To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Roadmaster's crossbar-style brackets are virtually invisible, easy to mount and simple to remove. Brackets install on your vehicle's frame to provide attachment points for your tow bar.
Features:
The drawbars, or front arms, on the crossbar-style series 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, simply twist the arms back and pull them out. 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.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Speaker 1: Today in this 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, we'll be having a look at and showing you how to install the Roadmaster EZ4 base plate kit with removable arms, part number RM-523186-4. Here's what our base plate looks like installed. Now the reason that you're going to want a base plate for your Malibu is that this will serve as the connection point for your two bars so you can safely two your Malibu behind your motor home. Now what's great about this base plate is it does have removable arms. So as you see it right now, this is with the arms removed. This maintains a nice clean look on your Malibu when you're not flat towing it.When you're ready to flat tow, you can simply take your arm, insert it with this tab at a horizontal angle, rotate it 90 degrees, and your arm will lock into place.
You can attach your crossbar here or your two bar depending on the type of tow bar set up that you have. Removing the arm is very simple. You'll simply pull on this spring loaded pin, rotate it 90 degrees, and pull it straight out. We have built in safety cable attachment points on each side as well as a attachment point for any wiring harnesses you may have. You can use a six pull round.
In our case we're using a four pull flat right now. Now this base plate is compatible with all tow bars from Roadmaster, and you're able to use quick disconnects with it. And now that we've gone over some features, we'll show you how to get it installed.To begin our install we have our hood open. We'll have eight T-15 torque screws just like this one to remove. Okay, on each side behind our headlight we have this clip, which is bolted in place, which helps secure the fascia on the top.
There's a 10 millimeter bolt that we need to remove. A ratcheting wrench is basically the only way that you're going to get this out. Now keep in mind that every thing we do on one side we'll repeat on the other side. The bolt removed, we'll now grab the plastic retaining clip, pull it back towards the windshield and out of the vehicle.Now on each one of our wheel wells we'll have three seven millimeter fasteners like this, which attache the fender liner to the fascia. Now pull back on our fender liner to expose a seven millimeter bolt that secures our fender to our fascia.
We'll remove this bolt. Now underneath where our fascia meets our splash shields, we'll have 15 seven millimeter fasteners like this one to remove. Okay, now that I have an extra set of hands, we can remove our fascia. We'll grab it where it meets our fender, pull back . We'll grab it up here above our headlight, and we'll lift up on it to release the locking strip. And we'll pull forward, and we'll find some electrical connectors that we need to unhook. We'll have our fog lights. There's a red lock tab on the bottom. You can slide it back, and press on the tab underneath, and pull to disconnect. Here's the red lock tab. So it will pull out like it is now, and you press on this black tab.Now we can set our fascia aside where it won't get damaged. Now we need to remove our headlights. We'll do that by removing the four seven millimeter fasteners on each headlight like this one that hold them in place. Now we can grab the headlight, pull out of the vehicle, and we'll find our connector we need to undo. Slide the red lock tab back, press in the black tab, and pull to separate. And we'll set this aside where it won't get damaged. Now we'll grab our filler neck for our washer fluid reservoir, pull straight up on it, and we can remove it from the vehicle. Okay, and now we place a drain bucket underneath our washer fluid reservoir since we need to drain it so we can remove it. We'll just grab our pump here, pull it out and up, and we can catch all the fluid in our bucket.Now that we have this draining I can also remove our level sensor. Just unplug it by sliding the lock tab back and pressing on the gray tab. We'll unplug our horns. Same method, lock tab, press on the tab and unplug it. We'll pull our wiring harness off the reservoir, remove our line from the reservoir. Now remove the three 10 millimeter nuts that hold the washer bottle in place. With the nuts removed, we can now grab the washer bottle, pull it forward and out of the vehicle. And we'll set it aside. All right, now