To get the hitch there, however, a complete disassembly of the back end of the car is required. The EcoHitch is designed to be sandwiched between these beefy beams and the rear crash beam.
The rear crash beam bolts onto these beams and ties the structure together. At the back of the rolling chassis are two blunted aluminium 8-shaped extrusions, which on an actual Model S extend to the rear of the car. Think back to the well-known Tesla “skateboard” display you’ve seen in their stores or website.
#Tesla model 3 roof rack t slot bolt license#
Torklift emovable Tesla Model S Front License Plate Bracketįor my installation I selected a local body shop with good referrals and a strong history of detail-oriented repairs on high end cars, Rob Wagner Auto Body (certified Torklift installer) in West View, PA. You’ll find no home dentistry kits squirreled away in my vanity and that same wisdom dictates that the EcoHitch find its way into the hands of a qualified auto surgeon. I’m dedicated DIYer but like to think I know where to draw the line. The EcoHitch, by contrast, is delightfully small and simple. I’m getting light-headed just remembering it as it roasted, trapped against the hot exhaust– but nevermind. It was also a great repository for road kill– but you really don’t want to do any lengthy pondering on that. The last hitch I installed on a car was a couple Subarus ago and its complex assortment of braces hung well south of the exhaust system and rust was never a concern because it was regularly scraped off the bottom edge by even modest speed bumps. The hitch arrives in a well packed box and you can’t help but note the paint is thick and well applied, the hardware high quality and the design is very clever. Sure, it’s lighter than a 3rd grader but still hefty enough you wouldn’t want to encounter a maniac wielding one in a dark alley. The EcoHitch weighs in at under 30 pounds (according to the spec sheet) but don’t let that little number fool you. Don’t head down to the local tractor pull competition just yet– Torklift suggests a 2000 lb limit on those kind of activities which would require a wiring harness for the lights and deep pockets if your luck runs out. You could tow a trailer but the Tesla isn’t rated for that and I would suspect any damage that resulted would be out of warranty. Important to note that while a full bike rack is unlikely to overload the EcoHitch’s 200 lb tongue weight, a cargo tray with a deer that has been feasting on my wife’s garden certainly will. It will hug anything you slide into it, including bike racks, ski /snowboard rack attachments and light trailers. Our EcoHitch came with the 2” receiver but there is a 1 ¼” available. Could it really provide a stable mounting point and stay discreet? 3 Year Update: Life with Torklift’s EcoHitch for Tesla Model S – Eaten alive Though the relationship was new, Tesla and EcoHitch had already consummated their passionate courtship. Scouring their website quickly assured me that getting hitched with Torklift was no shotgun wedding. Consider that at the time the hitch was launched the “family Tesla” was still quite rare and I was a little curious how well-designed such a niche product could possibly be. The EcoHitch from Torklift Central promised to add functionality without detracting from the swoopy lines of the Model S. Torklift Central’s Tesla Model S “STEALTH” EcoHitch “HA HA heh heh heh.” Then Torklift came out with their EcoHitch for Tesla. Whenever I imagined myself doing it, it was something more along the lines of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Unless you’re Yao Ming tall and Samson strong, the prospect of heaving a bike above your aluminum-bodied and glass-roofed beauty was never enviable. The reality of a roof rack is another story. Perhaps as a result of the Tesla being touted as a family car, the panoramic sunroof became one of the most desired options– and priced accordingly– not for its swagger and bragging rights, but for its practical rack mounts. While there is a dedicated group of owners who like to cram their origami bicycles into the front of the vehicle, for most of us the alternatives were pretty limited– especially if you have children, as most DOT rules prohibit using bikes piled on their laps as a restraining device, effective though they may be. 
We’d grown accustomed to that idea right up until the big packed Model S got all frunky fresh and hatch-backed. It long seemed like a “given” that electric cars could not haul much.
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