Would you recommend Hitch-Mount Cargo Carrier for MX?

[tangent]

Hi, we are going on a ski trip (and snowboards too) with our Model X, and I have been thinking of a hitch mount carrier to carry the cargos and sports equipment. I have a few questions here:

1. When using the super charger, would the carrier be too big to prevent the car from getting close enough to the super charger?
2. How does the cargo carrier impact the driving dynamics, and what kind of range loss we would be looking at?
3. If you think hitch mount carrier is a good idea, which one would you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Peteski]

I carry mountain bikes regularly on my hitch mount. It has minimal effect on range, but haven't had to use a supercharger while carrying bikes yet, so can't comment on that.

 

[Uncle Paul]

I have used an aluminum hitch mounted carrier on my X and it works great for bulky items that are not too heavy. You could not tell it was there as the air suspension compensated and kept the car level.

The leverage from the mount is concerning, so I would not put a lot of heavy stuff back there.

I was able to watch the cargo with my rear camera. Everything looked solid and did not move around.

Mine has a hinge to fold up vertically, so when nothing is being carried I can tuck it up tight to the car.

Had no problems with superchargers. Just need to be careful when backing up as the sensors will not work with the rack extended.

If you can find a rack that mounts even closer to the hitch it would reduce the leverage and allow you to carry heavier stuff.

I just put some lawn chair pillows and bulky stuff in the box.

Don't forget, you also have your frunk to carry additional, heavier stuff.

 

[puritan]

Stowaway Max box. Trunk opens up with no issues. Just drove over 700 miles without any worries. We put 3 suitcases and pillows. (~70 lbs).

Haven't had issues at any supercharger, no effect on range, you feel the weight around corners though.

Well worth the effort, especially considering we are a family of four with 2 dogs

 

[Peteski]

The leverage from the mount is concerning, so I would not put a lot of heavy stuff back there.

That's a very good point to bear in mind.

The Tesla X hitch mount is rated to carry only 55 kg (120 lbs). Note this is not the same as the trailer tongue weight limit which is much higher at 500 lbs.

For example my bike carrier weighs 20 kg, so I can only safely carry 35 kg of bikes i.e. 55 kg total.

This limit is only approximate because it's not taking into account the exact overhung leverage of the weight, but it's the only figure we have and is probably based on a typical rack overhang. The one in your photo looks pretty extreme, but if you are well under 55 kg it should be fine.

For the OP carrying a few sets of skis/snowboards, it should be no problem at all.

 

[tangent]

View attachment 354186

Stowaway Max box. Trunk opens up with no issues. Just drove over 700 miles without any worries. We put 3 suitcases and pillows. (~70 lbs).

Haven't had issues at any supercharger, no effect on range, you feel the weight around corners though.

Well worth the effort, especially considering we are a family of four with 2 dogs

The colors of Stowaway Max box match pretty well with your black 100D!

 

[ndeninno]

Check out this Cargo Carrier specifically designed for the Model X. It only weighs 16.5lbs so it can hold over 100lbs and still be under the 120lb limit of the X hitch rating. You can also add a ski attachment.

X-Lite | Cargo Rack specifically designed for the Tesla Model X | X-Rack

 

[mikevbf]

Do you have a 5, 6, or 7 seater MX?

 

[cantdecide]

We have the largest stowaway model.
We have probably driven 3000 miles over the country with it.

With 6 of us going skiing we put all boots, poles and helmets in the box along with kids skis. Adult skis go in the car (6 seater). I wish there was a ski rack you could attach to the box.

For supercharging you sometimes need to be within a couple of inches on the back of the stall but you can't see through the back. So either use 2 people... One to drive and one to spot, or be prepared to get out of the car and look a few times. Ads about 1 minute to each supercharger stop if you have no passenger to help out.

 

[ndeninno]

Do you have a 5, 6, or 7 seater MX?

