Leaf Quick Release Hitch for bike racks or cargo

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Sorry for the glitches Mike! A couple of those steps are covered in the revised 2013-14 instructions, but I'll keep a closer eye on the hole locations.
 
Love the hitch! Bike rack plugs into it in seconds and I'm on my way. (Many more lunch options now.)

INSTALLATION
I was really worried when I saw the "fish this huge rectangular washer and bolt - through this somewhat tiny hole quite a distance from the destination hole" part of the instructions... Had to spend some time thinking about that one...

But when I fished the bolt and washer - it was amazingly easy!

NOTE
1. Make sure NOT to screw the bolt onto the fish wire TOO far. Make sure it will still come through the washer.
2. Also, try to resist the urge to screw the bolt onto the fish wire to test it out. It is really hard to get the bolt off the fish wire... But that's good when pulling it through the frame of the Leaf.
3. A second helper is REALLY nice when feeding these two bolts through the hitch. Need them for about 2 minutes...

Thanks Bill.
 
Hey guys, how much weight do you think the LEAF can pull without too much trouble? I want to buy a LEAF for my business and I'm just concerned that the car won't be able to handle the towing. Also concerned how the extra load will affect battery life. I probably won't need to pull more than 500kg (1100? lbs)

Anyone had experience with pulling substantial weight with this thing?
 
I installed this hitch two years ago.
I absolutely love it and have no complaints.
I carry weekly three adult bikes and one child bike on a bike rack.
I would estimate around 150 pounds with no problems. Even towing bikes I do not notice a OMG difference in range.
update: So I had some errands to run....decided to load up all four bikes and test the range. So in seventy degree weather, A 2011 Leaf with 36k on it, two occupants, at highway speed(65mph) I completed my trip today with 65 miles on the trip with 23 SOC to go.
Lastly I really think it will not effect your battery degradation. After all Leaf propulsion system was designed to slow the car at different rates of speed...all additional wait will do is increase that speed....any who that's my logic.
Hope that helps...the hairy one.
 
MrNuclear,
Towing light duty cargo trailers (up to 2000 lbs) in non-extreme conditions isn't going to affect the car or battery life any more than driving up a incline or accelerating hard. In other words, it should be immeasurable in the blend of all your other driving. I guess if you were doing it every day you could measure something eventually, but the effects would be from increased temperature of using more juice and charging more often.
 
I'm surprised more people don't have these hitches. They are great! You should post these on Craig's List and to the SF Bay LEAF club:
http://sfbayleafs.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I am willing to do local installs in the SF, Peninsula or Coastal area.
 
Electric4Me said:
MrNuclear,
Towing light duty cargo trailers (up to 2000 lbs) in non-extreme conditions isn't going to affect the car or battery life any more than driving up a incline or accelerating hard. In other words, it should be immeasurable in the blend of all your other driving. I guess if you were doing it every day you could measure something eventually, but the effects would be from increased temperature of using more juice and charging more often.

Thanks Electric4Me & everyone,

That's exactly the kind of info I'm after. I just wanted to make sure the car wouldn't automatically shut down if it was struggling too much. I'm going to buy a LEAF next week, will post some pics once the hitch & trailer are installed.
 
MrNuclear said:
Electric4Me said:
MrNuclear,
Towing light duty cargo trailers (up to 2000 lbs) in non-extreme conditions isn't going to affect the car or battery life any more than driving up a incline or accelerating hard. In other words, it should be immeasurable in the blend of all your other driving. I guess if you were doing it every day you could measure something eventually, but the effects would be from increased temperature of using more juice and charging more often.

Thanks Electric4Me & everyone,

That's exactly the kind of info I'm after. I just wanted to make sure the car wouldn't automatically shut down if it was struggling too much. I'm going to buy a LEAF next week, will post some pics once the hitch & trailer are installed.
Doesn't the owner's manual say that the Leaf should not be used for towing??
 
derkraut

I realise that towing with the LEAF is not recommended & it will probably void my warranty. I needed to know if a) it was possible to tow that much weight and b) if it had a massive effect on battery life
My business needs to be emission-free. I could tow the trailer with my Amarok, but that would defeat the purpose of having a 'green' business.
 
derkraut said:
Doesn't the owner's manual say that the Leaf should not be used for towing??
Of course the manual says that. If it said it was OK to tow, then they'd have to truly design it to tow stuff in all kinds of weather and conditions. Instead, we can use our own judgment about what is reasonable, accepting the liability if something goes wrong.
 
Here is my bike rack on my LEAF:
770x513


It works really well! I'm a big fan of this tow hitch. I would not tow anything heavier than 300-400 lbs with this car, and it definitely will void your warranty.
 
kevinleaf said:
It works really well! I'm a big fan of this tow hitch. I would not tow anything heavier than 300-400 lbs with this car, and it definitely will void your warranty.

It definitely will NOT "void your warranty" in the United States thanks to the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. The manufacturer must show that the aftermarket part or condition caused the need for repairs before denying warranty coverage and then only has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs. So if you tow your warranty is not immediately voided. Could towing cause damage to your car which would not be covered under the warranty? Certainly...
 
QueenBee said:
It definitely will NOT "void your warranty" in the United States thanks to the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act. The manufacturer must show that the aftermarket part or condition caused the need for repairs before denying warranty coverage and then only has the right to deny coverage for that part and charge you for any repairs. So if you tow your warranty is not immediately voided. Could towing cause damage to your car which would not be covered under the warranty? Certainly...

Thanks for that info.

PM sent to Electric4Me
 
Hello -

Just purchased my trailer hitch from Bill and it is outstanding! I can't say enough great things about it.

Now, I am a bit mechanically inclined, but not overly so. I thought I could give it a try and install the hitch myself. It was a lot easier than I thought and worked out very well. I did have a couple questions which I emailed to Bill and ran into a bit of an issue. He called and walked me through it. About 5 minutes and I was able to finish without a em, er hitch.

The whole install took about an hour and a half, and I did 95% of it without jack stands or lifting the car. I did eventually use a jack stand to do the drilling, as my drill and bit wouldn't fit without lifting the car a bit.

I'm pretty confident if I can install this hitch, anyone can. I had to do a bit of drilling, but again, if I can do it, anyone can. The design is terrific, well thought out and very clever.

If you need a hitch, I wouldn't hesitate to buy this one from Bill!

Cheers
kc
 
Thanks for the comments Kayle!

For clarity for anyone reading this who hasn't yet seen the installation instructions, the hole to be drilled out is on the 2013-24 LEAF. There's an existing hole in the frame there, with two layers of metal. The outer layer has a 3/8" hole, and the inner one is smaller. The hole is drilled out to 3/8-7/16 through both layers for an adequately sized bolt to be used to support the hitch loads.
 
I have seen a few pictures with a trailer on the hitch. My question is where do you hook the chains? My hitch dow not have any hooks. Also where did you tap into the wires for the lights? Thank you.
 
To answer: My question is where do you hook the chains? My hitch dow not have any hooks. Also where did you tap into the wires for the lights?

Bill welded safety chain loops onto the removable section. Any trailer shop could do the same if you already have the hitch.

I described my 4 pin plug wiring here on 9-5-2013. It still works with no problems nearly a year later. Everything is under the taillights.
 
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