obviously we only have the washer fluid reservoir on the driver's side. We also only have the air intake duct on the passenger side. So we need to remove this by removing the 10 millimeter bolt here, then we can pull it away from the air box, and then off of our radiator duct. There's a plastic fastener here. If you just pull up on it you can release it. Now we can set this aside.On the driver's side of our vehicle we have this connector that's clipped to our air dam. This is for our ambien air temperature sensor. We need to unclip this. You can use a flathead screwdriver or a trim panel tool. Just pop it loose. On our air dam below that we have a plastic pushpin fastener. The way these work the center section can pop out. And again you can use a trim panel tool or a flathead screwdriver. Once the center section is up, you can pop up the entire fastener. We'll undo the seven millimeter bolt that holds the bumper beam. We'll fold it down so it's flat, and then right here we're going to cut it off. Use a pair of tin snips or side cutters, whatever you have that can cut through plastic like that. This is also our wire harness for the ambien air temperature sensors clipped to it. Just pull it off. We can discard this. The passenger side is the same way, except we don't have the ambient air temperature sensor clipped to it.Now we need to remove the 13 millimeter bolts on the outside of our bumper beam on the front of it, and we'll remove these four 18 millimeter bolts on this brace. Now on this extension of our sub frame there are two holes. There's a large on at the top and a small on at the bottom. We need to enlarge the bottom hole to a half inch in diameter. For that you can use a drill bit. I'm going to use a step bit on it. Okay We'll do this on both sides. Okay, now we'll take our large wall pipe spacers and stick them inside our bumper beam just in front of our holes where the bolts we're that we removed. Now we'll take our factory 18 millimeter bolts that we removed . Every bolt that we install at this point, we'll put a little bit of lock tight on it. We'll take our rear receiver brace, place the bolt through it, place a flat washer on to the bolt, and we'll secure to the side of the vehicle. We're only going to turn these bolts a few turns.Now we'll take our eight millimeter bolts that come with a base plate. We have a lock washer on them and a flat washer. We'll go through the front of the base plate, through the wall pipe spacers, and into the weld nuts in the frame of the vehicle. Again, we're only going to give these a few turns. Now we'll take the main section of the baseplate, and we'll set it on top of our sub frame around the rear section. Now we have one of our shorter half-inch bolts, got our lock tight on it and our lock washer. We'll go through the base plate into our receiver brace, and then we'll thread a nut on to the backside. Now we'll do the same for the front hole. Now we'll take our shorter wall pipe spacer, stick it inside our sub frame, take our bolt with the lock tight on it, go through the bottom and the wall pipe spacer, place on a flat washer, lock washer, and we'll thread on our nut. With all of our hardware now in place, we can begin the process of tightening it down.Now we can torque all of our hardware to the amount specified in the instructions. Now while our fascia is off, this is a good time to do any of the wiring that we need for our tow vehicle lighting system that will go onto our vehicle, just because it makes it easier to route the wires. Now we can reinstall our intake tube. Now our washer bottle can go back into place. Fill our reservoir back up. Now we can reinstall our headlights. Now with an extra set of hands we can reinstall our fascia, making sure we plug all of our electrical connectors back in. And that will complete our look at in showing you how to install the Roadmaster EZ 4 baseplate kit with removable arms, part number RM-523186-4 on this 2017 Chevrolet Malibu.
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (885 Customer Reviews)
Roadmaster's crossbar-style brackets are virtually invisible, easy to mount and simple to remove. Brackets install on your vehicle's frame to provide attachment points for your tow bar.
I bought this from etrailer for my 2017 Malibu. I went to etrailer's home office in Missouri and they installed it for free. This is something worth money as I have installed one of these in my old malibu and it is a major job for a rookie. They allowed me to stay in their business parking lot in my motor over night while they installed. These people are great people to work with and very helpful and reasonably priced. I have bought many items from them in the past and will continue in the future. Thanks!!!
Base plate fit perfectly on my 2017 Chevy Malibu LT.
