Electric Tow ball

[hairysteve]

Purely out of curiosity, why did Tesla not make the tow ball to be an electric appliance like they have in my BMW X3.

No mess, no fuss, no removing panels, just a simple push button.

 

[JonB]

Cost / return perhaps. They don’t exactly advertise the tow bar, you have to special order it through the advisor and only on the Long Range (M3).

 

[otherslackjaw]

Cost / return perhaps. They don’t exactly advertise the tow bar, you have to special order it through the advisor and only on the Long Range (M3).

I've ordered a RWD with a tow ball. It means that I won't get the car until May though (ordered on NYD). I'm not sure about model Y's but there might not be any model 3's coming with a towball this quarter, something to do with the new Li-ion 12v battery needing a voltage converter for the towing electrics.

 

[Neilman]

Currently the only electrics on the tow hitch are for the trailer lamps - first 8 pins on the 13-pin plug.
No other pins are supported so no "ignition 12v" or "battery live 12v" available.

 

[Envchem]

Purely cost and the fact that with low towing capacity not many people will probably go for it. (limited use).

 

[Bouba]

I've ordered a RWD with a tow ball. It means that I won't get the car until May though (ordered on NYD). I'm not sure about model Y's but there might not be any model 3's coming with a towball this quarter, something to do with the new Li-ion 12v battery needing a voltage converter for the towing electrics.

Can you tell us what price you are being quoted for the towbar?
Originally I ordered one (€1500 IIRC) but because of the global chip shortage they couldn’t do it, so the plan was to retrofit it. But while it’s as easy to sign for a 55,500 car as it is for a 54,000 one, putting your hand in your pocket for an extra 1500 months later is not so easy....

 

[JonB]

I've ordered a RWD with a tow ball.

Fair enough - I thought this wasn't on the table due to less traction with 2WD than 4WD. Do you know what the towing weight limit is? On the LR it's 1000kg.

Can you tell us what price you are being quoted for the towbar?

I paid £1300 last Sept if that's any help.

 

[Rustybkts]

Purely cost and the fact that with low towing capacity not many people will probably go for it. (limited use).

I use the towing hitch on my SR+ almost every week for either trips to the local tip or longer jaunts picking up various items from Ebay etc, sometimes requiring a charge to get home.
One long trip was picking up a bulky object and with man maths I assumed there was plenty of charge to reach home after a rushed top up on a 50kW "Rapid" but as soon as I pulled away the "computer said no" and I stopped off for another top up at an SC closer to home.
It turned out that I did have plenty left at the end so the computer was just playing safe.
Range is hit a bit but not too much as you drive slower. Power though is barely affected and you can still burn away from a standstill!

To me it has paid for itself many times over.

 

[Rustybkts]

Fair enough - I thought this wasn't on the table due to less traction with 2WD than 4WD. Do you know what the towing weight limit is? On the LR it's 1000kg.

How much traction do you need? Towing weight is still 1000kg. Pity its not higher as with the MY which is a similar weight.

 

[Plagued]

Can you tell us what price you are being quoted for the towbar?
Originally I ordered one (€1500 IIRC) but because of the global chip shortage they couldn’t do it, so the plan was to retrofit it. But while it’s as easy to sign for a 55,500 car as it is for a 54,000 one, putting your hand in your pocket for an extra 1500 months later is not so easy....

i thought you couldn't retrofit as they didn't type approve cars without the tow bars from factory, or has that now changed?

 

[Envchem]

I use the towing hitch on my SR+ almost every week for either trips to the local tip or longer jaunts picking up various items from Ebay etc, sometimes requiring a charge to get home.
One long trip was picking up a bulky object and with man maths I assumed there was plenty of charge to reach home after a rushed top up on a 50kW "Rapid" but as soon as I pulled away the "computer said no" and I stopped off for another top up at an SC closer to home.
It turned out that I did have plenty left at the end so the computer was just playing safe.
Range is hit a bit but not too much as you drive slower. Power though is barely affected and you can still burn away from a standstill!

To me it has paid for itself many times over.

I have the towbar to be honest but never used it (got it freebie but that is a long story). Do you mind sharing what trailer you got? I am planning on some major pond rework this spring and it will come handy

 

[hairysteve]

I have the towbar to be honest but never used it (got it freebie but that is a long story). Do you mind sharing what trailer you got? I am planning on some major pond rework this spring and it will come handy

I know the question wasn't to me, but I have an Anssems GT 750 201 HT Trailer which I think is perfect in size and weight.

 

[otherslackjaw]

Fair enough - I thought this wasn't on the table due to less traction with 2WD than 4WD. Do you know what the towing weight limit is? On the LR it's 1000kg.

Tesla has this page but it doesn't actually list the towing limit, only the nose weight. Presumably, it is market/approval specific. Tesla Towing info

 

[otherslackjaw]

Can you tell us what price you are being quoted for the towbar?
Originally I ordered one (€1500 IIRC) but because of the global chip shortage they couldn’t do it, so the plan was to retrofit it. But while it’s as easy to sign for a 55,500 car as it is for a 54,000 one, putting your hand in your pocket for an extra 1500 months later is not so easy....

It has added £1300 to the cost of the car. It is extortionate compared to the towbars I've sourced and fitted myself in the past!

 

[otherslackjaw]

i thought you couldn't retrofit as they didn't type approve cars without the tow bars from factory, or has that now changed?

Could be a Model Y thing? It says on the UK ordering page: 'Tow hitch, High strength, Class II steel tow bar capable of towing up to 1,600 kg. Available for purchase after delivery.' The Model 3 makes no mention of it.

 

[JonB]

It has added £1300 to the cost of the car. It is extortionate compared to the towbars I've sourced and fitted myself in the past!

It's a bit higher than the norm - I fitted tow bars to two cars in the past, both came in around £1000 (fitted professionally with modules to inform the car that a trailer is attached).

 

[Adopado]

Fair enough - I thought this wasn't on the table due to less traction with 2WD than 4WD. Do you know what the towing weight limit is? On the LR it's 1000kg.

I tow with a M3 SR+ ... RWD is not an issue... 1000kg the same. You forget how much torque and how much traction you have in these cars! Admittedly I only tow a small trailer but even when loaded up it appears to have almost zero effect on the car's ability to pull away.

 

[Adopado]

I tow with a M3 SR+ ... RWD is not an issue... 1000kg the same. You forget how much torque and how much traction you have in these cars! Admittedly I only tow a small trailer but even when loaded up it appears to have almost zero effect on the car's ability to pull away.

After thought: I imagine that if you attached to a 20 tonne trailer the main problem on pulling away is that you might leave the chassis rail and tow hook behind if you were to press the throttle to the floor!

 

[Bouba]

i thought you couldn't retrofit as they didn't type approve cars without the tow bars from factory, or has that now changed?

I don’t know...only what I was told at the Tesla sales office...thinking about it, they didn’t tell many truths that day...

 

[Bouba]

Tesla has this page but it doesn't actually list the towing limit, only the nose weight. Presumably, it is market/approval specific. Tesla Towing info

This was my assumption as well...the rear shocks on a M3 are already under huge strain