I love my Bolt. The only thing that would make it perfect would be if I could tow it on all fours behind my motor home. Any one know what the limitations would be? If it was put in neutral (or maybe even D), there don't seem to be any components that would need lubrication with the engine not running. It would be an ideal tow-car. I could charge it in the RV park. I could put it in car wash mode with the parking brake off. The manual says use a dolly, but that's too inconvenient.
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KurtSimon
The manual forbids it, so if you're concerned about warranty coverage on anything touching the road or mechanically connected that way better not.
Leaving aside the warranty and strictly mechanical issues, there's so much software involved in "putting it in neutral" (as well as automagically applying parking brake etc.) that a guaranteed outcome seems unreliable.
Leaving aside the warranty and strictly mechanical issues, there's so much software involved in "putting it in neutral" (as well as automagically applying parking brake etc.) that a guaranteed outcome seems unreliable.
I also love my Bolt - it is a great car! But you won't be able to flat tow it. You should check out this video about the Bolt transmission.
https://youtu.be/APhRPSdmdmk
At 8:52 the professor talks about the 12V fluid pump for the transmission. It only runs when in drive or reverse. Without proper lubrication the transmission would be quickly destroyed if towed.
Got a chuckle from your comment "the engine not running". No engine to run - it's hard to break from our thinking about gas engines cars. These BEV's have technologies most of us haven't seen before and are not familiar.
I also have a Sprinter B-van motorhome and would like to be able to tow my Bolt. But it needs to be on a dolly to do it.
Good luck,
- - Mike
https://youtu.be/APhRPSdmdmk
At 8:52 the professor talks about the 12V fluid pump for the transmission. It only runs when in drive or reverse. Without proper lubrication the transmission would be quickly destroyed if towed.
Got a chuckle from your comment "the engine not running". No engine to run - it's hard to break from our thinking about gas engines cars. These BEV's have technologies most of us haven't seen before and are not familiar.
I also have a Sprinter B-van motorhome and would like to be able to tow my Bolt. But it needs to be on a dolly to do it.
Good luck,
- - Mike
Yep, that's exactly the reason that you need to put at least the front wheels on a dolly. Unlike ICE vehicles, there's no real "neutral" gear in the Bolt's transmission - if the front wheels are turning then the motor is turning. Always, with no exceptions. Unless you want to crawl under the car and disconnect the drive shafts. So that fluid pump needs to be running if the front wheels are going to be turning for an extended period of time.
Also, watch out for the towed car thinking that it's rolling away and deciding on its own to apply the parking brakes. This happened to the owner of a 2017, I'm not sure if it's still an issue on later models but in the absence of information to the contrary I'd assume it is. The solution is to release the parking brake and then disconnect the 12V battery to prevent the onboard computer from doing anything. I carry a 10mm wrench with me for this very reason - not because I have a motor home but just in case I need a tow at some point.
Does the parking brake hold the rear wheels, or is there any other 'intelligent' connection to the back that would need to to be disconnected before dolly towing?
A coworker of mine researched and said the only vehicle that can "officially" be flat towed with no warranty issues is a Honda Odyssey. Clearly more vehicles then that get flat towed, so either he overlooked something or lots of people are taking risks that they may or may not understand.
I wouldn't risk my 40k investment over trying to save a few dollars. Personally, I wouldn't screw around with a dolly, either. A quick google search found dollies for about $1k and full trailers starting at $2.5k with most around $4k. There's lots of uses for a flat trailer once you have one and there's almost always somewhere you could dump the flat trailer once you've arrived. Plus you could back it up while loaded and rent it out while you're not traveling.
Should you be able to get something rigged up, you could also charge the Bolt from the RV while driving, if your RV keeps the 110V outlets live. Obviously, you would want to use the 8A setting and then only if you really need to charge, but it should work. Definitely not efficient, but feasible.
