Automakers are all the time trying to one-up one another by rising the towing capacity of their pickup vans, which has led General Motors to ponder a wild towing resolution.
GM just lately filed a patent software for a tow-assist device that reinforces a car’s towing capacity. Published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on March 21, 2023, however initially filed Oct. 21, 2019, the appliance is for a “tow assist system” primarily based round a wheeled booster unit that {couples} between the tow car and trailer.
The unit would have up to 4 wheels and {hardware} that permits it to couple with the hitches and a car and trailer. Patent drawings additionally present a fifth-wheel attachment for towing these kinds of trailers. By turning its personal wheels, the unit would complement the tow car, utilizing onboard sensors to decide how a lot energy to apply. It may additionally brake itself to help with trailer braking, in accordance to the patent software.
Electric motors would drive the tow-assist unit’s wheels, doubtlessly with one motor per wheel to simulate a differential by altering the quantity of energy going to every wheel. Traction shouldn’t be an issue as a result of the unit will carry most of a trailer’s tongue weight, GM notes within the patent software. The motors could be powered by an onboard battery pack, which may be configured to assist energy a trailer, and even assist cost the tow car through bidirectional charging, which GM is beginning to roll out in electrical vans just like the GMC Hummer EV. GM didn’t say how a lot horsepower or torque the unit may produce.
The tow help device may additionally make hooking up to a trailer simpler. It may transfer a trailer round by itself, or be guided utilizing a deal with, eliminating the necessity to reverse and line up with a hitch, the patent software states. While GM has not indicated manufacturing plans, this is able to give the automaker a solution to rival Ford’s driver-assist options for connecting a trailer.
An exterior unit like this offers drivers extra flexibility, GM claims. It envisions prospects utilizing the device to tow heavier hundreds than their autos would in any other case be able to. That eliminates the necessity to purchase a sure car only for occasional towing use, but it surely assumes drivers will take heed to what they tow. Increasing towing capacity an excessive amount of may put a load in a weight vary that requires a CDL, no matter what car the motive force is towing with.
HIGH-RES GALLERY: General Motors tow assist device patent image
This article was initially revealed by Motor Authority, an editorial companion of ClassicCars.com
