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Model S Trailer Hitch Installation
- Thread starter antdun
- Start date
I think the seat sensor enabling park is only when your seatbelt is off. If you were to latch the seatbelt behind you then you probably should be able to do that for backing your boat in. I noticed that seemed to work for me when I used to take off my seatbelt to pull out my wallet from my back pocket and it would enable park on me but now if I leave my seatbelt on and just pull out extra slack in the seatbelt before I lift myself off the seat to get my wallet it no longer does.
I used to always turn around in my seat. But the view out the rear window is *sugar*. So I try to use the cameras. It’s not easy after turning around for so long but safer even if it takes a few attempts and I have to go slower.One question I've had is if any of the model s owners who tow have suggestions for backing the trailer. The car goes into park when I do what I normally do, which is lift off the seat and turn most of my body around. I find it helps make the backing up more intuitive vs trying to use the mirrors and camera. Can the shift to park when my butt lifts off the seat be disabled somehow?
Also figured I'd share a picture. I liked the combination of the blue sky, red car, and green plant life. Also always fun are the reactions from peopleHopefully will show up now when anyone searches google for "tesla model s towing boat" or similar.
View attachment 821550
Thank you for the seatbelt tip!
I was having this same problem backing down the ramp and the parking brake coming on suddenly. I thought it was the rear parking sensors getting confused with the trailer but it now appears to be my weight coming off the seat while looking back like @dmwahl.
I have confirmed that having the seatbelt clipped in prevents this from happening.
My guess is, you didn't get it snapped in all the way. All it takes is one snap bent out of place or not lined up correctly.
See all the snaps/clips along the edge. Often takes fiddling in sure they are ALL in.
Yes, I did noticed these clips. But as soon I fitted these upper nuts on the long bolts it did not allowed the bumper to move at all. I will try to see if it can be rectified. This hitch you have, is it from factory? Do they fit it now for you if ordered? Looking quite solid!
No factory hitch offered in the US for a model S. The one from the Model X will fit and there are several aftermarket options as well.
Tesla wants you to buy either the Y or the X if you want to tow in the US or to use a hitch mounted bike carrier.
Tesla wants you to buy either the Y or the X if you want to tow in the US or to use a hitch mounted bike carrier.
It’s not officially supported in the US but it was obviously made to be compatible. They will probably offer it in Europe officially with this exact part number hitch.
Factory wiring is still an issue in the US.
Some folks believe it was designed to fit before even Refresh because even a Raven X has the same part number.
Simple, buckle your seat belt behind you. Auto park(ing brake) checks for 3 things: Driver's door open, seat occupancy sensor, and seat belt sensor. 2 outta 3 will definitely trigger auto park (below 5 mph), 1 outta 3 sometimes will.
If I recall my X didn’t like that. I’ll try again. Kind of forgot that option.I just open the gigantic tailgate and turn around and look backwards
On my utility trailer I use a 5.25" drop turned upside down which makes it almost perfectly level. For the boat I just got a 8" drop to use upside down but haven't tried it yet. The photo I posted with the boat is with the 5.25, but it's a bit lower than I'd like so hopefully the 8 will be better.
I use this adjustable 4 level hitch riser: 10" Adjustable Hitch Ball Mount 7,500 Pound Capacity with 4 Levels of rise
Some of the drop bars have a reduced capacity rating when upside down. Just make sure the rating is higher than your load.
geordi
Mr Fusion V.1
The Torklift Eco hitch now has a stainless steel option which I am very happy with so far.
Sorting out the wiring was interesting - I went with a Curt and used wire taps (side taps that you can plug into rather than semi-permanent vampires) and everything seems to work fine - IF I have the marker lights on. If the markers are off, then the turn signal on the left side ALSO triggers flashing the marker lights at the same time on the trailer wire, but does not do this from the right turn signal.
Very odd wiring configuration from the Tesla but I didn't feel like chasing a wire all the way to the harness at the roofline just for the markers.
Sorting out the wiring was interesting - I went with a Curt and used wire taps (side taps that you can plug into rather than semi-permanent vampires) and everything seems to work fine - IF I have the marker lights on. If the markers are off, then the turn signal on the left side ALSO triggers flashing the marker lights at the same time on the trailer wire, but does not do this from the right turn signal.
Very odd wiring configuration from the Tesla but I didn't feel like chasing a wire all the way to the harness at the roofline just for the markers.
This behaviour has been noted several times in this thread and other threads. You can solve it by using the "tail" wires from each side and making an AND gate with a relay. Or you can just keep the tail lights on while trailering. See my post on wiring here.
I had someone ask me more details on the how this relay board for trailer wiring is hooked up. Here is a labelled photo that I hope clarifies the connections. I'm sorry that some of the wire colours are not intuitive.
Aggmeister2010
Active Member
Hi folks, I'm looking to install a hitch on my 2016.5 S, but for a MUCH different load....I have a 4 ft Harbor Freight trailer that I'd like to use to tow my 150lb racing kart, pretty similar to below:
Obviously I'd expect much less of an impact on my range than y'all towing 2 ton boats, but I ran into a question when ordering the hitch:
I see two part numbers being mentioned: x7201 and x7201s
The "S" seems to be the one to buy, since it's bigger, more reinforced, uses all 8 bolts.....however on their website, Torklift lists that as "Pre-Refresh Model S."
In my brain, pre-refresh is 2012-2016 and refresh is 2016.5-2021 (right?). So will the "S" version not fit on a refresh S? I can't think of why.....
Obviously I'd expect much less of an impact on my range than y'all towing 2 ton boats, but I ran into a question when ordering the hitch:
I see two part numbers being mentioned: x7201 and x7201s
The "S" seems to be the one to buy, since it's bigger, more reinforced, uses all 8 bolts.....however on their website, Torklift lists that as "Pre-Refresh Model S."
In my brain, pre-refresh is 2012-2016 and refresh is 2016.5-2021 (right?). So will the "S" version not fit on a refresh S? I can't think of why.....
This should work on your car. The refresh they are talking about is the new refresh in 2022 (not the old refresh in 2016). So pre-refresh for Torklift is the 2012-2021 models. The x7201s is definitely the better hitch to get. It is also stainless steel and won't rust.
