Blue Ox Tow Bar

Part of the deal when we traded for our last toad update. The dealership had to install the tow plates and wiring free to seal the trade. They did it! I provided the two plates.

I installed two Blue Ox base plates so far and thought the installation instructions were very good. About the only way I see to get the nuts inside the frame is with the wire attached. Before I ordered the base plate for my Elantra I called Blue Ox because a coupe wasn't listed, they put a tech on the phone that told me which base plate to order.

I installed a blue on base plates on my buddy's Focus. No issues and it went smoothly. I think it's possible that with the Ranger being new they rushed he base plates out to get the, on the market. I'll bet given a year he install will go smooth with all the little updates they are going to do fo the install.

Sorry to hear you had so many problems. I've always used BlueOx products and prefer it over Roadmaster's offerings. I always install my own baseplates. The bolts that came with the kits were correct but I did need to sort them out to figure out which when where. The instructions showed enough detail to accomplish the installation properly. The last time I called BlueOx, I was looking to buy some caps for my locking pins but they sent them to me for free.

We have always used Roadmaster. Their products and support are second to none.

We are beyond happy with the Roadmaster base plate on our 2019 Ranger. Fits perfectly, and can barely see it with the bar off.

Sorry that happened to you. Sounds like Blue Ox dropped the ball on this one. If theirs isn’t perfectly ready for market, they shouldn’t have released it

I also have installed my own and the wire on the nut is the only way to get the nut into the place it needed to be. No space for anything else. Sorry to hear about your experience.

Sorry to hear about your problems. I have personally installed 4 Blue Ox base plates on different vehicles and never had a single problem, either with supplied installation components, or factory support, which I consider excellent. After 15 years of towing and over 150,000 miles, my Blue Ox tow bar is still sound and working fine. BUT, if it ever needs repair, I send it back to Blue Ox and they rebuild it for about $25. I did stop at the Blue Ox factory several years back to have mine rebuilt, and stayed for FREE at their very nice campground, right at the factory. I have nothing but good things to say about extensive Blue Ox experience.

Not dissing the OP here, but some of his 'issues' could have been avoided if he'd bought directly from BlueOx. From the web page of his distributor... "We are an independent authorized dealer for Blue Ox products, not affiliated with Automatic Equipment Manufacturing."

I've installed three Blue Ox base plates and found their instructions to be easy to read. The wires on the nuts are the only way to get them in place and get them secured. Blue Ox personnel are always easy to reach and very informative. I find them to be an above average company....Dennis

Executive wrote:
Not dissing the OP here, but some of his 'issues' could have been avoided if he'd bought directly from BlueOx. From the web page of his distributor... "We are an independent authorized dealer for Blue Ox products, not affiliated with Automatic Equipment Manufacturing."

I've installed three Blue Ox base plates and found their instructions to be easy to read. The wires on the nuts are the only way to get them in place and get them secured. Blue Ox personnel are always easy to reach and very informative. I find them to be an above average company....Dennis

Not true! I bought from Blue Ox.com who is the distributer for Blue Ox - they have no idea how the baseplates are installed. They were nice but could not help. Blue Ox was not available to help.

The base plate for the 2019 Ford Ranger is next to impossible to install.

One more pro Blue Ox. I have installed at least 6 base plates on many different vehicles with no problems whatsoever, and have used Blue Ox tow bars for over 25 years. We have been to the factory, talked to their customer support and even had them use our new vehicle as a template to develop a new base plate for a new model truck. As to the nuts on a wire, how else would you get the nuts to where they need to be?