6 seater

 

[mikevbf]

Then do what I do and slot your skis and snowboards in a bag down the center. You can even probably still fit another suitcase (like the one with helmets and boots) in between the seats in second row under the ski bag. You can still fit a huge amount more stuff in the frunk and what my wife and I call the "well" which is the secret extra compartment in the back. And that still leaves you the normal back and all sorts of other nooks and crannies. How many people? Any pets? if you would actually need to use the nooks and crannies i can understand going with the cargo carrier as a more elegant solution. But I would see if you can fit everything and everyone just using the regular space. The 6 seater is pretty darn good at swallowing luggage. BTW I have a cargo carrier and have only had to use it once in over two years of ski and beach trips with my 6 seat MX with four person family and hundred pound dog.

 

[Yinn]

Hi, we are going on a ski trip (and snowboards too) with our Model X, and I have been thinking of a hitch mount carrier to carry the cargos and sports equipment. I have a few questions here:

1. When using the super charger, would the carrier be too big to prevent the car from getting close enough to the super charger?
2. How does the cargo carrier impact the driving dynamics, and what kind of range loss we would be looking at?
3. If you think hitch mount carrier is a good idea, which one would you recommend?

Thanks!

Such an open ended question! Are you looking at an enclosed carrier? Ski specific carrier? etc.?

This is the one I have:
Traveller 500 lb. Aluminum Foldable Cargo Carrier at Tractor Supply Co.

I like it because it's foldable, cheap, and lighter than the steel ones. You can probably slide ski's in, but I'd imagine this isn't the greatest for that specific purpose. But it's great for lugging things around in general or using a cargo carrier bag on top of. I didn't have any significant noticeable loss of range. I haven't needed to use this + supercharge, but the foldable aspect makes it nice where if you don't have it overpacked you can fold it up real quick to charge. The swingaways may be better in this aspect though.

 

[ndeninno]

Look at this carrier specifically designed for the MX. It only weighs 16.5lbs and can hold skis with some additional accessories like the Thule snow pack. I drove 500 miles round trip with the setup in the picture with the supercharger and had no notable range loss. My average WH stayed about the same as life time average. It will also fit at the supercharger with no issues and it fits and it stores in the rear trunk well of the MX. X-Lite | Cargo Rack specifically designed for the Tesla Model X | X-Rack Amazon has it on sale now: https://smile.amazon.com/X-Lite-Hit...8-6&keywords=tesla+model+x+cargo+carrier&th=1

 

[Yinn]

Look at this carrier specifically designed for the MX. It only weighs 16.5lbs and can hold skis with some additional accessories like the Thule snow pack. I drove 500 miles round trip with the setup in the picture with the supercharger and had no notable range loss. My average WH stayed about the same as life time average. It will also fit at the supercharger with no issues and it fits and it stores in the rear trunk well of the MX. X-Lite | Cargo Rack specifically designed for the Tesla Model X | X-Rack View attachment 358091 View attachment 358092 Amazon has it on sale now: https://smile.amazon.com/X-Lite-Hitch-Mounted-Cargo-Carrier/dp/B07KWFP59H/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1544017687&sr=8-6&keywords=tesla+model+x+cargo+carrier&th=1

The fact that it stores in the rear well is pretty darn awesome.

 

[mikevbf]

I like how this product helps you use frunk more effectively. That might be enough to not need a cargo carrier.
Nice Model S/X frunk storage solution

 

[Yinn]

I like how this product helps you use frunk more effectively. That might be enough to not need a cargo carrier.
Nice Model S/X frunk storage solution

OP stated he needed to carry skis and snowboards..that’s a nice plug but doesn’t help him.

 

[mikevbf]

OP stated he needed to carry skis and snowboards..that’s a nice plug but doesn’t help him.