The installation instructions were very detailed.
This was a straightforward install. The instructions were easy to understand and follow. All the necessary parts and hardware were included. It is pretty well hidden once installed. I highly recommend this base plate and etrailer.
great fit. a slight cut needed to be made in the bumper bracket to facilitate the round tube to fit through the bracket. but, other than that, it was an easy install took about 2 hours if you include the coffee brakes. this part is highly recommended. Fast shipping. the beast human service. thank you.
Had Base Plate installed today, shop gave me 2.5 hr labor time. I returned just under 2hrs and they were backing my car out the shop. They parked it facing me. I told the Mechanic "That was quick" He said that's because it wouldn't fit. I was disappointed and asked what do I owe you for your labor> He laughed out loud and said it on there, but hard to see. I was so surprised and pleased you have to just about get down on your knees and bend down to see it. took me about 8 min to install everything and connect it to the Tow vehicle. I'm very pleased with it.
Working great on my Fiat 500l with the automatic euro transmission. Towed over 10000 miles and was easily installed using etrailer video instructions. Yes you can tow a Fiat 500 with the automatic euro transmission. The firmware was flashed on a recall and revised in the manual. Most dealers don’t even bother checking for the latest version.
5 hours into install. Not the kits problem as I am using a ratchet, don't have an impact wrench. Biggest problem I had was nuts that went up into the frame. Very frustrating. Not sure why couldn't use a long bolt and go straight through to the hole on the other side. Instructions for the cut on the plastic skid plate are a little vague as is the video. All in all, pretty smooth install.
So far has performed very well. Was easy to install and hookup is pretty quick and easy. You install instructions were very thorough. Practically invisible when not in use. Tried to attach two pics, but would only take one.
Works perfect and very hidden. Cannot even tell it is on my Honda HRV. Installation was time consuming since this was my first on a Honda. Your video did make things go smooth. I would buy this item again.
Ordered Product on Saturday afternoon, delivered on Wednesday, Installed on Friday. My 23 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe did take the spacer and washer on each side of the frame and was no problem getting them to fit. The lower passenger outside nut that holds on the bumper will not tighten down all the way, the flange of the factory nut gets caught in a slot in the base plate on that side. Will look into a standard nut to see if that will work - it is tight against the slot and holding.
As always roadmaster went above and beyond on construction. Super solid installation. I mean the only thing I wish roadmaster would make custom steal brushgaurds that you can adapt there amazing towbar too.
Super-cool. It's been a year. I installed it myself and it was way less of a task than I expected. The fitment of this was incredibly spot on (no "tweaking" or drilling). Performance wise . . . it does what you expect. You insert the removable "arms", clip in onto your tow bar, and when you get to your destination the vehicle is still attached to your tow bar. Quality product.
I’m always extremely satisfied with Roadmaster products. I had just bought a new truck and planned on towing it so I needed everything to get it ready to tow. This review also applies to to the other items I purchased.
I installed this kit on my 2015 Honda Fit. The instructions are very good, however, there are a couple of "snags" to watch out for. You might have to enlarge the holes on the blind hole part of the bumper installation in order to get all of the mounting bolts to align. The other recommendation I have is NOT to use the Loctite "red" thread compound on the blind hole bolts where you cannot get a wrench on the inside. The Loctite will dry too fast and cause issues tightening the bolts on those areas. They have lock washers anyways and you can use the Loctite on the bolts you can get a wrench on the backing nut mounts. I have been towing for months now and I am very happy with it, especially the crossbar style. You will have to purchase the crossbar separately. It's more weight and a little clunky compared to the direct attachment but it allows you to disconnect in some tough situations by pulling the crossbar off while one arm of the tow hitch is still attached. I use an Falcon All Terrain tow bar so I can release the tow arms in uneven conditions. And I have encountered all types of uneven ground, it really makes disconnect of the TOAD very easy.
