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Custom designed to fit your Jeep Commander so it can be safely towed behind your RV, this base plate has easily removable arms that offer a seamless look when you're not flat towing. Base plate bolts directly to your chassis, so no welding is required.
Features:
Specs:
This base plate's hidden design creates a clean and seamless look. The bracket arms are easily removable, creating a slick appearance when you're not flat towing. Because the arms can be removed, you also won't have to worry about banging your leg into any protruding arms when you walk by.
Attaching and removing the bracket arms is a breeze. To attach the arms to the base plate, simply insert them into the receivers and rotate them until they lock into place. Once you're finished towing and want to remove the arms, pull the pin to disengage the lock, rotate the arms, and remove them from the receivers. Finally, plug up the now empty receivers with the included receiver covers to help keep dirt and debris out of the base plate and provide a finished look.
Flat towing your vehicle is much more convenient than using a trailer or a tow dolly. These other options take up much more storage space, leaving you less room both at home and at the campsite. In addition, securing your vehicle to a trailer or tow dolly can be a hassle and more time consuming than hooking up with a tow bar.
There are 5 basic components needed when flat towing a vehicle: a tow bar, a base plate kit, a safety cable set, tow bar wiring, and a supplemental braking system.
The tow bar links your towed car to your motorhome. It attaches to the custom-fit base plates that install on the frame of your towed car. Safety cables ensure that your towed car does not separate from your motorhome in the event that your tow bar becomes detached. Tow bar wiring allows your towed vehicle's signal lights to sync up with your motorhome's tail lights, which is required by law in most states. Finally, the supplemental braking system - also required in most states - brakes your towed car when the brakes in your motorhome are activated, preventing wear on the motorhome and decreasing braking distance for your entire setup.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hey, everyone, Shane here with etrailer.com. Today I have a 2007 Jeep Commander, I'm gonna walk you how to install the Blue Ox Base Plate Kit with removable tabs. This is what our base plate is gonna look like when it's installed. This is gonna connect to, or be adaptable for Blue Ox tow bars, as well as Roadmaster tow bars with separate adapters. Those separate adapters for the Roadmaster Tow Bars you can find here at etrailer. To remove your tab, just simply pull the ring, twist the tab, slide it out, and put it in the storage department.
It is gonna come with caps to install on the front of your base plate when you're not towing the vehicle and that'll keep any dirt, grime or anything like that from getting inside the hole and causing an issue from you reinstalling your tabs. This is what it's gonna look like when you're not towing, you can see a nice clean look. It's not gonna require any fascia trimming, it's gonna come out in the factory hole that's already underneath the bottom of your bumper. We're gonna have our safety chain loops here. You can see very large openings for the large hooks for safety chain cables for flat towing vehicles.
It's gonna be a steel construction, black powder coat finish. As far as the installation, it's pretty straightforward, it is gonna require you to remove your front fascia, but it is not gonna require any trimming. It is gonna require a couple of holes to be drilled inside the frame rail. Other than that, it's gonna come with everything needed except for red loctite, red loctite you can find here at etrailer. Prior installation, we're gonna the six push pin fasteners that run across the top of our grill.
We're gonna pry up on the center and then pull out the base. You use a flathead screwdriver or trim panel tool like I have here. And we're gonna set our grill aside, they actually have a front camera mounted on here, so, I'm gonna just take the grill and set it up here like this to get it out of my way. Then, they're gonna tell you to remove four push pin fasteners that run across the top here, these are actually rivets, I don't know if they we're replaced at one time, or what, but if you have rivets, what you're gonna do is you're gonna take a small drill bit, you're gonna drill out the center, and then pull the rivet out. And we're gonna come to each wheel well to remove the three rivets that same way we did the ones on the front.
