Waiting to flat-tow a 2025 Maverick may take a long time.

[BradnChristine]

Given that Ford's 2025 Maverick pictures show the ACC radar unit now down in the lower grill opening for 2025s, I'm thinking that current towing baseplates will be out. If you are waiting to buy a 2025 Maverick to tow it, you may have another long wait for the baseplate makers. It took Demco til 9/23 to get its first Maverick baseplate to market for the 2022/2023 Mavericks.

Maybe Roadmaster will stop destroying the shutter system for their 2025 offering...and maybe Blue Ox will go to a single piece baseplate instead of the current 2-piece fiasco. Clearly, the Demco will also need changing, at least for trucks with ACC. Glad my 2023 towing setup is done.

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[Suptrack]

I don't understand why Blue Ox isn't being used. They are always up to date on the latest
baseplate and hitches. I have a Blue Ox setup and when I looked for the baseplate and wiring for the soon to arrive '24 Maverick, they have it.

 

[BradnChristine]

I don't understand why Blue Ox isn't being used. They are always up to date on the latest
baseplate and hitches. I have a Blue Ox setup and when I looked for the baseplate and wiring for the soon to arrive '24 Maverick, they have it.

If you do a little bit of searching here in the group, you will find at LEAST 3 Blue Ox Maverick failures. More on Facebook. Those 2-piece baseplates have had bent and broken welds. Here's one of the latest posts about Blue Ox Maverick failures: You can see that the baseplent bent out and tore into the fascia. I don't know if this was a bent plate or a broken weld in this case.

 

[BradnChristine]

I don't understand why Blue Ox isn't being used. They are always up to date on the latest
baseplate and hitches. I have a Blue Ox setup and when I looked for the baseplate and wiring for the soon to arrive '24 Maverick, they have it.

I re-read your post. Since you have not gotten a baseplate (or truck) yet, PLEASE check out Demco for your 2024...and I don't work for them.

 

[realshelby]

Yes, avoid the Blue Ox base plate for Mavericks. Blue Ox makes some really good equipment. The Blue Ox base plate for a Maverick is not their best engineering.
They cost me the price of the base plate, damaged fascia, and a lot of time for installation. Refuse to even refund for the base plate. I know of 4 identical failures and suspect there are more. That failure rate is astronomical when you compare to how many they have likely sold.

 

[Suptrack]

Can the Demco baseplate be used with a Blue Ox tow bar ?

 

[pat carden]

Can the Demco baseplate be used with a Blue Ox tow bar ?

Yes that is what we use, no problems

 

[Sir Tyne]

Can the Demco baseplate be used with a Blue Ox tow bar ?

Also agree. It is a direct connection to the Blue Ox tow bar. Check out prices on different sites. I bought mine from Tweetys.com at a better price.

 

[Suptrack]

Great thanks for getting back to me

 

[Suptrack]

Just looked up the Demco baseplate. I like that it's one piece. About 150.00 more than Blue Ox but it's the way to go.

 

[BradnChristine]

Just looked up the Demco baseplate. I like that it's one piece. About 150.00 more than Blue Ox but it's the way to go.

The importanty part is that the Demco is notched in the center and does not require the destruction of the lower active shutter syste.

 

[BradnChristine]

I have always been a Roadmaster fan, so I have a Roadmaster Falcon 2 towbar. Takes a $50 set of Roadmaster adaptors to use on my Demco: RM-034. All of the towbars and baseplates have adaptors available. The Demco adaptor costs twice as much as the Roadmaster one:

 

[Iddgit]

The importanty part is that the Demco is notched in the center and does not require the destruction of the lower active shutter syste.

