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Custom designed to fit your vehicle so it can be safely towed behind your RV, this base plate has easily removable arms that offer a seamless look when you're not flat towing. Base plate bolts directly to your chassis, so no welding is required.
Features:
Specs:
This base plate's hidden design creates a clean and seamless look. The bracket arms are easily removable, creating a slick appearance when you're not flat towing. Because the arms can be removed, you also won't have to worry about banging your leg into any protruding arms when you walk by.
Attaching and removing the bracket arms is a breeze. To attach the arms to the base plate, simply insert them into the receivers and rotate them until they lock into place. Once you're finished towing and want to remove the arms, pull the pin to disengage the lock, rotate the arms, and remove them from the receivers. Finally, plug up the now empty receivers with the included receiver covers to help keep dirt and debris out of the base plate and provide a finished look.
Flat towing your vehicle is much more convenient than using a trailer or a tow dolly. These other options take up much more storage space, leaving you less room both at home and at the campsite. In addition, securing your vehicle to a trailer or tow dolly can be a hassle and more time consuming than hooking up with a tow bar.
There are 5 basic components needed when flat towing a vehicle: a tow bar, a base plate kit, a safety cable set, tow bar wiring, and a supplemental braking system.
The tow bar links your towed car to your motorhome. It attaches to the custom-fit base plates that install on the frame of your towed car. Safety cables ensure that your towed car does not separate from your motorhome in the event that your tow bar becomes detached. Tow bar wiring allows your towed vehicle's signal lights to sync up with your motorhome's tail lights, which is required by law in most states. Finally, the supplemental braking system - also required in most states - brakes your towed car when the brakes in your motorhome are activated, preventing wear on the motorhome and decreasing braking distance for your entire setup.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today, on our 2014 Chevrolet Malibu, we're gonna be taking a look at and showing you how to install the Blue Ox base plate kit with removable arms. So, here's what our base plate looks like once we have it fully installed. Our base plate is gonna be the attachment point where our tow bar is gonna hook up to, so we can safely and securely flat tow our Malibu down the road. What you're really gonna like about the base plate is the fact that when we're not towing, we can pull on this tab, right here, the arm will rotate, and then we can pull it out and we'll have a very inconspicuous look. Like most base plates, we're gonna have our safety cable connection points, right here, next to the arms. And as you can see, we'll have plenty of room to get those hooks on or off and not have to worry about fighting the grill or any part of the car.
Our base plate is gonna come with a bracket to mount a breakaway switch, as well as these two prongs here that are gonna come out in the center, so we can mount any kind of electrical socket that we want. Our base plate is designed to work with most Blue Ox tow bars, as well as some Roadmaster tow bars with an adapter that is sold separately. Our base plate is custom-designed for our Malibu, so we're not gonna have to weld at all. But there is gonna be some minor drilling and we are gonna have to remove the front fascia in order to get it installed. We're not gonna have to cut the fascia itself.
However, you can see, we did have to trim out the lower grill area, but not anywhere that had any paint. So, now that we've seen what our base plate looks like and go over some of the features, we'll show you how to get it installed. To begin our installation, we're gonna open up the hood on our Malibu. And on each side of the latch mechanism, we're gonna have several fasteners that we're gonna have to remove. You're gonna wanna grab a T20 Torx bit and remove all the fasteners along the front edge.
Next, we'll move to the wheel well. And we're gonna have three fasteners that are holding the liner in place. So, we're gonna grab a T15 Torx bit and pull those three screws out. We'll have one towards the bottom. One that's gonna be a little bit further up towards the center, and then one towards the top, but before we get to the fender.
