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CAllingham · 04-27-2023, 12:21 PM

We are brand new to towing a car and just started towing a 2023 Chevy Equinox LT with a Roadmaster Nighthawk towbar. The only issue is that when driving through a freeway cloverleaf onramp or offramp, we hear a screeching noise coming from the toad tires. The noise stops once we're out of the cloverleaf. These cloverleafs are sloped downhill when entering the freeway or uphill when exiting the freeway. When making turns on flat streets we don't hear this noise.

On one occasion, my wife was following in another vehicle and not only heard the screeching noise but smelled burning rubber.

Anyone else experience a similar issue? Normal or not?

Thanks!

twinboat · 04-27-2023, 12:22 PM

Are the front tires steering with the turn ?

Steering lock with key out ?

CaptainGizmo · 04-27-2023, 12:28 PM

Oooo, that doesn't sound good at ALL!!!

I would be VERY VERY suspect of your Equinox steering is locked up, or not following. Even my huge Raptor tows and the front wheels track just fine.

I have the Nighthawk (which is irrelevant) and a 45' coach with Active Tag Steering and can turn a full lock without scrubbing.

Can you have someone follow to watch if the front wheels are, in fact, tracking properly?

**TonyDi** · 04-27-2023, 12:35 PM

Go to an empty parking lot with the toad hooked up. Make a sharp turn, simulating a clover leaf, and have someone walk beside the toad to see it the wheels are turning. It sounds like your steering is locked up.

Gary RVRoamer · 04-27-2023, 03:36 PM

Ditto re the steering lock-up being the likely cause. Have you followed the Recreational Towing instructions in the owner manual To The Letter? It is crucial to make sure the steering system allows the front wheels to turn as needed to follow the coach.

Mike8253 · 04-27-2023, 04:06 PM

To help the responders to your post, it would be useful to briefly lay out your hook-up/set-up process steps when preparing to tow your Equinox. Just a thought...

As for me, I don't know what auxiliary braking system you are using, but just to cover all the bases, if you have the requirement, are you activating your auxiliary brake system to pump your car's brake pedal 4 to 5 times before you depart. You do this to relieve the brake vacuum on your toad before departing in the morning. Since this is happening while transiting on/off ramps (most likely at higher speeds) if you don't relieve that vacuum, you'll likely lock the brakes up. Caveat to that is, once you do that the 1st time, its unlikely you'll do it multiple times as you will have effectively relieved the vacuum sufficiently with the first event. Hope this is helpful. Good luck finding the cause.

ChrisDParise · 04-27-2023, 05:45 PM

I wouldn't tow it a foot more. Any noise or burning odor is not normal.

If you're lucky it's just tire life you've sacrificed.

CAllingham · 04-27-2023, 11:36 PM

To help the responders to your post, it would be useful to briefly lay out your hook-up/set-up process steps when preparing to tow your Equinox.

We've got the Roadmaster Nighthawk towbar with the Roadmaster baseplate for the 2023 Equinox and the Air Force One braking system compatible with the Freightliner BrakeSync Tow Vehicle Braking System on our 2022 Dutch Star 4081.

Here's our process. Per the Equinox Dinghy Towing instructions, we let the engine run for 5 minutes to ensure the transmission is adequately lubricated. We then center the Equinox about 3.5 feet behind the coach on level ground, put it in Park, set the parking brake, and turn off the engine. We connect the tow bar arms, the electrical cable, the air hose, the breakaway cable, and the safety cables.

Now we start the Equinox and pull backwards VERY slowly until one or both of the tow bar latches are locked.

Per the Equinox Dinghy Towing instructions, we shift the transmission into Neutral, double-check that the parking brake is off, and put the vehicle into accessory mode by pressing the ENGINE START/STOP button one time without the brake pedal applied. (There is no physical key or mechanical ignition switch, only a key fob with pushbutton start/stop.) The engine stops running and an amber light appears in the button when in accessory mode. Finally, we turn off all electrical accessories that are not needed.

