baseplate

[Chuck Linn]

Would some one tell me what a base plate is. I keep hearing about them and I thought that all you had to do was get a toad with hooks on the front and hook up a tow bar and lights and go

[skipwil]

Hi: the base plate is that part (of the tow assembly)which attaches on the subframe of your tow vehicle. it depends on each vehicle as to what base plate is used. the brackets attach to the base plate;then the tow bar brackets attach to these and finally the tow bar. go to roadmaster or blue ox and do a search for base plates. there should be pictures to better explain the how and why. what kind of vehicle do you plan to tow?

[smlranger]

Chuck:

The base plate is the heavy steel device that is bolted to the vehicle to be towed. The tow bar attaches to the base plate. Modern vehicles have no real bumpers (as in the old days when bumpers were chrome plated steel bolted directly to the vehicle's frame). To install baseplates on most vehicles, one has to remove the plastic fascia on the vehicle, drill and bolt the base plate to the frame (or uni-body), then re-install the fascia. The attachment points on the baseplate then protrude (some more than others) thru the fasica or grille and you attach the tow bar to those.

[chasfm11]

There is also a wide range of how a baseplate attaches to a vehicle, even a very similar vehicle. Here is an example, based on Roadmaster baseplates for a 2005 Saturn Vue:
- For the V6 AWD version, there are two brackets. Each is held on by two existing bolts from the Vue's frame. The bolts are removed, the base plate added and the bolts are re-installed
- For the 4cyl, 5spd version, there is a u shaped bar that is anchored using two existing subframe bolts. 4 additional bolt holes have be drilled in the Vue's frame. Two of those bolt holes go through the upper and lower parts of a 9" high frame assembly.

The results of both baseplates are two slots where the other half of the baseplate can be inserted. When we aren't towing, we leave that part off and the baseplate is barely visible through the Vue's grill. When we get ready to tow, the upper part of the base plate is pushed into the slots where it is held on with pins and keepers. That provides a structure in front of the Vue's grill where the pins from the tow bar can be inserted. With the tow bar arms extended an locked, the Vue is held a constant space from the MH while towing. Obviously, there is a lot of stress on the tow bar and baseplate. Roadmaster recommends checking the baseplate mounting bolts every 3,000 miles to make sure that they are tight.

My attitude was that if I'm going to be responsible to check the bolts periodically, I might as well be the one who mounts them in the first place.

[Chuck Linn]

skipwil we plan on getting an old jeep with cloth top and i thought they came with frame mounts it would be something like the old WW 2 jeeps

[skipwil]

Hi: regardless of what you buy- the hitch assembly MUST be secure to both m/h and the towed vehicle. the last thing anybody wants to see is their towed vehicle either passing them or crossing the opposite travel lanes. i think that would be a verrry bad day. you could have a welding shop make a bracket for the jeep and use the tow bar. i've seen some things done in my travels. most important be safe. keep us posted.

[jazziebone]

Has anyone put a Roadmaster 1429-1 base plate on their Jeep 4-door Wrangler? I have a Blue Ox Alladin towbar and want to use the Roadmaster base plate because I understand it looks better than the Blue Ox when the Jeep is not being towed. Any opinions, comments, photos, would be much appreciated.

[Gary RVRoamer]

You would need the Blue-Ox Roadmaster adapter in that case, since the method of attachment is different.

But I see little difference between the Roadmaster & Blue Ox base plate when the tow bar mounts are removed.

Blue Ox Jeep base plate

[DonavonP]

Here is a pdf picture of the very simple, easy to install (base plate?) connectors for the older jeep.

http://www.demco-products.com/manual...ls/tp20112.pdf