carry a hitch receiver in case of rearwards tow?

[specialgreen]

I have a tow hitch. I believe the manual says that for Ys with hitch, you can't use the Tow Eye in the rear bumper, but must use the tow hitch instead. It seems like it would be hard to hook a tow truck winch hook into that, especially without scratching-up the bumper. (?)

People with rear hitch, do you have a plan for what you'd do if you needed a rearwards tow (e.g.: you parked nose-in due to angle parking, pointed downhill, and need to be pulled backwards to get onto a flatbed towtruck) ? I was wondering if it would be worth it to carry something like the Harbor Freight "D Shackle Receiver Hitch" in the frunk, as a "rear tow eye".

Or just refuse to angle-park and always park nose-out. Or pretend it's a Mach-E (which has no approved rear tow points).

 

[ShakataGaNai]

There are lots of cars that don't have an easy way to tow from the rear. Never fear, tow truck drivers have got it figured out. If it's the smaller wrecker style truck with the rear T bar they just drop that down, back it under the rear axel of your car, secure car and pull. No big deal.

 

[Yelobird]

You can’t tow or T bar a Tesla period. There is a tow eye in the front and rear under cap used to pull it onto a flat bed. Towing like a regular car over a few miles per hour will kill the motors. Tow hitch has nothing to do with towing.

 

[specialgreen]

You can’t tow or T bar a Tesla period. There is a tow eye in the front and rear under cap used to pull it onto a flat bed.

Sorry, I should have said "rearwards winch", such as if you spun-out on ice and ended-up nose in to the ditch and the tow truck needs to drag you out of the ditch before loading.

But if you have a tow hitch, you may want to reread the manual. The rear tow eye is not available for some reason(?).

Note: Vehicles equipped with a hitch receiver cannot be pulled from the rear tow eye. Use the tow bar or hitch receiver only...

I have no idea why the rear tow eye can't or shouldn't be used. It sounds like they expect the tow truck to hook the winch up directly to the loops on the side of the receiver (which is a pretty tight space... it's hard to even get trailer safety chains in there without scratching the bumper). I was asking if there is actually a good way (safe, no paint damage) to do that, or do people pack something like this in their roadside emergency kit:

 

[thesmokingman]

You can’t tow or T bar a Tesla period. There is a tow eye in the front and rear under cap used to pull it onto a flat bed. Towing like a regular car over a few miles per hour will kill the motors. Tow hitch has nothing to do with towing.

Where ever did you get this idea from???

 

[thesmokingman]

View attachment 777605

That looks the part but given the tongue weight isn't very high there's the limit to how much you can pull on the hitch.

 

[specialgreen]

Where ever did you get this idea from???

Yeah, being pulled is no different from rolling down a steep hill (like westbound I-84 near Pendleton OR). However, unless Neutral proves a clutch to decouple the motor/generator, being pulled will transfer energy into the car. So I think the car needs to be in a state where the energy goes into the battery. If (for example) a contactor to the battery is open, then I think it would all end-up as heat.

 

[thesmokingman]

Yeah, being pulled is no different from rolling down a steep hill (like westbound I-84 near Pendleton OR). However, unless Neutral proves a clutch to decouple the motor/generator, being pulled will transfer energy into the car. So I think the car needs to be in a state where the energy goes into the battery. If (for example) a contactor to the battery is open, then I think it would all end-up as heat.

Don't over think it. its not that complicated. Put it in D, to regen while being towed. Its that simple.

 

[imola.zhp]

But if you have a tow hitch, you may want to reread the manual. The rear tow eye is not available for some reason(?).

I have no idea why the rear tow eye can't or shouldn't be used. It sounds like they expect the tow truck to hook the winch up directly to the loops on the side of the receiver (which is a pretty tight space... it's hard to even get trailer safety chains in there without scratching the bumper). I was asking if there is actually a good way (safe, no paint damage) to do that, or do people pack something like this in their roadside emergency kit:

View attachment 777605

If you think you would benefit from carrying around this item in case you need a tow from the rear, then buy it. I carry roadside items in a bag that I keep in the frunk. I don't currently carry something like this but after reading this post I might.

The rear towing eye must be blocked by the hitch, which is unfortunate, but good to know.