And you're gonna repeat that same thing on the other side. And we're gonna take a 10 millimeter socket, remove the two bolts here on the bottom. Next, we're gonna unplug our fog lights, and a couple of different ways you can do it. When you're doing the rivets over here, there's a small flap that you can try getting your hand in to get them. If you're on the ground, this whole backside is open, so you can reach up, back up in there and then unplug each one. Pull out. Then dismantle. We're gonna slowly start to remove our front fascia. We'll set it aside. Now, if you have tow hooks, they'd mount right in this area, you're gonna remove those. We don't have it, so we're gonna go to the next step, which is removing these two cups. 10 millimeter socket will remove this bolt. You're gonna repeat that on the other side. Now we're gonna take our hardware and we're gonna get it prepped so we can install it. You're gonna take red loctite and we're gonna put it on the threads of each one of our bolts that we're gonna be installing the base plate onto the frame of the vehicle. today, is where we get our base plate in place, you're gonna make sure that your safety chain loops are facing down like this, each side tab to adjoin on the inside of the frame rails. We're gonna take one of our bolts, we're gonna put a lock washer on it. We're gonna have a nut plate, we're gonna feed it inside the frame rail, to lock through the bottom of our base plate, and we'll thread one in to each one of the holes. With a 9/16 socket, we're gonna snug our hardware. Now your directions aren't gonna tell you this, we're gonna have to get a drill back in here 'cause we got to drill two holes into the frame rail. However, between here and here, I cannot fit a drill down in there and be able to work it. So what I'm gonna do, is I'm gonna take off this plastic piece. We'll just use a 10 millimeter socket to remove the bolts that are holding it in place. Right on the inside here, on each side of our frame rail, where the base plate comes up we're gonna use it as a template. We're gonna drill these out through a 13/32. I'm gonna start with my 13/32 so it'll center the hole and then I'm gonna go down to a pilot hole and then just kind of work my way up to that. And we're gonna do the same combination of hardware for the holes we just drilled out. Next, we're gonna come back and we're gonna torque all of our hardware to the specifications in the instructions. Once you get all your hardware torqued down, you can come back and you either bend these and stick them inside your frame rail, or you can cut them off, really, really up to you. Once you have all of your rods cut off, re-install your plastic cover here, re-install your fascia in reverse order from the way you took it off and you're ready to go. It's been therefore the look at and installation on the Blue Ox Base Plate Kit, on the 2017 Commander..
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (3034 Customer Reviews)
Custom designed to fit your vehicle so it can be safely towed behind your RV, this base plate has easily removable arms that offer a seamless look when you're not flat towing. Base plate bolts directly to your chassis, so no welding is required.
These guys provide great customer service. Will use them for all purchases related to trailers or Rv if possible. Couldn’t be happier. Thank you etrailer for your excellent customer care.
The size of the box terrified me but I had to do this one myself.
This project is not for the faint of heart. When you think about what could go wrong you could wet yourself. I went with my gut and just opened the box. Hmmm, packaged very well with everything you need for the install. No going to the hardware store for this or that. Sat there with a cold sarsaparilla and read the very detailed instructions, went back to the etrailer web site and checked out some vids and pics. Hmm, it didn’t seem that daunting of a job. On my 04 Lexus GX470 most of the holes were drilled. Before I knew it 5 hours had past and I owned a toad! I took it to my local Rv service center for an inspection and it was deemed safe to use.
This thing is awesome, tracs straight as an arrow.
Now, I have to figure out this diode lighting kit. Camping is fun! Yah!!! :) Noah and etrailer made this a tolerable project. I urge everyone to take advantage of the resources that are on this sight. I always learn something when I’m there. See y’all on the trail….Rod
Well, I'm glad I'm good with tools, grinders, drills, and such. It was not just bolt-on dal. The car grill was able to be used any longer as it was too tight of a fit. Some of the lower fascia had to be trimmed and also removed OEM nuts from the front, the angle wouldn't allow the stock nuts to work. But in the end, I got to work out. So prepare to spend around 4-6 hours playing with it to get it to work. I am positive it's going to work as intended.
everything bolted up easy, i simply drilled hole’s into were needed and supplied my own bolts straight through for easy installation.
I am really happy, not only with the product but the customer care I received. Very quick and helpful!!
I would make one suggestion. Take the headlights out when doing this on a Chevy Cobalt. It will make it much easier to get to the 3 bolt holding the fender to the fascia.
This kit fit well, had decent instructions, and performed perfectly every time once installed. If doing the install yourself, you'll need some metal fabrication tools to notch the D-ring plates behind the bumper but it's not complicated, just a little time consuming depending on the tools you're using. The look is also a little weird on the front of a new Bronco since you're losing the burly bumper D-rings, but it's a well engineered setup overall. I only used the tow bar setup a couple times before the vehicle was lost in a wildfire so I can't comment on the longevity, but I have no doubt it would still be working fine today.
I will start with the people that work here at etrailer are great to deal with and very helpful! These baseplates for my 2023 bronco have been great. i bought and installed myself. install pretty straight forward. and these work great for flat towing my bronco behind my motorhome.
eTrailer was very helpful in choosing the correct hitch for our rv and car. They also provided a special brake application in the car that makes it super easy for toad braking.
I am 72, and I hook up this toad and pull it with confidence. The instructions to hook up the toad was presented with ease. They knew exactly what they were doing, and we didn't rush through the demonstration. I would recommend eTrailer to anyone.
Installed successfully on my 2024 Trax LT. However, with respect to the following installation steps, I made some changes:
All - Don't use a reciprocating saw! An oscillating tool and saw attachment works best, allowing more precise cuts.
Step #8 - After consultation with BlueOx Tech Support, I elected to re-install the plastic shroud. Wasn't difficult and I felt better about maintaining the integrity of the original equipment.
Step #28 - I moved the temperature sensor to a forward facing position in the grill section directly above the baseplate.
Baseplate installation went pretty smooth with no surprises. I chose to separate the lower grill piece while I had the bumper cover off. This allowed me to install the bumper cover over the baseplate and then accurately determine where to make my cuts in the grill for the baseplate protrusions. The Blue Ox base plate is well made and fit perfectly.
