Chevrolet Avalanche

[Pat Z]

I just picked up an Avalanche and will be towing it. The manual says to leave the ignition ON. question is will this run he battery down and will miles accumulate? Any input would be appreciated.

[Pat Z]

I just picked up an Avalanche and will be towing it. The manual says to leave the ignition ON. question is will this run he battery down and will miles accumulate? Any input would be appreciated.

[Route 66]

Pat, something doesn't sound right.

I didn't think any vehicle needed the ignition on for towing.

I would suspect that would run the battery down and would not be good for some of the systems.

Is this a 4WD vehicle?

Could you post more of the procedures from the owners manual.

Most GM trucks/SUVs are towed with key off and removed.

[Pat Z]

Here is a link for page 416 in the manual
http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com...rs_manual.html

The url won't post

[Route 66]

All of this is conditional on your Avalanche being 4WD.

Looking at your owners manual, you will use the same 4WD procedure as I do for my 2008 GMC Yukon.

The info on page 415 of your manual is preliminary towing info and that's a little misleading as the ignition does not need to be on unless you are shifting the transfer case to neutral or back to 2WD.

On pages 136 and 137, the process of shifting the transfer case into neutral is explained, and the last step, #11, is to turn the ignition to lock.

I have found that the process works best with the engine not running even though the manual states running or not is OK.

To summarize;

Transfer case in neutral,
Transmission in park,
Ignition on lock,
Key in your pocket,
Door locked.

[RustyJC]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Route 66:
....and the last step, #11, is to turn the ignition to lock.

To summarize;

Transfer case in neutral,
Transmission in park,
Ignition on lock,
Key in your pocket,
Door locked. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Guys,

As a 5th wheel guy, I certainly don't claim to be an expert in this area, but doesn't turning the ignition to "lock" also lock the steering? Is this the condition you'd want on a towed vehicle? I guess I would have expected that the ignition would be turned to "off" but not to the "lock" position.

Just looking for a little enlightenment here...

Rusty

[Route 66]

The larger GM trucks and SUV's have not had locking steering since 2004 or earlier.

I'm not sure about GM's smaller trucks and SUV's.

[RustyJC]

OK, that makes more sense.

Rusty

[Acker1]

I have a '05 GMC pickup, 2-wd. To tow I have a Remco tranny pump.(They don't make the disconnect for a 5" aluminum driveshaft). I have to put tranny in neutral and then the key will not be able to be removed. It did run up mileage. I installed a battery cutoff switch and disconnect the batt when towing. The pump works off MH power. I installed (before the batt cutoff) a 12V plug-in for the Brake Buddy.

DICK