[nate]

We towed our bolt behind our motorhome, and drove the Bolt around for excursions from the campground - it worked great, this is an awesome car for this purpose!

Towing - we used a dolly to keep the front wheels off the ground, and disconnected the 12V battery to ensure the parking brake didn't engage. With the small overhang in front of the front tires, the Bolt fit very easily on the dolly. This all worked great!

Charging - we were at a site that had electrical hookups. The available outlets were a 120V, 30A, and 50A, each on its own circuit. Our motorhome plugged into the 30A outlet, and we brought our JuiceBox Pro 40 along in its carrying case. It pugged into the 50A (NEMA 14-50 plug), is weatherproof, so we could charge the car at the camp site.

This was ideal for us - we were able to leave the motorhome at the camp site, which meant we could set it up once and forget about it. We used the Bolt for excursions. With charging available, we didn't worry about running out of electrons. Think of a place like Yellowstone - park the RV, use the Bolt to see the sights.

To make it ideal, I wouldn't have to disconnect the 12V battery, but really that's about a 1 minute job once I found the correct socket size. I just loosened the nut, pulled the connector up and sort of just pushed it behind the battery.

Humorous side note - we're an all-EV family (with the obvious exception of the motorhome). It had been several months since we'd purchased anything at a gas station when I filled up the motorhome. I immediately got a text, an email, and a voicemail from my credit card company's fraud department, thinking that surely this must be a thief using my credit card..

 

[Jim Fallston Md.]

Looks like the perfect setup, Thanks for posting. That's pretty funny about the credit card company.

 

[Raymondjram]

When will you covert the motorhome to an EV?

 

[Sean Nelson]

To make it ideal, I wouldn't have to disconnect the 12V battery, but really that's about a 1 minute job once I found the correct socket size.

There are high-amperage 12V disconnect switches that you can install into the battery wiring to make this even easier.

 

[quirkySquirt]

@nate, did you go through a lengthy process to put the Bolt into neutral and disconnect the 12V before the auto-application of the parking brake occurred? I recall either here or the other popular Bolt forum that the process was quiet involved.

 

[beeguz]

One of these will save you from having to use a wrench or socket to disconnect your battery.


They come in different styles and sizes, so you might have to shop a little to find the right candidate.

 

[quirkySquirt]

One of these will save you from having to use a wrench or socket to disconnect your battery.


They come in different styles and sizes, so you might have to shop a little to find the right candidate.


https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-ID220S-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P80ZS7WVRGEB22TBXHA8

There's no worry about arcing? I would think a few turns of the knob to disconnect would still leave a small enough gap to arc.

 

[XJ12]

used one of these type switches on my old Suburban because it randomly ran the battery down from the alarm system malfunctioning:

[ame]https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Cut-Off-Switch-Removable-Ultimate/dp/B0017W1ZP4[/ame]

Actually mounted it so the key could be removed from under the wheel well so you didn't even need to raise the hood.

 

[zebraitis]

Two thoughts:

1) The 12v Battery disconnect can be purchased at most auto parts shops. Many collector car owners will use them to prevent the battery running down, when a "BatteryTender" is not connected. (I know this as many '60's era cars are notorious for having poor electrical capabilities.)

A few turns of a knob, and the wire-connected washers separate. easy-peasy.


2) It would be great if there was a way to engage the regenerative function of the Bolt while it was towed. You could charge up going down the road while burning Dino fluid in your RV.

 

[nate]

When will you covert the motorhome to an EV?

I wish!!!

There are high-amperage 12V disconnect switches ...

I was planning to install a disconnect switch, but decided against it. First, there were enough reviews saying that they break easily that it worried me a bit. Note too that we only go camping once or twice a year, so the vast majority of our driving is not towed, and I didn't want that concern hanging over my head. Second, it really is super-easy to disconnect it manually, it takes less than a minute. For the few times / year we do this, it really isn't an issue.

did you go through a lengthy process to put the Bolt into neutral and disconnect the 12V before the auto-application of the parking brake occurred?

