Most Popular Hitch Mount Style for 1998 Ford Explorer

I am very happy with my resent purchase of the Roadmaster Falcon 2 Tow Bar and the Roadmaster XL Base Plate. It took me about 3 hours to install the base plate. The directions that came with the product and the instructional video on etrailer.com were a big help. The Falcon 2 Tow bar is easy to setup and use right away. I will be towing a 2015 Ford Explorer behind my RV. I have not used the setup with my RV, but I did tow the Explorer around the block a few times with my F150, just to see how it all hooked up. It was incredibly easy. Way better than dealing with a tow dolly, like I have for the past two years.

This tow bar is a beast! I'm replacing my existing one (same model) after over 20,000 miles of pulling a Jeep Cherokee behind a class A motorhome. It has taken a beating on a trip to Alaska and back to Texas, including an incident where the wind blew me off the road and put the Jeep on 2 wheels. A frost heave that bent the RV Tow receiver but not the tow bar. As well as a car driving into the back of the Jeep while I was towing at 65 mph. Can't say enough about the quality and durability of this product!

Excellent product, heavy duty and well built. So well built it has a cross-bar system in it that wasn't required for my recommended base plate. Seems to be a lot of extra money for something that can not be used with the products recommended.

Great heavy duty tow bar. Nicely made. My only complaint was that I purchased a base plate kit that does not need the tow bar cross support, but I did not see a version without it. It must add to the cost as it is a very complex weldment, but now I have a heavy piece of steel that is of no use to me.

etrailer is the best—terrific prices and unbelievable customer service—they stand behind the products that they sell and will work tirelessly until you are satisfied I have used e trailer on numerous occasions and have never been unhappy with their products and service

So easy a caveman can do it. Great material quality, etrailer was fast on shipping, and hd support ready if needed. I consider myself an intermediate mechanic sk I had no problems doing this by myself. Instructions were good, I modified to make some install details easier and emergency link better.

Arrived quickly and well packaged. Took less than an hour to install on the RV with the included safety cables and wiring.I haven't pulled our Bronco with it yet but the tow bar appears to be well built and a quality product.

First, received the package and upon opening, found that the linch pins were missing. One phone call and issue was resolved and replacement items were being expedited to me. Appears the box came open on one end during shipment and parts came out before carrier retaped the tear. Good on E-Trailer for outstanding and prompt customer service! Now, the Sterling All Terrain towbar - very impressive unit as I had bought this on reputation only as no dealers had any in stock (they say it is too costly to carry in store). Very well made, excellent finish and welds. Instructions are quite clear and easy to follow. I like that when you purchase this unit, it is a “total package”. There is nothing I could see that is cheaply made - all quality. This was my first purchase from E-trailer, and based on how this order went start to finish, and having to deal with missing parts on an order - I am very pleased and will deal with them in the future.

A great product...... easy to install.....easy to use.....As advertised..... Ordered on a Monday and received it on the 3rd day.....Its everything I was hoping it would be...Pricing was also the best......When it comes to Prices and customer service Etrailer lives up to their name....I’ll be using it on our Reneagade Explorer and 2017 Ford Edge.Thanks

Great tow-bar! Easy to use. Love ?? the lights. We tow a Ford Explorer. Great tracking, no bounce or uneven feel. Excellent performance. Love that it’s packaged with what you need and great information on use & care.

Looks like a quality tow bar. However, I'm pretty disappointed because the ratings on it were very favorable. I just used it for the first time and it's EXTREMELY tight and difficult to get into or out of the storage position. I'm going to contact etrailer to see if there's something I can do or if it will loosen up over time. I don't want to start loosening bolts. If it stays this tight, my rating would go down to a 1.

Installed as expected as we prepared to leave our home, Disconnected with ease at the campsite. Repeated the process as we prepared to leave the campsite headed home. All facets operated as expected.

We've been towing our Jeep Grand Cherokee for about 8 months now with this tow bar and it's worked flawlessly! We've been places where the coach and Jeep are not perfectly aligned putting the attaching pins in a bind, but with a simple release of the handle it would release the arm and unbind the pin. Super easy to use. I highly recommend the Nighthawk All Terrain, Non-Binding tow bar. OH! The LED lights along the arm make it look great too!!

