Blue Ox Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
(2961 reviews)
Price: $603.19
Blue Ox Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms
Item # BX2004
Our Price: $603.19
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- Reviews (2961)
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Blue Ox Base Plates - BX2004
- Removable Drawbars
- Blue Ox
- Twist Lock Attachment
Custom designed to fit your vehicle so it can be safely towed behind your RV, this base plate has easily removable arms that offer a seamless look when you're not flat towing. Base plate bolts directly to your chassis, so no welding is required.
Features:
- Custom-fit base plate provides attachment points for your tow bar when flat towing
- Hidden design provides a clean, seamless look
- Arms remove with a simple twist when not in use
- Brackets won't protrude past the front of your vehicle
- Sturdy design spreads towing force evenly to prevent stress on your vehicle's suspension
- Integrated mounting points let you easily attach an electrical connector plug with bracket (sold separately)
- Receiver covers keep dirt and debris out of the base plate when arms are removed and provide a finished look
- Durable steel construction is powder coated to resist rust and corrosion
- Straightforward installation - no welding required
- Base plate bolts securely to your vehicle's chassis with included mounting hardware
- Sturdy lugs pair with Blue Ox tow bars to form a secure and reliable connection
- Adaptable for use with Roadmaster tow bars - adapter (RM-031 or RM-031-5) sold separately
- Adaptable for use with Demco tow bars - adapter (BX88310) sold separately
- Made in the USA
Specs:
- Distance between brackets: 31-1/4"
- Bracket height: 14-1/2"
- 3-Year warranty
Simple, Hidden Design
This base plate's hidden design creates a clean and seamless look. The bracket arms are easily removable, creating a slick appearance when you're not flat towing. Because the arms can be removed, you also won't have to worry about banging your leg into any protruding arms when you walk by.
Attaching and removing the bracket arms is a breeze. To attach the arms to the base plate, simply insert them into the receivers and rotate them until they lock into place. Once you're finished towing and want to remove the arms, pull the pin to disengage the lock, rotate the arms, and remove them from the receivers. Finally, plug up the now empty receivers with the included receiver covers to help keep dirt and debris out of the base plate and provide a finished look.
Guide to Flat Towing
Flat towing your vehicle is much more convenient than using a trailer or a tow dolly. These other options take up much more storage space, leaving you less room both at home and at the campsite. In addition, securing your vehicle to a trailer or tow dolly can be a hassle and more time consuming than hooking up with a tow bar.
There are 5 basic components needed when flat towing a vehicle: a tow bar, a base plate kit, a safety cable set, tow bar wiring, and a supplemental braking system.
The tow bar links your towed car to your motorhome. It attaches to the custom-fit base plates that install on the frame of your towed car. Safety cables ensure that your towed car does not separate from your motorhome in the event that your tow bar becomes detached. Tow bar wiring allows your towed vehicle's signal lights to sync up with your motorhome's tail lights, which is required by law in most states. Finally, the supplemental braking system - also required in most states - brakes your towed car when the brakes in your motorhome are activated, preventing wear on the motorhome and decreasing braking distance for your entire setup.
BX2004 Blue Ox Baseplate - Removable Tabs
Installation Details
This Product Fits The Following Vehicles
- 2016 - 2017 Smart fortwo
Customer Reviews
Blue Ox Base Plate Kit - Removable Arms - BX2004
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (2959 Customer Reviews)
Custom designed to fit your vehicle so it can be safely towed behind your RV, this base plate has easily removable arms that offer a seamless look when you're not flat towing. Base plate bolts directly to your chassis, so no welding is required.by: Sara05/02/2023
Easy to install. Took a couple hours.. would recommend this product to all smart car owners. Safety chains is the part that took longest.. if manual had better pictures the install would be faster.. overall great baseplate!!!!
by: Gail 08/11/2020
What I needed was some help in getting the correct pieces for my car. This is a very knowledgeable crew I was talking to. I have ordered several items from etrailer over the last two years and everything always arrives on time and as a complete package.
by: Pete06/14/2022
Entire order and delivery process was fast, efficient and user friendly.
Product received on time. Blue Ox base plate was of high quality, very impressed. I wouldn't call it an easy install but doable. Excellent installation instructions were very helpful. I would wholeheartedly recommend this product as well as etrailer.
by: Temelec Tom09/12/2022
Reasonably easy install on my '16 Smart ForTwo. Entire front end is plastic, peels right off... Biggest challenge was not having a metal hole saw for the frame, so 1/8" drill for the outline, file it smooth, continue install.
