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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-blue-ox-base-plate-kit-2023-gmc-canyon-blu85cr.aspx
Hey everyone, Ryan here at etrailer, today, on our 2023 GMC Canyon, we’re gonna be showing you how to install the Blue Ox Base Plate Kit with removable arms, before we get into that though, we’ll take a minute, check this one out, and make sure it’s gonna be the right setup for you. Before we jump right in, I do want to address the most popular question that we get asked in regards to setting up a flat tow. And that’s, “What are the main parts that I’m gonna need” So you have a total of five major components, your base plate, and then you’ll have your tow bar, which connects to the base plate, goes back to your motor home, you’ll have your safety cables, your tow bar wiring, and your supplemental braking system. There are a few other components that I definitely recommend when it comes to the Canyon. One of ’em being a towed vehicle battery charge line kit, it’s gotta keep your battery topped off when you’re flat-towing, the other one being an automatic battery disconnect switch. Since these Canyons, you have to disconnect the battery every time you flat tow, kind of a pain, so with the switch, you just push a button, and it does it for you.

And then depending on what supplemental braking system you get, one of ’em being the Stay-IN-Play Duo, or the Roadmaster InvisiBrake. I definitely highly recommend using a stoplight switch kit. Let’s talk about the base plate now. So this is how it can look whenever you’re not hooked up behind your motor home, and flat-towing down the road, which I think is important, because you’re not always gonna be pulling this around, right And I think the base plate looks really good, actually. It comes through the openings that your tow hooks we inchesre originally in, so you know, it doesn’t really look out of place, there’s already something there to begin with, and putting the base plate there doesn’t really draw your eyes to it by any means, at least in my opinion.

And it does have more of a matte or flat black finish, which I am a fan of. You know, it looks a little bit more modern, at least to me. And they give you these little plugs too, you can put in there, not only to help keep it clean, but I think it blends in a little bit better as well. Now compared to the other base plate available, which is made by Roadmaster, you can’t really go wrong with either one, to be honest with you. I think there’s pros and cons to to both of ’em, so with the Blue Ox, with this one, I’m a big fan of the finish, right I like that matte black a lot, but they don’t give you a included bracket or a really good spot to mount up some of your other components like your breakaway switch, so you had to kind of get creative.

I got ours mounted up here, but it took a little time to figure that out. And the bracket that they give you mounts up your connector down here, as opposed to the Roadmaster one, they give you a spot that’s already attached and set up on the base plate to mount up your breakaway switch, and their connector, they give you a custom-fit bracket that kind of bolts up behind here, and puts it in this location. So I kind of like that setup a little bit better, but you know, ultimately, it’s gonna be what you think looks the best and the setup that you like the most, so it’ll be the most comfortable with. When you are ready to hook up to your motor home, you’ll have these removable arms, and the way they work, pull out the plugs, (metal bar clattering) put those in, rotate ’em about a quarter turn until they lock into place. Same deal on the other side, (metal bar clattering) and now that’s gonna give you the attachment point that you need to hook up your tow bar ends.

As far as what tow bars are gonna be compatible, the vast majority of the Blue Ox tow bars out there are going to fit directly to this, along many others too. I believe some of the CURT tow bars, some of the etrailer tow bars with the Blue Ox ends will match up with this, and even some of the other brands. So for example, Roadmaster makes a tow bar that has Blue Ox ends on it, that’ll be compatible like the Nighthawk for example, And even if you, let’s say if you already have a tow bar that is a different brand, we’ll just say Roadmaster for example, and you really like it, you don’t wanna have to buy a new one. What you can do is, chances are really good there’s adapter ends available that allow you to remove your existing ends, put the new ones on it that are gonna be compatible with this base plate. As far as what some models of base plate