Towing Question

3281 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by 2002, Jul 27, 2021

150MPG

Discussion Starter · Jul 10, 2020

Hi all looking to RV road trip next year has anyone attempted to tow their Clarity on a dolly (front wheels off the ground)? Any problems issues?

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Improper towing, such as towing behind a
motorhome or other motor vehicle can damage the
transmission.
Never tow your vehicle with just a rope or chain.
It is very dangerous since ropes or chains may shift
from side to side or break.
Do not use the hook on the rear of your vehicle for
the towing of other vehicles or emergency removal of
your vehicle. The hook may break.
If your vehicle needs to be towed backward, contact
a dealer or a professional towing service.

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EV Nerd

· #3 · Jul 27, 2021

Tmack1955 said:
Improper towing, such as towing behind a
motorhome or other motor vehicle can damage the
transmission.
Never tow your vehicle with just a rope or chain.
It is very dangerous since ropes or chains may shift
from side to side or break.
Do not use the hook on the rear of your vehicle for
the towing of other vehicles or emergency removal of
your vehicle. The hook may break.
If your vehicle needs to be towed backward, contact
a dealer or a professional towing service.

They specifically asked about towing on a dolly with the front end off the ground. None of what you posted applies.

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EV Nerd

· #4 · Jul 27, 2021

150MPG said:
Hi all looking to RV road trip next year has anyone attempted to tow their Clarity on a dolly (front wheels off the ground)? Any problems issues?

Some vehicles with electrically actuated emergency brakes will set them automatically, if they detect that the vehicle is on an incline. The emergency brake is usually on the rear wheels.

After putting the Clarity on the dolly, I'd verify that the e-brake is not engaged, disconnect the ground lead(s) from the 12V PbA battery post, and re-check that the rear wheels are free to spin. Don't forget to bring the wrench with you! (It's probably 10mm).

You'll probably need to re-do the memory setting on your infotainment system, etc. because of disconnecting the battery.

Another possibility is to find the fuse that powers the e-brake, and only pull it, rather than disconnect everything via the battery negative terminal.

I caution you to fully test this, to make sure it works on the Clarity. I know it works on a Chevy Bolt, but you really don't want to flat-spot and/or destroy your rear tires (and potentially destroy your e-brake), by assuming it works on the Clarity, too.

YMMV

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2002

· #5 · Jul 27, 2021

EV Nerd said:
Some vehicles with electrically actuated emergency brakes will set them automatically, if they detect that the vehicle is on an incline. The emergency brake is usually on the rear wheels.

After putting the Clarity on the dolly, I'd verify that the e-brake is not engaged, disconnect the ground lead(s) from the 12V PbA battery post, and re-check that the rear wheels are free to spin. Don't forget to bring the wrench with you! (It's probably 10mm).

You'll probably need to re-do the memory setting on your infotainment system, etc. because of disconnecting the battery.

Another possibility is to find the fuse that powers the e-brake, and only pull it, rather than disconnect everything via the battery negative terminal.

I caution you to fully test this, to make sure it works on the Clarity. I know it works on a Chevy Bolt, but you really don't want to flat-spot and/or destroy your rear tires (and potentially destroy your e-brake), by assuming it works on the Clarity, too.

YMMV

Also when using the Brake Hold feature it automatically sets the parking brake when you turn off the car. So even though someone didn't deliberately set the parking brake, it could still be set if Brake Hold had been in use.

An unrelated side note, but helpful information for those who don't know, if the parking brake is set when you turn on the car, the daytime running lights will not come on. If you are going to sit in your car for some length of time and you don't want to advertise to everyone in the parking lot that you are sitting in your car with the car running, just make sure the parking brake is set when you turn on the car. This also avoids unnecessary drain on the HV battery powering the DRL's when you don't need them. As soon as you put the car in drive (or reverse) the DRL's come on and will remain on until the car is turned off.

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