Has anyone in the uk installed a tow bar on their s?

[douhgboy]

I have ordered a 90d, and would like to put a tow bar on it. For occasional light towing, but also for bike racks instead of roof mounting. Has anyone in the uk done this, and if so who did it for you / what make of towbar did you fit?
Also - a trailer or bikes will trigger the sonar sensors on the rear bumper. Does this mean autopilot can't be used when towing or carrying bikes?
Thanks.

 

[Andyw2100]

I have ordered a 90d, and would like to put a tow bar on it. For occasional light towing, but also for bike racks instead of roof mounting. Has anyone in the uk done this, and if so who did it for you / what make of towbar did you fit?
Also - a trailer or bikes will trigger the sonar sensors on the rear bumper. Does this mean autopilot can't be used when towing or carrying bikes?
Thanks.

You may want to check the following site. I know a lot of Tesla owners use their products.

Torklift Central | Home Page

 

[WannabeOwner]

Bjørn has some useful videos about towing (that's on his MX). You might have to wade through his interesting, but lengthy, Road Trip videos to get the "meat", but he also has videos specifically about the trailers he has tried.

Bjørn Nyland - trailers

Don't think I've seen anything like a bike trailer though, but he did put them on the roof of his MS

Bjørn Nyland - bikes

 

[archiveking]

You cannot put a towbar on the MS in the EU. The frame of the car is aluminium and not designed for towing. The insurers here have decreed that the risk is too great for them and your policy will be voided if a claim is made. TM do not offer one and the aftermarket fit is deemed to void the maker's warranty.

Lots of people moving to MX so they can have full towing capabilities. There are 100's of comments in the forums on this subject.

 

[DJP31]

You cannot put a towbar on the MS in the EU. The frame of the car is aluminium and not designed for towing. The insurers here have decreed that the risk is too great for them and your policy will be voided if a claim is made. TM do not offer one and the aftermarket fit is deemed to void the maker's warranty.

Lots of people moving to MX so they can have full towing capabilities. There are 100's of comments in the forums on this subject.

When I read the post it immediately set alarm bells ringing about the S and tow bars. I searched and couldn't find anything but was obviously only hitting US internet stuff so thought I'd gone mad (still entirely possible ).

 

[douhgboy]

You cannot put a towbar on the MS in the EU. The frame of the car is aluminium and not designed for towing. The insurers here have decreed that the risk is too great for them and your policy will be voided if a claim is made. TM do not offer one and the aftermarket fit is deemed to void the maker's warranty.

Lots of people moving to MX so they can have full towing capabilities. There are 100's of comments in the forums on this subject.

I'd better find those comments then. it does seem that lots of people have done this, and I'd be surprised if they all knowingly forfeited their tesla warranty as a result. Attitude of an insurer is a different matter of course. I'd still like to hear from someone in the uk who has attempted to fit a tow bar. Anyone?

 

[archiveking]

I asked back in 2014 - was going to bring the Torklift across to the UK. They wouldn't ship it to the UK and TM confirmed that to me at that time it would make the car uninsurable - the car is not designed to have heavy weights suspended off aluminium. The Insurance companies didn't like the idea of a rack wth 4 bikes coming off the back of MS in the fast lane of the M25 for some reason. They pointed me to their roof mounted bike rack. Understandable ? I think there are people who have gone ahead with the Torklift across the channel but never heard of anyone running the risk here in the UK. For me the risk wasn't to my lovely car but to other road users should there be a catastrophic failure.

 

[douhgboy]

It seems the issue is one of regulation and liability, rather than physical capability of the car. There are plenty of folk in the us who have successfully fitted a towbar, and the s does just fine. It hasn't affected their tesla warranties either, since tesla would have to prove that the modification was the cause of the defect. Tesla would have a hard time refusing warranty work to (say) the pano roof just because a hitch had been fitted.
I'd have absolutely no concerns that I was jeopardising my car or anyone else by downing modest towing with a well built towbar. But it seems that the car and the towbar must have 'type approval' in the eu, otherwise we are breaking the law and potentially giving our insurers a get-out in the event of a claim.

Still, there must be some uk drivers who have fitted a towbar regardless, and it would be interesting to speak to them - even privately! Particularly with regard to the question of whether using a hitch to mount a bike rack constitutes towing in the eyes of the law....

 

[S__B]

I saw on one of the other threads that Tesla can fit the tow bar to Model X's post production:

Confirmation - you can add accessory or towing package after delivery

Not sure if this is possible with the Model S as well?

