Tesla offers specific bike racks for their specific lineups. Although the installation process of almost all Tesla bike racks is kind of similar except in some cases, people tend to search a lot regarding the correct ways of installing a Tesla bike rack to their Tesla lineups.
Therefore, we thought about creating a simple instruction article on the process of installing a bike rack for your Tesla.
Although this method will completely work with your Tesla Model Y, following the instruction guidelines mentioned below will allow you to get away with other Tesla Models as well.
Without any further I do, let us jump into the main section-
What’s in the box?
Having a better sense of the instruments you will require to complete the installation always helps to complete the installation with better convenience.
Here are the things you should get inside of the box-
- One front wheel strap
- Two keys
- Two Allen M4/M6 wrenches
- 14 Zip Strips
Let’s jump into the installation process
Now that, we are familiar with the tools and instruments that come with the Tesla Bike Rack, it is high time jumping into the installation process. Before you start; we would love to assure you that this is not a task you should fear even the little.
But the rack itself will be heavy. Therefore, having two people might help. But you can always do it single-handedly as well if you have the confidence.
The first thing you need to do is remove the cover from the back
The Tesla bike rack is a hitch-mounted device. Therefore, the very first thing you need to do to complete the installation is to remove the cover from the back bumper to open up the hitch box.
Once the hitch box is open, bring the Tesla biker rack
The Tesla bike rack will weigh around 50 pounds. Therefore, it will be a little heavier. In general, you should be able to pull it on your own. But if you are a little bit susceptible, you had better call someone to help you out.
Extend out the locking mechanism
Once the bike rack is near to your Tesla, extend out the locking lever that you will need to put inside of the Tesla hitch.
The locking lever should be extended out around 90-degree to ensure optimum fitting.
Fit the locking lever right into the Tesla hitch
Your Tesla Model should come with a 2-inch hitch receiver. Therefore, the bike rack you are thinking about installing to your Tesla Model should come with a 2-inch hitch lever as well.
If it is not 2-inch or smaller than 2-inch, you will need to adjust the fitment a little using the Allen M4/M6 wrenches that come with the bike rack.
But if you are using a factory Tesla bike rack, it should fit instantly to your Tesla hitch receiver.
Once the lever fits inside of the hitch receiver with a snapping sound, tighten up the bottom part to ensure essential fitting
You will notice a rotating gear at the back of the bike rack. Use the gear and tighten up the bottom part of the bike rack until it is tight enough.
Once you are satisfied with the essential amount of pressure being given to the lever, you can stop and use the keys to lock in and out.
How do you use the bike rack once it is installed in your Tesla?
Once the bike rack is installed properly, it is all about maneuvering the bike rack according to your preference. You will notice two different buttons on the bike rack to pull the bike rack or the bike rack arms to move back and forth.
- Pulling the top button on the bike rack will allow you to move the bike rack’s arms up and down. Therefore, this button will come in handy to hang the bikes or when there will be no bikes on the bike rack.
- The lower button, on the other hand, will allow you to move the whole bike rack forward and backward so that you can get access to the storage compartment of your Tesla.
How do you put your bike on the Tesla bike rack?
Now that we have the bike rack installed on our vehicle, it is high time to put the bikes on the rack. Here is how you should put the bike on the bike rack-
- When the arms of the bike rack are open, take your bike and lift it up on top of the bike rack.
- Take the clips or stabilizers and lock the bike so that the bike does not move when you will be on the motion.
- Put one stabilizer on the front, one on the back, and one on the horizontal stabilization point.
How much weight can a Tesla bike rack hold?
If you are a serious biker, you may not satisfy taking only one bike with you on the track. That is when the weight parameter plays an important role.
The factory Tesla bike rack is more capable of withstanding up to 120 lbs of load at a time.
On the contrary, an after-market bike rack may allow you to carry up to 180 lbs. of loads at a time.
How many bikes can you carry with a Tesla bike rack?
According to Tesla, it is possible to carry up to 4 bikes on a Tesla bike rack. But if you do not want to take any risk, it would be ideal not to take more than three bikes on your Tesla bike rack.
That is how you can think about getting the most convenient experience possible.
Final summary
No matter whether you have a Tesla Model X, Y, 3, or S, installing a hitch-mounted bike rack on your Tesla should be kind of the same for almost all models. Therefore, this whole article should suffice in giving you the best experience to mount a bike rack on any specific Tesla model with ease.