I wouldn't risk my 40k investment over trying to save a few dollars. Personally, I wouldn't screw around with a dolly, either. A quick google search found dollies for about $1k and full trailers starting at $2.5k with most around $4k. There's lots of uses for a flat trailer once you have one and there's almost always somewhere you could dump the flat trailer once you've arrived. Plus you could back it up while loaded and rent it out while you're not traveling.
Should you be able to get something rigged up, you could also charge the Bolt from the RV while driving, if your RV keeps the 110V outlets live. Obviously, you would want to use the 8A setting and then only if you really need to charge, but it should work. Definitely not efficient, but feasible.
I've seen all those great Kelly videos. I was thinking maybe I could feed 14v to the lube pump on the transaxle to lube the gears. I'm not sure about keeping it out of park/parking brake, but that has to be doable if you're careful. Dolly or trailer is non-starter. What do you do with it in RV park? (I have a 45 foot motor home.) There was a company (RevCo?) that made drive shaft disconnects for some otherwise non-flat-towable vehicles. Maybe they would be interested in coming out with something. At the moment, I tow a 5000 pound Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is the world's best tow car, except it needs petrol. I know several motor home owners that would seriously consider the Bolt if it was towable. You could charge it at the 50amp plugs in the RV parks.
Maybe there's a market here for a flat-tow kit that includes that pump, rear brake disconnect, slave brake lights, whatever.
Thanks, all. Not being too adventurous, I was hoping to get someone else to risk their Bolt on giving it a try so I could copy. GM made the Saturn several years ago, and I successfully towed one with automatic transmission all over the country by just putting it in neutral. In later versions, they decided you had to pull a fuse for some reason. Car manufacturers aren't too much interested in us gypsies. I have a friend who towed a Smart Car with auto trans, but the Bolt would be much better.
As Sean Nelson said, there is no true 'neutral' on a Bolt: the wheels and the motor are directly connected through a double reduction gearset. Nor is there any true 'transmission': no gears to shift, just one speed. Reverse is achieved by simply reversing the polarity of the motor windings. 'Neutral' simply disconnects the motor windings, rendering the right pedal useless.
Looking at a cross-section of the motor and drivetrain, the right output shaft (which travels through the rotor and drives the right wheel) is supported by a plain bearing. This bearing requires pressure-fed lubrication when the front wheels are turning, and will eventually fry if it doesn't get that pressure-fed lubrication.
Looking at a cross-section of the motor and drivetrain, the right output shaft (which travels through the rotor and drives the right wheel) is supported by a plain bearing. This bearing requires pressure-fed lubrication when the front wheels are turning, and will eventually fry if it doesn't get that pressure-fed lubrication.
Agree 'dinghy' is more common, I was kidding. 'Toad' stumped me when we moved to the suburbs and I wanted a cheap beater to commute. I saw a Civic on an RV dealer's lot. I assumed it was a trade-in and that he would sell it cheap since it had 80k miles. "Oh the toad? I wasn't thinking of selling it. I was going to toss it it as a freebie for an RV sale where I didn't want to come down on price". That stumped me until he explained it.
Over several years the Civic turned out to be a lot cheaper on and gas and maintenance than the Wagoneer that was our other car.
Over several years the Civic turned out to be a lot cheaper on and gas and maintenance than the Wagoneer that was our other car.
