What about the tow hitch?

[Daniel in SD]

Yesterday I got 456wh/mi over 66 miles with the bike on the back. I normally get 320wh/mi so expect a significant range hit carrying a bike on the back of the car!

 

[TomLee]

Yesterday I got 456wh/mi over 66 miles with the bike on the back. I normally get 320wh/mi so expect a significant range hit carrying a bike on the back of the car!

Hi @Daniel in SD , @Heynow999 ,@Randy Spencer

I'm planning to install a hitch on my (upcoming ) 3 for the purpose of carrying bikes only. I have a 4-bike Yakima doubledown (a bit heavy @40lbs) bike rack already so debating on a roof rack or just a hitch. I'm also a little concerned to leave a hole there as the access point for debris and water. Need some advises from you guys already done it. After few months' usage and the winter season, do you see debris and snow piling up from the cutting hole on the bottom panel? What's your main complaints about the hitch, if any? If you do it all over again, will you still choose hitch or maybe change to the official cross bar?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Daniel in SD]

Hi @Daniel in SD , @Heynow999 ,@Randy Spencer

I'm planning to install a hitch on my (upcoming ) 3 for the purpose of carrying bikes only. I have a 4-bike Yakima doubledown (a bit heavy @40lbs) bike rack already so debating on a roof rack or just a hitch. I'm also a little concerned to leave a hole there as the access point for debris and water. Need some advises from you guys already done it. After few months' usage and the winter season, do you see debris and snow piling up from the cutting hole on the bottom panel? What's your main complaints about the hitch, if any? If you do it all over again, will you still choose hitch or maybe change to the official cross bar?

Thanks in advance!

We don't have winter here. Anyway, dirt and debris gets into the area behind the underbody cover even on unmodified Model 3. I believe hidden hitch has a cover to seal the hole when the hitch is not in use. My biggest concern was having the hitch hang so low and getting caught on the pavement while backing up. I made a custom receiver that mounts higher. I never considered a roof rack because eventually I would drive into a parking garage and destroy my car.

 

[TomLee]

We don't have winter here. Anyway, dirt and debris gets into the area behind the underbody cover even on unmodified Model 3. I believe hidden hitch has a cover to seal the hole when the hitch is not in use. My biggest concern was having the hitch hang so low and getting caught on the pavement while backing up. I made a custom receiver that mounts higher. I never considered a roof rack because eventually I would drive into a parking garage and destroy my car.
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Thanks for the quick reply! Lucky for you to have the means to modify it. I'm pretty handy doing all other stuff, but welding is something that I never touched before. Although the hitch itself at 399 is not too far off compares to the other options out there, I do think that $99 cover is quite a rip-off. Anyway, how bad is the impact on the range? 20% loss?

 

[Daniel in SD]

Thanks for the quick reply! Lucky for you to have the means to modify it. I'm pretty handy doing all other stuff, but welding is something that I never touched before. Although the hitch itself at 399 is not too far off compares to the other options out there, I do think that $99 cover is quite a rip-off. Anyway, how bad is the impact on the range? 20% loss?

Yeah. I bought the fancy stealth hitch and then built the custom receiver. I should see if I can sell the fancy latching part and receiver.
The range hit is huge at high speed. I'm guessing a 30% hit at 75mph.