Garlan Garner
Banned
What about a tow hitch?
Elon only mentioned 3 facts about the Model 3 the entire night. Oh...wait....4. There was a mention of safety.
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Elon only mentioned 3 facts about the Model 3 the entire night. Oh...wait....4. There was a mention of safety.
3rd party hitches are allowed in Norway. But in order to get it approved in the vehicle's registration papers, the gov require documentation that the vehicle can handle it (frame mounts, brakes, start-stops etc...). The hard part is that Tesla probably wont release any documentation for max tow, or even recommended no towing at all (atleast they haven't for model s). There was a Danish project attempting to approve towing for Model S but I believe they failed because of that.
If Tesla doesn't approve, then proving that the vehicle can handle it on Teslas behalf becomes quite extensive/expensive.
ccutrer
Active Member
It's likely remove the hitch receiver for inspection, which should be welded to the frame of the car, and unless you have the skills to do it yourself not exactly cheap.
ccutrer
Active Member
That's less than a Class I hitch around here, with very limited towing capacity, maybe 500-1000 lbs. which might be totally fine for a lot of people. But if you're going for Class II to III to tow say 2000-5000 lbs. it would have to be welded to the frame. A Class IV good for up to 10,000 lbs. is only found on heavy duty pickups. This goes back to my post about getting the car that meets your needs. If you need to tow a 5000 lbs. boat, maybe a Model 3 isn't for you (but maybe it will be if/when we get an official tow package!). My Model X is rated for 5000 lbs., and boy does it pull better than my previous car - a Chrysler Aspen with a 5.7L Hemi V8 with a similar rating. I have to remind myself there's a trailer back there, so need twice the room for a lane change.
Oh, it can tow much more just fine, believe me. Even once jackknifed the trailer bad enough to rip a gash halfway across the trailer's tongue**, and all it did to the truck was bend the hookup downward a bit; compared to the force of jackknifing, normal towing loads are nothing. But it won't pass inspection with the ball in place.
The question is, do you want something that can tow, or something that is allowed to tow?
** That was a fun fix
Had to cut off the head, use 3 meter-long poles to get the rusted-on bolts off so I could replace the damaged profile steel that they were connected to, get a replacement piece of profile and a smaller piece of profile to join the pieces, bore for the new bolt holes, do about a dozen MIG welds with a 1960s welder on a power supply that threw breakers 70% of the time from the startup surge, and then reseal it in zinc paint. Stronger than it ever was before, but it sure taught me a lesson about being more careful with the trailer The problem is you can't see it behind the truck, it's low and the tailgate is high...
ccutrer
Active Member
Lol. Sounds like a pretty strong steel bumper. I wouldn't trust a 1000 lbs. load not to pull a ball out of most fiberglass "bumpers" nowadays.Oh, it can tow much more just fine, believe me. Even once jackknifed the trailer bad enough to rip a gash halfway across the trailer's tongue**, and all it did to the truck was bend the hookup downward a bit; compared to the force of jackknifing, normal towing loads are nothing. But it won't pass inspection with the ball in place.
The question is, do you want something that can tow, or something that is allowed to tow?
** That was a fun fix
Barklikeadog
Active Member
If that were true they would have skipped the car and built a pickup.
ccutrer
Active Member
Heh. Ok, I'll further constrain - ... a car that they can actually build, meet its design objectives, and be cost competitive with comparable ICE vehicles. I.e. A truck would be far too expensive and still have too limited of a range at this point to sale in large quantities.
'93 Ranger - basically a big chunk of steel on wheels
Terrible mileage, little passenger protection, peeling paint, stereo fell out years ago, fan only works at one speed.... But it knows how to do just one thing, and that is "work"
ccutrer
Active Member
Lucky. I drove an early 90's Ranger for a while. Rear axle snapped clean out of the gearbox while I was driving down a straight road.'93 Ranger - basically a big chunk of steel on wheels
Ouch! Do you know when in the early 90s? The '93 was a transitional year between the first and second generation. Which is kind of annoying, as it shares some parts with the first gen and some with the second :Þ
It's not low maintenance, though, I'll tell you that. It'll do whatever you tell it - for example, drive across lava fields in the highlands, which is some of the worst abuse you can throw at a vehicle - and get you back home - but then you'll randomly discover rattles and clanks over the course of the next year that turn out to be from things you've warped or bent or whatnot. And actually, now that you mention the axle I have had axle problems marked up a number of times in annual inspections. There's always a list :Þ
I recall Elon tweeting last year sometime saying the 3 will have towing capability. I realized towing isn't shown in the published specs on Tesla's website, but I suspect it will be in the near future.
That may be turn out to be the case.
For now, if you are a 3 reservation holder who needs towing, contact Tesla directly and ask about it. Remind them about Elon's statement last year. Give the company feedback so they appreciate the importance of that feature. Complaining on TMC is unlikely to be as effective. Unless you consider it therapy.
ccutrer
Active Member
No, I don't know the exact year. It was a work vehicle that I only drove for a few months.
If you think about the world and not only US then you would know that pick up isn’t the most popular car typ, why else would pick up trucks only have two of top ten selling cars in the world? The first half of 2016 Volkswagen Golf sold more then Ford F-series, even if it’s the opposite know. Tesla will make a pick up but I believe about 95% will be in North America,
World Best Selling Car. The Top 100 Models in the 2017