How to tow your Bolt EV behind a motorhome:
You have to use a tow dolly with electric brakes, which means you need an electric brake controller for the dolly's braking system. Figure on adding about 12 feet in length to your RV. Having an assistant with all of this helps greatly. You drive the Bolt onto the dolly and secure the wheels with the supplied towing straps. Inside the vehicle, you sit in the driver seat and turn on the power, then make sure that the the transmission is in Park (not Neutral!) and the electric parking brake (EPB), which locks the rear wheels, is off. If you are not sure, activate the EBP and then deactivate it. You next turn off the power. Do not wrap the seat belt around the steering wheel. Locking the seatbelt will activate the EPB. Leave the steering wheel in straight ahead position and it does not need to be immobilized. Exit the vehicle. Do not leave the key fob in the car. Do not lock the vehicle or the EPB will activate. If you have an add-on tire pressure monitoring system for your RV, obtain screw-on tire sensors for the dolly and the Bolt's rear tires (using a TPMS is highly recommended). You might need to purchase a range extender for the TPS monitor to reach that distance. Prior to getting under way, have someone look at the rear tires on the Bolt to make sure they are turning as you drive a foot or so. Any time you lock the vehicle, you will have to repeat this procedure. You should stop somewhere safe after driving a mile or so to tighten up the tire straps and when stopping to fuel or at rest stops. No matter how tight you initially made the tire straps, they WILL need re-tightening. You do not need to disconnect the 12V battery. That will not help anything and, in particular, it will NOT deactivate the EPB. If the EPB is on, the rear tires will drag. You might not notice that when driving the RV. You cannot see the rear tires moving in your RV's backup monitor. You can see the left rear tire moving in the side mirror when making a 90 degree left turn, more difficult when doing a right turn.
One other suggestion for driving any vehicle onto a dolly: The first time getting the vehicle on the dolly, the fear is driving to far and over the front of the dolly ramp. I've done it with a VW Passat. Since the Bolt is a front wheel drive vehicle, you now have a real problem! Anyhow, let's assume you've successfully gotten the vehicle onto the dolly. Place a magnetic mount CB antenna on the metal part of the dolly with the antenna touching the vehicle's front bumper. Obtain some narrow tubing, about 2 feet is adequate, to place over the end of the antenna so that you can see it while sitting in the driver's seat. If you place one of those big, black, paper clips on the end of the antenna, it will keep the tubing from sliding down the antenna. Mark the position of the magnetic mount on the dolly using a Sharpie. The next time you drive the vehicle onto the dolly, first place the CB antenna on the dolly using the marks you made and when you drive the vehicle onto the dolly and hit the antenna, you've driven far enough!
You have to use a tow dolly with electric brakes, which means you need an electric brake controller for the dolly's braking system. Figure on adding about 12 feet in length to your RV. Having an assistant with all of this helps greatly. You drive the Bolt onto the dolly and secure the wheels with the supplied towing straps. Inside the vehicle, you sit in the driver seat and turn on the power, then make sure that the the transmission is in Park (not Neutral!) and the electric parking brake (EPB), which locks the rear wheels, is off. If you are not sure, activate the EBP and then deactivate it. You next turn off the power. Do not wrap the seat belt around the steering wheel. Locking the seatbelt will activate the EPB. Leave the steering wheel in straight ahead position and it does not need to be immobilized. Exit the vehicle. Do not leave the key fob in the car. Do not lock the vehicle or the EPB will activate. If you have an add-on tire pressure monitoring system for your RV, obtain screw-on tire sensors for the dolly and the Bolt's rear tires (using a TPMS is highly recommended). You might need to purchase a range extender for the TPS monitor to reach that distance. Prior to getting under way, have someone look at the rear tires on the Bolt to make sure they are turning as you drive a foot or so. Any time you lock the vehicle, you will have to repeat this procedure. You should stop somewhere safe after driving a mile or so to tighten up the tire straps and when stopping to fuel or at rest stops. No matter how tight you initially made the tire straps, they WILL need re-tightening. You do not need to disconnect the 12V battery. That will not help anything and, in particular, it will NOT deactivate the EPB. If the EPB is on, the rear tires will drag. You might not notice that when driving the RV. You cannot see the rear tires moving in your RV's backup monitor. You can see the left rear tire moving in the side mirror when making a 90 degree left turn, more difficult when doing a right turn.
