REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

1Up Super Duty double on a Tesla Model Y

6749 Views 13 Replies 7 Participants Last post by REZEN, Oct 19, 2021

SDM44

Discussion Starter · Oct 17, 2021

Took my Epic EVO out yesterday for a ride and I wanted to try out my 1Up rack on our new Tesla to see how the bike fit onto it. Usually we'll use our 2012 Honda Pilot since it has a stronger hitch that can support a higher tongue weight, and we don't have any problems carrying 4 bikes (that weigh around 30 lbs each, except for my EE that's just under 26 lbs) with our 1Up Super Duty double rack and 2 add-ons. By itself, the 4-bike setup with EZ pull and add-on locks weigh 104 lbs, but the Super Duty double weighs around 47 lbs by itself.

The immediate thing I noticed is my EE tires stick out at least a few inches on both sides of the Tesla, where it's flush or maybe covered from the body by maybe an inch on each side on the Pilot. With the high amount of torque on our Performance Model Y, you really don't feel the weight or drag from the bike & rack like you do on the Pilot. Good setup when I want to go riding by myself, but if I take my kids' bike (2 smaller MTB's that weigh almost 30 lbs each), the Tesla can handle it with a 165 lb tongue weight limit and I'd be right near that total weight, but I'd feel more comfortable using the 3-rack setup on the Honda Pilot instead.

The 2nd pic below makes it look like the EE wheels stick out like a foot on each side, but that's just the angle of the picture. In person and looking down the side of the car from the rear, the wheels only stick out a few inches on each side.

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REZEN

· #2 · Oct 17, 2021

Just looked it up, so very surprised that the Tesla Model E only supports 120lbs from the hitch....

That's be a no go for me, sometimes carry 4 DH bikes off my 1-up and 1 on the roof with my 2002 4runner.

There's no torque with my 4runner, its slow with and without bike rack, don't notice a difference.

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fftfk

· #3 · Oct 18, 2021

I’m not really sure how tongue weights work but can’t imagine a rack with a few mountain bikes would put more stress than a trailer on the car. . It seems any factory hitch should be able to hold the weight of multiple MTB otherwise what’s the point?

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wschruba

· #4 · Oct 18, 2021

fftfk said:
I’m not really sure how tongue weights work but can’t imagine a rack with a few mountain bikes would put more stress than a trailer on the car. . It seems any factory hitch should be able to hold the weight of multiple MTB otherwise what’s the point?

The hitch, unless explicitly designed to be tongue-loaded, is not meant to be excessively strong in shear. The weight of the bicycles (or whatever entire system you have on the hitch, applying torque at the end of a 2-4 foot lever) is acting entirely on 1) the square stock of the receiver itself--and how it is attached to the rest of the receiver, and 2) however the receiver is attached to the vehicle. Depending on class, that might be the vehicle frame itself (best case, a vehicle explicitly designed for towing), or part of the chassis (next best case).

If it is the second case, you might have a hitch held on by several 12-14mm studs. Now, imagine someone who weighed 120 pounds jumping up and down on the end of a 3 foot lever fixed to that for a few hours, and multiply that by several hundred hours. It almost certainly won't fail immediately, but it definitely needs to be designed for that kind of abuse. edit a trailer--even a 3rd wheel--by comparison supports the majority of its own weight.

For the OP: I regularly shuttle two bikes on a Spark; the wheels--even on a criterium-ish road bike--stick out past the body, but not the mirrors. It's still a smaller package than the guy driving a 250 to the grocery store, though.

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SDM44

Discussion Starter · #5 · Oct 18, 2021

REZEN said:
Just looked it up, so very surprised that the Tesla Model E only supports 120lbs from the hitch....

That's be a no go for me, sometimes carry 4 DH bikes off my 1-up and 1 on the roof with my 2002 4runner.

There's no torque with my 4runner, its slow with and without bike rack, don't notice a difference.

The Tesla Model Y factory hitch has a tongue weight limit of 165 lbs. The tongue weight limit on my Honda Pilot is 350 lbs.

fftfk said:
I’m not really sure how tongue weights work but can’t imagine a rack with a few mountain bikes would put more stress than a trailer on the car. . It seems any factory hitch should be able to hold the weight of multiple MTB otherwise what’s the point?

wschruba gave a good explanation of the differences between tongue weight capacity (like mounting a bike rack), vs pulling an object.