Wiring took MUCH longer to do it correctly, believe me.
by: L. D.09/13/2017
2017 Smart fortwo
Merchandise arrived on time and well packaged.
I have ordered multiple times from etrailer and each purchase has been delivered on time and well packaged.
Every item which I have ordered from etrailer has been exactly as described.
Very satisfied
by: Frankie 12/30/2021
Great price!!! Fast delivery.
Frankie
12/31/2022
1 year later and the blue ox is still doing the job. No problems..thumbs up!!
by: Joseph 09/15/2021
2017 Smart fortwo
Our experience was unbelievable. We ordered Blue Ox equipment to set up our new car for towing and you packed and shipped everything the same day and it all arrived 3 business days later. Great service. Thank you.
by: Michael 05/14/2021
2017 Smart fortwo
Well made, overly strong with all fitting very well. Four stars as I have not towed the vehicle yet, still waiting for the tow bar to arrive.
by: Norman 07/21/2020
Just received the product yesterday so have not installed it but it looks exactly as described. Shipping was very fast as usual from E trailer.
by: Kent 03/06/2024
2016 Smart fortwo
by: Rick08/30/2022
by: Rod04/13/2023
The size of the box terrified me but I had to do this one myself.
This project is not for the faint of heart. When you think about what could go wrong you could wet yourself. I went with my gut and just opened the box. Hmmm, packaged very well with everything you need for the install. No going to the hardware store for this or that. Sat there with a cold sarsaparilla and read the very detailed instructions, went back to the etrailer web site and checked out some vids and pics. Hmm, it didn’t seem that daunting of a job. On my 04 Lexus GX470 most of the holes were drilled. Before I knew it 5 hours had past and I owned a toad! I took it to my local Rv service center for an inspection and it was deemed safe to use.
This thing is awesome, tracs straight as an arrow.
Now, I have to figure out this diode lighting kit. Camping is fun! Yah!!! :) Noah and etrailer made this a tolerable project. I urge everyone to take advantage of the resources that are on this sight. I always learn something when I’m there. See y’all on the trail….Rod
by: Jonathon03/14/2024
I will start with the people that work here at etrailer are great to deal with and very helpful! These baseplates for my 2023 bronco have been great. i bought and installed myself. install pretty straight forward. and these work great for flat towing my bronco behind my motorhome.
by: Ron10/14/2022
I am really happy, not only with the product but the customer care I received. Very quick and helpful!!
I would make one suggestion. Take the headlights out when doing this on a Chevy Cobalt. It will make it much easier to get to the 3 bolt holding the fender to the fascia.
by: Al12/20/2022
everything bolted up easy, i simply drilled hole’s into were needed and supplied my own bolts straight through for easy installation.
by: David A.03/06/2024
Installed successfully on my 2024 Trax LT. However, with respect to the following installation steps, I made some changes:
All - Don't use a reciprocating saw! An oscillating tool and saw attachment works best, allowing more precise cuts.
Step #8 - After consultation with BlueOx Tech Support, I elected to re-install the plastic shroud. Wasn't difficult and I felt better about maintaining the integrity of the original equipment.
Step #28 - I moved the temperature sensor to a forward facing position in the grill section directly above the baseplate.
by: John04/06/2023
Etrailer offered competitive pricing for the base plate and the package was shipped promptly and arrived very quickly...much faster than I had anticipated.
The packaging was excellent and included all documentation. Installation was very straightforward and the unit was a perfect fit with minimal modifications to the car itself. Only a few small pieces of plastic had to be trimmed for a perfect fit.
We did have some trouble with 2 of the nuts-with-wires attached in that the bolts did NOT want to thread in to them. For some reason, they just did not want to 'start' easily and this made the blind installation of the nuts on the bolts extremely time-consuming. The nuts/bolts did not cross-thread and there were no other issues once we were able to use a tool to jam the blind nut and stop it from moving so that the bolt could be tightened and torqued. 4 of the 6 went in smoothly and with zero issues, so do I not believe that it was 'installer error' (!).