I didn't perform any lengthy process. The parking brake engagement is noisy enough that I could hear it easily, plus I could see the indicator in the dash. If it auto-engaged, I disengaged it manually (press brake pedal, push down on parking brake switch). If it didn't auto-engage, I didn't do anything. Either way, after ensuring it was disengaged, I opened the hood and disconnected the negative terminal on the 12V battery. For me, it didn't auto-re-engage before I had time to open the hood and disconnect the battery. The last thing I did was to make a couple of slight S-turns with the motorhome to see in the side mirrors of the RV that the rear wheels of the Bolt were turning freely.

It would be great if there was a way to engage the regenerative function of the Bolt while it was towed.

Well, of course that doesn't work in general, but it did make me think... What if there were a way to engage regen on the Bolt when I wanted - i.e., when I'm braking the RV. There's already a trailer brake controller in the RV that engages the brakes on the dolly. Hmmm, that'd require GM to design the Bolt such that it could be towed with 4-wheels down, and understand trailer brake controller signals. Since there would already be a trailer wiring connector on the front of the Bolt to get the brake signal, it would also control the lights such that when the RV lights (tail, brake, and turn) are on, the Bolt's rear tail/brake/turn lights also turn on. Way cool. Benefits - much simpler hook-up to the tow vehicle (4-down is easier than a dolly), no separate dolly required, No diode kits or external trailer light kits needed, it works with existing trailer brake controllers, and it recoups energy that otherwise would be lost to heat.

 

[psyflyjohn]

Nice going on having the nerve to use the Bolt as a towed vehicle. In the past, we did the same thing with a Honda CRV. Preparing it to tow was somewhat involved with running the gears, setting it to neutral, having the key in ACC mode, etc. It was well worth the effort, and we got thousands of miles of fun driving. I'm wondering what the reaction of the campground owners is when they see you recharging, plus running the motor home and it's A/C. Have you had any negative reactions? Also, I'm wondering if you could charge directly off of the motor homes generator? That would allow you boondock and not be reliant on campground hookups?

 

[GregBrew]

Nice going on having the nerve to use the Bolt as a towed vehicle. In the past, we did the same thing with a Honda CRV. Preparing it to tow was somewhat involved with running the gears, setting it to neutral, having the key in ACC mode, etc. It was well worth the effort, and we got thousands of miles of fun driving. I'm wondering what the reaction of the campground owners is when they see you recharging, plus running the motor home and it's A/C. Have you had any negative reactions? Also, I'm wondering if you could charge directly off of the motor homes generator? That would allow you boondock and not be reliant on campground hookups?

Unless the motor-home generator is 240VAC with 32A of extra juice, it would be at 120VAC (probably) 8A, and would take forevvvver.

 

[nate]

Also, I'm wondering if you could charge directly off of the motor homes generator? That would allow you boondock and not be reliant on campground hookups?

Interesting idea... The generator on our RV provides power to an outlet in the electrical compartment that is identical to the outlets provided at campsites. The RV has one power cord that we either plug in to the generator's outlet or the campsite outlet, depending on whether we're boondocking. If I look up the specs on campsite outlets, they claim they are 120V/30A (for 30A service). That matches pretty well with the generator specs - 120V/33A.

I bought the power cord adapter set with the JuiceBox Pro 40 that I use, but it didn't include a NEMA TT-30 adapter (used by RVs & campsites). Assuming I could get a NEMA TT-30 -> NEMA 14-50 adapter, I could then physically plug-in the JuiceBox. However, I'm not sure what the JuiceBox does in the face of 120V.. Does it automatically reduce its max power output by half (from 40A to 20A max)? Or do I need to configure it somehow to draw no more than 24A (80% of 30A)? And I'm not sure if I could configure it (if needed) in the absence of a cell signal.

The interesting part is that in theory, this should charge the car faster than 120V/8A or 120V/12A (by plugging into a normal 120V/15A outlet on the RV), which would be nice.

Things to investigate...

