Is a 4-bike rack for Model X doable?

[luvacoustic]

I’ve used the 1up tray system and Yakima FullTilt for up to 5 bikes. The 1up system is very long and I felt so uncomfortable with 5 bikes on it after 10 miles that I pulled over and put the 20in kids bike and removed the tray and put them both inside the car. After we got home that evening, I ordered the Yakima FullTilt which is much lighter and the weight is much closer to the hitch rather than several feet out. We’ve gone 1,800 miles with 4-5 bikes on the Yakima and I’ve never felt uncomfortable with it (4 bikes and the rack weigh 132lbs and the 20in bike goes in the trunk).
The 1up with 3 or more trays felt heavy and really changed the weight distribution of the car - even with 6 people inside. Also, I averaged close to 400w/m over about 40miles before I took it off vs 345w/m with the Yakima.
Bonus with the Yakima, you can open the trunk without removing the bikes or even tilting the rack down - there’s two inches of clearance when it’s fully loaded.
My vote is a lighter system like the Yakima that also doesn’t stick out so far - it’ll put less torque and stress on the hitch and also not use as much wattage. Perhaps due to aerodynamics?

 

[greenboy]

I’ve used the 1up tray system and Yakima FullTilt for up to 5 bikes. The 1up system is very long and I felt so uncomfortable with 5 bikes on it after 10 miles that I pulled over and put the 20in kids bike and removed the tray and put them both inside the car. After we got home that evening, I ordered the Yakima FullTilt which is much lighter and the weight is much closer to the hitch rather than several feet out. We’ve gone 1,800 miles with 4-5 bikes on the Yakima and I’ve never felt uncomfortable with it (4 bikes and the rack weigh 132lbs and the 20in bike goes in the trunk).
The 1up with 3 or more trays felt heavy and really changed the weight distribution of the car - even with 6 people inside. Also, I averaged close to 400w/m over about 40miles before I took it off vs 345w/m with the Yakima.
Bonus with the Yakima, you can open the trunk without removing the bikes or even tilting the rack down - there’s two inches of clearance when it’s fully loaded.
My vote is a lighter system like the Yakima that also doesn’t stick out so far - it’ll put less torque and stress on the hitch and also not use as much wattage. Perhaps due to aerodynamics?

That's really helpful. Is that a 4-bike or a 5-bike Yakima?

 

[luvacoustic]

It’s a Yakima FullTilt 5 that holds up to 5. If you use 5, I’d aim for as close to 20lbs each as you can get, heaviest closest to the car.

 

[greenboy]

It’s a Yakima FullTilt 5 that holds up to 5. If you use 5, I’d aim for as close to 20lbs each as you can get, heaviest closest to the car.

Thanks. Only 4 bikes here but heard it could get pretty tight on 4-bike rack with 4 bikes.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Thanks. Only 4 bikes here but heard it could get pretty tight on 4-bike rack with 4 bikes.

Yeah, we had the Yakima FullSwing 4 for a couple weeks. It was a nice rack but with our large e-bike, we were barely able to fit 2 bikes on it. We changed to the Thule T2 Pro XT 2 and got the T2 Pro XT Add-on. This lets you have a 2 bike rack or extend it to be a 4 bike rack. It's definitely a lot larger than the Yakima but is so much easier to load and there's no problem fitting 4 bikes. With the Yakima, it took us several minutes to load the e-bike and required the purchase of an additional part (TubeTop). With the Thule, we can load a bike in less than 15 seconds.

 

[gigawatt1010]

Hey Erik, any concerns on the tongue weight that's been talked about on the other thread?

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Hey Erik, any concerns on the tongue weight that's been talked about on the other thread?

Good news is that the Model Y tow hitch information was updated to show 350 pound tongue weight and 3500 pound tow weight, no matter what wheel size. I'm surprised the Model X information hasn't been updated yet as I would think it would have a 500
pound tongue weight instead of 120 pounds as mentioned previously in this thread.

BTW, this is actually David, not Erik.

 

[greenboy]

Good news is that the Model Y tow hitch information was updated to show 350 pound tongue weight and 3500 pound tow weight, no matter what wheel size. I'm surprised the Model X information hasn't been updated yet as I would think it would have a 500
pound tongue weight instead of 120 pounds as mentioned previously in this thread.

BTW, this is actually David, not Erik.

I suspect the Model X vertical weight constraint comes from hitch set up. On the X the hitch receiver is an accessory that attaches vertically into the car. On the Y the receiver is more traditionally mounted directly unto the frame.

 

[gigawatt1010]

Good news is that the Model Y tow hitch information was updated to show 350 pound tongue weight and 3500 pound tow weight, no matter what wheel size. I'm surprised the Model X information hasn't been updated yet as I would think it would have a 500
pound tongue weight instead of 120 pounds as mentioned previously in this thread.

BTW, this is actually David, not Erik.

Ha! Thanks, here I am pretending like I know. I enjoy your vids - please keep up the great work!

