[Richard]

Simon,

This is my .02 for what it’s worth. You can easily tabulate the cost of the components. Last year I helped a fellow guru install a blue ox baseplate, an M&G aux braking system, and tow light wiring on a Jeep. It’s not hard but it does take time. As best I remember, it took the best part of two retired guy workdays, so about 12 hours of labor. You can multiply that by your hourly rate for a sanity check.

The real reason for commenting is to hit the pause button on the motorcycle lift. I think you are aware of the recent incident on the FB Newell Owners Group where someone unfortunately lost their brand new Jeep when the baseplate failed. It is my strong opinion that the failure was due to a combination of the design of the baseplate not accounting for side forces, the two extensions and subsequent slop in the extensions, and the big tires on the Jeep. The extensions are required when towing behind a bike lift in order for the two vehicle to clear the bike in sharp turns. The slop in the extensions allows the tow car to swing back and forth behind the bus. When it reaches the end of the swing it SLAMS hard. This spring I flagged a Newell down on the interstate that was towing a pickup because the side to side slam was frightening when viewed from behind. When the owner and I looked at his setup, he had an extension, and there was slop in the connections. He said he never felt it in the coach.

The takeaway for me, and again this is MY opinion, is the Blue Ox plate is not what I would use on a Jeep after seeing the failure. I might look at the replacement front bumpers with integrated tow attachments. I have used a Blue Ox plate on my Subie for 13 years with no issues, so I am not knocking Blue Ox, only saying their design for the Jeep has a problem handling side forces. I also would make sure that all hitch connections were bolstered with devices that prevent slop in the attachment.