Very nice tow bar. I like the way it stores on the back of my motor home.

Really well built. Great service from etrailer.

On the road in our RV when I discovered our 3yr 7mo Blue Ox Tow Bar had a failure that I was not going to be able to use again. I call Willian S at etrailer about getting a new Blue Ox Tow Bar and having it shipped to a nearby UPS store. William checked to ensure it would be delivered before our scheduled departure. Not only did he assure me it would meet the timeline but he checked it after shipping to make sure it got here. Also he checked about a “like new” tow bar which saved me ~$500. Thanks for keeping me on the road without delay!

I decided to use an antique Blue Ox tow bar to pull my Mini Cooper behind our RV on a trip to Panama City beach last year. Big Mistake! If it looks questionable, don't use it. When we arrived I was extremely thankful that the Mini was still with us. The old Blue Ox bar was coming apart. I looked locally for a replacement and found one at Camping World and was shocked at the price. eTrailer had the exact same unit for hundreds and hundreds less. And they shipped it quickly right to the camp ground. The Roadmaster Falcon 2 tow bar is very easy to us and mated right up to the Blue Ox kit on the Mini. Thanks eTrailer! We will definitely buy from you again!

Fits perfectly. Speedy and easy ordering!

The wiring kit for the tow base kit was very well engineered and works very well. The videos for installing the base plate we're awesome step by step process and was very easily accomplished by someone with just a wrench and a drill and a few tools.

Would have gave it a full 5 stars if it would have actually fit into the receiver. Tried both my extension receiver and the OEM 2 inch receiver. Would not budge. Had to grind off the powder coating and then some. Now I need to then repaint to prevent rusting. I would have returned this if I didn’t need it now. Better quality control is needed on the e trailer brand. Guess I know it won’t rattle, lol. Buy a mainstream brand.

I ordered this tow bar and D ring adapters specifically for my Bronco and it’s way to sloppy and I can’t use this to tow my Bronco

Make towing easier for a person like me to tow I would recommend it very good product

etrailer has been just what I need it as a first time tower of a Rv tow car there experience and courtesy of helping someone with no experience has been a huge relief with something so important there help was invaluable all the way through Thank you so much

Very easy to use and handled as well as I expected.

Fantastic customer service and delivery of my tow package in time for Christmas to me !!!

I have purchased other items from etrailer and as usual the delivery is easy to follow and produce as advertised.

Good design but poorly manufactured. Used on a single, multi-week trip: Bar stayed on the RV. Removed when we got home and the powder-coating has cracked and bar is showing rust inside and out. Chrome on extending arms is pitted and beginning to rust. Emailed etrailer but Cody informed me that I would have to ship it back at my expense without any commitment to replace! Disappointed with etrailer after years of previous purchases

Instructions for the adapter were incomplete, with no instructions on whether to torque the bolts or leave with some play. Haven't used the tow bar yet, but easy to assemble.

I love it! It's so nice and strong. Works great. Very easy And quick to connect and disconnect. Best price on e-trailer! Not all the time but I tow a 2500 mega cab ram diesel with no problems.

I'm super impressed how quickly e trailer puts together an order and gets it out the door.! And, even though they have free shipping, they dont skimp, so far ups! And, it's been great.

Was on the road when my 25 year old tow bar finally gave out. One call to Sheila at etrailer and I had my replacement on the way to fit my same base plates. And I got it the very next day in Ouray, Colorado where regular mail is always late. Etrailer has been consistently spot on every time I have needed anything for RVing and customer service is superb!

This tow bar is incredibly easy to use and our Grand Cherokee tracks very well even up to 70+ MPH. We are towing with our new Dynamax and are looking forward to our first long drive to Texas in December. Would highly recommend to anyone!!

