2016 Canyon/Colorado Odometer When Towed?

[mstrphish]

[emoji106] Thanks! Very helpful!

[JMonroe]

For one of our past toads I used a simple blade switch, attached to the negative battery terminal, to disconnect the battery. There are switches made specifically for this purpose. They are cheap, simple and take seconds to operate.

[CJBROWN]

Hey Red - finally ordered my baseplate and gathering parts to setup for towing.

Any updates on your towing experience?
Any code errors with the transfercase on re-powering the rig after the battery disconnect? Seems there were some instances of problems early on.

I was going to order one of these for the battery disconnect on the neg side - surprised to see it has standard posts and not the age-old GM side terminals. Any reason this won't work?

[redcolorado]

Should work. I think others have used it. I used the Battery Brain because I did not want to open the hood and I like electrical/electronic gadgets. I thought about building a disconnect that would automatically disconnect the battery whenever the toad is connected to the MH. It would be easy, just use the 12 volts from the MH to activate a relay disconnecting the toad battery. But decided not to.

[CJBROWN]

Thanks!
Read up on the TC shifting on the other thread.
Should be good to go.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by CJBROWN

Hey Red - finally ordered my baseplate and gathering parts to setup for towing.

Any updates on your towing experience?
Any code errors with the transfercase on re-powering the rig after the battery disconnect? Seems there were some instances of problems early on.

I was going to order one of these for the battery disconnect on the neg side - surprised to see it has standard posts and not the age-old GM side terminals. Any reason this won't work?

Those are available at Walmart, battery accessories for $4.95. I am using one but not real impressed with it. If it is not unscrewed enough, the battery will make contact while towing. It is OK for storage, but moving down the road, not the best choice. I am going to switch to a Battery Brain when I get home.

[tomk52]

I need to rig up a 2016 Sierra which is similar to rigging the Canyon for towing. How are you guys powering your toad braking system once you disconnect the battery?

[CJBROWN]

Originally Posted by tomk52

I need to rig up a 2016 Sierra which is similar to rigging the Canyon for towing. How are you guys powering your toad braking system once you disconnect the battery?

I am wiring mine direct to the battery. There are some convenient terminals on the + side. Add a ground wire for it to the - side. Run a pair of 16ga back to the foot well for brakebuddy. Breakaway switch will run parallel and plug in as well.

I setup braking for emergency stopping only - it doesn't activate with normal driving - coach doesn't need it. When you really step on it the toad brakes. So the BB compressor isn't going to be running all the time. Even if it did, it could run approximately 4 hours straight on a 600ah battery.

Some are putting a battery pack in the back seat floor to power their brake unit. IMO that is completely redundant since the truck battery has been disconnected from the truck's electronics so it isn't powering anything else, lights, electronics, etc.

There have been some instances where the truck battery was run down by leaving it powered up and the ignition on while towing. I can see that happening for sure.

Anyway, that's how I'm doing it. Maybe I'll take some pics - doing a complete baseplate and wiring installation tomorrow. All parts are in.

EDIT: BTW, if you're concerned about the truck battery running down you can connect the 12V power-lead in your coach hitch plug to your toad battery. Some are doing that to keep the toad fully charged while underway.

[tomk52]

[QUOTE=CJBROWN;3194699]I am wiring mine direct to the battery. There are some convenient terminals on the + side. Add a ground wire for it to the - side. Run a pair of 16ga back to the foot well for brakebuddy. Breakaway switch will run parallel and plug in as well.

Are you adding a power plug with a separate ground wire to power the toad brake? I would think I'd need to run a ground wire upstream of the battery shutoff to the power plug to isolate it from the chassis ground.

[redcolorado]

I have a charge wire from the MH to the toad battery that bypasses the Battery Brain. My toad aux braking system is a UTB and power to its controler also bypasses the Battery Brain. For those considering the Battery Brain be aware the Battery Brain breaks the + battery connection not the - as recommended by GM. My GM service manager has no problem with it, some may, just a heads up.
Someone asked if I have seen any fault codes or had any issues with the Colorado as a toad. In 20 months and 20,000 miles I have not seen any codes or had any issues with the Colorado.

[CJBROWN]

[QUOTE=tomk52;3194757]

Originally Posted by CJBROWN

I am wiring mine direct to the battery. There are some convenient terminals on the + side. Add a ground wire for it to the - side. Run a pair of 16ga back to the foot well for brakebuddy. Breakaway switch will run parallel and plug in as well.

Are you adding a power plug with a separate ground wire to power the toad brake? I would think I'd need to run a ground wire upstream of the battery shutoff to the power plug to isolate it from the chassis ground.

Yes. And yes.

[tomk52]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

[CJBROWN]

Started my baseplate install Friday night, got it mostly done and the facea hung back on the front of the truck. Then all the electrical yesterday, lights, power for the brakebuddy, and set it all up. Took about 6 hours. It's a pretty big job, sweat my butt off.

But it all works...took it up the freeway a few exits to try everything out, all good. Just waiting on a break-away switch and the brakebuddy remote indicator - I lost mine when I traded in the last toad. $120 for those silly things!

Snapped a pic with the phone...