Came across this video today. When you consider the comments on towing capacities for the Model 3 that we occasionally make in this forum I think the attached video link is verging on the hilarious! These guys are clearly used to serious towing and they are obviously amazed by the Tesla. Of course it can't be remotely "legal" but what the heck ....
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Astonishing Canadian Towing!
- Thread starter Adopado
- Start date
MrBadger
Badger out
I guess they can also choose to fit a tow hitch that is capable of towing a larger load. We are stuck with the hitch supplied by Tesla and its weight limitations, iirc 1000/90/54kg; total/nose/bikes etc.
ACarneiro
Active Member
AndrewGR
Member
I don’t think the towed weight limit for the M3 has anything to do with the hitch. Similar hitches on other cars have much higher limits. May be something to do with the structure to which the hitch is attached - it would be good to know. I recall seeing a video of a model S towing 2 tons of boat trailer up a mountain pass in the US and overtaking between the hairpins. I’m sure that wasn’t an approved hitch either!
Glan gluaisne
Active Member
The limits are primarily related to EU Type Approval and the impact that towing has on other aspects of the car's behaviour and performance, and rarely a structural limit. I've run into this with other cars, where the US versions have a massively higher towing limit than the EU cars, despite having the same structure. Some of it seems to relate to differences in crash testing, but Toyota were clear that their restrictions were wholly related to fuel consumption when I tried to get more information. They claimed (no idea if it was wholly true) that if they allowed a tow hitch to be fitted to EU market vehicles then the impact of towing had to be included in the overall performance/efficiency testing. The Prius can be fitted with a hitch in the US, but not in the EU (except for two specific and limited exemptions, one in The Netherlands, one in Germany). The fitments are on the UK spec cars, and fitting the US hitch is a ten minute bolt on job, but as with the Tesla Model 3, there's an EU Type Approval problem that prevents the fitment of a hitch as an after market add-on.
My experience with getting hitches fitted to various cars over the years has been that things are massively more relaxed in the US, with after market receiver hitches being available for pretty much any car ever sold there. Very often cars that are sold here that cannot (legally) have a hitch fitted are fine with one in the US, plus the US load limits are a great deal higher. Many states in the US (not sure about Canada) require some form of registration/licensing for trailers and campers, and that often includes specified weight restrictions, both train weight and tongue weight. One interesting thing I discovered when exploring the legalities of fitting a hitch was that, despite the very much tighter EU Type Approval requirements, there aren't any fewer towing accidents here than there are in the US, in proportion to miles driven. It seems that we have this additional legislative burden for no really good reason.
My experience with getting hitches fitted to various cars over the years has been that things are massively more relaxed in the US, with after market receiver hitches being available for pretty much any car ever sold there. Very often cars that are sold here that cannot (legally) have a hitch fitted are fine with one in the US, plus the US load limits are a great deal higher. Many states in the US (not sure about Canada) require some form of registration/licensing for trailers and campers, and that often includes specified weight restrictions, both train weight and tongue weight. One interesting thing I discovered when exploring the legalities of fitting a hitch was that, despite the very much tighter EU Type Approval requirements, there aren't any fewer towing accidents here than there are in the US, in proportion to miles driven. It seems that we have this additional legislative burden for no really good reason.
Uncle Paul
Well-Known Member
MrBadger
Badger out
It still has a 54kg limit for unsupported accessories (such as bike racks) though.
Mr H
Active Member
The tow bar bolts directly to the same points as the rear crash bar on the rear valance. The weight limit is because of the structure of the mounting points, it has nothing to do with hitch capacity. This is why, in the video above, they’ve added bracing in the sub trunk.
Yes, they've clearly gone to town on making sure they have the best connection to the structure that's possible. Definitely a different proposition to the supplied tow bar/hitch. It does go to show how capable the AWD Model 3 is when that "upgrade" has been applied.
AndrewGR
Member
The 1.5 diesel Qashqai. 115 HP also has a tow bar which is only attached in place of the rear crash cross beam. It has a towing limit with a braked trailer of 1450kg. So why is the M3, clearly a much more capable tow car limited to 910/1000 kg? Perhaps they are worried that at maximum acceleration a heavy trailer will tear off the back of the car in a way that wouldn’t happen with less power?
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