Going on a ski vacation with the family is always a puzzle of more than just skis and snowboards. There are of course people and maybe pets, boots, polls, helmets, and then personal clothing which is usually is a lot given that it is cold. If you look above to a previous post I made, I suggested he slot the skis down the center if he had a 6 seater. That solved, he will need to solve where everyone and everything else goes. I am not "plugging" a product, but more just offering a different option to what most other posters in this thread have assumed that he should get a cargo box.

From my personal experience with my MX 6 seater and owning a cargo box, I am sharing my personal preference when I take my family on a ski vacation which is not to bring the cargo box. Never thought I would get shot down by someone for taking time and effort to help OP and anyone else reading this thread looking for answers. But I can understand the tone, if you had not read my previous post. Maybe I should have responded to my own post so as to have all the info in one place.

 

[Peteski]

Going on a ski vacation with the family is always a puzzle of more than just skis and snowboards. There are of course people and maybe pets, boots, polls, helmets, and then personal clothing which is usually is a lot given that it is cold. If you look above to a previous post I made, I suggested he slot the skis down the center if he had a 6 seater. That solved, he will need to solve where everyone and everything else goes. I am not "plugging" a product, but more just offering a different option to what most other posters in this thread have assumed that he should get a cargo box.

From my personal experience with my MX 6 seater and owning a cargo box, I am sharing my personal preference when I take my family on a ski vacation which is not to bring the cargo box. Never thought I would get shot down by someone for taking time and effort to help OP and anyone else reading this thread looking for answers. But I can understand the tone, if you had not read my previous post. Maybe I should have responded to my own post so as to have all the info in one place.

I think it all comes down to personal preference. I can't say I particularly like the idea of loading a bunch of skis/boards inside a nice clean £100K car when you can use a simple hitch mounted rack and keep it all outside. But I suppose if you are putting them in a bag it's not such a big deal. Just a bit more effort loading and unloading. That rack linked a few posts above looks pretty handy to me, especially if you are carrying ski gear for the whole family. For us that could easily be 6 sets of skis and all the gear to go with it.

 

[mikevbf]

I think it all comes down to personal preference. I can't say I particularly like the idea of loading a bunch of skis/boards inside a nice clean £100K car when you can use a simple hitch mounted rack and keep it all outside. But I suppose if you are putting them in a bag it's not such a big deal. Just a bit more effort loading and unloading. That rack linked a few posts above looks pretty handy to me, especially if you are carrying ski gear for the whole family. For us that could easily be 6 sets of skis and all the gear to go with it.

All good points especially the one about preference. I do not prefer to have skis off the back because they get really dirty back there and my skis are too long to store in above pictured way horizontally. And I agree with the trade off is the added difficulty of loading and unloading especially if you are spatially challenged.

 

[Yinn]

Going on a ski vacation with the family is always a puzzle of more than just skis and snowboards. There are of course people and maybe pets, boots, polls, helmets, and then personal clothing which is usually is a lot given that it is cold. If you look above to a previous post I made, I suggested he slot the skis down the center if he had a 6 seater. That solved, he will need to solve where everyone and everything else goes. I am not "plugging" a product, but more just offering a different option to what most other posters in this thread have assumed that he should get a cargo box.

From my personal experience with my MX 6 seater and owning a cargo box, I am sharing my personal preference when I take my family on a ski vacation which is not to bring the cargo box. Never thought I would get shot down by someone for taking time and effort to help OP and anyone else reading this thread looking for answers. But I can understand the tone, if you had not read my previous post. Maybe I should have responded to my own post so as to have all the info in one place.

My apologies, I didn’t see your previous post. I saw that as your only post and seen so many threads derail from answering the OPs questions.

I personally throw my boards inside the car as well. And agree if someone went that method it could eliminate a carrier for skis and snowboards.

Overall, I still think there’s a place for a cargo carrier, as well as a roof rack, and a trailer in this world for different situations though. (As an example, I load trash cans onto my rack to drive them down a long driveway, hunting/fishing hauls are better outside the car, etc. but now I’m the one digressing from the OPs question..)