go the hardware store to pick it up. Other than that, I am satisfied with the product. 572292
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Wanted to share a positive experience with one of your service reps. Diana was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the product and application. I purchased the baseplate from ETrailer because of her support. I found it cheaper eleswhere online but Diana and, your organization were outstanding! 572584
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
The Blue Ox base plate fit perfectly. It was not what I would consider an "easy" installation, as it was a bit difficult to gain access to the OEM tie down bolts that hold this base plate in position. I have years of experience with Miatas and as such, was familiar with the underbody panels that needed to be removed and/or loosened to get to the bolts. Not sure that a "newbie" would know just what and where to go with it all. Overall a fine product, already towed the Miata with this baseplate and a Blue Ox Adventurer tow bar. Smooth and safe towing. Happy with the purchase, the price, and the quick shipping. If or when I need additional towing equipment, etrailer.com will be at the top of my list. Only point that I have a bit of an issue with is: When I ordered up this base plate, the tow bar, and the Roadmaster lighting kit, and spoke with a customer service rep, I asked if there was ANYTHING else I needed to order to be ready to tow. I was told "No, you've got it all." That is not the case. The safety cables in the base plate package are NOT to hook up the towed vehicle to the towing vehicle, rather to connect the base plate to some frame members on the towed vehicle. That was not made clear to me at all. I had to go out and source some safety cables/chains in order to hook up and go. I could have easily added those to my original order and saved a bit of trouble right at the last minute. Not a huge issue luckily at the time, but an inconvenience just when I needed less of such. Not enough of an issue to really downgrade my experience with etrailer.com, but somebody there needs to make their sales people aware of what the bits and pieces in the packages are for. 221247
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
This heavy kit was packaged very well and arrived in great condition. I appreciated how this was mostly a bolt-on affair; the only "major" issue that I had to take care of was some factory holes in the bumper support tubes that didn't line up with the base plate, but that was easily and quickly taken care of with a 1/2" drill bit. Do yourselves a favor and watch etrailer's installation video multiple times if you plan on doing the installation yourself. The installation manual that came with the base plate isn't as clear as I would've liked. Note the torque specs for the particular fasteners and compare the packing list with what you received. Otherwise, go off of etrailer's video. If you're not towing the car the base plate all but disappears once you remove the tabs. I ended up spray painting the two bolts that fasten the 6-pole connector to the base plate black so it blends in even more. After about 2,100 miles of flat towing the CR-V over the course of 2 weeks in the Western US with a whole bunch of climbs and curves I can comfortably say that this base plate is solid. 402888
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Overall, the Blue Ox system has worked out great. I had read a lot of reviews, mostly positive, but some who had some difficulty with the installation, but in my case I had no real difficulty at all. The base plate lined up good, I did use a pry bar to spring it a bit, but nothing major. Ok, so this review if for the entire Blue Ox base plate, Blue Ox Alpha, Patriot II and Hopkings light kit package. I deviated a bit from the base plate installation procedure. I never used the vice grips, I simply installed the 5/8" bolts, leveled the plate and torqued them up after applying red Locktite. I was able to wedge/slip the spacer bars into position and then I drilled the frame using the base plate/spacer bar combination to keep the drill perfectly aligned. I did not have a 17/32 drill so I simply used a 1/2" drill to start each hole. I then swapped down to a 1/4" drill to punch through the frame and progressively drilled the hole larger until I got to the 1/2" bit. I have a Drill Doctor to keep my bits very sharp so they do not drift or wander. Great tool for your shop if you do not have one. I also drilled the hole toward the rear first. Once that was complete, I installed the rear most 1/2" bolt, Locktite and torqued that bolt. I then started a 1/2" hole using the base plate, swapped to the smaller bit and again progressively drill to 1/2" using the spacer as a guide and installed the front 1/2" bolt with Locktite and then torqued. I can see where if you installed the front bolt first, it would be difficult to reach the rear to get the nut started. I rechecked the torque on all the bolts once installed. Word of caution, the nuts have some "teeth" to bite into the frame when installed. These kind of nuts do not want to be tightened and loosened repeatedly. You want to install them once and go right to tightness. Less risk of breaking the wire that is welded to the nuts because the teeth are initially sharp and will bite into the frame. If you tighten and loosen these nuts the teeth get duller and will not grab very well. The purpose of the wire is only to align the nut with the bolt. I did slightly "kink" the wires on the bolts so the nuts started easily on the threads of the bolt. To refit the air dam underneath, I simply measured the distance between the left and right side of the base plate and transferred that dimension to the plastic dam. Rather than cut with a knife, I drilled a 1/2" hole in the plastic dam at the bottom end, used masking tape to mark my cut lines and then finished with a fine tooth jigsaw cutting 1/2" slots. Since the base plate is 1/4" thick the 1/2" slots give me a bit of play and look nice and even. I did not take photos yet, but if I can get back here I'll post a few of the finished product. Among the things I really like about this is how up tight and close the base plate connections are to my bumper. You really do not notice the base plate when you look at the front of the Jeep which to me gives it a nice clean look. I got a Patriot II remote braking system. It took me longer to route the "break away wire" and switch than to set up the remote control. The Hopkins brake light package was easy to install and directions were clear. Spent most of my time deciding how to route the wires from rear to front. 563983
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Delivered quickly. Very easy to install, replaces factory sub-bumper, and honestly about 3 times more rugged. spacers shown in picture are already there behind factory bumper. A lift or ramps are helpful, as car is very low to the ground. took about 1 1/2 hours total. Hint: after removing nose, remove grill separately if possible, then after installation, you can replace nose totally, then get better idea where to trim grill and snap it into place 147716
