GM Needs Your Feedback On Dinghy Towing (4 Wheels Down)

[thormsby]

I really appreciate you asking the folks that actually do it.

I'm after some feedback, regardless of vehicle make, about the vehicle you currently dinghy tow (or have towed in the past).

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? 2000 miles

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 600 miles

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? 10000 miles

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? 3 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? 2 times

6. What is your preferred cruising speed? 65 mph

7. Do you use a rock shield? Yes

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)? Mounted under coach about 4 feet with manufacturers name (Entegra)

[derh2o]

I am a GM guy that had to go Ford. Needed a small-light weight, automatic. There are few options-we went with a Focus.

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?--5-8,000

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 2,200

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? 100,000+

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? ~3 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? ~2

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?--55 to 60

7. Do you use a rock shield? Yes

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)? Car Bracket-Roadmaster Guardian

[tomlong10]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

15,000

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

we have an 08 Suburban 2500 4x4 with 110,000 miles showing and another 30,000 tow miles

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

I do not think I can wear out this Suburban. I really like using neutral on the transfer case and will look for that on next vehicle ( we need something shorter than the Sub because our motor home is 45 feet and plus the Sub puts us over the 65 foot legal limit in many states)

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

45 minutes for lunch

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?

once/day for lunch except for fuel but we can go about 1,200 miles on a tank of fuel.

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

60-65

7. Do you use a rock shield?

yes

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

towbar -- mesh horizontal screen

[charles b. tuit]

1. 15,000-20,000

2. 145,000

3. 250,000

4. 3 hours

5. 3 times per day

6. 67 MPH

7. Yes

8. Towbar, Homemade

[1Hannah2]

1. tow per year about 5,000

2. will trade cars about 30,000 towed miles, about 70000 total on car

3. shoping for trade now

4. stop about every two or three hours

5 total stops per day 2 to 4

6. cruise at posted speed limit

7. rock shield used

8. shield mounted under motor home ahead of bumper

[point2man]

Thanks for asking Nick, I'd like to see another Saturn quality vehicle come out for the market to replace mine and as to feedback:

1. tow 4 down approx 8,000 miles year

2. guessing about 50,000 miles of towing

3. shortly if I could find one of comparable size, weight, comfort, and durability; currently have 130,000 mi on L300 toad

4. Normally about six hours per day, but lots of time never unhook, so next day is same

5. Almost never stop for ten minutes...leave campground around 9 am, pull into next campground around 3-4 pm. Sometimes stop at a store or amusement if interested, but not usually.

6. Prefered Cruise speed in western states is 70-75; eastern about 65-70

7. Use RV mud flap-completely across rear and leather bra and hood/windshield cover for car

8. n/a

I traded a Brougham Cadillac for this SMALL Saturn, so these little cars that Shack can't even get his knees down into are not inviting enough to go look at to replace what I've "settled for." Hope this helps and allows you to produce something that a lot of us talk about wanitng without squeezing into some "rice rocket" vehicle.

[LewsRoo2]

My name is Nick. I work on the new 6T30/40/45/50 fwd 6 speeds at General Motors within transmission development. In particular, I'm in charge of validation for dinghy towing.

I'm after some feedback, regardless of vehicle make, about the vehicle you currently dinghy tow (or have towed in the past).

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

7,500

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

11,500 (2011 Chevolet Colorado )

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

60,000

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

6 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?

every 4 to 8 hours

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

65 to 70 mph

7. Do you use a rock shield?

full rock shield

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

under coach

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated, which will help me better tune our internal testing requirements to better meet and exceed actual customer usage.

[Croesers]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? -About 5,000/year.

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? - Over 7000

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? 40,000

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? - 30 minutes

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? - Every 2 hours.

6. What is your preferred cruising speed? 62 MPH

7. Do you use a rock shield? -yes

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)? - Behind rear wheels on coach.