 

[CookieUK]

I imported a Torklift X7201 1.25" EcoHitch Stealth bar from the states.www.torkliftcentral.com Being aware of the fear that the cars warranty maybe affected by towing, i was not concerned as my ONLY application is to carry 2x EMTBs.However the issue of insurance is now a concern I will check with Admiral Multi Car.
I had the Frame for the bar fitted by GT Towing in Hertfordshire,www.gttowing.co.uk £180.00 they did a good job for a fair price given it was thier first ever Tesla install but were unwilling to connect the electrics for reasons i could not comprehend, but given the application and the fact that the rear lights of the car can be seen anyway i was not concerned. I had not appreciated that the kit i bought did NOT include a Ball mount bracket, ( apparently because users need to chose the drop or lift length of the Ball Mount) so i now have a square receiver tube protruding and am awaiting delivery of the Curt 45017 Ball mount for 1 1/4 receiver, which again i had to buy from the US. There is a clever plate which covers the square tube female, IF you are prepared to get down with a spanner and remove the end of the square tube, being American i did not have the appropriate sized ratchet spanner which maight make the job less of a pain. I will probably not bother to remove it every time but will decide when i get the Ball Mount and the right spanner to fit the 1-1/4" basic receiver tube with a ball hole of 3/4" - I have the ball.

 

[pbrichardson99]

I know this is an old post, but for the record, I've just checked with our insurer, LV, and they said they would very happily insure our Model S after we fit a tow bar. So I'm going to enquire at GT Towing now about whether they're happy to install another. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JKCOOKIE]

It all went fine, except the local workshop/ installer was not keen on installing the rear lights of the bike carrier i use. ( I do not tow) also the general US method is not great for carrying 2 x 22kilo EMTBs as they are not an exact fit between the male and female tube in their designs - the .5 mm play on all 4 sides caused the EMTBs to rock too much so i had the Male and female welded. and now its rock solid.
Its difficult to explain without a picture.

 

[kort677]

this is what you'd need. I don't know if they'll export to the UK
2012-2017 Tesla Model S EcoHitch Stealth

 

[pcharles]

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[DJP31]

The S doesn't have European type approval for a tow bar, and I certainly wouldn't take the word of an LV insurance representative.

The above screen shot from the UK manual, page 161.

 

[pbrichardson99]

View attachment 243018

The S doesn't have European type approval for a tow bar, and I certainly wouldn't take the word of an LV insurance representative.

The above screen shot from the UK manual, page 161.

Thanks for sharing that, though I was already aware of Tesla's official position; unofficially, they're fairly ambivalent as you'll see from the post by Tesla above. I didn't just take the word of the LV sales rep, I got them to send over a quote that specified the modification of adding a non-manufacturers towbar. I think I've covered all bases, and given that the utility of a Tesla Model S is SO much greater to us if we can mount a bike rack or pull a small trailer, I'm going to go ahead. If you check out US threads on this subject you'll find that loads of people have added the EcoHitch.

 

[pbrichardson99]

Thanks for sharing that, though I was already aware of Tesla's official position; unofficially, they're fairly ambivalent as you'll see from the post by Tesla above. I didn't just take the word of the LV sales rep, I got them to send over a quote that specified the modification of adding a non-manufacturers towbar. I think I've covered all bases, and given that the utility of a Tesla Model S is SO much greater to us if we can mount a bike rack or pull a small trailer, I'm going to go ahead. If you check out US threads on this subject you'll find that loads of people have added the EcoHitch.

Sorry, I've just realised that that wasn't Tesla posting the link to the EcoHitch, nevertheless in the US, Tesla give TorkLift stand space at their exhibitions to display the EcoHitch.

 

[DJP31]

Thanks for sharing that, though I was already aware of Tesla's official position; unofficially, they're fairly ambivalent as you'll see from the post by Tesla above. I didn't just take the word of the LV sales rep, I got them to send over a quote that specified the modification of adding a non-manufacturers towbar. I think I've covered all bases, and given that the utility of a Tesla Model S is SO much greater to us if we can mount a bike rack or pull a small trailer, I'm going to go ahead. If you check out US threads on this subject you'll find that loads of people have added the EcoHitch.

It's not just the non OEM towbar though, the car doesn't have European type approval to tow. Presumably they know that too? I wonder why it seems to be ok to tow in the US but not here?

 

[cantanko]

EU Directive 94/20/EC: Long story short: In the U.K, with effect from 1st August 1998 all Passenger Carrying Vehicles up to 3500kgs Gross Vehicle Weight (M1 Vehicles) can only be fitted with European Type Approved towbars if the vehicle has received European Whole Vehicle Type Approval.

The Model S is type-approved, and hence my reading of this is that in order to keep its European type-approval status it needs to be fitted with a European type-approved tow hitch. Voiding the type approval would in turn void your insurance and, if you're being strict about it, would mean your vehicle needs an SVA and modified vehicle insurance. I think. Corrections welcome!

 

[dmuff]

What about post Brexit...?!