I have the same boat and the same issue. I bought a 12 volt signal booster and it didn’t help at all. I would like to know more about this ground thing.

I just had a dealership hang a kicker on my 2017 Competitor 185. I reached out to Alumacraft 1st and was told it had to go on the Passenger side of the boat.

I just installed ez steps 3.0 on my eagle trailer yesterday. My boat is a 185 Competitior. They are very heavy duty steps and mounted on my swing tongue. The look 1st class and are no slip surface.