Does anyone know which is the best base plate for flat towing?

[realshelby]

Once installed....there is little advantage to either the Roadmaster or Demco. If I were buying again, I would buy the Demco due to more simple installation. However, the Roadmaster is very heavy duty and after having a BLUE OX BASEPLATE FAIL on my Maverick I am very happy with the strength of the Roadmaster.
Yes, the Roadmaster installation involves butchering the front air dam and removing all of the lower louver sections and parts. BUT...while that is certainly invasive...it will not cause overheating. The only thing those louvers do is close when the engine computer thinks that air flow is not needed and that ever so slightly lowers drag and allows engine to heat up quicker. Your engine may not come up to temperature as quick ( hybrids don't warm up well to start with) and that is about all I can think of that is a negative about removing the louvers. Since there are at least three louvers missing with the Demco installation ( one is removed at the factory now and two come out for the demco installation) I don't know that there is really any difference between the two in warmup. I can see NO difference in fuel economy at least for my mostly local lower speed driving.

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[BradnChristine]

Yes, the Roadmaster installation involves butchering the front air dam and removing all of the lower louver sections and parts. BUT...while that is certainly invasive...it will not cause overheating. The only thing those louvers do is close when the engine computer thinks that air flow is not needed and that ever so slightly lowers drag and allows engine to heat up quicker. Your engine may not come up to temperature as quick ( hybrids don't warm up well to start with) and that is about all I can think of that is a negative about removing the louvers. Since there are at least three louvers missing with the Demco installation ( one is removed at the factory now and two come out for the demco installation) I don't know that there is really any difference between the two in warmup. I can see NO difference in fuel economy at least for my mostly local lower speed driving.

I really don't think Roadmaster would cause a heat problem either...but I did not want to have to fight over any warranty issues down the line with some Service Writer/Mechanic blaming the lack of the lower shutters as somehow causing a problem and reason for a warranty denial.

 

[realshelby]

I really don't think Roadmaster would cause a heat problem either...but I did not want to have to fight over any warranty issues down the line with some Service Writer/Mechanic blaming the lack of the lower shutters as somehow causing a problem and reason for a warranty denial.

The Demco certainly LOOKS like it is more benign! But in fact just having a crossbar in front of the radiator......could still be a cause of warrant denial. Not saying it will, but I also don't think Ford is going to go out of their way to deny a warranty claim for overheating with the louvers missing. Regardless if it is all of them in the lower section or most of them.

What we CAN prove is that the Blue Ox should never be installed on a Maverick. They make great products for OTHER vehicles and have maybe the best operating towbars. They messed up with the Maverick base plate....

 

[BradnChristine]

The Demco certainly LOOKS like it is more benign! But in fact just having a crossbar in front of the radiator......could still be a cause of warrant denial. Not saying it will, but I also don't think Ford is going to go out of their way to deny a warranty claim for overheating with the louvers missing. Regardless if it is all of them in the lower section or most of them.

What we CAN prove is that the Blue Ox should never be installed on a Maverick. They make great products for OTHER vehicles and have maybe the best operating towbars. They messed up with the Maverick base plate....

Absolutely. Someone in the LTV RV group took exception to my warning about Blue Ox, saying they had towed a Maverick 14,000 miles with Blue Ox. I told her she had better take a good look at it if she ever has a hard stop. Looks like it is a "one and done" for that Blue Ox baseplate!

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