Do you think I'll be able to tow a small boat with the Bolt?
- Thread starter madobee
- Start date
Help Support Chevy Bolt EV Forum:
A
Anonymous
Guest
A
Anonymous
Guest
MichaelLAX said:
What's all this fuss about rowing with a bolt?
never mind.
we will be installing our new Curt receiver tomorrow. came in 1 day and was 'I have to shoot you' cheap with free ship.
we will be carrying our electric assist tandem bike - about 35 kg.
can't see any reason not to give the Aluma AE 46 trailer a try too
weighs 346#, lighter than a couple big eaters or adult bear in the back seat.
we plan to shorten the tongue to make it a but more compact we will remove the elevator from the front for less junk to tow
stay tuned
My take is that the trailer hitch GM sells to fit the Bolt is not for towing but for bike racks and the such. I scanned through most of the posts here but didn't see anywhere that a trailer connect cable was found or listed.
I won't be using my trailer with this car, I'd say proceed with caution especially if it's leased.
Rob
I won't be using my trailer with this car, I'd say proceed with caution especially if it's leased.
Rob
The nice thing about launching boats with EVs is the very precise control you have when backing up and going forward on a ramp. Much better than the gunning/easing you have to do with an ICE.
It's a much larger EV, but when I tow with my Tesla Model X, I don't even feel I'm towing anything at all. It does hit range pretty hard though - depending on how boxy or unaerodynamic your load is, you could drop your range to close to half.
It's a much larger EV, but when I tow with my Tesla Model X, I don't even feel I'm towing anything at all. It does hit range pretty hard though - depending on how boxy or unaerodynamic your load is, you could drop your range to close to half.
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
Gpsman
Thanks for your insights about towing.
Which hitch do you have on your Bolt?
I want to be able to tow my solar survival trailer
To earth day and other green events
Have towed it with my prius up a small mountain in VT
Dropped my mpg to 22 but had no problems pulling it.
Seems only right that my green exhibit is transported by a green vehicle.
Thanks for your insights about towing.
Which hitch do you have on your Bolt?
I want to be able to tow my solar survival trailer
To earth day and other green events
Have towed it with my prius up a small mountain in VT
Dropped my mpg to 22 but had no problems pulling it.
Seems only right that my green exhibit is transported by a green vehicle.
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
Big battery small solar panel big inverter
Microwave only needs 900w for 10 minutes to cook supper when the sun goes down
Can recharge all day
Microwave only needs 900w for 10 minutes to cook supper when the sun goes down
Can recharge all day
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
Got a hitch
https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2017_Chevrolet_Bolt+EV.htm
Very easy to install and is rated for more than I will ever do
Like the huge stabilizer bars that bolt right into the frame
http://99mpg.com/blog/finally-i-have-an-electric-car-chevy-bolt/
https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2017_Chevrolet_Bolt+EV.htm
Very easy to install and is rated for more than I will ever do
Like the huge stabilizer bars that bolt right into the frame
http://99mpg.com/blog/finally-i-have-an-electric-car-chevy-bolt/
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
The dealer refused to let me see the schematics of the rear lightseat
So I was going to try and get access to the brake and other wiring
First panel I tried to remove was the one over the rear hatch latch
Don't do it as it is attached with inserts that are not designed to be removed intact
I broke a tab
Put it back together after straightening all the steel
Barbs that bend instead of pull out
Looks fine but I am very leary of trying it again without looking at some schematics and
Locations
For now the hitch is OK for towing around the back yard and a bike rack
Really would like a light kit that I can stick a detector on the outside of the cars actual lights with a suction cup
Plug it in the lighter 12 v plug for power
When I'm not towing which will be most of the time just unstick the detectors and your car insides and wiring were not Touched?
Has anyone seen a temporary setup like that?
So I was going to try and get access to the brake and other wiring
First panel I tried to remove was the one over the rear hatch latch
Don't do it as it is attached with inserts that are not designed to be removed intact
I broke a tab
Put it back together after straightening all the steel
Barbs that bend instead of pull out
Looks fine but I am very leary of trying it again without looking at some schematics and
Locations
For now the hitch is OK for towing around the back yard and a bike rack
Really would like a light kit that I can stick a detector on the outside of the cars actual lights with a suction cup
Plug it in the lighter 12 v plug for power
When I'm not towing which will be most of the time just unstick the detectors and your car insides and wiring were not Touched?
Has anyone seen a temporary setup like that?
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
Did some research on trailer wiring interfaces. Did not see any optically controlled systems
Got out my trailer and wired up the curt powered circuit protected tail lights converter that e trailer recommended
Connected it to a 12v 10a power source
The input wires which are designed to sense if the car lights are being driven on with a 12 v signal which is also powering the cars lights.