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Easy installation. Great product 279815
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I ordered all the parts required to safely flat tow out 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk from ETrailer.com. The only part they didn't have was the Mopar Flat Tow Enhancement kit Jeep requires to flat tow this model. Ordering from them was great, the website is easy to use and I was able to locate all the pieces compatible with my specific vehicle. The expert recommendations help my decision choosing the right parts. I ordered from ETrailer even though I found some of the parts on other websites a little cheaper. I chose to pay a little more because of all the effort ETrailer has put into installation videos and guides. I was very pleasantly surprised to learn from ETrailer that they have a price match guarantee! So my equipment consisted of the following Mopar Flat Tow Enhancement Kit (from Jeep) Roadmaster Battery Charge Line Kit for Towed Vehicles Mighty Cord 7-Way RV Style Trailer Connector - Trailer End WesBarg 7-Way, RV-Style Connector w/ 6' Long Coiled Cable Trailer End Pollak Black Plastic, 7-Pole, RV Blade-Style Trailer Socket - Vehicle End Hopkins Custom Tail Light Wiring Kit for Towed Vehicles SMI Stay-IN-Play DUO Supplemental Braking System Roadmaster Brake-Lite Relay Kit for Towed Vehicles Blue Ox Alpha Tow Bar - Motor Home Mount - 6,500 lbs Blue Ox Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms Blue Ox Tow Bar Cover - Aladdin, Aventa LX, Aventa II The installation videos are great but not all inclusive. Take the time to read the instructions that come with the parts. This is a major project, I took about 30 hrs over a full week but as you'll see in the pictures I took s few extra steps to make a cleaner look. Some of those extra steps: The base plate install requires the bumper be modified cutting off a flange on each side, I spray painted this to prevent corrosion. In the install video of the baseplate on the drivers side they use an extra quick link (not included) to run the safety cable around the wiper fluid reservoir. I took the time to remove it and run the safety cable behind it. I didn't want our nice new vehicle to look like it can be towed so I played the brake away switch and 7 way trailer plug behind the license plate, so when not being towed our vehicle looks great! Some things to be aware of. The Brake air cylinder that mounts to the brake pedal with four bolts may need longer bolts, it did on our Jeep. Spend the money for weather tight heat shrink crimp fittings. The Hopkins wire harness was about 1.5 feet short to get to my plug location. Buy extra zip ties, electrical tape and split loom. I recommend reading all the various installation manuals and watching all the videos because the various components integrate together and if you install one at a time you'll be doing a bunch of extra work. The brake light relay is a real pain in the butt, not because of the hardware but because of the location of the brake light switch which is very hard to get to. Overall I am very happy with the products and how the installation looks. We haven't towed it yet but do not expect any problems. 410274
Still very happy with our purchase. We’ve towed over 10k miles and have had zero issues with our tow setup. I’ve shared my experience with several other RVrs and recommended your company for their needs. Thank you,
Roy - 07/30/2018Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Videos did a great job of educating me for this install. Have done this before on a different car. Product and service could not have been better. 166917
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
First we want to rate etrailer service- it was excellent! Items arrived on time. The video on the web was very helpful & Blue Ox sent good instructions in the box. The installation went well, completed in 3 days. Couple of points on the instructions/install; On the bumper fascia you will have to do a LOT of trimming, and it's a matter of trying to get it back on, numerous times. Also once you finally get it trimmed to fit with base plate installed, snapping in the fascia is not easy, it's push & shove to get it back on. The only other issue is getting those hex nuts screwed into the bolts, there is very little room to work & you have to get the nut lined up EXACTLY before the screw will fit. We painted the one side of it white to see it through the drilled holes better, you will also need someone to hold a flashlight while the other person tries to get it bolted on. Then you have to be ready to put the locktite on before the nut slips out of place. Patience, patience, patience!!! Luckily my husband has lots of it - he read & reread the instructions before he started-had all his tools lined up & then went to it - I just kept my mouth shut & held the flashlight & helped him with the bumper fascia. He is out in the garage now installing the wiring harness. We had to wait to order the receiver hitch (10") until the base plate was installed & we could line it up with our RV & figure the difference (2012 Chevy Equinox). We live in Prescott AZ & hope to leave for a trip to the Grand Canyon & Santa Fe New Mexico in about a week. 73518
Hi Patrick - thanks for the follow up....we are very satisfied with theitems we purchased from etrailer.com
-- comment by: Rick - 04/03/2014Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
I had a simple ball hitch setup for my 1999 Jeep Wrangler for towing behind our RV. Our first trip out with it, the bolts that attached the bar connectors to the front of the Jeep came loose. I was fortunate that they didn't come out completely and cause a major accident. I was able to tighten them again, and we had no additional issues on our trip. Of course, this made me extremely nervous with my 'budget' route to tow the Jeep so I began looking for a better, more reliable solution. Blue Ox was the name that kept coming up so I purchased the BX1120. The build quality is outstanding, it's extremely solid and very durable. Installation time was about an hour and a half once I had the right tools, couldn't find my 1/2 inch socket set! I'm using the Blue Ox Alpha tow bar with this setup. I will say that having a second set of hands to install is valuable, my son had to come help me get the drivers side bolts in while I held the steering housing in place. All in all, I'm very pleased with the product. It went in easy and should save my nerves on our next road trip! 1999 Jeep Wrangler Sport After market front bumper (Plenty of clearance with this specific mount) 568411
Review from a similar Blue Ox Standard in Base Plates
Etrailer had the right base plate for my 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited and the video was wonderfully helpful. Took about 3-4 hours but I was taking my time to be accurate. Cutting the belly pan is "high pucker" but measure twice cut once. I used a Dremel tool to cut and drew my cut lines on masking tape. 232541
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