[UPDATE] - I looked at the JuiceBox web site, and in the presence of 120V it limits output to 12A. So, not really any better than just using the 120V charger that came with the car and plugging it in to a normal 120V outlet.

The JuiceBox 40 is rated to work with both single phase (~120V US, 240V EU) and two phase (240V US). For both of these applications, the hot/live wire is tied to L1 on our relay. The neutral/common is tied to the L2 of the relay, and the ground/earth is to the same.
For the single phase, US 120V operation, the output amperage is limited to 12A, or 1.4kWs. When wiring an adapter to use for 120V operation, please use this wiring diagram. Our NEMA 14-50 to 5-15 adapters will work, as they are wired to work with our JuiceBox, specifically. Standard adapters that you buy elsewhere will not work.

 

[GJETSON]

If I look up the specs on campsite outlets, they claim they are 120V/30A (for 30A service). That matches pretty well with the generator specs - 120V/33A.

The interesting part is that in theory, this should charge the car faster than 120V/8A or 120V/12A (by plugging into a normal 120V/15A outlet on the RV), which would be nice.

No. It will not. If the car's onboard charger sees 110-120 volts, it will only pull 12 amps, if you select 12 amps on the center screen. Otherwise it will pull 8 amps. It will only go higher if it sees 220-240 volts.

 

[nate]

If the car's onboard charger sees 110-120 volts, it will only pull 12 amps

Good to know, thanks! If both my EVSE and vehicle limit 120V to 12A, I guess it's not going to charge faster than 12A. That's a good reason to ensure we have a 50A campsite if we're going to drive the Bolt a lot.

 

[quirkySquirt]

You can regen while towing only if the Bolt is on (skip to 1:30 for the real action):

 

[cjgrayso]

We towed our bolt behind our motorhome, and drove the Bolt around for excursions from the campground - it worked great, this is an awesome car for this purpose!

Towing - we used a dolly to keep the front wheels off the ground, and disconnected the 12V battery to ensure the parking brake didn't engage. With the small overhang in front of the front tires, the Bolt fit very easily on the dolly. This all worked great!

Charging - we were at a site that had electrical hookups. The available outlets were a 120V, 30A, and 50A, each on its own circuit. Our motorhome plugged into the 30A outlet, and we brought our JuiceBox Pro 40 along in its carrying case. It pugged into the 50A (NEMA 14-50 plug), is weatherproof, so we could charge the car at the camp site.

This was ideal for us - we were able to leave the motorhome at the camp site, which meant we could set it up once and forget about it. We used the Bolt for excursions. With charging available, we didn't worry about running out of electrons. Think of a place like Yellowstone - park the RV, use the Bolt to see the sights.

To make it ideal, I wouldn't have to disconnect the 12V battery, but really that's about a 1 minute job once I found the correct socket size. I just loosened the nut, pulled the connector up and sort of just pushed it behind the battery.

Humorous side note - we're an all-EV family (with the obvious exception of the motorhome). It had been several months since we'd purchased anything at a gas station when I filled up the motorhome. I immediately got a text, an email, and a voicemail from my credit card company's fraud department, thinking that surely this must be a thief using my credit card..

Try installing a knife switch for the negative terminal on the battery. Takes about 5 minutes to install. You never have to disconnect battery again.
Question: do you lock the steering wheel? I had trouble with mine moving without a lock.

 

[enslay]

At some truck stop gas stations, they do pre-auths for $500 at the diesel pumps. I'm not sure if your RV is diesel or not, but if you get a pre-auth like that, your credit card/bank will almost certainly flag it as fraud. Happened to me when refilling a rental truck.

 

[RSC]

Currently we do occasional camping trips in our Toyota Highlander, putting up a tent or more often just sleeping in the back. Some of our stops are at RV campgrounds where we just ask for a tent site. Probably this summer we will be doing some camping trips in our Bolt EUV. If we stop at an RV campground and ask for a site with electrical hookup, is it likely to be a problem charging the car at either a 240 V or 120 V outlet? (Other than the charging time on 120 V.) Should we ask for permission first, and is it likely to be granted?