Installed the direct connect kit on our 2009 Subaru Forester to serve as a towable behind our motorhome. Once installed the kit blended well with the car and only minor modifications were required to the fascia. It was not really noticeable at all with the towing arms removed. The tolerance on the baseplate frame holes was slightly off. I had to drill mounting holes and route them out slightly to match the body mounting positions. Our Subaru did not have an body damage so I think the factory got the holes slightly off center. Note- this baseplate replaces the actual bumper on the Subaru so it leaves a gap between the baseplate and fascia that was not there with the factory bumper. Not a problem, just be prepared for that. 982701

Installed on my 2013 Subaru Forester. Had to file down the passenger-side hole on the bottom (not the front where it replaces the old bumper) because the hole came at an incorrect distance from the factory compared to the driver's side hole.

I also installed the "RM-98146-7 Roadmaster Wiring - Straight 6 to 7 - 78" Long" which required a small semi-circle be cut off from my car's bumper facia next to the base plat's arms. It's not noticeable from the outside but otherwise the female plug wouldn't be able to open to accept the male plug.

Side note: If your car is used, do yourself a favor a purchase a bag of push clips (the things you'll need to pop off to get the facia off on your vehicle) from [online vendor]. Mine were stiff and more than half of them broke when I first popped them off. 1153234

Reliable, solid product! Thousands of miles and not a single problem! 1191199

Working flawlessly 488097

Arrived several days early, and installed 2 days. Very good! 777116

Reasonably easy install 2002771

1124349

Had these installed at Lester’s Automotive in Boerne,Texas…First class service all the way. Paul and his crew worked through lunch for over 4 hours to install these on our 2026 Ford Ranger. Also ran the wire and hooked up my auxiliary tow lights. The price for this was very reasonable and would highly recommend them for all r.v. needs even if not real close to the Boerne area. R.V park within reasonable distance if needed. 3585630

Etrailer comes through again! This was a great savings as a used kit, but it was even better than the description online. I have installed (4) baseplates on and etrailer.com has given me great videos to watch and good instructions to follow. Couldn't be more pleased with the quality, service and delivery times. 3263039

This Road Master Direct connect base plate works perfectly for a 2020 ford transit cargo 250! Awesome service from etrailer as usual! The finished product can barely be seen through the front fascia! 3594366

Easy to install needed to replace some fasteners as they broke removing front grill was able to get them from Amazon cheap 3491202

Awesome instructions! Install was fairly easy. Product is very high quality and solid construction. Thank you E Trailer! 3513150

It mounted up just as the instructions said it would. From previous research I was not surprised when some of the mounting did not align perfectly. Had to use a dremel tool to make it work. The product looks very sturdy from its design. I’m happy with it and look forward to RV traveling. 3554723

Pathetic and just talking to Noah he states he will get to my issue later when he has time!! My car is on jacks all torn apart and I think Roadmaster gas misled advertising. This 523228-5 baseplate is NOT MADE FOR 2026 CHEVY TRAX!!! 3631179

This works perfect with my Roadmaster tow bar. It was a little difficult to install since I had to remove the front end of the Trailblazer, but with the good directions that came with it and some you tube videos made the installation easier. 3382125

2017 f150
Customer service was very helpful. Easy to install. No bumper or grill cutting however, you do loose your front hooks. Nice low profile. 3521154

I bought and installed this tow plate one year ago on my 2013 Jeep Wrangler. I bought this particular plate due to the jeep having a Barricade off-road bumper. This plate attaches a bit lower than other plates and prevented having to modify the bumper. Installation was easy involving only hand tools. The plate comes with all needed bolts and attachments. I have towed this Jeep several thousand miles behind my RV with absolutely no issues. As an aside, I use a Roadmaster Night Hawk tow bar which is also an excellent product. Both are expensive, but I believe cheaping-out on safety is no a good idea. I highly recommend this product. 3350810

I just followed your video of the installation and it was on point ! 3648369

I have lots of issues with this tow bar. Initial installation was difficult due to a tight fit. Had to have my mechanic cut holes in frame to get bolts attached. After a few times of use the bolts failed causing the bar to fall fwd that then damaged my hitch arms. To fix I drilled new hole through bar and frame securing it with a #8 bolt. To reinforce it I used turnbuckles attached to my bumper. last tow finally went well. 3417931

