Baseplate Installation - Is this for the average do-it-yourselfer?

[rsalhus]

You might want to look at a little higher tow capacity tow bar (Blue Ox Adventa II?) to make sure you have enough towing capability for the Trailblazer, even tho it probably weighs less than 5k.

Bernie brings up a good point.  The Blue Ox base plate footnotes for the Trailblazer state that some models of the Trailblazer can actually exceed the 5,000 lb limit, depending on options.  The Blue Ox Aventa LX (which I think replaces the Aventa II), is a steel tow bar rated at 10,000 lbs and would be a better choice for the Trailblazer.  It is a little heavier though, I think it weighs 42 lbs.

I see a Blue Ox Aventa LX tow bar at PPL Motorhomes (with safety cables) for $499 and the Blue Ox base plate would be $395.  The rest of the items would be less than $300 making a total of less than $1,200 not including shipping costs.  The installation rating of the base plate for the Trailblazer is a 3, which is rather difficult (scale is 1 to 4).  So for labor costs of installing the base plate and the wiring kit, I would think $500 would be more than fair.  Which should bring your cost to about $1,700 plus shipping costs.  (PPL states that they charge no sales tax if shipped outside of Texas.)

You still need to think about a supplemental braking system though if you don't already have one.  You will be breaking the law in several states without one.

 

[klipper49]

Thak u all for the imput,the motorhome we are buying is a 2008 Monaco Cayman,it is 37 ft .I don't think I should need  brake buddy? Ed

 

[Ron]

Thak u all for the imput,the motorhome we are buying is a 2008 Monaco Cayman,it is 37 ft .I don't think I should need  brake buddy? Ed

To be safe and legal you do need auxiliary braking on the toad either a BrakeBuddy or something else. Some of the Canadian Providences and most state require auxiliary braking for the toad.

 

[Ned]

The motorhome doesn't matter, you need a supplemental brake system for the towed.

 

[klipper49]

Thank you all for the input it sure cleared up lots of my questions   Ed