Towing GMC Canyon

[Dardale]

Just purchased a 2017 GMC Canyon 4WD. In shop now getting a Blue Ox base plate installed. Anyone here towing a GMC Canyon or Colorado? Just wondering if they are a good toad? Will be towing with 2013 Winnebago Sightseer 33C.

Thanks all,
Dale

[al1florida]

I tow a 2009 Colorado. It tows well. Different design than yours I think.

I discovered that with the ignition key being out and the gear shift in park does not lock the steering wheel. So I put the transfer case in neutral, put the gear shift in park, turn off the ignition, remove the key and I am ready to go. Well I do put the brake buddy in for auxiliary brakes.

[ArtDeCamper]

Towed a 2007 Canyon 4 door Crewcab for 5 years. No problem, just found it was a bit heavy with the rubber spray box liner and the fibreglass droptop lid. The 2017 maybe heavier. Just follow the instructions, transfer case in neutral ignition key of. Went from a Honda CR-V to Canyon and now back to a lighter sport utility, a Suzuki GV.

[Chiefbvfd]

Between a 2012 Colorado and a 2016 I have towed them over 30, 000 miles with no problems at all. The 2016 has a few different things to do than the '12 but they both tow very well.

[Hardroad]

We have a 2016 Winnebago Sightseer 35G and we tow a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado (same as the Canyon). We love it and it's not bad setting it up. Make sure you buy a Battery Disconnect (bout $8 - put it on yourself - takes about 10 minutes.
You can only tow a 4 wheel drive. - Make sure that the regular transmission and the 4 wheel tranny is in neutral and the key is LEFT in and turned back to accessory.

[rogtill61]

I have a 2016 Chevy Colorado and I put on the base plate and wired up the brake and turn lights on the truck. Also I put in a relay to shut off power to the truck when I am towing it. I have not had any issue towing it behind my Class C motorhome. The only thing is I have to leave the keys in the truck to keep the steering wheel unlocked.

[Hardroad]

Rogtill61 - looks really good - next time I need to install plates and power, I'll just bring it to you - would save me about $1500.00 - ha ha.

[CJBROWN]

Trans goes in park.
TC goes in neutral.

Owners manual spells it all out.

They are heavy for pulling with a gas coach.

[rogtill61]

I have to keep my transmission in neutral also. After I get the transfer case in neutral I will put it in drive and reverse to see that it does not move. When I went to put it into park it started to grind. So I leave both in neutral with no issues. The big thing to remember is to release the parking break. My truck with a full tank of gas and the bikes on the back and kayak on top of the topper weighs 4900 lbs. I have about 3500 mikes if towing the truck behind the coach. My gas mileage drops only about 1 mile per gallon.

[CJBROWN]

You have to shut the engine down before shifting the trans into park because the output shaft is spinning into the transfercase that is now in neutral. The transfercase in neutral disconnects the input shaft from the transmission - so it can and should go into park once you confirm the TC is indeed in neutral, and so that you don't have fluid-friction spinning of the transmission output shaft while towing - this could cause failure of the output shaft bearing if they are not self-lubricating. The manual is clear about this, however I'm not technically sure if there is an issue there or not, but I wouldn't chance it. Perhaps your mechanic can confirm. For many automatics, you cannot flat-tow them for this reason since the differential spins the transmission output shaft. Certainly even the Colorado/Canyon two-wheel drive cannot.

It is also a requirement to disconnect the battery as it is assumed the electric powersteering unit stays powered up so turning it with the front wheels while towing could damage it.

On mine I ran a fused lead from the battery into the cab to power a BrakeBuddy braking unit. And 4-wire trailer lead from the grill to the taillights and drilled for a set of 1157 bulb sockets.

This way nothing from the coach electrics touches the toad.

We want to make sure we get OP started out on the right foot.

[rogtill61]

I will have to check this out. My owners manual did not have the correct procedure in it. I have a 2016 Colorado and the dealer could not even get it to go into the proper position for towing. I had to have the dealer print out a procedure to tow it 4 wheel down. I just got on line and looked at the newer owners manual and it is different than the paper they printed out. I put in diodes for the tail lights for the wiring. I used a relay to remove power from the battery. Thank you for the information you gave.

[rogtill61]

Originally Posted by Hardroad

Rogtill61 - looks really good - next time I need to install plates and power, I'll just bring it to you - would save me about $1500.00 - ha ha.

If you go too etrailers.com they have videos on how to put them on. If you have some tools and the desire to do it yourself, it is not that hard.