It’s a super strong and wonderfully engineered addition to my new Maverick pickup.. Couldn’t be happier with it!!!!! Well done!!!! 3548419

The product is great - I gave 4 vs 5 stars only because I had to drill the rear holes out as they did not align with the holes in my frame and I had to drill out the hole in the bracket to align with my frame extension hole, again bracket did not align with the existing hole. However, in general it appears to be a solid mount. 3640883

Great Base plate, had to modify the non-oem bumper a little to get the clearance needed to get mounting holes lined up. Once that was done, everything went pretty quickly finished and tested. Towed 600 miles and worked flawlessly. Much better than using the bumper tow points, as they were elevated causing a very bouncy towed on bridge aprons. Bumper tow points also let the towed have minor side to side movement, this does not, so a lot better towing experience. 3641036

The Roadmaster Direct-Connect Base Plate Kit has performed flawlessly over the past year. With almost 10k miles logged during our 3 month trip across the US, the components have remained as installed and operated as expected. 3404024

I really like the way it is hidden and doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. My Rubicon X has a metal skid under the bumper that I cut holes in for the base plate tabs to protrude. I made 5 or 6 trips to my shop to get it right. Would be nice if it came with a paper template showing where to trim. It bolted up perfectly and seems well made. 3643346

I installed this base plate on a 2018 Miata RF. I think I recall something about it taking 3.5 hours and my initial estimate was 3.5 days. It actually took a bit longer than that, but I was not pushing myself and did not have the luxury of having the vehicle on a lift but had it up on two ramps for the front wheels.

The order came pretty quickly, probably about 4 or 5 days between the time I placed it and UPS delivered it. The parts were well packaged and it came with a printed set of instructions. I had watched the video install on another Miata and if it weren't for that I'm not sure I would have tried it. I'm not a pro mechanic by any means but have worked on my own vehicles now for over 40 years. And I'm not a spring chicken either, so all the up and down working on the car can tire me fairly quickly. But if you are not in a rush and go carefully it can be done.

It took a day to do most of the disassembly. I removed both headlights and the intake tube on the passenger side. That tube came out much easier then it went back in.

The next day I got the baseplate mounted which helped to start visualizing how it all would work. All of the holes for the 6mm bolts did not quite line up with the holes in the frame. I had to file one sides worth for a bit of extra clearance. From my experience on this install you really want to leave all the bolt on the loose side till you get everything situated.

A couple of days off for rain and the then I got to work on the bracing. Initially I though I didnt need to cut the top lip of the frame but I decided to go ahead and do it anyway since that part didnt seem to sit flat when bolted from the back end. I'm still not sure its really necessary as the hump clears the metal lip without cutting it.

I also ordered a 14" long 1/2" drill bit to cut the holes in the frame. It was a Bosch bit, wasnt very expensive and it went through the metal like the proverbial hot knife. I managed to get all the big bolts installed in a day with a great sense of satisfaction.

The next day I torqued down all the bolts and the mount felt very solid. They stress that you need to install all the bolts, but honestly I can't see the 6mm bolts doing much compared to the half inch bolts that do most or all of the work. But I put them in and tightened them all the same.

A couple of days spent to install the tail light wiring and then I got back on to putting the front clip back on. My car must have had an aftermarket grill since it did not match the pictures or the video. I tried to position it carefully to see where the parts that were going to stick out would be so I didnt cut out more than I needed to. So there was a good amount of back and forth, cut and fit. In the end I had to make some extra cuts for clearance for the safety cable tabs as well as the mount for the 6 wire connector. Until I made the extra cuts the lower part of the front clip would not seat correctly. Getting the clip in the right position so it fits under the lights also takes some finagling.

Figuring out where all the bolts go back in can be interesting. Take pictures where you can. Dont be too aggressive when working with plastic parts. Overall I'm satisfied with the install, but I have yet to try and hook it up to tow. 3302945