Model Y Tow Package available soon from Tesla Australia

[crc77]

No luck on the short Repco, it fouls the bumper. The long one was far too long in my opinion, which would put additional load on the receiver. I have ordered one online from Rough Country that actually looks about right, it arrives Tuesday and I will let you all know if it works out. Third time lucky I hope.

 

[tom_kauf]

No luck on the short Repco, it fouls the bumper. The long one was far too long in my opinion, which would put additional load on the receiver. I have ordered one online from Rough Country that actually looks about right, it arrives Tuesday and I will let you all know if it works out. Third time lucky I hope.

Thank you, much appreciated!

 

[crc77]

Hi all, an update for Australian Model Y towers. I found a suitable tow ball mount. It’s a Rough Country RCTBM7011 and it looks like it meets all Teslas specs pretty closely. It lands exactly 400mm above the ground which is the exact height of the trailers at my local servo. See pictures attached. It is 50mm, but has much less wobble in the receiver than the Curt (which was also 50mm). However I would still suggest getting some spacing in there If you can. I’m going to look at a few options I’ve seen on the web.

I bought a Repco tow ball, D’s and hitch pin. Just need to buy a 33mm socket so I can torque up the ball to the required 140nm.

 

[quar]

I thought i'd add to this thread, i just received the Tesla hitch, and am going about buying a bike rack for it, and wanted to work out weights.

Aparently it can only handle 72kg(160lbs) of vertical weight (tongue weight/ball weight) which is really low. (i also called tesla to asked and they just repeated the manual)

The stealth EV hitch apparently can handle 160kg, so i wonder if it's a mistake in the manual. (lbs to kg conversion)
Most hitches are 10% vertical weight of towing weight, so 160kg does make sense.

Anyway basically for 4 bikes, all platform type hitch ends up being too heavy for normal bikes, so need hanging version.

Anyone got good experience with australian bike rack?

 

[[Zombie]]

The stealth EV hitch apparently can handle 160kg, so i wonder if it's a mistake in the manual. (lbs to kg conversion)

The US version of the manual says the same, so it's not a conversion error. They even have a worked example:

The hitch receiver is designed to support vertical loads up to 160 lbs (72 kg).
When carrying bicycles, skis, or other items on the Model Y hitch, always check to ensure that the maximum weight is not exceeded.
When calculating weight, remember to include the weight of the accessory carrier.
For example, assuming the carrier weighs 40 lbs (18 kg), the weight threshold is sufficient for carrying two bicycles
weighing approximately 60 lbs (27 kg) each, or four items weighing approximately 30 lbs (14 kg) each.

 

[NeilA]

Hi all, an update for Australian Model Y towers. I found a suitable tow ball mount. It’s a Rough Country RCTBM7011 and it looks like it meets all Teslas specs pretty closely. It lands exactly 400mm above the ground which is the exact height of the trailers at my local servo. See pictures attached. It is 50mm, but has much less wobble in the receiver than the Curt (which was also 50mm). However I would still suggest getting some spacing in there If you can. I’m going to look at a few options I’ve seen on the web.

I bought a Repco tow ball, D’s and hitch pin. Just need to buy a 33mm socket so I can torque up the ball to the required 140nm.

View attachment 922567View attachment 922570View attachment 922571View attachment 922573View attachment 922572

Thanks for all those photos - makes it much clearer to see the relationship of the components.
I'm tossing up between the Tesla hitch and the EV Stealth, but I admit to thinking that your Rough Country ball mount looks rather close to the bumper. I recall many years ago having a Mazda 3 and the tow ball was about the same distance from the rear bumper as yours, and I was forever finding the trailer hitch bumping into the car when attaching/removing it.
What are your thoughts on that?

 

[tom_kauf]

Thanks for all those photos - makes it much clearer to see the relationship of the components.
I'm tossing up between the Tesla hitch and the EV Stealth, but I admit to thinking that your Rough Country ball mount looks rather close to the bumper. I recall many years ago having a Mazda 3 and the tow ball was about the same distance from the rear bumper as yours, and I was forever finding the trailer hitch bumping into the car when attaching/removing it.
What are your thoughts on that?

I thought it looked a bit close as well, but the specs are exactly what Tesla says they should be in the US Manual linked above.
It's exactly the maximum 22cm Pin to Ball length that they specify. It also mentions maximum rise of 2cm. That looks about right as well, although I didn't see any mention of that on the Rough Country specs.

 

[NeilA]

I thought it looked a bit close as well, but the specs are exactly what Tesla says they should be in the US Manual linked above.
It's exactly the maximum 22cm Pin to Ball length that they specify. It also mentions maximum rise of 2cm. That looks about right as well, although I didn't see any mention of that on the Rough Country specs.

Thanks Tom, that's good to know.
Still waiting for my Y (next month confirmed!), so will explore in more detail once I have the vehicle...