So, once you have those three screws removed, you're gonna peel back on the wheel well liner. And right where the fender meets the fascia here, we're gonna have a seven-millimeter-head bolt that we need to pull out. So, we can grab a seven-millimeter socket and pull that out. So, once you have those three screws removed, you're gonna peel back on the wheel well liner. And right where the fender meets the fascia here, we're gonna have a seven-millimeter-head bolt that we'll need to pull out. So, we can grab a seven-millimeter socket and pull that out. Once you have that one removed, we're gonna repeat that process on the other side. On the under side, we're gonna have two seven-millimeter bolts on each side, right next to this square hole. And if we come back on that panel over this air deflector, we're gonna have three more on the backside that are holding it in place. Let's take a seven-millimeter socket, we're gonna pull all those out. If we follow that panel, we can see that it's gonna meet the fascia at the bottom here. So, we'll take a Phillips-head bit or screwdriver, we're gonna pull the screw out at the front. And we're gonna have one more screw where it's attaching it to the wheel well liner, so we're gonna remove that one as well, so we can have the fascia free from anything else. Finally, we'll remove the four push pins towards the back of our fascia on the bottom. There's gonna be a little recessed area on the push pin itself. We'll take a flathead screwdriver, we're gonna pop out the center section. That's gonna relieve the tension off of the clip. And once you have the center section pulled out, we can come underneath the outer section and pull out the rest of the push pin. We'll do that for all four of these at the bottom. Now, we're gonna grab an extra set of hands, so we can safely pull the facial off. We're gonna start at the corner where the fender meets the fascia, and we're gonna pull out, releasing those clips, and start working our way towards the center. Once it comes loose by the headlight, we can slowly pull it away and check for any kind of electronics that may be back here, like our fog lights or anything else. I'm kinda squeezing on that tab, and we can pull the connector off. So, make sure to disconnect any electronics before you pull your fascia too far away, and we'll set it aside where it won't get damaged. We're gonna need to remove our passenger's side headlight. We're gonna have a few screws holding it in place. We'll have one that's gonna be towards the engine, towards the back. If we follow the headlight down, we'll have one that's gonna be towards the center of the grill. Then on the bottom side, we'll have the one that's gonna be underneath the headlight. And then finally, right where the fender would meet the fascia, we'll have another one. I'm gonna grab a seven-millimeter socket and we can pull all those screws out. So, we're gonna grab our headlight and we'll pull it loose. And you wanna come to the backside and disconnect the wiring harness, there's gonna be a small tab. We'll slide that back, push in. We'll slide that small red tab back, push in on the tab and release the connector. Right underneath the headlight, we're gonna have a push pin that's holding this baffle in place. So, we can have flathead screwdriver or a trim panel tool and we're gonna pull that push pin out. It's gonna work the same way. We'll pull the center section out and we'll pull the rest of the push pin out. And if we move to the center, we're gonna have two push pins. One at the opening of the baffle, and then one at the support that we'll have to remove as well. And these push pins are not gonna have that center pin. You're just gonna wanna get underneath and pry them out. We'll grab the end of the baffle and pull downward, until we can get the whole thing and pull it out, so we can set it aside. Where the bumper beam meets the frame, on each side, we'll have two bolts that are holding it in place. So, we can grab a 13-millimeter socket and wrench, and we'll loosen it up. There are gonna be nuts on the bottom here, so we're gonna use the wrench to hold the nut and we'll pull the bolts and nuts out on each side. With all those bolts removed, you wanna make sure you pull the push pins that are attaching this plastic shroud to the bumper beam itself. And once everything is detached, we can pull the bumper beam off. Just be aware that it is gonna be a really tight fit. So, if it feels like it doesn't wanna come off, double-check that there's no other fasteners, even if they are just plastic fasteners, but you may wanna get a pry bar and kinda push it away to get it started. On the driver's side, where our horn is gonna be located, we're gonna have the bracket that's holding it in place of the frame by this nut. So, we'll grab a 13-millimeter socket and an extension and we're gonna pull that nut out. And we're gonna remove the horn. We're just gonna push it aside, so it's kinda out of the way for now. Now, on the frame here, you see how it sticks out from the side. We're gonna be making a few notches in the frame where I mark these lines at. And basically, what we wanna do is we wanna cut a straight line until it gets to where it's gonna be pretty close or not flush with the side of the frame here. And then we're gonna bend the flap, so that it sits nice and flush. Once you have those three relief cuts made into the side flange here, we can grab a pair of channel locks, and we lock it on to that metal tab. And we're gonna be bending it to where it's gonna sit nice and flush against here. Now, you're probably gonna have to work at it a little bit, remove the pliers, work it out a little bit more, and just keep going until you can get into a spot to where maybe you can get a hammer in there and hit it, so it'd bend flush. So, this should be the final product when you're done bending and cutting everything. You have those two bolts that are on the side of the frame, right here. There should be that small tab coming out. You're gonna wanna cut that tab off, and then bend the lower section to where it's gonna be nice and even with the frame. You wanna make sure you do that on both sides of the vehicle. Now, it's never a good idea to leave