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$300 Hitch
- Thread starter Tampa911
- Start date
I'll jump in here and provide some more info since it looks like I have a similar setup to what Arrrse7enfold has and my purpose of the receiver is for a bike rack only. I received my EcoHitch from Torklift a couple weeks ago planning to do the install myself. I'm comfortable working on cars, building things, DIY projects, etc. Video didn't seem too involved to me, but I will say that I felt the actual install was a bit more involved than what the video leads you to believe (in my opinion). I get the sense they had things pretty well prepped ahead of time in that video. Getting the tail lights off were a pain - different setup than the M3 where you just have to pull back some soft liner to get at the bolts. The Y has hard plastic you have pry back making it hard to get at the bolts. And then you hope you don't drop one down into the deep well below! I then ran into a stripped under bolt (stripped from the factory apparently) which was a pain to deal with. Got as far as removing the bumper and that's when I threw in the towel - couldn't figure out how to unclip the whole thing and got a bit nervous after multiple attempts at bending it awkwardly. I'm lucky that I live about 25 miles north of Torklift, so I just packed it up, bolted it back on so it wouldn't fall off and took it to Torklift to finish up. Was in and out in about an hour, no issues. If you do attempt yourself, make sure you have a good set of trim/molding removal tools - the wheel fenders were a bit tricky to pry off!
End result looks great - really happy with the hitch itself and the work Torklift did. One thing I noticed is that with my Kuat rack in the folded up position, backup sensors go crazy as others mention. Also, when driving, red indicators are always on (see pics). I haven't tried it with the rack down or with a bike on it yet - that's tomorrow's project. Either way, it doesn't bother me all that much. It does raise the question of if they'll eventually implement some sort of "bike rack" button you can press that just disables the sensor warnings when attached - I don't really need the whole "trailer mode" as this is only for the bike rack. I have to imagine trailer mode may do more than just disable sensors? Either way, I'm good with it and very happy. I definitely didn't need to go the factory Tesla route for my needs.
End result looks great - really happy with the hitch itself and the work Torklift did. One thing I noticed is that with my Kuat rack in the folded up position, backup sensors go crazy as others mention. Also, when driving, red indicators are always on (see pics). I haven't tried it with the rack down or with a bike on it yet - that's tomorrow's project. Either way, it doesn't bother me all that much. It does raise the question of if they'll eventually implement some sort of "bike rack" button you can press that just disables the sensor warnings when attached - I don't really need the whole "trailer mode" as this is only for the bike rack. I have to imagine trailer mode may do more than just disable sensors? Either way, I'm good with it and very happy. I definitely didn't need to go the factory Tesla route for my needs.
Oh, I should mention that I skipped adding the whole weird looking handle/magnet thing to the knock-out panel. I'm fine with leaving the panel off for the most part (I'll probably have the rack attached most of the time anyway). And I can always attach the panel and just use a thin tool to remove when needed - it's not hard. I kept the parts if I ever decide to drill holes in the knockout and add the handle thing. I'm kind of waiting to see how Tesla handles this with their factory installs - maybe they'll have an option that works/looks slightly better than the one that comes with the EcoHitch.
kazkioken
Member
got mine installed yesterday...nothing new to add, that magnet is hardcore! it's great, shopping for two hitches now
kazkioken
Member
oh I have a shop that takes care of my track cars, Dynamic Racing Solutions...they did it for me took 3 hours? something like that, they go slow and careful usually. They're a full race fabricator they build and maintain race cars but do regular maintenance stuff too...I like their attention to detail
Taber
Model Y charged via the sun.
Received mine a week ago and installed it myself in about 2 hours. I did have a spun bolt in the plastic tub, but it was forward and didn't have to be removed to pull the bumper. This is a problem Tesla needs to fix. Anyway, here is a 1up single tray on the Model Y with one of the bikes I manufacture. You can open the hatch with the single tray without lowering it.
Taber
Model Y charged via the sun.
Here is the 2 tray and the 3 tray on the Model Y as well, so you can judge what you want to run.
Taber
Model Y charged via the sun.
No, You will have to lower them 45 deg. when you have more than 1 tray on, or the 2 tray base.
Taber
Model Y charged via the sun.
I think all of us may need to request a software update from Tesla to add a bike rack mode button on the screen to cancel out the annoying message that causes issues with Autopilot while driving. When the rack is in the up position, a message sometimes pops up saying the sensors are blocked, and autopilot has limited functionality.
This is the one sole reason I haven't pulled the trigger on an aftermarket hitch just yet. I want to wait and see what the Tesla hitch offers. If Tesla comes out and says "our hitch option includes "hitch mode" which will let the rear sensors know you have a bike rack on" AND that software is not available to add if you have a 3rd party hitch, well then unfortunately that would have me sold on the Tesla hitch.
Taber
Model Y charged via the sun.
Interestingly, I don't think the trailering mode would do that anyway with the factory hitch, and here is why. I own a Chevy Silverado with trailering mode built in. This means it has an integrated trailer brake and a 7 pin connector built in. The backup camera has a mode for backing up to the trailer hitch, and there is a dedicated button on the tranny stalk for engaging the trailering mode. Once pressed, this changes the throttle, transmission, and braking parameters. It also brings up the trailer brake bias controls on the screen and disable warnings from the rear sensors and cameras. However, when I put the rack on the back of the truck it sends up very similar warnings to the Tesla. If I engage trailering, they still don't go away because it doesn't sense the trailer wiring plug.
