Base Plates, Tow Bar & Related Flat Towing Items for 2005 GMC 2500hd Duramax Diesel  

Question:

Expert Reply:

Flat towing a vehicle behind a motorhome requires a number of components including the tow bar, base plates and supplemental braking system. These and the other required components are detailed in the linked overview article on flat towing. Two additional articles are provided too for braking systems and high/low hitch adapters.

Our installers like the Blue Ox kits for their consistent fit so I recommend for your GMC Sierra (or Silverado) 2500 the base plate kit # BX1660. This includes the hardware for bolt-on installation. The arms are removable so you get to keep a mostly stock appearance.

Please note that the mounting points for base plates are often the same as for other accessory items such as snow plows or front-mounted hitches. If this is the case you will need to remove the plow mount. What I suggest is first comparing the instructions for the base plates to your plow's mounting points to determine if they will interfere with each other. The Blue Ox instructions are linked for you. Please note also that tow hooks if present must be removed and cannot be re-installed.

The tow bar I suggest is the Blue Ox Alpha # BX7380. This includes the required safety cables so you are spared that separate expense.

Braking system options for the truck are shown on the linked page. Of the options I recommend the Air Force One # SM99243 because your motorhome has air brakes. Using a system designed for air brakes prevents false braking on the GMC. Relay kit # RM-88400 is required as well (unless you happen to choose magnetic tow lights like # TL21RK instead of a hardwired diode lighting kit). For a diode kit you can use # RM-154.

For a high/low hitch adapter to keep the tow bar level (or within 3-inches of level on either end) you can refer to the other linked page (and the article referenced above).

expert reply by: Adam R

0