Good fit, works well. Very happy with the base plate after 1st year of use.
etrailer staff was very helpful with my questions, making certain I got the base plate that was right and advice with minor problems I had with installation.
The Jeep project went very well everything fit great and worked well. I really love Roadmaster products and quality and your company is the best place to purchase them. I sold the Jeep and replaced it with a new 2019 Chevy Equinox 2.0 L AWD and just purchased and installed the following items from you and installed them, RM-156-25 & RM-156-75 Battery Charge Line Kit, RM-146-7 Flex Coil Kit, RM-523193-4 EZ4 Plate Kit, RM-88333 Custom Seat Adapter, RM-751489 Stop Light Switch Kit and a RM-98160 Second Vehicle Brake Kit w/brakeaway. All these parts were in stock and arrived quickly and normal with you people, I really enjoy the o-line vidios as I do all my own installs. Thank you so much for your great service.
I will attach pictures of my install, you will see how I was able to fab a bracket and attach it to the existing mount on the base plate to mount the brakeaway switch and the air connection for the brake system.
I also fabricated a tail light bar as I didn't want to use mag-lights or splice into the factory lights and bulbs installed into the lights would not work as the factory brake lights will come on when the brake system is applyed and the turn siginals would not be visable.
Thanks for all you do, I would and do recommend you people to everyone who needs your products. Rob
Great product for my 2014 Wrangler. Good materials, solid attachment to vehicle, and looks good. The e trailer installation video was great for assisting installation. Made the install much quicker and easier. The most difficult procedure for me was disconnecting the wiring harness on the back of the bumper. An old tack puller (or tool of similar design) would have been great for leveraging the pins out of their holes. Cutting the air dam was a slow process to ensure I didn't cut too much. A paper template to mark where to cut the air dam would make this process much simpler. Again, I can't emphasize enough how great the installation video was for making the steps easier.
etrailer service was great. Received my Roadmaster base plate in 3 days. The directions from Roadmaster were fair, but etrailer's video was excellent. I had trouble mounting my base plate as the space between the two baseplate ends were too tight. I needed to use a floor jack and bottle jack to get it on. Once it was in position everything went together fine. I trimmed the Jeep' air dam differently keeping the ends that Roadmaster wants you to cut off. I think it looks better. I also had to modify the center cut in the air dam to accommodate the breakaway switch I have.
Followed directions and completed job in a little over 4 hours. had trouble reinserting some pins in difficult locations.
Later in the month I installed the wiring tow package. Goofed up and crossed a wire and it took me two days to get back under the truck and rewire. all is working great according to directions...…….
I will use etrailer again, good service, great service representatives...……..jt
2019 Ford Fusion Energi. A lot more trimming required on the facia than noted in the instructions, but I'll chalk that up to running changes I suppose. I used a combination of a Sawzall with a fine blade and a Dremel tool, both worked well. In the end, it took me about 8 hours (over two days) to install, and had it's challenges. I had to do some pulling and tweaking to get holes to line up, and the already mentioned extensive trimming of the facia. Overall well designed product, and of course etrailer was excellent in shipping.
Side note, adaptive cruise control is not affected when the drawbars are removed. With the bars in and the towbar mounted (it's a Stowmaster car mounted bar) the cruise control works just fine as an old fashioned CC, the adaptive part just doesn't work (it won't slow down for you when a slow car is in front, because it can't see around the tow bar). Basically perfect and what I was hoping would happen.
Installed myself with help of one friend. Assistance with install using the videows was invaluable. The installation on a brand new vehicle brought praise and comments on how clean the install looked. Great job etrailer.
Fast delivery, correct parts, excellent installation instructions, and everyting fit! I would buy from this seller again.
Solid product well make easy install
The whole etrailer family has been great to deal with.
So far so good. It arrived sooner than expected. Very pleased. Installing it tomorrow. I’ll try to update later.
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