Etrailer offered competitive pricing for the base plate and the package was shipped promptly and arrived very quickly...much faster than I had anticipated.
The packaging was excellent and included all documentation. Installation was very straightforward and the unit was a perfect fit with minimal modifications to the car itself. Only a few small pieces of plastic had to be trimmed for a perfect fit.
We did have some trouble with 2 of the nuts-with-wires attached in that the bolts did NOT want to thread in to them. For some reason, they just did not want to 'start' easily and this made the blind installation of the nuts on the bolts extremely time-consuming. The nuts/bolts did not cross-thread and there were no other issues once we were able to use a tool to jam the blind nut and stop it from moving so that the bolt could be tightened and torqued. 4 of the 6 went in smoothly and with zero issues, so do I not believe that it was 'installer error' (!).
In the end, a perfect installation and the base plate is nearly invisible. I would definitely purchase from eTrailer again and can easily recommend their products based on this experience.
The hitch is a great product; however, the installation is not a bolt on and you are done process as I was led to believe. It is highly doable with a little fudging, die grinding to fit, and tweaking. The grainy instruction pictures leave a lot to be desired. It looks good on my 2014 Suzuki SX4 and I am glad to have it, but even as an experienced body shop man it is still a challenge to install. Would I do it again, yes, without hesitation. It is solid, durable, and looks good in my grill.
Pretty easy to do my self but the instructions could have been a bit larger with more pictures. I think the hardest part was drilling the holes to attach the two brackets as there was only one hole on each frame. Getting the square nuts with wire attached were difficult to get both aligned because the wire on the first one got in the way each time
My only negative comment is that this base plate sets the tow bar connections 23" above the ground making it somewhat of a pain to fine towbar and hitch connections. It mounts relatively easy.
Everything as advertised. Followed the videos and instructions for installing the base plates and tow bar and all were good. Did a test pull today and it towed great, straight as a dye. I only have 2 suggestions. There was no mention in the video of the space plate, which was included. Figured it out. Second suggestion, Install a 2" ball on your work bench and adjust the receiver to it. The instructions tell you what socket to adjust it with but that could have been done on the bench before shipping. Great product, so excited. We are off on a few hundred mile trip with the Fit behind the motorhome Wednesday. So excited. No more tow dolly.
This kit was installed on my 2018 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 last summer. The directions aren't too bad if you have mechanical aptitude. It seemed that there could have been an easier mounting method. The nuts with wires welded on so you can snake them into place inside the box frame were definitely a pain in the a$$. You will need to have plenty of patience. A vehicle lift would also be an asset. It worked as well as any other Blue Ox baseplate we have had for other vehicles so no issues there.
Bought it at etrailer as I have with other trailer hitch related parts. Installed it myself, and it was a real job. I figure about 10 hours to get it right so I didn't have to worry if my 'toad' would pass my motorhome as I tooled down the road. Fit was perfect for my 2008 Honda CRV, but make sure you keep that oil cooler line up as high as possible or you will be redoing the fit to get the front cowling back on the car. Bought an angle grinder with cutoff wheels and that made the frame notching a lot easier. Note that if the removeable attachment pins are a tight fit into the base plate, they will loosen up with a good silicone lubricant and the wear of towing. I have towed with confidence for a year without a hitch (pun intended).
It turned out fine but my opinion is that you should have some average or above mechanical skills to install this yourself. As you can see, the base plate protrusions are hardly noticeable at a distance with the tow pins removed. One thing worth mentioning is I had to mount it more rearward on the frame because the front valance would not mount back on correctly. Overall, good base plate.
The Bx2692 is the better tow bar solution because it is higher up to hopefully keep your tow bar flat. I modified a Base bumper to install this because it is only available for the "Modular" and "Capable" bumpers. The base bumper option from bluox is for lower tow hook delete option. Took about 3hrs with the help of a grinder jigsaw and multi tool.
The item I received must have been a returned item. The box label was proof it was shipped to someone else before. Reason I'm not happy is because the bag of screws was open and most of it slipped out of the holes of the damaged box that was opened before and re-taped. The end of the crossbar was bent and not much packing inside. I needed this for our trip, so I didn't return it and had to fix and find screws to make it all work.
This baseplate fit perfectly and was a pretty easy instal after removing the bumper wrap on my wrx. Car pulls steady and straight!!
etrailers customer service is excellent. The item was back ordered, the customer service folks kept me informed on the projected delivery the entire time. And the Blue Ox part are really high quality. Only one minor issue, the bolts, nuts and washers bag was opened and the box had a large crack. Lost a few small pieces, not a big deal I have plenty of spares in the shop. Thanks etrailer
We had this base plate kit professionally installed on my wife's 2017 GMC Acadia and we've used it as our tow vehicle with no problems. It's easy to connect to the Blue Ox system we bought from etrailer and it's worked out great!
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