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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tvinstallb...
Hello, neighbors. It's Brad here at etrailer, and today we're taking a look and installing the Blue Ox Base Plate on a 2023 Ford Ranger. And once your base plate is installed, this is how it's gonna look, and overall it's a really clean look because it utilizes the same spot as the factory tow hooks. So that means you're gonna get a nice solid mounting point, but also it doesn't have to be too much trimming or anything like that. In fact, this one just kind of bolts in. It's pretty simple It can be done very quickly, and it's kind of nice because it really doesn't require trimming where some other base plates really do, and you're kind of hacking up the front.

So definitely a benefit on this one. Now you'll see that you have your safety chain loops built into it. So that's a nice perfect length I think to hook up. They're not too far tucked in, but they're also not sticking out too far. So it makes hooking up easy, but without taking away any of the aesthetic of the vehicle.

Now some other base plates will have a mounting point for a six pole. Ours came with a bracket, but we did end up mounting it up here, and the same kind of goes for your breakaway switch where some other base plates may offer that. And the great part about this style of base plate, you are gonna maintain that clean look when just driving around, but whenever you're ready to hook up, you just simply take your arms, put these in place, and after a quick quarter turn, they're gonna snap in. So that way you can have this ready to hook up to your tow bar, and whenever you need to release it, when you're normally driving. You can just simply pull this, twist it out and it's back to looking nice and clean.

Now when you are ready to hook up to all your flat tow components, it's gonna be nice and easy here. Now being that these are Blue Ox ends, that doesn't mean that you necessarily have to have a Blue Ox tow bar. You can generally order a tow bar with a bunch of different style ends. So even if you pick up a Roadmaster, that's not gonna be you know the end of the world, you can get those adapters, and they're gonna work with these Blue Ox arms. So we'll just get this sled through.

We'll get our safety cables attached. (cable fastening) Our breakaway switch as well. Have our diode wiring. (wire fastening) (metal clanks) Now with everything hooked up, all that's left to do is get our vehicle set up in flat tow mode, and we're ready to hit the road. When it comes to flat towing a vehicle, there's gonna be five main required components to be able to accomplish that, and the first one we'll start on the vehicle side is gonna be your base plate, and your base plate attaches to the frame of the vehicle to create a structural mounting point for your tow bar. But also a lot of times your safety chain loops, and sometimes you'll also have spots for the rest of your components. Now, the tow bar will be that connecting point between the base plate and the hitch on the RV, and that's really what's structurally holding it all together. You also have a braking system that's going to allow the vehicle to slow and stop as necessary. And here we have a breakaway cable. So in case of an accidental disconnect, it's gonna pull that cable, and apply the brakes on the vehicle, and that way it's not rolling down the highway. Going along with a little bit of safety, we have our safety chains, which attach to the base plate, and then the hitch on the RV, and that's gonna be in case of a catastrophic disconnect. You still have that attachment point. It's gonna hold onto the vehicle again so it's not free rolling down the road. We also have our diode wiring, which is gonna transmit the light sequence from the RV to the taillights on the vehicle. Also, your diode wiring is used in a lot of different braking systems as well, but that way you can have your running lights, your turn signals and brake lights happen on the back of the vehicle to let people know what you're doing. Our Ranger is a tremor package, so it's gonna be a little bit different if you don't have the tremor. Mostly because your shroud is gonna go around here. You may have the trim for that, and some of the hardware is a little bit different. The instruction manual does kind of point that out. So follow that along. I've gone ahead and showed you kind of some of those spots that you would remove the shroud. It's gonna be very similar. So just refer to the instruction manual. If you do not have the tremor, the tremor is gonna be a little bit easier just because you mainly remove this skid plate, and then you're good to go. We're gon