exposed metal on your vehicle, so I'm gonna come back with some spray paint. I'm just gonna spray everywhere that has a cuts or anywhere that the paint has been damaged. We're gonna grab an 18-millimeter socket, and we're gonna pull both of those bolts out. So, we're gonna grab our support plate. The way you're gonna know you have the correct one for the side, from the passenger's side now, and that long tab is gonna be facing down. And if we look on the inside, it'll be thicker and have a section sticking out, you want that to be against the frame. So, these top two holes towards the back, we're gonna line up with the weld nuts where we just took those two bolts out of. And to secure our plate in place, we're gonna take an M12 bolt. And for all of our hardware, you wanna make sure you put a little bit of Loctite on there. And we'll follow it up with a lock washer, and then a flat washer. It'll go through the hole on our plate. We're gonna get this loosely started and we'll put the other one in right below it. Once you have all the bolts in place, you're gonna wanna make sure you snug them up, so we'll come back with a 19-millimeter socket and tighten up our bolts. With the plates snugged down, we should have a total of four holes left over. We're gonna be working with the top one that's closest to the front. We're gonna wanna grab a 3/8 drill, and we're gonna drill through the frame using that plate as a template. And with it drilled out, you wanna grab one of your 3/8 bolts, and make sure that it can fit all the way through the bracket and the frame, and then we'll drill out the other side. Now, with an extra set of hands, we're gonna lift our base plate into position. You want it to go on the inside between the frame and that side bracket. And we're gonna wanna line up the holes at the hole we drilled in our bracket and the hole in the base plate. You're gonna wanna get 3/8 bolt and a lock washer to go through the outer bracket, the base plate, and the hole we drilled earlier on each side. Then we'll take our handle nut, and we're gonna feed it inside the frame until we can meet up with the bolt going through. And there may be some tension on the bolt, so you may have to use a socket and a ratchet to get that bolt started. With both bolts tight on each side, we'll drill out the remaining three holes on each side of our base plate. Then I'm gonna take another one of our 3/8 bolts and lock washers, you wanna go through the whole we drilled then secure one of those nut plates. So, make sure you get it at least started. I always like to leave where it's a little bit loose. That way, I can move the handle out of the way to get the other ones in place. For the lower hole, you're gonna wanna grab the longer of the 3/8 bolts. It's gonna go into the frame, right here. And we're gonna use this large hole as an access hole, so we can feed a handle nut into the frame. You may have to bend it a few different directions to get it the way you want it to land, but it just takes a little bit of patience. Go ahead, so we can line everything up. You wanna make sure that at least it catches on there, hand tight. We'll come back with a 9/16 socket and snug up all of our 3/8 hardware. And we'll gonna repeat that for the other side, but you wanna leave the tails on the end of your handle nuts for now. We can grab our permanent safety cables, each ends is gonna have a loop on it. We wanna make sure we go around the frame and the base plate. So, I'm gonna go around the frame here and have it come back around that mount. And then I'm gonna attach both ends to the attachment point that's on our base plate. Let's get our quick link onto the tab, and we can move our safety cable out of the way and start threading it in. And make sure you get the other end on there. Now, you just wanna make sure that your safety cable isn't gonna rub against anything. You may wanna take some zip ties and we can tie up the excess, so it won't be in the way and we don't have to worry about it rubbing. But with this side on, we'll gonna repeat that for the other side as well. We're gonna come back with a 19-millimeter socket and torque the bolts. You wanna make sure to double-check the instructions for the torque value 'cause these bolts are gonna be different than our 3/8. You wanna make sure you repeat that for any remaining hardware you have. For all the tales that are on our handle nuts, we can take a pair of pliers, and the trick to get them to break fairly easy is if we take them, you're gonna wanna grab them pretty hard with the pliers, and where just gonna bend it back and forth, and it should snap right off. So, with our base plate torqued down and everything tight, we can put the horn back in place. So, we can put our bumper beam back in place. And just remember, it is gonna be a pretty tight fit, so you may have to give it a good push to really get it to go in. And with the bumper beam back in place, we'll put the plastic shroud and all those pieces back on, and we can start working on reassembling the vehicle. So, we'll plug our headlight back in place. Whenever you're plugging, you just wanna make sure that red tab is out. And whenever you do plug it in, you push it forward to lock it in place. Give it a quick tug to make sure it locked in. Then we can put our headlight assembly back in and resecure it with all the hardware. So, with everything in place, we can get ready to put our fascia back on. Now, we're gonna go ahead and run our wiring 'cause it's gonna be a lot easier with the the fascia off to do it, than try to contend with everything and get our wires up front. Now, keep in mind, before you put the fascia back on, you are probably gonna have to trim out an area to where the arms and everything would come through. The easiest way to do it is just hold the fascia as close as possible. And that way, you can mark out where you need to trim. So, make sure you line everything up, pretty close. We can then put all the fasteners back in the same way we removed them. We did, however, have to trim this lower grill section for all of the components and accessories to come out. That'll finish up your look at the Blue Ox base plate kit with removable arms on our 2014 Chevrolet Malibu..
