Petition to add tow hitch to Model 3

[ModelNforNerd]

The only vehicle I know of where the PRIMARY function is towing is a semi. Well, keep in mind that there are quite a few of us who will have this as our only car, and for that reason we want the option. And I say OPTION. We were told it would be an option, and now it doesn't seem to be. For those of us who need it or want it, THAT is upsetting.

It sounds like all steps are being taken to avoid "production hell" as much as possible.

If you can get the hitch added later versus potentially having to wait another X amount of months for the entire care, what would you prefer?

 

[Porfiry]

If it doesn't represent what you need...wait for it...go buy something that does!!!

OK.

 

[ChrML]

It sounds like all steps are being taken to avoid "production hell" as much as possible.

If you can get the hitch added later versus potentially having to wait another X amount of months for the entire care, what would you prefer?

It's ok that Tesla wants to wait through the initial production. But I wish they would confirm the hitch for the AWD version instead of keeping us in the dark. It's the only reason for keeping an ICE vehicle for many.

 

[dhanson865]

So as I understand the ICE world, manufacturers have been continually challenged for decades to increase fuel economy. In an effort to meet those goals they fine tune their car designs to lighten up chassis, body, suspension, HP ratings, brakes, etc. to meet the needs of moving the passengers, and some small payloads. If you look at the specs on many compact vehicles, the load of four adult passengers nearly max's out the total vehicle rate load.
So basically most US auto manufacturers aren't designing compact and midsized sedans to tow, as this requires greater strength and weight for the vehicle which is a fuel penalty for all use. Their answer to towing, is they all sell SUV's and trucks which are purpose built to have tow capacity, and have the torques, chassis, and brakes to withstand these extra loads.

We all know BEV's have great torque, but they also need the chassis, suspension, and brakes to be able to handle the demands of towing, without having to overbuild the vehicle for the minority who need to tow with a compact sedan. By putting a factory hitch on a sedan, a manufacturer warrantees that the vehicle can safely tow some capacity, and assumes product liability for same.

You are so close to the answer in that post.

But putting a hitch on the car doesn't warrantee unlimited weight. That "some weight" can be 500 pounds, 1000 pounds. It can be expressly exclusive of the passenger and cargo capacity of the car or it can be advertised the weasel way with the overlap in the fine print and not making it obvious that you can't put 4 kids, a dog, all the luggage in the car and still hook up the trailer with a love seat and dresser in it. It doesn't have to be rated to handle a boat, or camper, or a trailer full of 4 wheelers and sea-doos.

Just because they put a hitch on there doesn't mean it has to be able to tow a ton (literally or figuratively). It can literally be a limited use hitch with all the warnings and disclaimers the lawyers and engineers can come up with. There are those that would use such a hitch.

You do make a good point that gas cars with poor fuel efficiency used the crutch of building the rest of the car worse to improve fuel efficiency but EVs don't need that crutch. An EV straight off the design sheet gets efficiency in the neighborhood of 100mpg. The Prius from 2004/2005 gets half that efficiency at best and has little cargo capacity in terms of weight (though it has plenty of room volume wise). If some car that got 25 mpg before got stripped down to get to 33 mpg that is because it started from a deficit. We don't need to carry that line of thinking forward on already efficient vehicles. I'm willing to give up a little bit of efficiency for functionality at this point.

 

[dhanson865]

All well and good....but on the same token, does Ford put towing hitches on the Focus?

You must be young or new to auto forums. Go back to Priuschat.com and read posts from 2004 about putting a tow hitch on the Prius. This isn't new and it isnt' just Tesla.

Every car forum I've been on in the last 20 years has had a group talking about the same thing. I just don't remember what car forum I was on in 1997.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

You must be young or new to auto forums. Go back to Priuschat.com and read posts from 2004 about putting a tow hitch on the Prius. This isn't new and it isnt' just Tesla.

Every car forum I've been on in the last 20 years has had a group talking about the same thing. I just don't remember what car forum I was on in 1997.

Maybe you mean young in relative terms. I assure you, I can buy lottery tickets, alcohol, and run for President.

You should get car manufacturers to join your forums then. Sounds pretty disheartening to be complaining about the same thing for 20 years with no hitch to show for it.

 

[dhanson865]

Maybe you mean young in relative terms. I assure you, I can buy lottery tickets, alcohol, and run for President.

You should get car manufacturers to join your forums then. Sounds pretty disheartening to be complaining about the same thing for 20 years with no hitch to show for it.

Ah you are young then. See cars in the 60s and 70s had hitches on the back. Maybe newer than that but the year of the cutover would vary by car and brand. But the point is we had hitches to show for it. It's the newer American cars that dropped the hitches and we want them back.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Ah you are young then. See cars in the 60s and 70s had hitches on the back. Maybe newer than that but the year of the cutover would vary by car and brand. But the point is we had hitches to show for it. It's the newer American cars that dropped the hitches and we want them back.

Coal faded away too. So did leaded gasoline. High beam switches on the floor. All sorts of things have faded into history.

Not all of them are coming back. Sorry.

 

[dhanson865]

Coal faded away too. So did leaded gasoline. High beam switches on the floor. All sorts of things have faded into history.

