How to Install the Blue Ox Tow Bar Adapter Brackets for etrailer Tabless Base Plate

Updated 08/07/2024 | Published 08/02/2024

Question:

I have a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I bought the etrailer baseplates e98951 which are now installed on my Jeep. I already have Blue Ox tow bars for my motorhome, so I also purchased the adapter e98986 to allow me to use the Blue Ox tow bars with my etrailer baseplates. The first issue I ran into is that I am having trouble removing the end pieces from the Blue Ox tow bars. Even if I am able to get those pieces off and put the adapter on, I dont see how to connect it to my base plates. The adapter came with bolts that apparently attach to another bracket, which then would attach to my baseplates, but I dont see that bracket either with my adapter or the baseplates. Please advise.

asked by: James R

Expert Reply:

Hey James, so it looks like the Blue Ox Tow Bar Adapter Brackets for etrailer Invisible Base Plates # e98986 does not work with the Avail or Ambassador tow bars so if you're using either of those then it's not going to work no matter what.

But if not, then from what I looked at via the instructions, it looks like all you'd need to do to install the adapter is:

- Cut plastic tie off of rubber boot on clevis end.

- Use punch to drive out roll pin.

- Use a vise grip with a rag or bench vise with rag to hold shaft
and use a rod or wrench in the clevis to turn off clevis assembly.

- Clean the threads and apply some thread lock to threads.
Turn on the tabless adapter on shaft until it threads on all the
way. Turn off until the hole in shaft lines up with hole in adapter.
Drive the new roll pin in hole until flush with adapter..

- With the hole facing up with tow bar, place the rubber boot
over adapter and use the supplied plastic tie to clamp boot to
adapter. Cut unused plastic tie.

-Bolt tabless clevis to adapter making sure not to over tighten.
The clevis should rotate freely.

expert reply by: Bryce D

e98986 Instructions
(click to enlarge)

James R.

8/5/2024

Thanks for the reply. I have the Blue Ox Alpha 2 tow bars, so not the Avail or Ambassador. The problem I see comes down to the last step where the instructions say to bolt the adapter to the tabless clevis. I don’t seem to have the tabless clevis that it references (which I assume is the black piece in the picture in the instructions). It wasn’t clear if that part was supposed to be included with the adapters or the baseplate but it wasn’t included with either one.

Bryce D.

8/5/2024

@JamesR Are you talking about the black piece in step 6? If so, that should've absolutely been included and if not you'd need to reach out to our customer service team and tell them that you received and incomplete kit.

James R.

8/5/2024

@BryceD thank you, yes that is what I was referring to. I will get in touch with customer service.

Bryce D.

8/5/2024

@JamesR Sorry about that James.

James R.

8/6/2024

@BryceD actually upon further investigation I found that all that wasn't even needed. I had already followed steps 1-3 in the instructions to removed the clevis assembly (which is actually black, not brown) from the Blue Ox tow bars. It was at that point that I realized that the adapter wouldn't connect to the etrailer baseplate directly, and it won't connect to the clevis from the Blue Ox either. I was assuming that there was another clevis to go between the adapter and the piece that attaches to the baseplate (basically the black part shown in the center of the picture in step 6). After I hung up from talking to customer service, I looked again at the clevis assembly I had removed from the Blue Ox tow bars, and realized that it will connect directly to the etrailer piece without the need for the adapter. So basically after all that I didn't need the adapters at all. I wish I had known that before I removed the clevis assemblies from the Blue Ox as it took quite a bit of effort to get them off, but at least I figured it out. I am not sure what the adapters are for or why etrailer sells them if they are not even needed. The only thing I could figure out is that the adapters are only needed for certain models of Blue Ox tow bars but not the one I have? If that's the case, maybe the product descriptions for both the etrailer baseplates and the adapters need to be updated to reflect that.