Saying that the Demco does not require the “destruction” of the active shutters is only a partially accurate statement at least for my ‘24. I just finished the Demco install on a ‘24 and I HAD to remove two shutters on each side because the Demco baseplate was positioned very firmly against those 2 (well, 4) shutters and prevented all the shutters from moving. I did try adding a couple of washers behind the baseplate to get clearance first, but even that was still not enough. And, if I had used washers, the facia would not have reinstalled without several more notches in the central grill portion to get clearance. As it is, the grill is slightly distorted because the baseplate doesn’t quite fit thru the openings in the grill. It went together…but only after cutting two vertical grill bars just on the inside of the two attachment ports on the baseplate. Removing shutters is a trivial job (two clips on the bottom of that central transport release the entire shutter system…then the ones you want to remove just come out). But for me there was no question that it had to be done.
Certainly the BlueOx is out of the question based on the frame damage it causes…didn’t really consider roadmaster based on the shutter issue. Demco worked. It would have been nice if they provided some way to actually mount the breakaway and wiring socket (well, and an air line bracket for the Air Force One product). I found some shims and got it to work, but not really a great part of the product.

Also, setup required diodes in the lighting harness, and needs the relay on the brake light switch (I’ve not done that yet…could not get behind the knee air bag to access the break light switch…but I will get there before I tow).

Best of luck, perhaps your install will fit and clear the shutters…mine did not by at least 3/16”.

 

[BradnChristine]

Saying that the Demco does not require the “destruction” of the active shutters is only a partially accurate statement at least for my ‘24. I just finished the Demco install on a ‘24 and I HAD to remove two shutters on each side because the Demco baseplate was positioned very firmly against those 2 (well, 4) shutters and prevented all the shutters from moving. I did try adding a couple of washers behind the baseplate to get clearance first, but even that was still not enough. And, if I had used washers, the facia would not have reinstalled without several more notches in the central grill portion to get clearance. As it is, the grill is slightly distorted because the baseplate doesn’t quite fit thru the openings in the grill. It went together…but only after cutting two vertical grill bars just on the inside of the two attachment ports on the baseplate. Removing shutters is a trivial job (two clips on the bottom of that central transport release the entire shutter system…then the ones you want to remove just come out). But for me there was no question that it had to be done.
Certainly the BlueOx is out of the question based on the frame damage it causes…didn’t really consider roadmaster based on the shutter issue. Demco worked. It would have been nice if they provided some way to actually mount the breakaway and wiring socket (well, and an air line bracket for the Air Force One product). I found some shims and got it to work, but not really a great part of the product.

Also, setup required diodes in the lighting harness, and needs the relay on the brake light switch (I’ve not done that yet…could not get behind the knee air bag to access the break light switch…but I will get there before I tow).

Best of luck, perhaps your install will fit and clear the shutters…mine did not by at least 3/16”.

Not sure if you found my file regarding the install. If you follow the referenced Ford (NHTSB) guide, you are able to pull the vanes out without damaging them at all. They just twist and slip in and out.
According to Demco, some installs have not required their removal, some have. I DID have to gently pull my 4 vanes out on my 2023. I linked the process in my guide file in another thread.

The Roadmaster install is serious destruction; quite a different thing, as the plastic frame must be cut for them.

I did add diodes to the tail lights, but there is no "relay" needed for my BrakeBuddy Classic install. Not sure what braking system you are using that would require a relay.

 

[rmhopper]

Not sure if you found my file regarding the install. If you follow the referenced Ford (NHTSB) guide, you are able to pull the vanes out without damaging them at all. They just twist and slip in and out.
According to Demco, some installs have not required their removal, some have. I DID have to gently pull my 4 vanes out on my 2023. I linked the process in my guide file in another thread.

The Roadmaster install is serious destruction; quite a different thing, as the plastic frame must be cut for them.

I did add diodes to the tail lights, but there is no "relay" needed for my BrakeBuddy Classic install. Not sure what braking system you are using that would require a relay.

The relay is needed to prevent the Maverick brake lights (activated by the Brake Buddy) from overriding the turn signals from the coach. Without the relay, the rear light gets both the coach flashing signal and Maverick brake solid signals, so it can be confusing for drivers behind you.

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