buttster Report post Posted October 30, 2014 I noticed in the "towing Guide" that the 2014 GMC 1500 4x4 required the negative battery cable to be disconnected. Has anyone towed this vehicle without disconnecting battery? We have 2008 Hummer H3 where no battery disconnection is required, as Blue Ox Patriot requires power, and were looking to upgrade vehicles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted October 30, 2014 buttster, I don't even want to think of the problems you had in school if this is your last name. I believe it will have something to do with the type of steering you have in the 2014 verses your 2008. I believe GM went back to the locking steering wheel. If it were my truck I would look at the M&G Engineering brake system. Air with no electric required. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted October 31, 2014 School? Try Ulf Manholt, had it for 5 years, until I became a US Citizen and legally changed my name! I was 10 when I got here and 16 when I changed it.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobmanchik Report post Posted November 6, 2014 Somehow someone convinced GM to go back to a locking steering wheel (my 2001 you can leave the key in the ON position and remove IGN 0 fuse). Maybe GM wants out of the recreational towing business. In 2015, nearly all their trucks, Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Yukon XL, etc have locking steering wheel and the book requires removal of the negative battery cable. So a friend of mine with a 2015 and this problem has purchased a battery disconnect switch. After he installs it we will test to see how much of the programmable memories get lost. Logic tells me everything will go away and another acquaintance in GM service tells me I am correct, but maybe GM was smart enough to specify NON-VOLATILE memory for all the stuff that you have to program when you first get a car. If not they have stubbed their toe big time over this one. Of course, that makes my stable of older EASILY towed Suburbans and Yukons (one has 400,000 miles on it and still runs great) more valuable. Maybe some smart GM engineer will respond with a simple fix like "remove fuse 22 and Batt11 and you're good to go" but unless there is some easy fix I'm afraid GM is going to lose the MOTORHOME market. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted November 6, 2014 Does "Big Brother" still control GM ? Perhaps they have a Engineering Czar!? My 07' Chevy 3/4 ton Duramax Silverado tows at the push of 2 buttons...now trying to get rid off a 10,000 # Blue Ox system. Overkill with Jeep W. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobalou22 Report post Posted December 17, 2014 Just bought a 2014 GMC Sierra 4x4 DBL CAB. I don't want to flat tow, but would like to tow it with a tow dolly. Does anyone know if this has been done yet? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sjcarmich Report post Posted January 22, 2015 This is going to be significant deal breaker for us MH owners looking at GM products, going forward. My 2007 Chevy half ton, after 7 years of towing, was about to replaced this year... till I read the latest 4 down tow info. What's really frustrating is that this impacts ALL the Chevy/GMC SUV & Trucks. I'm now looking at Ford/Jeep and hanging onto my 07 Chevy. Temporary Fuse removal was one thing... but, disconnecting the negative battery connection.. NOPE. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
huffypuff Report post Posted January 23, 2015 This is going to be significant deal breaker for us MH owners looking at GM products, going forward. My 2007 Chevy half ton, after 7 years of towing, was about to replaced this year... till I read the latest 4 down tow info. What's really frustrating is that this impacts ALL the Chevy/GMC SUV & Trucks. I'm now looking at Ford/Jeep and hanging onto my 07 Chevy. Temporary Fuse removal was one thing... but, disconnecting the negative battery connection.. NOPE. There is a quick disconnect for that a twist of a knob. http://www.zoro.com/i/G2679397/?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google_Shopping_Feed&gclid=CJTPj9yvqsMCFRFhfgody38AuQ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
majfrizz Report post Posted January 24, 2015 I just went thru this with the new GMC Canyon. GM only requires this on the trucks, not the Malibus or the Equinox/Terrain (you pull three fuses on those). Since I could not really get a good answer from anyone at GM I went ahead and had the installer put a disconnect switch in with a power cable back from the RV. I have the SMI Air Force One so it needs power from the car. After we turned the switch back on all I lost was the MPG history. The clock and radio presets were still there. Tonight I am going to turn it off all night as if I was towing all day and see what happens in the morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
majfrizz Report post Posted January 24, 2015 Great news. After 12 hours of battery disconnect sitting in the garage, flipped the switched back on, within thirty seconds all radio presets and clocks came back on. Nothing lost. That is a lot easier then pulling the three fuses that you have to pull on the Equinox/Terrain/Malibus. Now when I have it hooked up to the RV it will also have the charge line built in from the coach to get the power for the Air Force One. Bob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walt2137 Report post Posted January 28, 2015 I dont know of any 4 WD vehicle that can be towed on a dolly without doing damage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sjcarmich Report post Posted January 31, 2015 Good news... Thanks for the feedback majfrizz. This is a workable situation now, and I can start looking at those new trucks again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bucks2 Report post Posted July 24, 2015 I have towed my 2014 Chevrolet Silverado just over 5000 miles now. The manufacturer, Chevrolet, is the one that states the negative terminal must be disconnected. When I was doing my research prior to purchase the best answer I found for why, is that the electric power steering (not hydraulic, not manual... electric) must be totally depowered during towing. The key must be in ACC, to unlock the wheel, which may discharge the battery if towing for long periods of time. One of my concerns was unlocking the doors with the remote in order to pull the inside hood release cable when the battery was disconnected. With one key in the ignition, I'd need an additional key. I didn't want to do that, so I installed a latching relay (similar to the one used for the battery disconnect in the MH) with the switch for it hidden in the grill. (less than $100 for parts) Now I can connect/disconnect the battery from outside and use the remote to lock/unlock the doors. I use an M&G air brake system with break-away protection, so electricity to the breakaway portion of the M&G is needed and provided by it's own isolated wires connected directly to the battery side of the latching relay. Concerns of leaning over a wet/dirty fender to connect the cable each time I tow helped to convince me that the relay was the way to go. The only "memory" items I find are lost when the battery is disconnected, are the drivers side electric window, it must be lowered and raised after reconnecting the battery to reset the auto-down function. The radio loses it's memory of which station it was on. The presets are all preserved, you just have to push (touchscreen) a preset button to put it back on a station. And lastly the MPG display on the dash loses it's memory of your fuel mileage for the last 25/50 miles. I can give detailed information of how I put the relay in and the materials needed if someone is interested Ken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
