Most Popular Hitch Mount Style for 1997 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.

The install on my Ford Maverick is clean and functional, so this is more of a customer service review... excellent customer service! During the 4-day towing set-up install, the forecast was for freezing temps and my rig was not winterized. I called in mid panic and the motorhome was moved indoors. A few months after using the tow set-up, a minor problem developed. I called and the CSR apologized and said, I can see how that might be frustrating, and a replacement cable (slightly longer) was sent free of charge.

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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

I regret not getting an aluminum tow bar. The bx7420 blue ox is covered when not in use and one year later it is rusted and looks like its 10 years old. I am beginning to question the safety of the tow bar. Not sure what to do. I have always had blue ox but will consider other brands very soon.

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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.

Great product. Everything works well....it's solid, durable and well built. The only complaint I have is the two plated bolts that hold on the tow vehicle knuckles are rusting and look terrible. I'm going to have to paint them I guess.

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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.

Awesome hitch! Fills up easily and nicely. Easy to operate and not terribly heavy to handle if you need to store it.

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Having used the Roadmaster Falcon All Terrain tow bar for over a year to tow a Kia Soul with our class A coach, I have nothing but good things to say about it. The tow bar is extremely easy to attach to the towed vehicle. Get close and the arms will connect, pull ahead and the arms lock into tow position. The cable management tubes on the side of the arms keep all electrical and safety cables organized and tangle free. The tow bar quickly folds and stores on the rear of the coach when not in use. Fit, finish, and construction is excellent. Instructions for set-up, use and maintenance are clear and complete. The reviews and videos provided by e trailer certainly helped with the decision to go with this particular tow bar, along with their great selection, price, and delivery. Thanks e trailer!

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.

Haven't used it as of yet but it is truly Blue Ox quality and I expect it to do just fine. The service from etrailer was great as it is every time.

Tow bar arrived fast and undamaged. We use this tow bar to tow a 2019 Ranger behind our 2010 Winnebago Journey. The tow bar works flawlessly. Hook up and detaching from the truck is easy and best of all no binding.

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.

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!

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Outstanding product and even better customer service! Two backyard mechanics installed baseplate and braking system with just one call to confirm proper wire connection. Total package works great.

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This whole system is great!!! Even being a female, it takes less than a minute to connect or disconnect, just a couple of small receivers stick out of the front of the car. And they are removeable when not towing. My brother even bought a set for his Class C. It is difficult to back up in the Class C, IT is ok as it is quick to disconnect, so no worries.

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

Great Base plate kit! Very easy to follow instructions even with my aftermarket bumper with winch. It fit perfect. The only issue I have is where the safety cables attach to the base plate….the cable connectors are too big to fit through the holes because the Jeep’s frame blocks part of the hole. See photo with red circle. I will have to get a smaller connector.

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

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

Ordering from etrailer is a breeze,there tracking of your order is also great. You can follow your shipment all the way to your door. Would highly recommend.

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

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We love our etrailer SD tow bar. Much lighter than our previous Blue Ox. The non binding feature along with the integral safety cables and multiple storage options are great features. We use it in conjunction with a NSA Ready Brake. Great combination. Our current coach is a 2017 Jayco Seneca 37HJ. Toad is a Ford C-Max Hybrid. Easiest to use tow bar we have ever owned.

Great service and crazy quick delivery. Will definitely be using dtrailer again

Very happy with our blue ox system Great service from etrailer tow Bar was sitting on my porch 3 days after I made call and ordered it

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!!

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Joshua K, was Great, just like all the support Staff at etrailer. They know not only etrailer products but all the other non etrailer products. I hope they are getting paid for what they are worth, because few companies today such well trained staff as etrailer has. I tell all me RV club members at Pacific Trailer RV Club how great they are

1st tow bar I had to send back, due to chip powder coating. 2nd two bar came a week later Great job etrailer. It was easy to do a return and get a replacement. etrailers whole team was great getting me what I wanted. I replaced a 10-year-old tow bar and wanted to replace it with their new XHD you can tell its LBS is higher than my old tow bar.

The tow package has been working very well and makes hauling my F150 a breeze.

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

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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.

It didn't work with the off-road bumper setup that I was sold

Works pretty well, but starting to get some rust after less than 1 year. Not the quality I would expect from etrailer.

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.

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Painted parts have peeled away, and the polished shafts have rusted and corroded superficially.