The lights will turn on when signal is ^ 6 v
The sensing circuit draws 9.8 ma at 12v ( ~ 1.3kohm pull down )
Had a small CDS photo resistor which I connected from 12v to the brake sense lead
It turned on the trailer brake lights mode when car brake light went on and moving to the blinker it followed the blinks.
Very promising so far
Success will depend on how it works with the sun shining on the rear of the car
Easiest solution would be to block the ambient light from getting in.
Since this would only be used when towing, will masking off a part of the car tail lights
Be a problem as the trailer is blocking them anyways?
Could use a small microcontroller to make sensitivity and threshold compensation if needed.
Will build a proper detector and get some small suction cups and see if this can be make to be reliable.
Got out my trailer and wired up the curt powered circuit protected tail lights converter that e trailer recommended
Connected it to a 12v 10a power source
The input wires which are designed to sense if the car lights are being driven on with a 12 v signal which is also powering the cars lights.
The lights will turn on when signal is ^ 6 v
The sensing circuit draws 9.8 ma at 12v ( ~ 1.3kohm pull down )
Had a small CDS photo resistor which I connected from 12v to the brake sense lead
It turned on the trailer brake lights mode when car brake light went on and moving to the blinker it followed the blinks.
Very promising so far
Success will depend on how it works with the sun shining on the rear of the car
Easiest solution would be to block the ambient light from getting in.
Since this would only be used when towing, will masking off a part of the car tail lights
Be a problem as the trailer is blocking them anyways?
Could use a small microcontroller to make sensitivity and threshold compensation if needed.
Will build a proper detector and get some small suction cups and see if this can be make to be reliable.
SeanNelson
Well-known member
I'm confused - are you talking about one device or two? If one, does it sense the 12V signal applied to the lights or does it sense the amount of light coming out of the bulbs?MikeDabrowski2017 said:
Lin19687
Well-known member
Someone over on the Mitsubishi i-MiEV forum (same site as this) has towed with the 'i' ! 
So I bet you can with the Bolt. Just not sure I would want to dip my "tail" in the water tho.
So I bet you can with the Bolt. Just not sure I would want to dip my "tail" in the water tho.
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
The wiring kit is standard off the shelf 4 to 3 converter from curt
What I'm doing is making an optical sensor board that can be stuck on the 4 lights required
Left,right turn, brake, and taillight and simply sense when they are illuminated
This will connect to the converter input wires which normally attach to the
The cars lights.
Started building the interface board prototype last night
If it works it is a pretty simple board that can
Be built on a prototype board
will put up a schematic and plans
if it works.
What I'm doing is making an optical sensor board that can be stuck on the 4 lights required
Left,right turn, brake, and taillight and simply sense when they are illuminated
This will connect to the converter input wires which normally attach to the
The cars lights.
Started building the interface board prototype last night
If it works it is a pretty simple board that can
Be built on a prototype board
will put up a schematic and plans
if it works.
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
It worked surprisingly well in my initial testing.
http://99mpg.com/blog/finally-i-have-an-electric-car-chevy-bolt
I just taped the sensors onto the appropreate lights with black tape and adjusted the on off threshold and it worked perfectly
The circuit has a single quad op amp
Some connectors 4 pots and the 4 CDS photo resistors
Total parts cost of less than $10
Will be sunny tomorrow so I can see how direct sunlight will effect things.
http://99mpg.com/blog/finally-i-have-an-electric-car-chevy-bolt
I just taped the sensors onto the appropreate lights with black tape and adjusted the on off threshold and it worked perfectly
The circuit has a single quad op amp
Some connectors 4 pots and the 4 CDS photo resistors
Total parts cost of less than $10
Will be sunny tomorrow so I can see how direct sunlight will effect things.
MikeDabrowski2017
Well-known member
Stray sunlight did effect the system
The CDS cells are not linear and absorb light from a wide acceptance angle, both of which make them a poor choice for this detection
Have some directional photo transistors on order which should work much better.
The CDS cells are not linear and absorb light from a wide acceptance angle, both of which make them a poor choice for this detection
Have some directional photo transistors on order which should work much better.
SeanNelson
Well-known member
Maybe what you need is something that can sense the ambient light so you can generate a "difference" signal that's used as the trigger...?MikeDabrowski2017 said:
Although I gotta say that just tapping into the wiring, even if only to use it as a way to sense when current is flowing, seems like a better idea to me.
NeilBlanchard
Well-known member
Doing a wired trailer lights on the Bolt seems like it should be relatively easy; since the turn signals and the backup lights are in the bumper. And the taillights and brake lights are also in the bumper - is there a way to activate the taillights and brake lights without opening the hatch? Or, would the trailer lights need to tap into these in the hatch door? If so, where is a good place to do this?