 

[Jensen]

Mine was fitted last week. Thought I could just use my old Subaru tongue and ball. Shaft not long enough. Had to drill a more distal hole in the tongue shaft to be able to slip the cross pin in. Then tried to fit the safety chains. Mighty difficult. Felt like I was performing a gynaecological examination on my Tesla. Will try and get a different tongue and weld links on to fit safety chains. I believe this is legal
J

 

[NeilA]

Mine was fitted last week. Thought I could just use my old Subaru tongue and ball. Shaft not long enough. Had to drill a more distal hole in the tongue shaft to be able to slip the cross pin in. Then tried to fit the safety chains. Mighty difficult. Felt like I was performing a gynaecological examination on my Tesla. Will try and get a different tongue and weld links on to fit safety chains. I believe this is legal
J

Funny you mention the safety chains - I was pondering that looking at crc77's photos above. My current Forester also has a 'stealth' hitch, and I have to get on my back to attached the safety chains with it too. This seems like a fundamental design issue with the so-called 'stealth' hitches. Would be very interested in seeing your approach to improving that!

 

[Goanna]

I thought it looked a bit close as well, but the specs are exactly what Tesla says they should be in the US Manual linked above.
It's exactly the maximum 22cm Pin to Ball length that they specify. It also mentions maximum rise of 2cm. That looks about right as well, although I didn't see any mention of that on the Rough Country specs.

I'll be getting my tow hitch in two weeks, so I'll need a tow ball. One of the main things I use it for is a bike rack, one of the ones that clamp onto the ball. It's hard to tell, but this looks a bit close. Do you think the rack, which is basically pipes that go vertically, will touch the bumper? I would say if the center of the ball was 5cm beyond the furthest back part of the bumper would be enough.
Thanks!

 

[AndrewW2000]

For the bike rack a hitch extender might make it easier to load and unload the carrier ?

Not suitable for extending the towbar..

 

[tom_kauf]

I'll be getting my tow hitch in two weeks, so I'll need a tow ball. One of the main things I use it for is a bike rack, one of the ones that clamp onto the ball. It's hard to tell, but this looks a bit close. Do you think the rack, which is basically pipes that go vertically, will touch the bumper? I would say if the center of the ball was 5cm beyond the furthest back part of the bumper would be enough.
Thanks!

Same for me - I'll mainly be using the Towbar for a bike rack. crc77 is the one who posted the pictures, so hopefully he can answer the question.
I just looked up the hitch specs and compared them to the Tesla Manual. I'm getting my Towbar in a few weeks (was pushed back due to it not arriving in time for my original appointment).

 

[hooty]

I thought i'd add to this thread, i just received the Tesla hitch, and am going about buying a bike rack for it, and wanted to work out weights.

Aparently it can only handle 72kg(160lbs) of vertical weight (tongue weight/ball weight) which is really low. (i also called tesla to asked and they just repeated the manual)

The stealth EV hitch apparently can handle 160kg, so i wonder if it's a mistake in the manual. (lbs to kg conversion)
Most hitches are 10% vertical weight of towing weight, so 160kg does make sense.

Anyway basically for 4 bikes, all platform type hitch ends up being too heavy for normal bikes, so need hanging version.

Anyone got good experience with australian bike rack?

Yakima Hold Up and Yakima Swing Away are the perfect combo

 

[JayTee]

This is new? Australian made version of EV Stealth tow hitch. $1050 delivered.

Tesla Model Y Towbar Hitch — EV Stealth Solutions

Tesla Model Y Towbar tow hitch Electric Vehicle EV Stealth Bike Rack EV Towing EV Stealth Solutions Stealth Mode ADR Compliant and Certified AEVA Australian Electric Vehicles Association and Tesla Owners Club of Australia TOCA

www.evstealthsolutions.com.au

 

[NeilA]

This is new? Australian made version of EV Stealth tow hitch. $1050 delivered.

Tesla Model Y Towbar Hitch — EV Stealth Solutions

Tesla Model Y Towbar tow hitch Electric Vehicle EV Stealth Bike Rack EV Towing EV Stealth Solutions Stealth Mode ADR Compliant and Certified AEVA Australian Electric Vehicles Association and Tesla Owners Club of Australia TOCA

www.evstealthsolutions.com.au

Yes, they were promoting this coming at the recent Fully Charged show. Note that the price you quote does not include fitting.

 

[JayTee]

Yes, they were promoting this coming at the recent Fully Charged show. Note that the price you quote does not include fitting.

Fitting would only be a few hundred I would guess. Personally, ill do it myself its not very difficult.

 

[NeilA]

Fitting would only be a few hundred I would guess. Personally, ill do it myself its not very difficult.

Yep, in Sydney Carousel do the fittings for EVStealth and they charge around $2-300 for fitting. I would also tackle it myself, but a bit concerned about impacting the car warranty!

 

[hooty]

Do you get Tow Mode with aftermarket towbars?

 

[[Zombie]]

Do you get Tow Mode with aftermarket towbars?

No, only with the Tesla tow package.

Just to avoid confusion "trailer mode" is what they call it when your car is towing something.

"tow mode" is the old name for "transport mode", used to prevent the car going into park when winching it onto the back of a towtruck