Nick:

I have a 2011 Cadillac SRX and love the car and how easily it flat tows. I purchased it specifically because I could flat tow it. One recommendation: You could easily mount an electrical switch to disconnect the power to three fuses that you have to pull to flat tow. I mounted switches (With fuses in line) so all I have to do is flip a couple of switches and I am ready to go. This would be a great marketing tool to us senior citizens who struggle to pull fuses every time they want to tow. Two of my previous toads were Saturn Vues and the Saturn was the standard while GM was making the car. I have at least on person come up to me every time I stop in an RV park asking me about the SRX as a tow vehicle. I rave about all the great features on the car. Most people who can afford to travel in an RV are not poor. Most can afford the SRX.

Sincerely

John Croes

JCroes@aol.com

[ronbonosr]

So far this year, I have towed my Jeep Liberty 3,000 miles.

I have about 7,000 miles on my Class C motorhome.

I plan to keep my 2011 Jeep Liberty as a Dinghy for a long, long time (100,000++ miles).

I usually stop for about thirty minutes.

I usually stop every two hours.

60-65 mph.

Yes.

On bumper.

[washbob]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

8,000 miles (2008 Hummer H3 Alpha Edition)

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

16,000 miles

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

25,000 miles or more if I'm unable to find a suitable replacement.

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

20-30 Minutes

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?

Stop about every 2 hours

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

65-70 mph

7. Do you use a rock shield?

No

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

N/A

[DSTRONG]

1. 6-8 thousand

2. 62,000 ( 06 Hummer H-3) 2011 Itasca Meridian)

3. 100000+

4. 3-4 hrs

5. 1-2

6. 63-65

7. no

8. n/a

[RVerOnTheMove]

Washbob,

It that correct information listed above? Do you really stop while you are traveling every 20-30 minutes?

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

20-30 Minutes

[washbob]

I interpreted question 4, the way a lot of other people did. I thought he was asking how long are you stopped. After rereading the question, I would probably answer it the same as question #5. About every two hours or so. I'm in no hurry, so stop every couple hours, to stretch, bathroom break, snack or just walk a little.

[DarrellRuthMadill]

Good morning, here are my answeres. We have towed (4 wheels down a GMC Yukon since 2001):

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

It has varied over the years but approx between 5,000 to 6,000 miles a year.

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

50,000 miles

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

100,000 miles

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

30-60 minutes

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?

2- 3 times a day depending on distance and personal needs

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

60 miles per hour

7. Do you use a rock shield?

no

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

Hope this helps.

Darrell Madill

[bootsmalin]

My name is Nick. I work on the new 6T30/40/45/50 fwd 6 speeds at General Motors within transmission development. In particular, I'm in charge of validation for dinghy towing.

I'm after some feedback, regardless of vehicle make, about the vehicle you currently dinghy tow (or have towed in the past).

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? 10K

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 25k

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? 30k

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? 2-4hrs

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? 2-4hrs

6. What is your preferred cruising speed? 65mph

7. Do you use a rock shield? no

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)? N/A

4 down towing 2006 Saturn VUE bought used after 2002 4wd Envoy SLT burned up. Make shure light or buzzer indicating staus of transfer case is noticeabe.

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated, which will help me better tune our internal testing requirements to better meet and exceed actual customer usage.

[Maxsboat]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? 7000 to 15000

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 141000

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? 250000

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? 3 to 5 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? 2 x's

6. What is your preferred cruising speed? Speed limit

7. Do you use a rock shield? Mud flap on Coach

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)? Motor home

C & D Suarez

MICHIGAN 2000 CC AFFINITY C12

TOAD: 2006 VW SUPER BETTLE TDI STANDARD SHIFT

[vsheetz]

My name is Nick. I work on the new 6T30/40/45/50 fwd 6 speeds at General Motors within transmission development. In particular, I'm in charge of validation for dinghy towing.

I'm after some feedback, regardless of vehicle make, about the vehicle you currently dinghy tow (or have towed in the past).

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

~5k

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

~60k

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

150-200k

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

2-3 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?

2-3 hours

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

60-65

7. Do you use a rock shield?

no

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

n/a

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated, which will help me better tune our internal testing requirements to better meet and exceed actual customer usage.