One other suggestion for driving any vehicle onto a dolly: The first time getting the vehicle on the dolly, the fear is driving to far and over the front of the dolly ramp. I've done it with a VW Passat. Since the Bolt is a front wheel drive vehicle, you now have a real problem! Anyhow, let's assume you've successfully gotten the vehicle onto the dolly. Place a magnetic mount CB antenna on the metal part of the dolly with the antenna touching the vehicle's front bumper. Obtain some narrow tubing, about 2 feet is adequate, to place over the end of the antenna so that you can see it while sitting in the driver's seat. If you place one of those big, black, paper clips on the end of the antenna, it will keep the tubing from sliding down the antenna. Mark the position of the magnetic mount on the dolly using a Sharpie. The next time you drive the vehicle onto the dolly, first place the CB antenna on the dolly using the marks you made and when you drive the vehicle onto the dolly and hit the antenna, you've driven far enough!
2017 manual...This was wrong, and caused problems for RV owners!
Dolly Towing
Tow the vehicle with the two rear
wheels on the ground and the front
wheels on a dolly.
To tow the vehicle with two wheels
on the ground and a dolly:
1. Put the front wheels on a dolly.
2. Put the shift lever in P (Park).
3. Secure the vehicle to the dolly.
2018 manual
Dolly Towing
Tow the vehicle with the two rear
wheels on the ground and the front
wheels on a dolly.
To tow the vehicle from the front
with the rear wheels on the ground:
1. Put the front wheels on the
dolly.
2. Shift the transmission to
P (Park). See Shifting Into Park
0 206.
3. Set the parking brake.
4. Secure the vehicle to the dolly.
5. Follow the dolly manufacturer's
instructions for preparing the
vehicle and dolly for towing.
6. Release the parking brake.
7. Turn the vehicle off.
8. Open the hood.
9. Wait two minutes.
10. Disconnect the negative (-)
terminal connector from the
12-volt battery.
11. Close and latch the hood.
2019 manual
Dolly Towing from the Front
The vehicle can be towed from the
front using a dolly. To tow the
vehicle using a dolly:
1. Attach the dolly to the tow
vehicle following the dolly
manufacturer's instructions.
2. Drive the front wheels onto the
dolly.
3. Put the shift lever in P (Park).
4. Set the parking brake and turn
the vehicle off.
5. Clamp the steering wheel in a
straight-ahead position with a
clamping device designed for
towing.
6. Secure the vehicle to the dolly
with a lash over the tire. Do not
lash though the wheel.
7. Release the parking brake.
8. Check for adequate rear fascia
to ground clearance.
Dolly Towing
Tow the vehicle with the two rear
wheels on the ground and the front
wheels on a dolly.
To tow the vehicle with two wheels
on the ground and a dolly:
1. Put the front wheels on a dolly.
2. Put the shift lever in P (Park).
3. Secure the vehicle to the dolly.
2018 manual
Dolly Towing
Tow the vehicle with the two rear
wheels on the ground and the front
wheels on a dolly.
To tow the vehicle from the front
with the rear wheels on the ground:
1. Put the front wheels on the
dolly.
2. Shift the transmission to
P (Park). See Shifting Into Park
0 206.
3. Set the parking brake.
4. Secure the vehicle to the dolly.
5. Follow the dolly manufacturer's
instructions for preparing the
vehicle and dolly for towing.
6. Release the parking brake.
7. Turn the vehicle off.
8. Open the hood.
9. Wait two minutes.
10. Disconnect the negative (-)
terminal connector from the
12-volt battery.
11. Close and latch the hood.
2019 manual
Dolly Towing from the Front
The vehicle can be towed from the
front using a dolly. To tow the
vehicle using a dolly:
1. Attach the dolly to the tow
vehicle following the dolly
manufacturer's instructions.
2. Drive the front wheels onto the
dolly.
3. Put the shift lever in P (Park).
4. Set the parking brake and turn
the vehicle off.
5. Clamp the steering wheel in a
straight-ahead position with a
clamping device designed for
towing.