At this point, the Equinox steering wheel is not locked. As part of our pre-trip checklist, we drive the coach forward VERY slowly while one of us stands next to the Equinox to confirm that all four tires turn freely. We steer the coach slightly to the left and right to ensure that both tow bar latches are locked.

I've watched the Equinox track behind the coach on flat surfaces, e.g. when making a right turn out of a driveway, when making fairly sharp left turns in a campground parking lot, and when making a left turn out of a truck stop diesel pump island. The tires don't make any noise under these conditions, and the tires steer as I would expect them to, a little bit in a modest turn and quite a bit for a sharp turn. When driving the coach and making a sharp turn in a parking lot, I can see the Equinox tires steering sharply in my rear view mirror; when making modest turns, I can't see the Equinox tires in the rear view mirror and I can't make out any steering movement on the rear view camera monitor.

The tire screeching only occurs in these cloverleaf situations, and I'm not driving more than 20-25 mph at the time. When driving downhill on an onramp, I am braking slightly and the Air Force One LED display shows that the Equinox brakes are also being applied. Since Air Force One is a proportional braking system, I assume the Equinox is braking slightly just like the coach. But when driving uphill on an offramp, I'm not using the brakes at all. I get the screeching noise in both situations.

What's unique about these cloverleafs versus all other surfaces we've driven on so far is that the road surface is banked from left to right, i.e. the left side of the roadway is higher than the right side of the roadway, and by a fair amount. My sense is that perhaps it's these banked surfaces that cause the steering to not track properly, scrubbing the front tires.

Mike8253 mentioned pumping the brakes 4-5 times before departing. The Air Force One instructions don't include this suggestion, only that one should apply the coach's brake pedal for 3 seconds after the coach is completely aired-up in order to ensure that the Air Force One breakaway air tank is fully charged.

Besides this one condition, the Equinox tows easily and quietly behind the coach. The Michelin tires are brand new and I don't see any signs of unusual wear or damage after 250 miles of interstate highway towing roundtrip between San Jose and Sacramento.

As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if a phone call to Roadmaster might be in order tomorrow. Maybe they can shed some light on this.

Mike8253 · 04-28-2023, 07:49 AM

Absolutely great write-up. Re: my comment about pumping brakes, my MH is on a Ford F53 (Gas) chassis, therefore I don't have air brakes. I'll leave it to the diesel MH owners to comment further on your post. Hopefully you can figure out what is going on. Good luck.

Cousin Ed · 04-28-2023, 08:30 AM

I didn't notice anyone mentioning tire pressure. Low pressure will cause them to squeal on turns.

discovery4us · 04-28-2023, 09:20 AM

You mention uphill and downhill you hear it but not on the flat. Could the dinghy breaks be over activating?

Labrat46 · 04-28-2023, 10:54 AM

Were towing our 2nd. Chevy Spark and like your Equinox it has electric steering. If we don't disconnect the battery as the manual tells us to we would get the squealing in sharp turning situations. Can't say that is your problem but in the later Sparks the steering wheel doesn't lock so that isn't a problem. Check and see if you require a battery disconnect while flat towing. Safe travels.

Mike8253 · 04-28-2023, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Labrat46

Were towing our 2nd. Chevy Spark and like your Equinox it has electric steering. If we don't disconnect the battery as the manual tells us to we would get the squealing in sharp turning situations. Can't say that is your problem but in the later Sparks the steering wheel doesn't lock so that isn't a problem. Check and see if you require a battery disconnect while flat towing. Safe travels.

I was just looking at his owners manual (couldn't help myself), and there is no mention of disconnecting the battery. Only thing I saw was this related to if he has AWD ("If equipped with AWD, engage the AWD system and confirm that it is on."). Based on his earlier post, doesn't sound like he has AWD.

CAllingham · 04-28-2023, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cousin Ed

I didn't notice anyone mentioning tire pressure. Low pressure will cause them to squeal on turns.

This is a great point, and I had the same thought, too, when I first heard this noise because the tires were 4 psi below the recommended 35 psi. However, during our recent 250 mile trip, all tires were inflated to 35 psi and we still got the screeching noise in a cloverleaf.