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Designed for use with motor-home-mounted tow bars, the direct-connect brackets are virtually invisible, easy to mount and remove, and they eliminate the need for a quick-disconnect crossbar on your tow bar. Installs on your vehicle's frame.
Features:
Note: Roadmaster direct-connect base plates will only work with Roadmaster tow bars that slide into a trailer hitch, such as the Nighthawk, Sterling, Blackhawk, Blackhawk 2, Falcon, or Falcon 2. These base plates will not work with tow bars that require a hitch ball.
The drawbars, or front arms, on this base plate kit are supremely easy to mount and remove. Just insert them into the brackets and twist to lock them in place. To remove each arm, simply tug the built-in pull pin to disengage the lock, twist the arm back and pull it out of the bracket. Once the drawbars have been removed, the remaining brackets are virtually invisible. On most automobiles, the brackets are mounted within the grille, where they remain not only unseen, but protected from scrapes and scuffs as well.
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (2193 Customer Reviews)
Designed for use with motor-home-mounted tow bars, the direct-connect brackets are virtually invisible, easy to mount and remove, and they eliminate the need for a quick-disconnect crossbar on your tow bar. Installs on your vehicle's frame.Fast delivery.
This base plate kit is excellent. The install was easy. I like the removable arms because you can remove them when not needed. The RM-521447-5 was a great fit for my 2017 Jeep Cherokee Latitude 4 wheel drive.
I bought and self installed this on my 2021 GMC Sierra Duramax 1 year ago. Install took about 5 hours and wasn't difficult...I could problty install it in 2-3 hours after leaening the tricks. Weve towed the truck all over the USA since then (over 10,0000 miles) and it works great! I've used other brands and highly recommend Roadmaster tow systems over the competition.
I reported that one of the removable tow arms was missing to etrailer within hours of receiving the baseplate. This was due to the shipping box being damaged during transit and likely just fell out. After four business days with no communication from etrailer I contacted Roadmaster. A couple of emails and they shipped the part. Very disappointed having to do etrailer's legwork. For this I will give etrailer one star.
The baseplate RM 524473-5 for a 2023 Ford Escape fit as expected sorta. Had to apply a 3 pound hammer as the mounting brackets were tweaked a little likely from welding and pulling a little out of square. I felt the instructions had a lot of reading between the lines, a couple of times I just about picked up the phone and called them to see if my interpretation was correct. But I just consulted with my analytical 15 year old grandson and we figured it out. (His 18 year old brother served to knock me to the floor and pull me back up again, faster than calling a crane service.)
My big complaint was that they could have provided actual measurements where to drill the Tupperware where the arms go through, there is a couple of reverence points that could be used. There was a few minor things that didn't/did need to be done but likely could easily be because of running production changes. (And better packing of 45 pounds of steel by RM)
The tow bars hook up easily to my dinghy car, a 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid. I like that the arms dis-attach easily and can be stored elsewhere. The tow arms attach quickly and easily to the baseplate arms. I do like this system. The installers put it in, so I cannot comment on how easy that was. I know the installers contacted etrailer for their questions, so I was glad to hear that.
After receiving the package, reading up and watching a few videos. Installing them was a breeze. Minor trimming on the grill as my truck did not have tow hooks, and trimmed the inside bumper mount, on the bottom of the baseplate slot.
Everything went pretty good except for the reinstall of the PAD. Had to mount it on an angle because wire to short. Love it versus the crossbar I had on Santa Fe 5 speed. Also had to wire 12v outlet and emergency brake switch wiring into drivers side which was fairly easy. And 12v charging circuit for battery. My grandson Seth made it look easy.
Good product. If you are reasonably handy and have some tools, you can install this yourself in a few hours. I'm a mechanic, it took me a little over 2 hours to install on my own toad. The fit is good, there are 4 holes you have to drill, otherwise it is plug and play. When you insert and twist lock the tow bar mounts into their sockets they feel a little sloppy but they are secure, and i never noticed any rattle when towing. Overall i give it a 4 out of 5 for easy install and clean look after install. Pic included of installed base plate.
The Roadmaster direct connect base was a perfect fit for my 2013 focus S to flat tow. We had it installed in about 3 hrs following the complete direction and pictures. I highly recommend using etrailer.
