Author Topic: Tesla Model Y with a rack: how far can you open the rear hatch with a board on?  (Read 3570 times)

zacksc

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I got an order in for a Tesla Model Y in January (after the price drop) and I am hoping it can replace my old 4Runner as an SUP vehicle. One thing that is really unclear to me is how far you would be able to open the rear hatch when you have, for example, a 10' SUP on the rack? Usually what I do now with the 4Runner is have the board on nose first in a board bag and slide it out toward the rear. Would I be able to do anything like that with the Model Y? Would I want to maybe switch to tail pointing forward and slide the board out that way instead? Am I going to be able to open the hatch much at all with the board on top either nose first or tail first?

sflinux

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Not being able to open the rear hatch fully with a board on the rack is super annoying to me.  I would think that that the list of vehicles that you can lift with a board fully strapped is short. 
You can fit a 7'4" x 30" SUP inside a Model Y.  A 10' longboard, you will probably have to remove first to open the rear hatch. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82O9aG5zWrY
You could have something like this handy in the frunk, back seat or front passenger seat for putting your board on to get to the rear hatch:
https://suspenz.com/collections/portable-work-stands/products/ez-fold-sup-portable-stands
« Last Edit: February 25, 2023, 08:29:19 AM by sflinux »
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zacksc

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Here is what I am hoping for. (See picture.) Maybe elevate slightly in back with something on the rack and get the back end up just a couple inches and then maybe I can get the hatch 2/3 of the way open?

sflinux

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I was playing with Image-J, your scale is correct for a 10' board.  I had to do something different with a Honda Odyssey.
Quiver Shaped by: Joe Blair, Blane Chambers, Jimmy Lewis, Kirk McGinty, and Bob Pearson.
Me: 200#, 6'2"

PonoBill

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I have a model Y in Hood River. Diane has one too here in Maui, but that one doesn't count since of course I'm not putting a rack on that one. But the one in Hood River is replacing my PITA F350 longbed supercab, which required clearance lights and a crew of five to moor, or rather park. Since I no longer race vintage cars and am not pulling a 34' modified Airstream to haul them, I just don't need huge.

I had mine on order for almost a year. the delivery date kept getting pushed back. I got it a few weeks before we left HR for the winter. When Dianes' Volt started being a bit problematic I convinced her to buy a Tesla for here (it wasn't hard, she has a Model S in HR that she loves)--a model Y has got to be the most practical vehicle ever for Maui, you could do three laps around the island on a single charge. It's no surprise that they seem like bellybuttons here--everyone has one. Well, either that or a rusted-out Tacoma. She went online, found one for sale in the Honolulu Tesla store, and had it in a week. Pissed me off.

Yes, you can carry a longboard on the rack and open the rear hatch, how you do that depends on how nicely you treat your vehicles. You can just untie that rear strap (or rope in my case) and open the hatch. The rising hatch lifts the board out of the way. Of course, you might not like the scraping sound, but it works just fine. I'm going to add an aftermarket carbon fiber "spoiler" to mine and buffer the edge where the board will hit with a TPU bumper that I'll 3D print to match the curve.

If you carry the board tail first and fin down you gain a fair amount of lift before the tail hits the board. The hatch is long (it's a good thing, the liftover is reduced from the Model 3) but that means you don't gain all that much with the nose up, but it helps. There's also less nasty stuff for the hatch to hit and less scraping since it opens onto a smooth curve. The Aero is pretty good too. I carry a big SUP (10'4 Foote Triton) on my Chevy Volt here in Maui (problematic for Diane is just fine for me) and the improved mileage carrying the board that way is noticeable.

Or you could take up Foiling. My foil boards clear the hatch no problemo, and they can even go inside without doing anything funny with the front seat. With the rear seats down the inside cargo area is 6'5" long and huge in cubic feet. I bought a foam bed for "camping" inside the car from Teslarati. The Tesla includes a camp mode that keeps the inside temperature whatever you want and displays a campfire on the screen. Seriously. With the heat pump heater, it doesn't take much power, makes almost no noise, and you can control it from your phone without getting up. The bed folds down into a bag that can go into the otherwise fairly useless underfloor "Runk" (rear trunk). I got mine with a trailer hitch and I'll be adding a motorcycle carrier so I can transport my little KTM 390 ADV. I plan to do a lot of dirt riding this summer.
« Last Edit: February 25, 2023, 06:10:20 PM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

zacksc

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Thanks Bill. So you are saying go with tail forward and fins down and I gain a couple inches from the curvature of the board. And I think you are also saying that it works as a sort of spoiler and the aerodynamics is not too bad? (Or maybe just the 2nd part of that.). My everyday board is a 10' x 29" New Deal (Infinity) in a custom Vitamin Blue board bag, so it is kind of long (but not wide). It would be a pretty soft impact and probably not a problem at at when the hatch hits the upward curving nose area of the board.
    One more thing:  I wonder how much I can raise up the aft portion of the board (by adding a spacer to the rear rack), which would lower the fins in front of the windshield...  I wonder how much of that I could get away with before the 3 self-driving cameras in the windshield mirror mount start to complain?

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I think most new vehicles have this now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfUc1fz4cz0

PonoBill

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Assuming you want to be able to open the hatch all the way (I do, I'm constantly hitting my head on the Volt's hatch when I don't raise it all the way) then the spacer idea won't gain you much. You'll see what I mean if you remove the rear strap and let the hatch open fully. The board winds up a foot or more above the rear rail of the rack.

No, I don't think the board acts as a spoiler. Having it not act like an airbrake is good enough for me.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

PonoBill

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This is what I do. Diane's poor pampered Chevy Volt is still stunned to be turned from a simple life of people transport and frequent cleaning to a surfmobile, stuffed full of wings, foils, wet stuff, smelly towels, and various tools and hardware. It works great for me though, I'm averaging about 90 MPG charging it from our grid-connected PV system. It would be more like 250 if I didn't run it over to the other side of the island so frequently.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

 


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