Have Blue Ox hitch for toad

[RVER]

Question is will all Blue Ox tow arms work with all cars or are they specific like the plates are? I am thinking of towing a Smart Car, Honda Element or Jeep Wrangler. Have not bought any of them yet but do not want to buy a car and then find out that the tow bars will not work with that car. They seem heavy duty and in great shape.

[RVER]

The company that hooked me up rewired the cigarette lighter straight to the battery so I can use the battery cutoff and still have brake controller., last week. IT is a 2009 SC so the cigarette lighter outlet seems to work pretty well. GREAT that the Blue Ox people are willing to send out the extra outlet power kit. IF anyone is using a SC if you can tell me the procedure you use to get the car to restart after using your battery cut off, will appreciate. I did get something off internet which does NOT match what friends told me they do but theirs is a 2012 or newer so procedure may be different.

[cwit]

To put a base plate on a smart car the whole nose and side panels have to come off and base plate is expensive. I would check prices be fore buying.

[j-d]

Brake Buddy will send you a free power kit. They started doing that a number of years ago when "cigarette lighters" became "convenience outlets." BB found their units didn't work right with the new outlets and the easiest thing to do was furnish the kit. It's terminals, a fuse, quality wire, and a metal outlet socket with bracket. You could connect such a kit to the battery and then disconnect the Smart Car's battery terminals.

We have several OP's here who tow Smarts, so you'll likely have some specific help soon.

[RVER]

OK, now a newer question. I am going to use the Blue Ox arms etc with blue ox plate and connectors etc. NOW the TOAD is SMART CAR. My question is now 2009 Smart Car had Battery Cut Off put in so the brake Buddy and just leaving key on so steering wheel will move when pulling and turning a corner will not burn out the battery. I was given (by a friend with a 2012 Smart Car) the procedure to get the car to start after the battery shut off is turned off and the procedure to turn on the Battery Shut Off before pulling. When I had the Battery Shut Off put in, they wired it to the battery so when we put the Battery Shut Off On, and then the Brake Buddy would not work of course. ANY rate when we just turned the battery shut off OFF we could nto start the car, so they went on internet and they came out and I think they said put foot on brake and put through all the gears and back uip to park and then the car would start, QUESTION is WHAT is the Procedure for a 2009 SMART CAR that has a battery Shut Off installed to get the engine to start after having used the Battery Shut off? THE Guys at the trailer store seemed to get on the internet and found the solution very quickly but I cannot find it. Would it be dependent on the BRAND OF THE BATTERY SHUT OFF SWITCH?

[jerseyjim]

use it as is.

[Larryr201]

Has anyone modified Blue Ox tow bar? I had to use 4" Drop receiver to level things out and was wondering if you can re drill holes to tow bar to compensate for added length of drop hitch receiver

[jerseyjim]

Choosing a TOAD can be tricky. Do alot of research. Jeep is popular, so WAS Saturn (no longer in production), most stick shift cars are OK (MOST)...and as far as I know, any all-wheel drive cars are NOT.

My TOADS over the past years have been:

1996 Ford Contour. 5 spd stick...no mods, no fuses to pull
2007 Chevy HHR, automatic...pull one fuse, off y'go
2011 Ford Ranger auto, 4WD. Need a (Ford only) "Transfer case neutral switch kit" $400 installed.

My base plate is BlueOx and the towbar is Roadmaster. From the Contour to the HHR and Ranger, I had to change the "ends" of the towbar to the BluOx "knuckle". Simple bolt and nut swap.

All were (are) great TOADS. I think GM now has the most 4-down TOADS in weights and prices. Ford....very limited. Chrysler, other than the Jeep...I have no idea.

Research, Research, Research....and don't believe the salesman.

[RVER]

I bought a used Newmar MH and it had a Blue Ox tow set up and Blue Ox brake that came with the MH and my question was is the hitch universal so far as some models for some cars and some other cars of the Blue Ox? From the sounds of it, as long as the model I have is heavy duty enough for the Toad it is fine. I would definitely get a plate that is made for Blue Ox to put on the TOAD. Thanks everyone. NOW I have to choose a TOAD. I am flabbergasted at what JEEP Wranglers now cost, they used to be the cheap car to give a highschool kid or college bound kid, now they cost what a BMW cost and they are not made any different then they were for years in past, NOT GREAT.

[lj2654]

I think that the above poster J-D gave a superb answer. I inherited a roadmaster tow bar when we bought our used Beaver coach 5 years ago. I wasn't sure which bracket setup I needed and went with the simplest to install vs the same as the towbar. You want the correct ends to match up from the towbar to the brackets as they can be different attach points.

[j-d]

Let me try to expand what I think OP is asking, and then try to provide an answer...

There are several manufacturers of Tow Bars. Let's call it three, named BlueOx, Demco, and RoadMaster. These three also offer Base Plates. I own a BlueOx Tow Bar. Do I have to install a BlueOx Base Plate, or could I also use a Demco or a RoadMaster?

IF that's the question, you can often mix brands. Some tow bar manufacturers like Night Shift Auto (Ready Brute and Ready Brute Elite tow bar brands) offer their bars with a choice of connectors. RoadMaster offers some adapters to other brands.

In some brands, it's possible that a Brand A tow bar bought used, is equipped with Brand B connectors.

In an ideal world, I'd suggest working backwards, though. For my given toad, which Base Plate setup do I like best? Can be determined by looking up the exact model base plate, then studying the Installation Instructions. This works even if you aren't going to DIY the installation. Will tell you how invasive the job is, AND what it'll look like when complete. This will tell you the height your tow bar has to match up to, within 3-4-inches of level. Then shop the tow bar.

[Hank_MI]

It's the base plate that's specific to a car not the tow bar. Only thing to consider is the weight of the toad and the weight capacity of the tow bar.

[jerseyjim]

As far as i know, the tow bars are "universal".