Who installs base plate?

Whoever you choose. Yourself, RV shop, autobody repair shop, car dealer.

Last one I did, it was me. 2012 Honda Fit, BlueOx baseplate. It took me 10 hours work over three days on a concrete driveway in 100+ F weather (4th of July weekend). Took so long because I probably needed 4-6 drill bits to drill the two holes, rather than the one bit I had.

It is problematic. Some cars need a lot more disassembly than others. Body shops are pretty good about this part, but may have no baseplate fitting experience. RV shops may have more baseplate experience, but your car might be new to them. To help, both Roadmaster and BlueOx provide pretty good instructions as to the disassembly of your car, installation, and reassembly.

Service department of your car dealer is probably not a good idea. Some of these installations require doing things prohibited to auto dealerships, like permanently removing mandatory safety equipment (bumper bars, associated air bag triggers).

Preview the installation instructions before deciding. In my case, I looked at BlueOX and Roadmaster, chose BlueOx because it left Honda's bumper in place, although I had to drill two holes in the subframe and enlarge two more, and remount the bumper. The Roadmaster solution simple eliminated the front bumper and mounted towing brackets in its place, something I didn't find satisfactory. In both cases, about an hour's worth of work was removing and replacing cosmetic body parts covering the front end structures.

I've noticed on etrailer.com they have some videos of vehicles I'm thinking about buying. We have Surwic in Memphis that is about the only place here for installing baseplates. We put a baseplate on our old PT Cruiser but had Surwic install it on our Smart. And they said they hoped to never have to install one on a Smart again. The PT Cruiser fell apart and the Smart has been at the Memphis Carmax (never buy from Carmax!) for 5 weeks seeking a warranty repair. So now I'm in the toad market again.

My wife and I installed a Blue Ox baseplate on our 2015 JKU in about 2 hours. No big deal and we are in our mid 70's !!!!!

In my case I asked my dealer when I picked up the MH from some warranty work. Got a dumb look. Explained what a baseplate was and I got a "yeah, I think we can do that." Sent an email to a listed Blue Ox dealer two weeks ago with no reply. Guess I'll do it my self.

RedRollingRoadblock wrote:
Guess I'll do it my self.

It usually isn't too bad. You say you emailed BlueOx. Does that mean you already own a BlueOx base plate? I ask because my usual suggestion is to look up base plates on Roadmaster, BlueOx and Demco. Then look at the instructions they provide on line, and their photo of a completed installation. That can help you choose the one that presents the best look, or sets up at the best height to match your coach, or is the easiest to install.

If you have the base plate already, I offer two tips:

1. Determine how much drilling is required and be sure you have GOOD bits in those sizes. If you're drilling large holes, a high-torque, low-RPM drill motor works best.

2. If the instructions call for trimming the car's fascia, don't just do it from the instruction pictures. Wait till you can do a trial fit of you own with the base plate installed. Several of us have found that far less fascia had to be removed to clear the base plate than what the instructions showed.

Ready Brake/Brute doesn't make a base plate but their dealers install various brands to match their tow bar. Here's a link to the dealers: http://www.readybrake.com/dealer-locator.html

Looks like several in OR.

Norm

j-d wrote:

RedRollingRoadblock wrote:
Guess I'll do it my self.

It usually isn't too bad. You say you emailed BlueOx. Does that mean you already own a BlueOx base plate? I ask because my usual suggestion is to look up base plates on Roadmaster, BlueOx and Demco. Then look at the instructions they provide on line, and their photo of a completed installation. That can help you choose the one that presents the best look, or sets up at the best height to match your coach, or is the easiest to install.

If you have the base plate already, I offer two tips:

1. Determine how much drilling is required and be sure you have GOOD bits in those sizes. If you're drilling large holes, a high-torque, low-RPM drill motor works best.

2. If the instructions call for trimming the car's fascia, don't just do it from the instruction pictures. Wait till you can do a trial fit of you own with the base plate installed. Several of us have found that far less fascia had to be removed to clear the base plate than what the instructions showed.

No, I emailed the a local dealer who is listed by Blue Ox. Your additional comments are likely right on. That has been my thought process while looking at options. Haven't bought a baseplate yet, just got a car suitable to flat tow. Got a dolly so no big rush.

It just really bugs me when someone tells you to email for information then they never reply.

Of course then there is my Fleetwood dealer. I emailed them for some repairs on my 2007 Sunseeker that I likely could have done myself but just didn't want to do. Six weeks later they call me and I blew them off. Then four months later they had a floor plan that DW really liked and more bells and whistles than either of us really wanted at a good price. The rest is history...

My 16 YO son and I installed a Blue Ox baseplate on a 2012 Jeep Liberty, (specifically located, tracked down and purchased to be our toad).

It was really easy, especially with the online videos available from etrailer! It took us about 65 minutes total. The hardest part was unbolting the OEM tow hooks, (had to find a cheater bar/pipe).

The really most annoying part of the whole process was replacing plastic rivets in the fender well. Found a cheap plastic rivet tool on Amazon.

We just had a Blue Ox baseplate installed on our Ford Flex in Mobile, Alabama. It's a small family owned RV service center but our guy is a diesel and gas mechanic as well. He is a high school friend of the salesman who sold us the car. He does installations like this routinely. DH cannot do the work physically anymore. Has done many in his day. He was there and watched the guy all day. Said he is so glad he didn't attempt it. The front end had to be removed and many holes had to be drilled through hardened steel. He also wired it. DH said there is no doubt the guy knew what he was doing.

Towed it for the first time yesterday. Everything worked from the getgo.

If anyone is near Mobile, AL, and needs this done, let me know and I will pass on his name. Very honest people to deal with. Mom, Dad, and 2 sons.

Dale