Towing GMC Acadia

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The front drive Acadia/Outlook/Enclave can be dolly towed with the front wheels on the dolly but not the opposite way (rear wheels on dolly). And the  AWD model cannot be dolly towed in either position. 

I can understand why you don't want to invest in new base plates every 2 years - they have gotten mighty expensive!  But if you kept the car longer, say 4 years, the additional ease of the 4 down towing might make the cost worthwhile. Nothing says a lease has to be 1-2 years.

There are several methods of doing lights, with the least intrusive (and least expensive) being a set of magnetic mount lights with a wiring harness draped over the car and lugged to the coach system. I ran one car like that for 4 years and simplified set-up by putting part of the wiring harness permanently under the car chassis and simply plugging the lights in at the back when needed. The long front end of the harness was coiled behind the grill  when not in use. The next easiest is to add diodes to the existing vehicle stop/tail lights and wire them to a permanent harness that runs under the car along the frame to a plug on the front grill. A separate cord plugs from there to the coach plug. A third alternative adds separate bulbs to the cars tail light assembly and wires then with its own harness. I see little advantage to this method, though.

 

[segmon]

Thanks..  You guys are awesome.  When you remove the front plate from the toad, does it leave any visable mods?  My thought is that the lease companies wouldn't like it if they could see it.

 

[Tom]

Gary is the only one qualified to answer since he's the only one I know towing an Acadia all 4 down. Maybe Gary will upload a photo or two  ???

In the case of our Suburban. the baseplate attaches where the front tow hooks would normally attach and I drilled a couple of holes in a cross member, but that would only be visible if you crawled under the vehicle. See the photos in this library article. I also drilled the bumper, so those holes would be visible, but that was a personal choice.  *

 

[Ron]

Thanks..  You guys are awesome.  When you remove the front plate from the toad, does it leave any visable mods?  My thought is that the lease companies wouldn't like it if they could see it.

Usually not.  We used the same base plate on a 99 and 01 GC then removed it and sold it when we got the o6 since it wouldn't fit on the 06.  No visible evidence on either car.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

These cars have a full front fascia and the attachment points have to protrude through it. That means a couple holes in the lower part (below the bumper), where there is a kind of mesh on the Outlook and Acadia. I've attached a picture with full frontal exposure! ;D

 

[Tom]

Oops, somehow my prior message was messed up, but have now fixed it.

Thanks for the photo Gray.

 

[sparetime]

Yes it will. You need to run a power line direct to the battery or from the coach 12v system. Either is easy enough to do.

You would have been better off with a air system such as the Brakemaster - needs no 12v power.

Well we just purchased an Acadia and I'm giving the Brake Buddy to the person that's buying our Jeep.
I am looking for one of the air brake systems now. Brake Master or M & G.
Rumor has it that they don't work with the newer GM cars because the brakes are too sensitive.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Dave

 

[Tom]

Dave,

Congrats on the Acadia. I thought you were going for the "plush" cousin  ???

I believe Gary posted details of his BrakeMaster installation on the Acadia here somewhere, hopefully with photos. If not, maybe we can twist his arm.

 

[sparetime]

Tom

After looking closely at both The Admiral wanted the Acadia and I agreed.
What braking system are you using?

Dave

 

[caltex]

Dave, I am only 15 miles from the M&G plant, so if i can help you with anything just let me know.

 

[sparetime]

Robert

Thanks I'm going to call them tomorrow and find out if they make one to fit the Acadia. There's not alot of room to fit it in.
What brake system do you use?

Dave

 

[sparetime]

Unfortunately the M&G system won't fit on the Acadia/Outlook/Enclave brake master cylinder. Another Acadia owner has already contacted M&G and reported that on another board. 

Gary

What brake system do you use on your Acadia?

Dave

 

[Ron from Big D]

I've heard some rumblings lately that Remco isn't as generous with the  free advice as they once were. One caller reported he was told "we don't have a product for that model, so how would we now about towing it?"  Another was told the same info as on the website and the rep said that was all the info he had.  I don't know if this is a new policy or just a grumpy sales rep on an off day. I could see, however, how they might have gotten tired of providing free advice now that there are thousands of new RVers every year wanting to learn about toads.

Remco is not always right on what they say.  Their website says that the 2003 Lexus GX470 can't be towed four down.  They say the front wheels must be on a tow dolly and the drive disconnect must be used on the rear wheels.  This is true for the rear wheels, but the front can be disconnected via the transfer case being placed in neutral.  Lexus even checked it and verified this fact.

 

[Tom]

Dave,

Robert and I both use the M&G. Gary uses the BrakeMaster. Gary did his homework on the Acadia and he should be able to tell you what your options are for that car.

 

[caltex]

Dave, I have the M&G, had it on the first Tahoe and motorhome.  Liked the convenience, so I put it on the new Tahoe.  To install the brake unit requires about four inches clear space in front of the master cylinder.  If it will fit, once it's installed all you do to hook up is plug in the air hose. Basically, it's just a pressure cylinder in series with the master cylinder, driven by the air pressure from the coach.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Yes, I use a Brakemaster. Seems to work fine for the last 11k towing miles and I haven't heard of any "too sensitive" problems. I chose Brakemaster mostly because the coach was already equipped for it, so I only had to install the car side.  But its a solid, decent performing system and I am quite satisfied. Getting any wire or air line into the passenger cabin of an Acadia is a bit of a challenge cause I could not find any convenient opening in the firewall, but once I figured out  a place to make a hole (actually in the floor) it went easily enough.

M&G did not have a unit that would fit on the Acadia as of 4-5 months ago, but give them a call to see if anything has changed.

 

[sparetime]

Gary

Thanks for all the info you've given me over the past couple of weeks.
Looks like we will go with the Brakemaster.
The M & G requires the master cylinder to have 4-5 inches of clearance in front of it and as you know there is no room in the engine compartment to move it.

Thanks again

Dave

 

[sparetime]

Yes, I use a Brakemaster. Seems to work fine for the last 11k towing miles and I haven't heard of any "too sensitive" problems. I chose Brakemaster mostly because the coach was already equipped for it, so I only had to install the car side.  But its a solid, decent performing system and I am quite satisfied. Getting any wire or air line into the passenger cabin of an Acadia is a bit of a challenge cause I could not find any convenient opening in the firewall, but once I figured out  a place to make a hole (actually in the floor) it went easily enough.

M&G did not have a unit that would fit on the Acadia as of 4-5 months ago, but give them a call to see if anything has changed.

Gary

I have one more question for you.
As I said earlier we have decided to go with the Brakemaster. I called Roadmaster this morning to see if they had one in stock for the Acadia.
They said yes but asked if we had a power assist braking system. It seems like some of the new GM cars that have this system need a pressure reducer installed to avoid burning up the brakes on the toad.
Roadmaster didn't know if the Acadia or the Enclave had the assist system or not but they did say the Hummer H3 had it
Do you know if the Acadia has this new system and if you installed a pressure reducer on your Acadia?

Dave

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I guess I don't know what they mean by "power assist". Just about every car made in the last 20 +years has power brakes, so what is unique about this "power assist"?  I haven't installed anything but the standard Roadmaster Brakemaster  in mine.  Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but haven't seen any signs of it yet.  That doesn't mean I won't have to replace the car brakes prematurely or some such, but  I don't detect anything untoward from the toad when I apply the brakes.

 

[Tom]

Here's Roadmaster's explanation of the Brake pressure reducer.