 

[JAM3S]

Yeah, we had the Yakima FullSwing 4 for a couple weeks. It was a nice rack but with our large e-bike, we were barely able to fit 2 bikes on it. We changed to the Thule T2 Pro XT 2 and got the T2 Pro XT Add-on. This lets you have a 2 bike rack or extend it to be a 4 bike rack. It's definitely a lot larger than the Yakima but is so much easier to load and there's no problem fitting 4 bikes. With the Yakima, it took us several minutes to load the e-bike and required the purchase of an additional part (TubeTop). With the Thule, we can load a bike in less than 15 seconds.

Hi,
Any updates on this setup since last year?
Seems well in excess of the bizarre Tesla hitch specifications. But it inline with the Yakima HoldUp EVO 4 bike platform rack I already own and used with my X5.

cheers

 

[snorp]

I use the Allen 4 bike rack mentioned in a previous post. It weighs 20-22 lbs, I forget, but I did weigh it on a scale. Easily hauled 4 kid bikes and stayed under/at 120 lbs.

An added benefit is I was able to back into every supercharger stall with this rack loaded with 4 bikes and never had a problem with clearance. I did have the wife get out and wave me back as far as I could go. Stopped a couple inches from the signs and no stress on the supercharger cable.

 

[Jlindo]

This rack.

I also have the Yakima SwingDaddy on my X. I will say that I really struggle to get 4 bikes on there, though. Three is doable, four requires a good amount of finagling....

I've been looking at the Kuat, but that is a beast.

 

[Zorg]

The top tube holders are usually awkward and can easily damage the bikes as they dangle close to each other. They also mostly don't work too well for full suspension MTBs. I only use a tray style rack (one up USA).

 

[JAM3S]

Mine is a Y, but I think I’ve found the best solution for the X & Y hitch capacity challenge for bike lovers.

The Saris SuperClamp EX 4.

True rack sits super close to the car and the bikes sit closer also and it weighs 30-40% less than other 4 bike platform racks. Greatly reducing the torque on the Tesla hitch.
It folds up so low it can’t be seen through the rear window. So close in fact one of the Shepard arms needs to be folded out - pictured sticking out wide of the rear bumper ~1”

 

[gigawatt1010]

I forgot that I posted on this thread a while back. Anyway, thought I'd update everyone with the rack I selected for carrying around our eBikes, which are obviously heavier than regular bikes. I had a 4-bike carrier from Yakima that was good for regular bikes, but was too much for the eBikes that we had since the bikes are literraly hanging from it. I could put one eBike and another regular bike, but that's as much as I'm comfortable with.

Then I found this KAC bike rack from Amazon, which is more like a tray.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D94B52G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It had great reviews and met my weight requirements so I gave it a shot.

The rack pulls down in an angle so you can open your trunk without taking off the bikes (at least on a Model X), It's also not too far and yet not too close from the car.

The bikes don't stick out from the width of the Model X.

I currently have two trays for two Super73 eBikes, the pink one is about 50lbs and the blue one is about 60lbs. There's an optional add-on tray, but I'm not sure what that will do to the toungue weight and besides we rarely carry more than 2 eBikes anyway. The boosted board can fit inside the car. We took a 5 hour drive to Cape Cod last fall and it carried the two eBikes without any issues and it's a pretty snug fit.

If you're looking for a solution to carry eBikes with your Tesla, I can vouch for that bike rack. Hit me up if you have any questions.

 

[HyperionMark]

I'm looking to get a 1UP bike rack for our ebikes. Anyone tried those yet?

 

[Zorg]

I'm looking to get a 1UP bike rack for our ebikes. Anyone tried those yet?

I've had a 1UP bike rack for a long time. They're well made (in the US) and have great customer service. I don't have an ebike, but you can check the weight carrying specs on the website.

 

[LRtoMY]

Yeah, we had the Yakima FullSwing 4 for a couple weeks. It was a nice rack but with our large e-bike, we were barely able to fit 2 bikes on it. We changed to the Thule T2 Pro XT 2 and got the T2 Pro XT Add-on. This lets you have a 2 bike rack or extend it to be a 4 bike rack. It's definitely a lot larger than the Yakima but is so much easier to load and there's no problem fitting 4 bikes. With the Yakima, it took us several minutes to load the e-bike and required the purchase of an additional part (TubeTop). With the Thule, we can load a bike in less than 15 seconds.

Hi Dave,

I am waiting for my MY but looking forward to installing a 4 bike rack system like you have here. How is the drive with the 4 bikes all loaded? Do you feel comfortable taking on a long road trips? Thanks for sharing.

Jack

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Hi Dave,

I am waiting for my MY but looking forward to installing a 4 bike rack system like you have here. How is the drive with the 4 bikes all loaded? Do you feel comfortable taking on a long road trips? Thanks for sharing.

Jack

I can't recall if I've ridden in it with 4 bikes on the rack. I will check with Erik and see if we can load it up for a test ride one of these weekends. Unfortunately, I have only done one road trip since 2019 and that was when bringing the Y back from California and we didn't have the bike rack installed. Now that things are opening back up, hopefully we'll be able to take it to Vail or Glenwood Springs and try it out.

 

[LRtoMY]

I would greatly appreciate that. It seems like the T2 Pro is the way to go but just wanted to learn some real world experience carrying 4 bikes. Thanks.