To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
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.
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.
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (3250 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.Received my Blue Ox base plate for my 2014 Mini Cooper S Countryman, Installed it myself. The instructions were pretty straight forward, with a few minor alterations, the base plate fit exactly as designed and I still have all 10 fingers in tact. The base plate is very heavy duty, built like an ox. It isn't a breeze to install, but with with a little determination and several hours of fun dismantling and rebuilding the front of my car it's ready to attach to my class C motorhome. The most difficult thing was finding a 13/32 drill bit to drill the 8 holes into the bumper to attach the base plate. The rest is time and patience.
Well built and fits like a glove.
Great customer service. Fast shipping . Can’t wait to get this Base Plate installed on my Cooper Countrymen. I’ll follow up with that review as well .
Quick delivery in pleanty of time to install and tow for our vacation .... Thank you.
Have always had good service and fast delivery on products I buy
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.
By far the best way to take your vehicle with you when RVing is flat towing. etrailer.com has everything you need and they are a phone call away. I dealt with Noah G and he was very knowledgeable and very helpful throughout the process of getting everything I needed to flat tow my wife’s 2019 Ford Explorer. Highly recommend them.
Good product. Installation was well explained and straightforward. We towed almost 10,000 miles in this first year with no problems. I did repaint where the arms go in twice this year to avoid rust.
On a 2024 Trailblazer RS the grill needs a lot more cutting to fit the tow hooks and if you don’t cut it the fascia won’t fit back on. Bolts on passenger side to hold bar on were too long and hit the lower radiator hose had to replace. If you use a 6 pin connector more grill needs cutting and cannot use car lights because battery has to be disconnected to tow. If you don’t use the 6pin connector cut off mounting pins before you put facia back on as they hit the grill. Missing one removable arm part in order.
Blue Ox base plate on 2017 Ford Edge. Instructions were adequate and the fit up was good. There was a better way to trim the grill so that less grill was removed than what was identified in the instructions. The base plate was scratched during shipping. I did let trailer know to improve their packaging. One year later and 5500 miles the base plate is still working well…
Hi Roger, want to compliment eTrailer on a job well done. The Blue OX tow plate and electronics were received at my installer on time, complete and undamaged. We should be able pick the RV up tomorrow and tow the Ford Escape home. Thank you, Dave S.
Easy install and works great. Have towed about 7500 miles without any concerns. I do wish it was a little more out of sight. Also would be nice to have a recovery hook or ring that would snap in there.
I installed this on a 2018 Wrangler. The quality of build is very good with nice paint and welds. The instructions were reasonably through but did leave some room for improvement in the alignment discussion. I was not a fan of the weldnuts provided as the weld joints with the rod and nut were very poor and I had to jury rig some tools to use some that broke off prematurely. On my Jeep, the instructions for installing the safety cables simply would not work. There was insufficient clearance in the frame to route the clips so I am still trying to find a way to use them.
I have towed with the installed plate with no problems and feel confident it will be safe and secure.
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.
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.
Do you have a question about this Tow Bar Base Plate?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer.com we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.