In the end, a perfect installation and the base plate is nearly invisible. I would definitely purchase from eTrailer again and can easily recommend their products based on this experience.
by: Dale04/13/2023
My only negative comment is that this base plate sets the tow bar connections 23" above the ground making it somewhat of a pain to fine towbar and hitch connections. It mounts relatively easy.
by: RRR03/05/2023
Everything as advertised. Followed the videos and instructions for installing the base plates and tow bar and all were good. Did a test pull today and it towed great, straight as a dye. I only have 2 suggestions. There was no mention in the video of the space plate, which was included. Figured it out. Second suggestion, Install a 2" ball on your work bench and adjust the receiver to it. The instructions tell you what socket to adjust it with but that could have been done on the bench before shipping. Great product, so excited. We are off on a few hundred mile trip with the Fit behind the motorhome Wednesday. So excited. No more tow dolly.
by: James07/18/2022
Pretty easy to do my self but the instructions could have been a bit larger with more pictures. I think the hardest part was drilling the holes to attach the two brackets as there was only one hole on each frame. Getting the square nuts with wire attached were difficult to get both aligned because the wire on the first one got in the way each time
by: Jeff12/23/2022
Bought it at etrailer as I have with other trailer hitch related parts. Installed it myself, and it was a real job. I figure about 10 hours to get it right so I didn't have to worry if my 'toad' would pass my motorhome as I tooled down the road. Fit was perfect for my 2008 Honda CRV, but make sure you keep that oil cooler line up as high as possible or you will be redoing the fit to get the front cowling back on the car. Bought an angle grinder with cutoff wheels and that made the frame notching a lot easier. Note that if the removeable attachment pins are a tight fit into the base plate, they will loosen up with a good silicone lubricant and the wear of towing. I have towed with confidence for a year without a hitch (pun intended).
by: Dan D07/20/2023
It turned out fine but my opinion is that you should have some average or above mechanical skills to install this yourself. As you can see, the base plate protrusions are hardly noticeable at a distance with the tow pins removed. One thing worth mentioning is I had to mount it more rearward on the frame because the front valance would not mount back on correctly. Overall, good base plate.
by: Ken05/07/2023
The item I received must have been a returned item. The box label was proof it was shipped to someone else before. Reason I'm not happy is because the bag of screws was open and most of it slipped out of the holes of the damaged box that was opened before and re-taped. The end of the crossbar was bent and not much packing inside. I needed this for our trip, so I didn't return it and had to fix and find screws to make it all work.
by: Stephen07/31/2023
The Bx2692 is the better tow bar solution because it is higher up to hopefully keep your tow bar flat. I modified a Base bumper to install this because it is only available for the "Modular" and "Capable" bumpers. The base bumper option from bluox is for lower tow hook delete option. Took about 3hrs with the help of a grinder jigsaw and multi tool.
by: Michael01/17/2023
This Base plate was fairly simple to install in about 1/2 a day. I also installed brake kit and wiring so actually spent most of the day. This baseplate combined with the etrailer tow bar have been great. already pulled over 5000 miles with no issues at all. I love this setup and will never go back to tow dolly
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See what our Experts say about this Blue Ox Base Plates
- Is the blue Ox Base Plate Item # BX2004 Compatible With The Blue Ox Ascent Tow Bar Item # BX4375Yes, the Blue Ox Base Plate Kit Item # BX2004 for the 2016 Smart fortwo is compatible with the Blue Ox Ascent Tow BarItem # BX4375
view full answer... - Is The Blue Ox Ascent Tow Bar Item # BX4375 Compatible With The Blue Ox Base Plate Kit Item # BX2004Yes, the Blue Ox Ascent Tow Bar Item # BX4375 is compatible with Blue Ox Base Plate Kit Item # BX2004 on a 2016 Smart fortwo
view full answer... - Parts Needed to Flat Tow a 2016 Smart fortwoWe have everything you need to flat tow your 2016 Smart fortwo, but to install the base plate kit you will need do some minor fascia trimming and some minor drilling which could be an issue for your lease agreement. Typically any modification is prohibited so a tow dolly option like the part # RM-2050-1 would probably be your best option. To flat tow your vehicle you would want the Blue Ox base plate kit part # BX2004. In addition to the base plates, you will also need a compatible tow...
view full answer... - Recommendation On What Is Needed To Flat Tow 2016 Smart ForTwoIt is possible to flat tow your 2016 Smart fortwo but not recommended. Generally speaking, towing a Smart is a delicate matter and you should definitely review your owner's manual and/or contact Smart with regards to best towing practices. From my research, towing with a trailer is the best way to tow a Smart car. If you still want to consider flat towing your 2016 Smart, you need to do some minor fascia trimming and some minor drilling. The install is not easy because of these needed...
view full answer...
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Info for this part was:
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Written by:
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Updated by:
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Updated by:
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Updated by:
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Bob
8/14/2021
Works like it’s designed. Not too tough to install.