Not all of them are coming back. Sorry.

Coal is still in use and so are trailer hitches. I see trailer hitches lasting longer than Coal. You'll keep twisting to find an angle to make fun of people that want Sedans in the US to have a hitch.

Make fun all you want but it doesn't make you any more right or those that want it any more wrong. Here lets go the other way:

I haven't heard the argument of how only trucks should have a high beam switch on the floor. The suspension and brakes required to put a switch down there are so impressive. Heck putting a switch on the floor would kill the gas mileage of a ford focus.

 

[ohmman]

@ModelNforNerd supports hitches if they don't delay his or others' cars. He is unable to see eye to eye with others who think hitches are more than a marginal use case. Some others wish he'd see their side, but it doesn't change anything.

That's settled.

Moving on?

 

[tpoltron]

As avid mountain bikers we waited until Torklift had an Ecohitch for the Model S before buying one. Mainly my wife drives the MS and I drive a Fiat 500e that carries 3 bikes just fine! The Fiat is literally only half the car the M3 is but I won’t switch until it has a hitch too.

 

[Haddock]

Here's part of the explanation:

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/tow-me-down-1609112611/1609771499/+ballaban

The TLDR is that US trailers put much more weight on the car (10-15%), whereas EU trailers are more balanced (4-7%). This means you can go faster with a trailer in the US, whereas in the EU you are pretty much limited to 60mph or less when you are towing. This is why a poxy little Fiat Uno can tow an 1800lb trailer here.

Towing in the UK with a Golf.

Even on the Autobahn you are limited to 100km/h (62mph) with a trailer. In Denmark you are limited to 80km/h (50mph). In an electric car I'm fine with being limited to low towing speeds - 99% of the time I'll be on local roads where that's the speed limit anyway. If I take a motorway trip while towing with an electric I'll have to limit speed anyway because of range.

Here's a crazy Norwegian I spotted in Denmark:

(In Norway a trailer without brakes is limited to only 60km/h - 37mph!. You can be sure that caravan has brakes.)

 

[K-MTG]

Petition for Tesla to release a real sunshade....anyone??

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Make fun all you want but it doesn't make you any more right or those that want it any more wrong. Here lets go the other way:

I'm going to leave you with this:

The Model 3 in its current production iteration does. NOT. have. a. hitch. So I guess that makes me...something. Right? More right? Whatever.

Don't direct your vitriol at me. If I was connected enough to add a hitch to a Model 3, don't you think I'd already have one in my driveway by now?

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Petition to kill this thread?

 

[ecarfan]

The TLDR is that US trailers put much more weight on the car (10-15%), whereas EU trailers are more balanced (4-7%). This means you can go faster with a trailer in the US, whereas in the EU you are pretty much limited to 60mph or less when you are towing. This is why a poxy little Fiat Uno can tow an 1800lb trailer here.

I thought that trailer balance was also effected by how you load it, and that for safety one should have a tongue weight of about 10-15% for a single axle trailer. Understanding Trailer Weight Safety Issues

4-7% tongue weight seems very low and not safe.

Even on the Autobahn you are limited to 100km/h (62mph) with a trailer. In Denmark you are limited to 80km/h (50mph).

And in California the towing speed limit is 55mph. So not much different.

I hope that in the near future the Model 3 is offered with an optional tow hitch. I have the feeling that it will be. Right now Tesla is focused on ramping up production of a specific configuration and then gradually making more options available. A tow hitch could be one of those options.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

@KJD I'd like to know how you can Disagree with indisputable fact?

The current production iteration of this car does not have a hitch.

And I suppose the earth is flat?

I'm starting to think the "rating" system on here is personal.

Don't let your feelings cloud your ability to realize facts.

 

[KJD]

Yes the current iteration of the car does not have a hitch. OK fine, just like we do not have duel motor option at this time.

If sometime in the future Tesla offers the option of a light duty hitch that could be used for a bike rack or other things, how does that hurt you?

For you to say we should kill this thread I strongly disagree with.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Yes the current iteration of the car does not have a hitch. OK fine, just like we do not have duel motor option at this time.

If sometime in the future Tesla offers the option of a light duty hitch that could be used for a bike rack or other things, how does that hurt you?

For you to say we should kill this thread I strongly disagree with.

Upon request of the Mods, I shall bid this thread adieu.

Just remember, the truth you seek is in your Monroney Sticker.

 

[israndy]

What a relief!

OK, so I follow this thread and understand that you can PUT a hitch on most cars. That's all I really want, my convertible Volvo didn't have a hitch as an option, but it took 10 minutes to put one on aftermarket (well, the wiring took some time, stupid amperage sensors!)

I looked up all the cars that compete with the M3 on eTrailer.com and the 2017 BMW Series 3, the Mercedes C-Class coupe, and the Audi A4 all have hitches available for install. Oddly there is no hitch listed for the 2017 Tesla Model S.

What has me concerned is all this talk about manufacturer approved tow capability. If I put an aftermarket hitch on and it lets loose, are we saying insurance could deny me coverage?? I have to have a hitch from the manufacturer to have approved towing?

-Randy