6. Secure the vehicle to the dolly
with a lash over the tire. Do not
lash though the wheel.
7. Release the parking brake.
8. Check for adequate rear fascia
to ground clearance.
Even better solution and super simple is to leave the Bolt powered on and in "D" mode, after attaching the car to a fixed tow hitch. All 4 wheels on the ground.
When the tow vehicle is in motion the regen from the Bolt's from tires rotating will charge the battery. Since the Bolt is in drive the gearbox will be lubricating. So much for the above scare tactics regarding this non-issue.
Then you can run a wiring harness from the Bolt's 12v battery to the tow vehicle's 12v battery to charge that battery. The load taken off the alternator to charge the tow vehicle's 12v battery will save enough gas to offset the extra weight of towing the Bolt. It's a wash.
Lemons to lemonaid. You can thank me later.
(I've almost got my perpetual motion machine perfected. It is an EV towing another EV)
When the tow vehicle is in motion the regen from the Bolt's from tires rotating will charge the battery. Since the Bolt is in drive the gearbox will be lubricating. So much for the above scare tactics regarding this non-issue.
Then you can run a wiring harness from the Bolt's 12v battery to the tow vehicle's 12v battery to charge that battery. The load taken off the alternator to charge the tow vehicle's 12v battery will save enough gas to offset the extra weight of towing the Bolt. It's a wash.
Lemons to lemonaid. You can thank me later.
(I've almost got my perpetual motion machine perfected. It is an EV towing another EV)
I am planning to tow my 2020 Bolt EV behind my RV, on a tow dolly. I have already purchased, but not yet installed, a battery cutoff switch to allow disconnecting the battery from the driver's seat. I have another idea to make the Bolt even more helpful when camping. We plan on being off the plug (boondocking) much of the time and have a fairly large (1750 watt) solar array on the install stack. I have been looking at adding a Renogy 60 amp dc to dc charger on the RV and power it from the Bolt to allow the Bolt to be used as an additional battery pack when the RV batteries are low. Any thoughts?
There is a way to do it, I’m convinced of it.
I did it with my 500e all the time and it worked.
you had to put it in drive with door open or exit passenger door
I never pulled in drive above 100% so I don’t know what would happen though I suspect at some point regen should stop. I switched to neutral, never towed with it off. Because of the lubrication thing. (I just assumed neutral lubed it, if I’m wrong it never came back to bite me. Suggest finding out for sure what the story is here on the bolt and 500e if reading this though.
abs would activate in turns so that was annoying.
one thing you can do on the 500e to solve basically all possible issues is pull the abs fuse. It disables abs and regen. Gives a error though. But no biggie. Then you can just leave it in D
I never had a issue with it putting its self in park while being towed. Only before starting.
The bolt is programmed differently.
and I’m not aware of a tow bar that fits it. Is there one? If so I want it.
things that you can do on the bolt.
seatbelt extension to make it think the belt is set
you could try the abs fuse thing. Test for brake activation if it happens then find the device and pull its plug or something
I did it with my 500e all the time and it worked.
you had to put it in drive with door open or exit passenger door
I never pulled in drive above 100% so I don’t know what would happen though I suspect at some point regen should stop. I switched to neutral, never towed with it off. Because of the lubrication thing. (I just assumed neutral lubed it, if I’m wrong it never came back to bite me. Suggest finding out for sure what the story is here on the bolt and 500e if reading this though.
abs would activate in turns so that was annoying.
one thing you can do on the 500e to solve basically all possible issues is pull the abs fuse. It disables abs and regen. Gives a error though. But no biggie. Then you can just leave it in D
I never had a issue with it putting its self in park while being towed. Only before starting.
The bolt is programmed differently.
and I’m not aware of a tow bar that fits it. Is there one? If so I want it.
things that you can do on the bolt.
seatbelt extension to make it think the belt is set
you could try the abs fuse thing. Test for brake activation if it happens then find the device and pull its plug or something
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