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Disconnecting the 12V battery does NOT deactivate the electric parking brake. It only deactivates the 12V accessories, like your key fob, windows, etc. You don't need to to that.
Flat towing the Bolt behind motor home?
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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!
The electric parking brake runs off 12 volts, as do most things in the car. With the 12 volt accessory battery disconnected the parking brake is dead, and will not activate. It also will not deactivate. So, if it has set before disconnecting the 12 volt battery, it will stay on.
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.
They took out the 12V disconnect in the 2019 manual?
Wonder if @JayAndCheryl is on to something with the seatbelt preventing the EPB activating.
My understanding of the issue was the sensor that detected the slope of the vehicle where it would automatically activate the parking brake once it detected an incline/decline of so many degrees.
Yes. They did.
I suspect JayAndCheryl may have discovered all the triggers for automatic EPB actuation, and how to avoid them.
Whether they or any of us will could manage to avoid mistakes is a question. For myself, I wouldn't trust me to remember them all. I would opt for a battery cutoff switch.
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648 Posts
As an old RVer who flat towed, I would not consider flat towing a Bolt period. You will be in for a world of hurt if you try it.
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5,502 Posts
It doesn't release the electric parking brake, but as long as the brake has not already been applied it will prevent it from being activated. It's the vehicle control computer that activates the brake, and without 12V power the computer is dead.
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176 Posts
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)
So you want to charge the Bolt in the most inefficient way possible...behind a straining ICE RV? Would make much more sense to charge it at the RV park while you cook dinner and watch The Long, Long Trailer.
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?
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2,859 Posts
60A at 12V is only 720W, and the DC to DC in the Bolt is spec'd at 1600W, so it shouldn't be a problem to tap the 12V aux battery, as long as you sacrifice a chicken and do all the other things necessary to insure that the Bolt doesn't shut itself off after a couple of hours.
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