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (3043 Customer Reviews)
Custom designed to fit your vehicle so it can be safely towed behind your RV, this base plate has easily removable arms that offer a seamless look when you're not flat towing. Base plate bolts directly to your chassis, so no welding is required.package arrived as scheduled and was packaged very well for its weight. Great service.
Erika I can't thank you enough for all your help in getting this problem taken care of your fast service and your great customer service get a AAAAA++++ from me. I will be buying again. Thanks for all your help Tom Drake
The size of the box terrified me but I had to do this one myself.
This project is not for the faint of heart. When you think about what could go wrong you could wet yourself. I went with my gut and just opened the box. Hmmm, packaged very well with everything you need for the install. No going to the hardware store for this or that. Sat there with a cold sarsaparilla and read the very detailed instructions, went back to the etrailer web site and checked out some vids and pics. Hmm, it didn’t seem that daunting of a job. On my 04 Lexus GX470 most of the holes were drilled. Before I knew it 5 hours had past and I owned a toad! I took it to my local Rv service center for an inspection and it was deemed safe to use.
This thing is awesome, tracs straight as an arrow.
Now, I have to figure out this diode lighting kit. Camping is fun! Yah!!! :) Noah and etrailer made this a tolerable project. I urge everyone to take advantage of the resources that are on this sight. I always learn something when I’m there. See y’all on the trail….Rod
Well, I'm glad I'm good with tools, grinders, drills, and such. It was not just bolt-on dal. The car grill was able to be used any longer as it was too tight of a fit. Some of the lower fascia had to be trimmed and also removed OEM nuts from the front, the angle wouldn't allow the stock nuts to work. But in the end, I got to work out. So prepare to spend around 4-6 hours playing with it to get it to work. I am positive it's going to work as intended.
everything bolted up easy, i simply drilled hole’s into were needed and supplied my own bolts straight through for easy installation.
I am really happy, not only with the product but the customer care I received. Very quick and helpful!!
I would make one suggestion. Take the headlights out when doing this on a Chevy Cobalt. It will make it much easier to get to the 3 bolt holding the fender to the fascia.
This kit fit well, had decent instructions, and performed perfectly every time once installed. If doing the install yourself, you'll need some metal fabrication tools to notch the D-ring plates behind the bumper but it's not complicated, just a little time consuming depending on the tools you're using. The look is also a little weird on the front of a new Bronco since you're losing the burly bumper D-rings, but it's a well engineered setup overall. I only used the tow bar setup a couple times before the vehicle was lost in a wildfire so I can't comment on the longevity, but I have no doubt it would still be working fine today.
I will start with the people that work here at etrailer are great to deal with and very helpful! These baseplates for my 2023 bronco have been great. i bought and installed myself. install pretty straight forward. and these work great for flat towing my bronco behind my motorhome.
eTrailer was very helpful in choosing the correct hitch for our rv and car. They also provided a special brake application in the car that makes it super easy for toad braking.
I am 72, and I hook up this toad and pull it with confidence. The instructions to hook up the toad was presented with ease. They knew exactly what they were doing, and we didn't rush through the demonstration. I would recommend eTrailer to anyone.
Installed successfully on my 2024 Trax LT. However, with respect to the following installation steps, I made some changes:
All - Don't use a reciprocating saw! An oscillating tool and saw attachment works best, allowing more precise cuts.
Step #8 - After consultation with BlueOx Tech Support, I elected to re-install the plastic shroud. Wasn't difficult and I felt better about maintaining the integrity of the original equipment.
Step #28 - I moved the temperature sensor to a forward facing position in the grill section directly above the baseplate.
Baseplate installation went pretty smooth with no surprises. I chose to separate the lower grill piece while I had the bumper cover off. This allowed me to install the bumper cover over the baseplate and then accurately determine where to make my cuts in the grill for the baseplate protrusions. The Blue Ox base plate is well made and fit perfectly.
Etrailer offered competitive pricing for the base plate and the package was shipped promptly and arrived very quickly...much faster than I had anticipated.
The packaging was excellent and included all documentation. Installation was very straightforward and the unit was a perfect fit with minimal modifications to the car itself. Only a few small pieces of plastic had to be trimmed for a perfect fit.