And as others have commented - no fuse pulling, no special procedures, no time.speed limitations, etc. Should be hook it up and go (as is my current 05' Jeep Wrangler - a great toad). BTW, go to a motorhome rally - probably 1/4 to 1/3 toads are Jeeps. Easy to tow.

[ct78barnes]

6,000 miles a year

2006 Trailblazer 64,000 miles

Road Master Tow bar and Even Break

Stop around 4 hrs maybe 6 hrs

62mph sweet spot for Ford V10

Looking at trading for a Malibu .

What changed from 2012 to 2013 on the Malibu that you can no longer tow it 4 down did they change the auto to a 5 speed again .

[wigginsjsr]

My name is Nick. I work on the new 6T30/40/45/50 fwd 6 speeds at General Motors within transmission development. In particular, I'm in charge of validation for dinghy towing.

I'm after some feedback, regardless of vehicle make, about the vehicle you currently dinghy tow (or have towed in the past).

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

15- 20,000 Miles

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

Apx. 35,000 miles towing.

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

Total mileage around 100,000 miles, probably near 70,000 towed

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

2-4 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?

apx. 4 hours

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

60-65 MPH

7. Do you use a rock shield?

No. Full width mud flap on MH

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

N/A

Current tow is 2008 Saturn Vue. Current MH 2011 Monaco Knight DP

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated, which will help me better tune our internal testing requirements to better meet and exceed actual customer usage.

[GM.Engineer]

Special thanks to all of you for taking the time to give me some feedback.

[Xplorer]

My name is Nick. I work on the new 6T30/40/45/50 fwd 6 speeds at General Motors within transmission development. In particular, I'm in charge of validation for dinghy towing.

I'm after some feedback, regardless of vehicle make, about the vehicle you currently dinghy tow (or have towed in the past).

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? 3,000

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 550

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? Depends on durability, reliability of the new Sonic

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? 30-45 minutes

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? about every 2 hours

6. What is your preferred cruising speed? 55 mph

7. Do you use a rock shield? NO

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated, which will help me better tune our internal testing requirements to better meet and exceed actual customer usage.

Bought the 2013 Sonic LTZ, due to it's tow-ability, I was interested in the Cruze, however, it is not tow-able. Considering the Sonic is a subcompact, road noise is minimal except on rougher road surfaces. It tows great. Although, I have not taken the Sonic on a long distance interstate drive, current mileage averages around 29 in town and on state highways.

So far on 3 hour drives, the Sonic has been very comfortable, and fun to drive. I like it more than I thought, however, sometimes I miss the 4 wheel drive Jeep.

The only problem with the Sonic is that the trim on the truck has tarnished, which occurred within the first month. The dealer order the replacement trim in December, and it has yet to arrive.

The Sonic is the first new vehicle I have purchased that has had to be returned to the dealer during the warranty period (although minor)

Prior new purchases of a Jeep, Nissan and 2 Mazda's, never required dealer warranty service.

The Sonic is easy to setup for towing, even with having to remove the DLIS fuse.

I have a question: Is it necessary to remove the DLIS fuse for short towing trips 200-350 miles?

What affect would not removing the DLIS fuse have?

We may consider the Malibu for our next toad. Depends on what's on the market when we are ready for another vehicle.

[wmichaelmcmanus]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?

15,000 miles per year on average

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?

Current vehicle 2012 Jeep Wrangler has about 20,000 tow miles

Previous vehicle 2005 Yukon XL had 95,000 miles on odometer and another 70,000 tow miles.

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?

50,000 - 75,000 tow miles

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?

Most often it is 3-4 hours between stops. Sometimes it may be 6-8 hours between stops

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? Only stops as noted above but each would exceed 10 minutes. Most stops are about 30-45 minutes in duration.

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?

Cruise about 65 mph on Interstates

7. Do you use a rock shield?

No. Tow vehicles do had protective skid pans/plates

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

N/A

[cxferr]

Nick, been trying to get into a new GM truck since 2006 but not willing to buy one with less 'nice' features than the 2002 LT had. Each year more is cut from interior and in last couple of years (anything made after last half of 2010 cannot be dinghy towed) GM cut out dinghy tow. Email me with any 2002 2500HD LT ExtCab 4x4 loaded 6.6' bed excellent condition leads that have proper config to be dinghy towed since USA no longer makes loaded trucks that can be dinghy towed.

