My bikes fit!

[aaron.s]

Aaron, this is awesome. This vs roof rack - need to figure it out by late MAy - how does this aytach to the car? Did the service center help? Where to buy - C'mon - info please!

Torklift Central Eco Hitch for Model S:

http://torkliftcentral.com/ecohitch/tesla/ecohitch_tesla_model_s.php

You have your local body shop install it... I have a client who owns a body shop and he installed it for me. Then I bought a Saris Freedom 2-bike hitch rack, but I think I may swap it for a Thule Vertex Hitch Rack - seems nicer and the arms that hold the bike can be folded down... They make a 2, 4 or 5 bike rack:

http://www.thule.com/en-us/us/products/bike-carriers/hitch/9029-vertex-4-bike-_-9029

Here was my first drive & ride a couple of weeks ago - 2 bikes on the back... Didn't drive very far so I don't really have range-impact figures yet!

Hitch end is removable, so invisible when not attached:

Hitch end:

Hitch end attached to Model S:

Aaron

 

[Plug Me In]

Thanks for the info Aaron. That's a very nice installation. I'm a generally "bike inside the car" guy, but family road trips with the dog would mean bike has to ride outside, unless I pull a Romney.

 

[wycolo]

> I think the ideal number of bicycles to own is around 7. [ElSupreme]

I think you should add one more: a 'circus' bike of some sort. My Dahons (folding bikes) handle normally, just like your 7 do. But my Strida, due to the way it folds up, cannot have any rake angle resulting in a fun way of handling. Always 2 hands on the steering, which is actually a good thing! But never boring to ride.
--

 

[Nickjhowe]

Taking a lead from Wycolo I just bought two Strida LTs. I'm 6' and my wife is 5'3" and although I wouldn't want to do 100 miles on them, we went out for a 10 mile ride yesterday and they were perfectly comfortable. They both fit easily in the trunk...

 

[therealmach3]

Does the Torklift reduce your clearance any? You think it would interfere with a battery swap? ;-)

 

[ChadS]

When you've got the bottom (receiver) piece on, the hitch does reduce rear clearance a tiny bit. We can just get up and down our driveway without the hitch with our suspension at the normal setting, but have to raise it when the hitch is on.

Battery bits are all far ahead of the bumper, don't foresee any issues there.

 

[therealmach3]

Thanks @ChadS. Looks like a solid option.

 

[Craig K]

Did you put your hitch on yourself or have some place install it? Did you have any problems installing it? I want to add a hitch but have no experience putting one on a car.

 

[ChadS]

I have installed hitches on other cars before, but the Tesla really requires some disassembly to get anything on it, and I don't have the tools or expertise for that. Torkliftcentral.com in Kent, WA sells the hitch and will install it for you if you like.

 

[Klaus]

Any recommendations for installers in the Bay Area? I asked the Fremont service center and they said they can't do it.

 

[jerry33]

Any recommendations for installers in the Bay Area? I asked the Fremont service center and they said they can't do it.

Because the Service Centres are factory service centres, they can't modify the car. I guess that's one positive thing for a dealer: Dealers can put in all kinds of non-approved add-ons.

 

[Klaus]

Because the Service Centres are factory service centres, they can't modify the car. I guess that's one positive thing for a dealer: Dealers can put in all kinds of non-approved add-ons.

Not completely correct. Torklift reps told me that they have customers who got theirs installed at Tesla service centers. Of course the factory service center is the possible worst case

 

[roblab]

Any recommendations for installers in the Bay Area? I asked the Fremont service center and they said they can't do it.

I had Arth and Sons body shop in Oakland install my hitch. It involves removing the plastic bumper, cutting an oval hole for access, removing the under bumper, installing the hitch, and reinstalling all parts. There are wires running under the bumper that could be damaged.

See video here: Torklift Central - Tesla Model S Ecohitch Trailer Hitch|Ecohitch|Seattle|Kent|Auburn|Puyallup|Tacoma|Renton|Covington|Sumner|Bellevue|Burien|Enumclaw|WA

I would guess that any body shop could do this, but Arth has experience and they are very careful. They have done body work for me including repaint of my custom body color, on the aluminum rear hatch. I recommend them. In seeing other estimates for installation, Arth was on the low end of profit taking. George Arth is interested in Tesla and has a great team working for him.

 

[jasonvw]

I work in Oakland. How much did Arth and Sons charge?

 

[MikeK]

I'd like to know the answer to that question as well, and also how long it took for the installation!

 

[gouldn07]

Any negatives to the EcoHitch? I think that a cut has to be made under the car. Could that lead to any problems? Aaron, what's been your experience with that? I did email Tesla, and the representative didn't have any definite answer. Does it affect the warranty?
Thanks,
Nate

 

[aaron.s]

Any negatives to the EcoHitch? I think that a cut has to be made under the car. Could that lead to any problems? Aaron, what's been your experience with that? I did email Tesla, and the representative didn't have any definite answer. Does it affect the warranty?
Thanks,
Nate

Nate

I don't know about the warranty (I don't suspect it voids it) but it has been fine on my car and not caused any problems. Have used it a couple of times this season already...

Aaron

 

[roblab]

I work in Oakland. How much did Arth and Sons charge?

It was in combination with auto body work on the hatch and bumper, so they already had the bumper off. I paid less than $2000 for everything. You ought to give George a call. Tell him Rob sent you, and see how much he raises the price!

 

[dmsail]

My son and I installed the Torklift Central Eco Hitch a couple of months ago. It's not hard--it just takes a long time. We spent most of the day doing it. If we were to do it again it would probably take half the time since we would know what to do. You definitely need to raise the back end with either a lift or drive-up ramps. We used the ramps since we didn't have access to a lift. The biggest mistake we made was not completely removing the weather stripping when removing the hatch latch cover. So it was not possible to visually line up the panel clips while putting the piece back. As a result, we broke three out of the four clips. The Menlo Park service center gave us the replacement clips (they're about $0.30 a piece). It turns out that a couple of weeks after that I had to have the parking brake module replaced and that piece is removed for that procedure. So they replaced the broken clips for me.

It seemed like some of the directions no longer applied to our Model S. For example, they talk about removing an extruded aluminum piece to install the hitch and then replace it. Well, we didn't have that piece on our car. I asked the service center about it and they said it was a piece that they put on if you order the optional kid seats in the back. There were a couple of other differences that slowed us down but for the most part it was straight forward and we are happy we did it.

We use the 1up-USA bike rack with it. It is very sturdy; there is no rattling. It takes a couple of minutes to install the rack into the hitch receiver. After that mounting and demounting the bikes takes seconds. It's a little pricey but worth it:

http://www.1upusa.com/

 

[dmsail]

Nate

I don't know about the warranty (I don't suspect it voids it) but it has been fine on my car and not caused any problems. Have used it a couple of times this season already...

Aaron

I can't say for sure but I don't think it voids the warranty. Johnny at the Menlo Park service center went out to look at it when I told him that I had installed it since he had never seen one. Then they proceeded to do some warranty repair on the car.