Demco Vehicle-Specific Base Plates

Base plates are required equipment for towing a vehicle behind your motor home or RV. They consist of brackets that mount permanently to your towed vehicle and provide connection points for your tow bar. These brackets are custom fit for each vehicle. They are also made to fit the particular manufacturer's tow bars, but adapters are available to allow you to match many different tow bars with different base plates. Learn more about Demco base plates, below.

Design and Construction of Demco Base Plates

Custom fit for each year, make, and model vehicle
Hidden reinforcement points keep most of base plate hidden
No crossbar support beam or large attachment brackets are needed
Bolts in place - no welding is required

Connecting Demco Base Plates to Tow Bars

Demco base plates come in two styles of connections: classic and tabless. The classic base plate has a set of two tabs on each side of the vehicle for attaching a tow bar. The ends of Demco tow bar arms have single tabs that fit in between the base plate tabs and secure with a linchpins. Demco's other style base plate, tabless, has sockets in place of the classic style's tabs. The tabless base plate comes with pull tabs that must be installed on the tow bars.

Demco Classic Base Plates

The classic base plate has tabs that are used to connect to tow bars. The tow bars have a single tab at the end of each arm, which fits between the tabs on the base plate. The arms are locked in place with a pin.

Custom fit for each vehicle
Easy-to-use tabs provide connection points
Tabs remain on tow bars - no loose parts to keep track of or lose
Bolt on installation requires no welding

Demco Tabless Base Plates

The tabless base plate has sockets instead of tabs, and the sockets provide the tow bar connection. In most cases, these tabless base plates are less visible than the classic types. To connect your tow bar to a tabless base plate you slide the connectors at the ends of the tow bar arms into the sockets, twist them 90 degrees, then pin them in place.

Custom fit for each vehicle
Tabless design maintains the clean look of your vehicle
- No bracket parts protrude from the front of your vehicle
Easy-to-use pull tabs connect by simply inserting and turning to the lock position
Pull tabs remain on tow bar - no loose parts to keep track of or lose
- Pull tabs come with base plates and replace tabs on tow bar
Bolt on installation requires no welding

Base Plate Adapters

An adapter may be required if your tow bar and base plate kit are from different manufacturers. With few exceptions, tow bars and base plates from different maufacturers aren't compatible without an adapter. However, adapters are available to match many different systems to allow you to use them together. The adapters pictured, for example, allow you to use a Roadmaster tow bar with Demco classic base plates. If you have base plates and tow bars from different manufacturers, please click here to learn more about finding an adapter that best suits your needs.