This tow bar replaced a 10k Blue Ox that was older and lots of miles towing heavy pickup. I wanted to replace with new tow bar for piece of mind. It was important that I had a non-binding tow bar because I have a 43’ MH and tow a full size crew cab pickup and more than not at rv parks and my driveway is pickup not completely straight and 100% level behind MH. If that’s the case I struggle to release arms. Sometimes both or just one depending on angle. Even if vehicle is slightly angled I have to fight it. Description states quick disconnect even on rough terrain. If that means uneven terrain I disagree. Also, the tabs that hold arms in when not in use are a joke they are not designed for a HD tow bar. Those came loose after just a few uses. Strut boots would have been nice but not a biggie. I like that the safety cables are integrated in to arms and has an electrical cord holder. Tow bar is EZ to hookup to my pickup and tows perfect. I don’t want to be negative (to late) but I would not buy or recommend because of disconnecting issue.

The product functions as advertised. I used my towing equipment over a year to pull a 2009 Saturn Aura. I love that the tow arms don't fall to the ground once you disconnect them from the car.

One word. Fabulous! The SD tow bar is a superior product. I don't want to say bad things about the most popular tow bar out there, but etrailer SD is just better engineering. Watch the video for the product. My Roadmaster base plate was installed by Dave C. Of [company] with great expertise. See the pics

The etrailer XD non-binding tow bar is and Excellent product. I received it a few days after placing the order with Sara R. At trailer. She was very knowledgeable about what all the equipment that I had ordered for my setup. Thank you Sara.

First time flat tower so can't compare it to any others. Installs easily and stows out of the way nicely. Build quality looks Very good and look forward to our trip. I've only done parking lot test drives.

Great purchase and suggestion from etrailer. This thing is so easy to hook up to the Jeep and we couldn't be happier. We've only towed a few times, but already the wife has taken over hooking up the tow bar while I hook up the Brake Buddy in the Jeep. Easy to hook up, just as easy to disconnect after you arrive. I wish we had done this years ago!

First, this bar is extremely heavy, which makes transporting and maneuvering cumbersome and difficult. Secondly, I had issues with this unit from the get-go. I did not receive the correct bolts to attach the Roadmaster clevis to the arm ends. The instructions clearly state that a clevis bolt was to be installed with the XHD unit, but it was not in the hardware bag. I had to call customer service (which was so/so, almost like the person didn't believe me) and had the bolts sent to me. I received the bolts but long story short, they were too short. They did not come out of the bottom of the locknut and any attempt to torque them to the point they did protrude, caused the forks of the clevis to bend, which is too much stress on such an important piece. I did not feel it was safe to either have the bolts not protrude, or force them to protrude. Then came the days-long process of trying to rectify the situation. I called customer service and attempted to explain the problem to the rep. She didn't really want to hear my problem and I was quickly rushed off the phone and directed to call Roadmaster for support, which I did. Roadmaster, of course, has nothing to do with this bar, or problem (pictures were sent to RM) and I was directed to call eTrailer back. I spoke to another person and she was a little more helpful. However, during our "conversation," I could hardly get a word in (I was spoken over and interrupted constantly.) I was told that #1.) the first person I talked to had no idea what she was talking about #2.) Demco manufactures these parts, not Roadmaster, #3.) Essentially the correct length bolts don't exist in the parts catalog. At this point I am starting to get upset with my experience and just wanted a tow bar that worked. I was convinced to but a Roadmaster branded tow bar to avoid any more issues (Blackhawk All Terrain) which I found to be strange, I figured the margin on the eTrailer branded products would be higher, but I digress. Since there is no exchange program with eTrailer, I had to purchase the Blackhawk outright. I was given a UPS label to send the XHD back, but I had to wait to receive the Blackhawk to reuse the box, which is not a huge deal, a minor inconvenience at this point. As of today (4/26/24) I am still waiting for a refund on this unit which I was assured it would be on it's way once the tracking number showed that it was picked up by UPS, but this is not the case. In conclusion, the XHD seemed like it would be a decent product if they can get the hardware right (at least for the Roadmaster system) it's just heavier than most tow bars I have had experience with. eTrailer.com customer service can also use some work, I was not happy with the service after the sale I received. Oh, and the final kick in the tail, the Blackhawk does not come with safety cables. If this were my company, I would have thrown those in for the inconvenience, but I was offered nothing for the trouble this has caused, no discount on the Blackhawk, cables or anything. I will do all I can to avoid buying from etrailer again and will direct others to the same.

Was simple to install. The only hard part was installing the backing nut with the wire handle. That could be done different.