We recently installed a hitch and fabricated a goal post bar to carry lumber and other materials over 10' in length. The hitch extension was built to match the elevation of our existing Thule rack so that long items could sit flat and easily be secured using rubber bungees and ratchet straps. This set up is great for carrying lumber, irrigation pipe, and drain pipe. It was also designed to accommodate a kayak. On the contracting side of things, the Prius has now become a valuable part of our fleet for our Landscape Design/Build fleet. The low car height makes for easy loading and unloading. Of course you can't beat the gas mileage when you are driving almost 1500-2000 miles per month. We are still waiting for a 35 mpg clean turbo diesel pickup that would compete directly with the Toyota Tacoma. Until then, the Prius Contractor special will do just fine.
Very cool. My buddy is a painting contractor in LA and lays down a lot of miles between jobs. He recently made the switch from a full size Chevy pickup to a Prius for his job. It was costing him $80-$100 per day in fuel in the truck. Now, it is practically nothing and all of that money is going back to the bottom line after the few days a month it takes him to recoup his car payment. He has been considering a rack or trailer to help haul his equipment, but so far he has been able to manage to carry everything without much trouble. He is simply amazed with the car.
Pretty cool! I may just need to add a tow bar to increase my Thule bars usefulness. Regarding the high mpg diesel pickup, I had really hoped the Mahindra that was talked about a few years ago would have come here but it never panned out....
Now if you built a similar bar on the front that you could take off & on you could carry really long items!
The Mahindra was a joke. The Volkswagen Amorak is an amazing clean diesel truck that is not available in the USA http://www.vw.com.mx/es/models/amarok/galeria.html Here is what really bothers me. Check the power to weight ratio and the MPG ratings below. Toyota Tacoma - Regular Cab 21 Mpg City and 25 Mpg Highway 4cyl - 159hp - 180lb-ft of torque Curb Weight 3,250 lbs VW Jetta TDI Wagen (Clean Diesel) 30 Mpg City and 42 Mpg Highway 4cyl - 140hp- 236lb-ft of torque Curb Weight 3283lbs