.

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly?
~7k starting in last few years, will be more each following year as leave is accrued, and subsequently hopefully full-time.

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now?
~35k

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle?
300-foreverk since have no choice since USA loaded trucks are no longer made to dinghy tow and harder to find beds not shorter than 6.6.

Will probably by a 2014 King Ranch loaded and use this 2002 for dinghy since I cannot buy a new loaded GM truck on par with 2002 that can be dinghy towed. Plus in last decade the GM interior is void of storage, center console AC ducks to rear of cab gone which also made center console a cooler and allowed driver to control air for riders not capable to, manual knobs for nav, radio and such that GM 2002 and FORD has.

Right now I have some diesel used truck dealers searching for GM 2500's with dinghy tow transmittions with great facts and low mileage. Ideally something like this survey and free text should be sent to current early 2k model year owners to inquire why not getting new GM trucks. The RV camps and farm equipment lots used to be nearly all GM, but since mid 2000's our plea's to stop stripping features have been ignored resulting in seeing less and less GM's.

I put off buying a new GM over the years in order to wait for GM features to return like arm rests, large door storage can hold safety gear such as harnesses, goggles, welding gloves, kiddie fire ext. , leashes, large metal flashlights, and pliers all in deep wide wells that are not wind or bump affected, multiple interior roof storage bins, ebony interior colors for roof and pillars, black wheel fenders to protect paint from carts, tools, drawers, tie down straps, geez ... endless list of features now gone; but I'm stunned and shocked that dinghy tow was taken away while I was waiting for the standard features to return. Also, why in new trucks is the DEF under the hood instead of more accessible place next to gas pump inlet? I know, ranting, sorry ... our entire family has been loyal GM since 1950's and miffed this generation of the family is being forced into a FORD that cannot be dinghy towed either in order to spare wear on GM trucks that can be dinghy towed. Just in case someone actually cares, interiors with chrome trim, wood trim, etc. are too reflective/blinding and get too hot, look at the loaded 2002 truck, absolutely perfect, more perfect if it had the holes for cool air in the seats ... awh heck ... heat/cool air in rear seats too would be grand. My generation has the money and the most populous at present, and we're not fans of having to take eyes off road or stop on bumpy roads to use touch screen technology, offer both knobs as well as touch screen. Oh, Honda has the best and largest NAV screens ... hint hint.

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)?
30 min just enough time to refuel and do safety checks

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)?
2-3 hours depends on mpg, only stop to refuel RV/bus.

6. What is your preferred cruising speed?
70-75 empty highway, 55-65 or in tandum with other traffic in more congested areas.

7. Do you use a rock shield?

no

8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?
n/a, but if I did, would be on tow bar so could use for any vehicle towed.

[Gordon66]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? 10,000 to 15,000



2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 12,000



3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? 100,000



4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? 3 hrs



5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? 4 hrs



6. What is your preferred cruising speed? 65 to 68



7. Do you use a rock shield? Yes



8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)? Tow Bar

Towed a 2006 Trailblazer for 50,000 really nice to tow. Now have a 2012 Buick Enclave Tows good. Don't like the locking steering wheel and leaving keys in ignition.

[biker29]

1. How many miles do you typically dinghy tow your vehicle yearly? 6 to 8

2. What is the total tow mileage you have on your vehicle now? 16,000

3. What is the total tow mileage you expect to put on the vehicle before you upgrade to a new vehicle? based only on condition not year or regular mileage

4. When towing, what is the average amount of time between stops? (be it restroom or fuel)? 4 to 6 hours

5. How often do you stop for a period of 10 min or more? (be it restroom, stretch, eat, fuel)? 2 to 3 times in 8 hours

6. What is your preferred cruising speed? 60 to 65 mph

7. Do you use a rock shield? only on motor home
8. Where does the rock shield mount (bumper,towbar,dinghy, or... so what type)?

An option to have the tow vehicle wired for brakes and lights and with the base plate would be helpful