2022 X class iii hitch receiver vertical wt limit

[Zuikkis]

According

Your statement appears to conflate maximum allowed tongue weight when hitched up to a trailer with maximum allowed vertical load with a bike rack attached. They are not the same thing. The forces involved are very different because the rack is entirely supported by the hitch and the trailer is primarily supported by its wheels.

Yes I understand the difference. But in EU the "tongue weight" usually is interpreted as "anything you can tighten on the round ball". No other car manufacturer has separate limit for bike rack.

I’m a bit puzzled about one thing; if EU regulations allow the X to tow a trailer up to 2250kg but do not allow the tongue weight to exceed 90kg, based on the widespread expert recommendation for tongue weight to be 10-15% of trailer weight that does not seem safe to me. If tongue weight is less than 10% of trailer weight there is a real risk of uncontrollable trailer sway.

That's interesting because in Europe the recommended tongue weight is 3-7%. I remember even in driving school they recommended to load the trailer so that the trailer is possible to lift to tow hook by hand; 90kg is already too heavy for that.

That “only difference” is to me the critical difference: as your photo makes clear, the US Bosal hitch design has a removable hitch receiver piece making the overall hitch two pieces whereas the EU hitch is a single piece with no “receiver”.

The US two piece design has an additional connection point such that the overall hitch flexes more under load. I suspect that is why the vertical load limit is lower.

I would like to emphasize that I am not an expert on the issue, I’m just trying to interpret and understand the information available to me as someone who tows a 2,000 lb trailer and uses a bike rack.

I was a big unclear in my original post. Tesla is trying to enforce the 54kg (120lbs) limit even in Europe. Owner's manual has the 54kg limit for bike racks, and 90kg (or 100kg in refresh) for tongue weight.

It's a bit weird..

 

[ecarfan]

That's interesting because in Europe the recommended tongue weight is 3-7%. I remember even in driving school they recommended to load the trailer so that the trailer is possible to lift to tow hook by hand; 90kg is already too heavy for that.

Wow, that is a surprise! Maybe the US is being overly cautious about the minimum required tongue weight. Interesting.

What about speed limits while towing in the EU? In the US it varies somewhat by state, but a common speed limit is 55mph/89kph (same in Canada). It is widely ignored, however…

I was a big unclear in my original post. Tesla is trying to enforce the 54kg (120lbs) limit even in Europe. Owner's manual has the 54kg limit for bike racks, and 90kg (or 100kg in refresh) for tongue weight.

Okay, thanks for clarifying.

It seems possible that Tesla as an American company simply does not fully understand the differences between the US and EU regulations.

 

[Wratran]

It's just physics fact...the weak link is the removable part...I dont understand the justification.

A welded connection will always be stronger than 3 spring loaded balls attachment

If a model X will come apart on a bump w a load of 200lbs (vertically)...then there's a bigger issue with the car design

 

[Zuikkis]

What about speed limits while towing in the EU? In the US it varies somewhat by state, but a common speed limit is 55mph/89kph (same in Canada). It is widely ignored, however…

At least here in Finland, a "light trailer" (750kg gross) has a speed limit of 100km/h. Heavier trailers have a speed limit of 80km/h, and must have their own brakes.

Also if the total gross weight of vehicle + heavy trailer is over 3500kg, you must have a special driver's license that includes trailer training. This is always the case with MX that has gross weight of 3070kg so any trailer above 750kg is over the limit.

The latter law makes caravan drivers prefer light weight cars that still allow big towing weights.. I'm not sure that's so good idea.

It seems possible that Tesla as an American company simply does not fully understand the differences between the US and EU regulations.

Yes. They also made the mistake (in my opinion) that only cars fitted with factory towing package have type approval for that. Cars without factory tow hitch have 0kg allowed towing weight, making retrofit difficult or impossible.

It must have cost them extra to have two separate type approvals, instead of just one.

In other brand cars it's common that cars come without tow hitch from the factory, but then the local dealer installs it if customer needs one. Much easier for everyone, no need to stock two types of cars etc.

 

[Zuikkis]

It's just physics fact...the weak link is the removable part...I dont understand the justification.

A welded connection will always be stronger than 3 spring loaded balls attachment

If a model X will come apart on a bump w a load of 200lbs (vertically)...then there's a bigger issue with the car design

Removable part is the weakest link, sure. But it's not THAT weak. And as you said, the car is not that weak either.

In Europe we have 3-bike racks in a Toyota Yaris, on a removable Bosal hitch...

Tesla being a performance car, they are probably worried on stability issues with heavy bike racks. Heavy bike rack makes the car front lighter, trying to lift front wheels of the ground.

Looking at current EU owners manual, they now specify 100kg tongue weight for MX LR but only 90kg for Plaid! Obviously Plaid isn't any weaker, but it is perhaps a bit rear heavy (one extra motor) and the faster acceleration already makes front end lighter..

 

[Wratran]

If a bike rack fully loaded lift the front of the car...there obvious design flaw...ridiculous assumption!!!!

 

[Zuikkis]

If a bike rack fully loaded lift the front of the car...there obvious design flaw...ridiculous assumption!!!!

The front wheels are already barely touching the ground on Ludicrous and Plaid models during launch. Add an overloaded bike rack and you suddenly have a wheelie bar like in real dragsters..

 

[Zuikkis]

BTW, one more data point to this endless saga.