We did have some trouble with 2 of the nuts-with-wires attached in that the bolts did NOT want to thread in to them. For some reason, they just did not want to 'start' easily and this made the blind installation of the nuts on the bolts extremely time-consuming. The nuts/bolts did not cross-thread and there were no other issues once we were able to use a tool to jam the blind nut and stop it from moving so that the bolt could be tightened and torqued. 4 of the 6 went in smoothly and with zero issues, so do I not believe that it was 'installer error' (!).
In the end, a perfect installation and the base plate is nearly invisible. I would definitely purchase from eTrailer again and can easily recommend their products based on this experience.
The hitch is a great product; however, the installation is not a bolt on and you are done process as I was led to believe. It is highly doable with a little fudging, die grinding to fit, and tweaking. The grainy instruction pictures leave a lot to be desired. It looks good on my 2014 Suzuki SX4 and I am glad to have it, but even as an experienced body shop man it is still a challenge to install. Would I do it again, yes, without hesitation. It is solid, durable, and looks good in my grill.
Pretty easy to do my self but the instructions could have been a bit larger with more pictures. I think the hardest part was drilling the holes to attach the two brackets as there was only one hole on each frame. Getting the square nuts with wire attached were difficult to get both aligned because the wire on the first one got in the way each time
My only negative comment is that this base plate sets the tow bar connections 23" above the ground making it somewhat of a pain to fine towbar and hitch connections. It mounts relatively easy.
Everything as advertised. Followed the videos and instructions for installing the base plates and tow bar and all were good. Did a test pull today and it towed great, straight as a dye. I only have 2 suggestions. There was no mention in the video of the space plate, which was included. Figured it out. Second suggestion, Install a 2" ball on your work bench and adjust the receiver to it. The instructions tell you what socket to adjust it with but that could have been done on the bench before shipping. Great product, so excited. We are off on a few hundred mile trip with the Fit behind the motorhome Wednesday. So excited. No more tow dolly.
This kit was installed on my 2018 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 last summer. The directions aren't too bad if you have mechanical aptitude. It seemed that there could have been an easier mounting method. The nuts with wires welded on so you can snake them into place inside the box frame were definitely a pain in the a$$. You will need to have plenty of patience. A vehicle lift would also be an asset. It worked as well as any other Blue Ox baseplate we have had for other vehicles so no issues there.
Bought it at etrailer as I have with other trailer hitch related parts. Installed it myself, and it was a real job. I figure about 10 hours to get it right so I didn't have to worry if my 'toad' would pass my motorhome as I tooled down the road. Fit was perfect for my 2008 Honda CRV, but make sure you keep that oil cooler line up as high as possible or you will be redoing the fit to get the front cowling back on the car. Bought an angle grinder with cutoff wheels and that made the frame notching a lot easier. Note that if the removeable attachment pins are a tight fit into the base plate, they will loosen up with a good silicone lubricant and the wear of towing. I have towed with confidence for a year without a hitch (pun intended).
It turned out fine but my opinion is that you should have some average or above mechanical skills to install this yourself. As you can see, the base plate protrusions are hardly noticeable at a distance with the tow pins removed. One thing worth mentioning is I had to mount it more rearward on the frame because the front valance would not mount back on correctly. Overall, good base plate.
The item I received must have been a returned item. The box label was proof it was shipped to someone else before. Reason I'm not happy is because the bag of screws was open and most of it slipped out of the holes of the damaged box that was opened before and re-taped. The end of the crossbar was bent and not much packing inside. I needed this for our trip, so I didn't return it and had to fix and find screws to make it all work.
The Bx2692 is the better tow bar solution because it is higher up to hopefully keep your tow bar flat. I modified a Base bumper to install this because it is only available for the "Modular" and "Capable" bumpers. The base bumper option from bluox is for lower tow hook delete option. Took about 3hrs with the help of a grinder jigsaw and multi tool.
This baseplate fit perfectly and was a pretty easy instal after removing the bumper wrap on my wrx. Car pulls steady and straight!!
etrailers customer service is excellent. The item was back ordered, the customer service folks kept me informed on the projected delivery the entire time. And the Blue Ox part are really high quality. Only one minor issue, the bolts, nuts and washers bag was opened and the box had a large crack. Lost a few small pieces, not a big deal I have plenty of spares in the shop. Thanks etrailer
We had this base plate kit professionally installed on my wife's 2017 GMC Acadia and we've used it as our tow vehicle with no problems. It's easy to connect to the Blue Ox system we bought from etrailer and it's worked out great!
This Base plate was fairly simple to install in about 1/2 a day. I also installed brake kit and wiring so actually spent most of the day. This baseplate combined with the etrailer tow bar have been great. already pulled over 5000 miles with no issues at all. I love this setup and will never go back to tow dolly
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