Saidly, since installing the Roadmaster baseplate on our new 2024 Equinox RS we have only toad about 30 miles. Installation was more challenging then I anticipate with the whole project (including lights and battery charging system took two days. The removable arms, once installed, appear slightly out of square. This causes binding on the tow bar fitting and a challenge when taking the tow bar off. Unrelated to the base plate, GM owners manual instructions for flat towing changed after I purchased the car and did the base plate install. Previously the car remained in auxiliary mode. The new instructions state to disconnect the negative battery terminal. I believe this is because in auxiliary mode the Auto Braking system remains engaged. When towing at 4-5 mph, as in a parking lot, all appears normal. When towing at highway speed the AB engages because the distance between the RV and the toad is too close for the speed. In my case the result was a hub fire requiring the replacement of the entire brake system and tires. GM would not warranty this as they consider brakes a ware item. THis on a car with less than 6K miles. Since this experience the car has not beet towed do to my wife's concerns.
The brackets are heavy and feel solid. The mounting is straightforward on my 2024 GMC Sierra Denali 1500. You will lose the front tow hooks but I feel the tow bracket inserts will be safe to use if needed for a rescue. They are barely noticeable to the casual person when the inserts are removed for daily driving.
Installed on my 2020 Jeep Cherokee for flat towing behind our motorhome . I wanted a tow bar connection that integrated with the front end of the Jeep and the removable arms did the trick . I had one issue with the driver side receiver bracket not lining up with the upper mount bolt hole on the Jeep, image 0547. Had to make a slight adjustment to the receiver bracket so the holes would line up, image 0551 and image 0559. The rest of the install went smoothly
I also installed the Demco braking Stay n Play Duo system , image 0565 which went in without any issues, image 6028. 7 thousand miles of towing later, couldn't be happier with the products
The base plate appears to be of very good quality, provides a secure connection and has functioned very well. The removable arms are the easiest I’ve used and really minimize the visibility of the base plate when removed.
This is a rock solid baseplate. Installed on a 2023 Equinox LT (AWD). I followed etrailer's videos for installation and they are spot on. We connect with a Roadmaster Nighthawk tow bar, charge line kit, smart diode lighting kit, and a Demco Stay-in-Play supplimental braking system. It is fairly well hidden when not in-use. This setup is great!
Great fit, not too hard to install overall if you have any bodywork experience. This is my second Roadmaster baseplate after starting with one for a previous Toad that was a Fiat 500. No problems with either.
It was a fantastic base plate. The Blue Ox base plates required the entire bumper, grill, etc be removed. These Roadmaster base plates were installed from underneath and only required the tow hooks be removed. My wife and I completed the installation in a couple hours. The stiff wires attached to the nuts that required installing inside the frame was genius. We bought Roadmaster to Blue Ox adapters and continue to use our Blue Ox towing equipment. The Roadmaster Nighthawk is just too heavy for me (I'm 78). Anyway, I love the Roadaster base plates. And, I'm thankful for the clear installation instructions provided etrailer.
Sturdy, simple to use design. The second set if Roadmaster base plate lits I have installed. (2015 Silverado and 2022 Colorado). Both work well. And oh yeah, do yourself a favor and buy from etrailer. If you have any hitches in the get along, those good folks will always help straighten things out.
I had these on another vehicle. Easy installation Super easy for towing. I'll buy them again for my next vehicle.
Happy with the finished product, but had real problems installing it. First, the instructions were for a different vehicle than the one I specified. Thank God for the video online: it WAS for my vehicle. A pain running in and out from the computer (I can't see the small phone details), but it worked. Second, the passenger baseplate had what appeared to be a casting mark in a small area where a bolt head was. It was impossible to get a socket or wrench on the bolt; I spent a half hour or so with a file getting rid of a small ridge that prevented the socket from entering the area. The passenger side also did not fit well; all the bolts had to be as loose as possible to get the nuts started, one hole was nearly a half a hole off from where it needed to be. The drivers side was fine in all aspects.
In the end, though, it is on and looks great. Presumably it will tow great as well.
Fit perfect no drilling at all .Easy to follow installation instructions on line
I installed them on my new RAM 1500. Works great, very heavy duty. I also modified and attached a push bumper and used the Roadmaster base plates.
It all worked great with the NSA towbar
Exactly what I needed. Written jbstructuons were spot on and video was very helpful.
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