Euro Tesla Model Y has similar Bosal / Oris hitch, but the mounting is angle is rotated 90 degrees so it's much easier to install. Just open a cover in the bumper and plug it in from the rear. Here's a picture, copied from elsewhere in this forum:

This is interesting design, as it obviously relies entirely on the ball locking mechanism in the towing direction. Full trailer weight is hanging on those three small balls when accelerating (perhaps uphill) with a heavy trailer. Tesla specifies max tongue weight of 160kg and max bike rack of 72kg, which both are considerably higher values than for Model X.

Towing weight for Model Y is only 1600kg, but it's probably not because of the hitch but because MY is a lighter car. Max tongue weight is 160kg (in Europe) and max bike rack 72kg, which both are considerably higher values than for Model X.

 

[Zuikkis]

Also, here's some links to similar Oris hitches for other car models, claiming 140kg or 120kg vertical load ( bike rack limit).

Oris towbar detachable - VW TRANSPORTER T6 Van year of make 01.20- | RAMEDER

Oris towbar for VW TRANSPORTER T6 Van ] at top price. Buy towbar detachable Towball inserted from below for your VW TRANSPORTER T6 Van now.

www.rameder.eu

https://www.auto-doc.ie/bosal/7617482

Even one for Model 3, with 100kg vertical load:

Oris towbar detachable - TESLA MODEL 3 year of make 01.17- | RAMEDER

Oris towbar for TESLA MODEL 3 ] at top price. Buy towbar detachable Towball inserted from below for your TESLA MODEL 3 now.

www.rameder.eu

And, guess what, the Model 3 removable part looks suprisingly similar to Model X part. They are the same. So in Model 3 the same removable hitch supports 100kg but in Model X only 54kg?

You can probably twist and turn this over and over again, but in my opinion it is quite obvious that the 54kg / 120lbs bike rack limit does not come from hitch design, it is a limitation created by Tesla. It does not change if you switch to other brand hitch.

There's even this kind of disclaimer in most of the above links: "the maximum vertical load depends on the vehicle manufacturer and may be lower"

So even if hitch manufacturer promises 100kg, if that conflicts with vehicle manufacturers specification then the lower will apply. So whatever hitch you install, 54kg is the limit on Model X.

 

[Wratran]

It's funny this zuikkis guy suddenly an engineering expert....this is the guy that argue a weld connection vs spring loaded ball attachment

 

[Zuikkis]

@Wratran I never said removable would be "stronger" than welded, just that removable hitch doesn't justify or explain the 120lbs limit.

One more data point, although I do understand that this is increasingly out of interest for most readers.

Model Y has welded 2" hitch in the US:

Then the euro model uses the typical bosal removable style:

Installed in car side by side:

All images shamelessly stolen from this thread: Questions About Model Y vs. Model X Tow Hitch

Anyway. With US version being "heavy duty" 2" welded receiver, and Euro version the "weaker" removable Bosal, how are the specified weights?

	Towing weight	Tongue weight	Max vertical load (Bike rack)
Euro	1600kg (3500lbs)	160kg (350lbs)	72kg (160lbs)
US	1600kg (3500lbs)	160kg (350lbs)	72kg (160lbs)

(values taken from owners manual)

So, my original statement "Model X 120lbs bike rack limit comes from Tesla, not hitch manufacturer" still stands. You are free to buy expensive aftermarket part it won't change anything. However if you want to take the chance and ignore the limit, mechanically you should be safe as Bosal specifies 100kg (220lbs) even for the removable hitch...

 

[fridayloco]

Thanks for sharing so much insights, @Zuikkis! I have read a bunch of posts related to Model X's 120lbs vertical towing limit, this one is probably the most informative one! I think it makes sense that the limit comes from the car not the hitch.

Sharing some of my thoughts on why the vertical load capacity is so low:

• Model X doesn't have an engine in the front like most of the combustion engines, so the weight distribution changes more significantly when there's weight from the extended lever on the hitch. Additionally, unlike towing a trailer, bike racks doesn't have additional wheels so theoretically it could lift up the front of the car if it's heavy enough, whereas towing a trailer would just make it like a 3 axle vehicle and won't tip over (not an expert, pure guess). So maybe the low vertical load limit is not caused by the structure strength of the car, rather than a safe guard to prevent losing the front grip at high speed or turning.
• Regarding the 120lbs limit for Model X vs the 160lbs limit for Model Y, I guess it's because the Model X hitch sticks out farther from the rear of the car so it creates a higher leveraged effect compared with Model Y. On Tesla's website, it says "up to 120 lbs (54 kg) when the load is cantilevered rearward within 24 inches". So if Model X's hitch receiver sticks out 6 inches more than Model Y, then the level is almost 25% longer to the rear wheelbase hence the weight limit is lower. However, the arms of the Tesla's hanging bike rack is longer than 24 inches from the hitch receiver (I don't remember exactly, it's about ~40 inch), so I don't think that 120lbs or 160lbs number is super strict.

 

[mswlogo]

The X has a 50-50 weight distribution and is not prone to lifting front wheels from the hitch any more than others.

It’s the hitch that can’t deal with lever effect.

Many vehicles require a weight redistribution hitch when trailer is over a certain weight. The X doesn’t (even though it’s a probably a good idea).

Maybe because it can accelerate so fast it could lift the front