Pulling Model S out when stuck

[Mario Kadastik]

Let's assume that I'm driving home and have to go through 0.5-1m of snow to get there and at some point my luck runs out and I get stuck. Now if I call a friend with his 4x4 can I pullt he Model S out? The car itself would be considered working, just no traction.

Same goes for the reverse, let's assume I drive past and see someone stuck at the side of the road, can I pull them out? The main question is does the Model S have any place where to hook up to and I don't think suspension is a good answer.

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Just as an example, this is what happened to me a year ago, I had an Evo X so made it home, the roads and day were clear in the morning when I left.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1QaOEuXzMzY

 

[Doug_G]

If you get stuck in 1" of snow... get some skillz! :smile: Seriously, unless you slide into the ditch you're not going to get stuck.

There are instructions in the manual about how to pull the car onto a flatbed. I assume those instructions would suffice for getting you out of the ditch.

 

[Johan]

http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...as-no-tow-hook?p=397232&viewfull=1#post397232

 

[Mario Kadastik]

If you get stuck in 1" of snow... get some skillz! :smile: Seriously, unless you slide into the ditch you're not going to get stuck.

There are instructions in the manual about how to pull the car onto a flatbed. I assume those instructions would suffice for getting you out of the ditch.

Check about minute 6-8.5 in the video I was talking about 50-70cm of snow i.e. 20-30 inches.

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http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...as-no-tow-hook?p=397232&viewfull=1#post397232

Perfect, that's what I was looking for. Any clues as to if there's something similar in the rear so that I can pull out others or it's just got to be the nose that points towards them

 

[Johan]

Perfect, that's what I was looking for. Any clues as to if there's something similar in the rear so that I can pull out others or it's just got to be the nose that points towards them

Haven't found any official or other info for towing from the back. Wondering about that too.

 

[NigelM]

There's no available place for Model S to pull from the rear, unless you have a tow hitch fitted. There's not many options for the Model S due to the rear diffuser (Model S being one of the few cars with a diffuser that actually does something) but you can find the most popular one by searching for Eco-Hitch. Here's the one that Aaron S. fitted.

 

[Johan]

There's no available place for Model S to pull from the rear, unless you have a tow hitch fitted. There's not many options for the Model S due to the rear diffuser (Model S being one of the few cars with a diffuser that actually does something) but you can find the most popular one by searching for Eco-Hitch. Here's the one that Aaron S. fitted.

Though I doubt that kind of hitch would be able to withstand the force of pulling the entire car by it??? To my knowledge these are mostly for mounting a bike rack or similar?

 

[Gizmotoy]

I recall someone mentioning a few weeks ago that the US models now have a tow hook in the front to match those destined for the EU. No more attaching to the front suspension and using a 2x4 to protect the bumper. Anyone heard anything more/confirmed that?

 

[Doug_G]

Check about minute 6-8.5 in the video I was talking about 50-70cm of snow i.e. 20-30 inches.

If you have that much snow, stay home.

 

[Mario Kadastik]

If you have that much snow, stay home.

All of that snow happened in 8h while I was in the office. And if that snow means stay home, then I need to stay home for 1-2 months each year

 

[Gizmotoy]

All of that snow happened in 8h while I was in the office. And if that snow means stay home, then I need to stay home for 1-2 months each year

It's hard to beat an Evo in the snow. I always had a blast. One time I was plowing the street a bit with my front air dam around SUVs in ditches and it never even spun the tires. Granted, I had proper snow tires, but flip that thing into snow mode (locking the diffs) and it's a beast. When you don't need to commute in it, kicking up snow rooster trails from all four tires in a safe environment is also enjoyable.

It's going to be quite a transition to a heavier and more powerful RWD car in those conditions. I certainly wish you the best of luck.

 

[Doug_G]

All of that snow happened in 8h while I was in the office. And if that snow means stay home, then I need to stay home for 1-2 months each year

We had that exact thing happen last winter, only the snow all came down in just 3 hours. The snow plow never showed up - they were overwhelmed. Our parking lot is at the rear of the building, and we had one snow shovel between us. People were using their hands, pieces of wood, whatever they could find. It took us two hours to extract the cars, including my Model S. It took me another hour to get half-way home (a 15 minute trip normally!) so we gave up and pulled into a restaurant and had pizza.

We certainly were wishing we had stayed home that day. :frown:

 

[AudubonB]

Did someone say "snow"? It was -36ºF / -38ºC at home this morning.... Fortunately, we are a long long way from home

One thing you will find, Mario, is that your Tesla will come with a screw-in eye hook for front pulling (nothing for the rear, however). I made a small stink about it when I first visited the Tesla Service Center, as our NoAm autos have the slot for storing the eye hook....but not the implement itself. That is reserved for you Europeans. I wonder if it's an EU mandate?

You are more than encouraged to send me yours once you get your car, if by chance you feel it will be too much of a weight to carry around....

 

[GasDoc]

Haven't found any official or other info for towing from the back. Wondering about that too.

Be careful. My Model S battery got bent by a tow driver hooking onto the rear control arms and pulling the car.

The massive cost of a replacement battery pushed my car into "total loss" territory.

 

[towman26]

Since I am in the towing industry and own a Tesla I was shocked to see that Tesla went backwards in the towing of the MS. Most cars made use theTow Eye attachment to pull the car onto the flatbed or to pull the car from snow. What Tesla did instead is go backwards in time to hook like we did in the 70s.I contacted one of the engineers form the factory after we did the Get Amped test drive and saw they took the Tow Eye out. He said that with the tow eye reinforcement the car was too strong for the front end low speed impact test. So they went to using the front or rear suspension arms to pull it on the flatbed. I talked to him about that and if the car won't roll it will bend the arm, and sure enough they bent, so after that test the made the suspension parts that we (towing people) hook to thicker & stronger. Me, I would prefer the Tow Eye because of the potential damage on the front end.

 

[jerry33]

The right way would be to have the tow points anchored to the structure where the jack points are mounted. Of course, that would require some major changes.

 

[markb1]

It was pointed out earlier in this thread that the Model S in the EU has a tow hook under the nose cone, and it was suggested that newer US cars have this, too. I wonder how hard it would be to retrofit this on an older Model S.

 

[JST]

It was pointed out earlier in this thread that the Model S in the EU has a tow hook under the nose cone, and it was suggested that newer US cars have this, too. I wonder how hard it would be to retrofit this on an older Model S.

My car is a late November build, delivered a couple of weeks ago, and it does not have a hook.

 

[markb1]

My car is a late November build, delivered a couple of weeks ago, and it does not have a hook.

Does it have a place to thread one in?

 

[JST]

Does it have a place to thread one in?

Not according to the DS or the service tech; I asked about it and the DS said he didn't know if there was one, and asked a tech who said that there wasn't one.

I suppose it's possible that there was a change they weren't aware of, but we had the nose cone off and and I didn't see an obvious place for it.