On the Tesla, the factory hitch is like a flat piece that mounts directly to the body of the chassis rear. The big long bolts that secure the hitch to the frame gives it good strength for towing, but since the hitch doesn't wrap underneath with mounting points further distributed underneath the frame, all of the tongue weight is supported by those bolts. On my Pilot, the hitch is shaped like a U and the mounting points and extra length of the hitch allows you to have a much higher tongue weight since that weight is distributed along the entire hitch and extended arms.

Here's a pic of an aftermarket Tesla Model Y hitch, but you can see the design of it and where it mounts. Towing capacity and tongue weight is limited. Below that is a pic of an aftermarket Honda Pilot hitch that's similar to what's on my truck, and you can see on that design and the mounting point locations allow for a higher towing capacity and tongue weight.

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D. Inoobinati

· #6 · Oct 18, 2021

That's what I call guilt-free access to the trailhead.

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Hit Factor

· #7 · Oct 18, 2021

D. Inoobinati said:
That's what I call guilt-free access to the trailhead.

I wish I had a pic of my F-350 Diesel Super Duty with my 4 tray 1Up Super Duty loaded up with bikes. No guilt here and it will take me to any trailhead.

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D. Inoobinati

· #8 · Oct 18, 2021

'baters gonna keep batin'.

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fftfk

· #9 · Oct 18, 2021

wschruba said:
The hitch, unless explicitly designed to be tongue-loaded, is not meant to be excessively strong in shear. The weight of the bicycles (or whatever entire system you have on the hitch, applying torque at the end of a 2-4 foot lever) is acting entirely on 1) the square stock of the receiver itself--and how it is attached to the rest of the receiver, and 2) however the receiver is attached to the vehicle. Depending on class, that might be the vehicle frame itself (best case, a vehicle explicitly designed for towing), or part of the chassis (next best case).

If it is the second case, you might have a hitch held on by several 12-14mm studs. Now, imagine someone who weighed 120 pounds jumping up and down on the end of a 3 foot lever fixed to that for a few hours, and multiply that by several hundred hours. It almost certainly won't fail immediately, but it definitely needs to be designed for that kind of abuse. edit a trailer--even a 3rd wheel--by comparison supports the majority of its own weight.

For the OP: I regularly shuttle two bikes on a Spark; the wheels--even on a criterium-ish road bike--stick out past the body, but not the mirrors. It's still a smaller package than the guy driving a 250 to the grocery store, though.

Oh sure - Science!

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REZEN

· #10 · Oct 19, 2021

D. Inoobinati said:
That's what I call guilt-free access to the trailhead.

Why is it guilt free?

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xjbaylor

· #11 · Oct 19, 2021

REZEN said:
Why is it guilt free?

At this point it is only guilt free if you ignore manufacturing, sourcing of power and the decommissioning of the vehicle, but it also appears big strides are being made in all of those areas as EVs become more commonplace and infrastructure to support them is improved. The most believable studies I have seen show EVs over the ENTIRE course of their life produce around 20% less CO2, so not exactly zero. That said, areas utilizing mostly renewable energy would be do better today.

Lithium mining is problematic, but is certainly being improved on at a rapid pace. Battery recycling is improving as well, which will be another win. While I don't think a Tesla is guilt free yet, at least they are headed in the right direction. I am driving a truck with a small Diesel engine, and while it is better than my last gas engine, I am looking forward to an EV full-size truck with comparable range (500-ish miles per charge.)

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REZEN

· #12 · Oct 19, 2021

Oh its a supposedly better carbon footprint thing.

My last car got 3mpg. For me it was guilt free when it was on track burning fuel, and enjoying the sound emissions game so I would show up with 5 exhaust setups depending where the decibel meters were on track.

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D. Inoobinati

· #13 · Oct 19, 2021

Can't wait for the day EVs are zipping around tracks blowing away ICE track records.

And handing out headsets to the old people and curious who want to hear fossil fuel engine sounds.

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REZEN

· #14 · Oct 19, 2021

^When EVs get between 1800lbs to 3300lbs, maybe. It really is something going hearing the V10/V8 era F1, when the start of the race suspends time, hurts the chest, and you wonder what madmen invented such creations.

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