Jeep Grand Cherokee Flat Tow Setup — What It Takes to Do It Yourself

8 months ago
Chad

Setting up our Jeep Grand Cherokee to flat-tow behind our new motorhome was one of those projects that looked intimidating at first glance — but turned out to be very doable with the right preparation. This post walks through the three main components I installed: the baseplate, the breakaway system, and the taillight wiring. It’s not meant to be a step-by-step tutorial for every bolt, but more of a project overview with the tips and observations I picked up along the way.

Project Overview

Flat towing — also called dinghy towing, toad, or towed — means towing a vehicle with all four wheels on the ground. Not every vehicle can be flat-towed, so your owner’s manual is the final word on whether yours qualifies. Our 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee is flat-tow-capable, making it an obvious choice as a toad for the motorhome.

When I started getting estimates for professional installation, the cheapest quote I found was around $3,000. That made the decision pretty easy — I’d do it myself. The resource that made that possible was etrailer.com. Their product pages include detailed installation videos, and for the Blue Ox baseplate alone, there were ten separate videos covering different model-year Jeeps. They also have an “Ask the Expert” feature where you can submit a question and get a real answer back — I actually used that during this project. Between the videos and that support, I had everything I needed to tackle this with confidence.

Blue Ox Baseplate

The baseplate is the hardware that physically mounts to the Jeep’s frame and allows you to connect the tow bar. Installation requires removing the entire front bumper fascia, which sounds worse than it is, but it is a real disassembly job. I laid out every fastener and panel in order as I removed them to make reassembly straightforward.

The baseplate bolts directly into the frame at six mounting points per side, with a safety cable that keeps it attached as a backup. One tip worth passing along: once everything was mounted, I twisted the safety cables under light tension before securing them. Left loose, they might rattle constantly — twisted and snug, they’re quiet. Small detail, but it would’ve driven me crazy on the road.

Blue Ox Patriot Breakaway System

Most states require a supplemental braking system for a flat-towed vehicle, and I went with the Blue Ox Patriot. It’s an inertial system — a compact unit that sits on the driver’s side floorboard and physically pushes the brake pedal when it detects deceleration. It’s surprisingly small and light for what it does.

The breakaway wiring for this system needs to run through the firewall from the front of the Jeep to the driver’s side, where the Patriot will sit on the floor. After a little research, I found an existing grommet passthrough that made this straightforward. The wire routes through the firewall, across under the dash, and exits right where the Patriot unit will sit. The breakaway cable — which triggers the brakes if the Jeep ever separates from the motorhome — mounts on the front bumper and connects back to the unit when towing.

Tail Light Wiring

For the tail light wiring, I went with a harness-style kit — and I’d make that same choice again without hesitation. The way it works is simple: the harness plugs directly in-line with the existing tail light connectors at both rear corners of the Jeep. No cutting, no splicing, no permanent modifications to the vehicle’s wiring. You just unplug the factory connectors and plug the harness in between.

From the rear, the wiring runs along the underside of the vehicle — along the driver side — all the way to the front, where it connects to the six-way plug mounted on the bumper. I also swapped the stock four-pin connector for a six-way at the front, using waterproof heat-shrink butt splices for the connections. Colors matched up perfectly, and a quick test with the motorhome confirmed everything worked before I buttoned anything up. The two unused wires (12v and brake controller) were tucked away in case we want them in the future.

Front Bumper Cutouts

Reinstalling the bumper fascia required cutting openings for the baseplate arms, breakaway switch, and the six-way connector to pass through. I assumed the grille inserts where the arms exit were removable — they’re not. They’re part of the full front grille piece. That meant cutting in place with a Dremel and a plastic cutting bit, filing the edges clean, then hanging the bumper back on to check the fit. I went through a few iterations, but everything lined up clean in the end.

The whole project ended up taking about four days of working sessions — longer than I expected, but completely manageable. Next up: actually hitching up for the first time and heading out for Motorhome adventures!

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