Can I safely trailer with a Yakima Rack n Roll?

I would like to carry between 2-4 kayaks on my 2012 Prius v Five using something like the Yakima Rack n Roll trailer, which is very light weight and responsive and can carry up to 350 pounds. I might also use the trailer to carry luggage across country to move my kid to college. I am trying to decide whether to do this or to use our old 2003 Odyssey van with nearly 300,000 miles on it which gets half the gas mileage.

I have seen images of other prius cars carrying much more, and seen many regular Prius cars carrying bicycle racks on their car against the manufacturers advice. I am wondering how many others have trailered with a Prius v and what your experience is.

I am also trying to decide which tires to put on my car - and have started another thread for that. Since I would like the option to trailer, I want to make sure my tires can handle that. I currently have 215/50-17 Continental Extreme Contact DWS. I am considering replacing them either with the same or with Purelli Centurato P7 All Season Plus Grand Touring with EcoImpact. It has a slightly smaller load rating than our current tire, though, and I wonder if that will be a problem, though it still seems within our maximum load.

Any thoughts and experiences are welcome.

 

Steep terrain is definitely possible. I hadn't thought of the braking aspect. However, I'm thinking that if we don't exceed the manufacturer's maximum load limit, this shouldn't be a problem? Not sure.

 

We have a 2003 Honda Odyssey that we've used as a camper for 4 full-sized adults, to haul completely full top to bottom yard leaves, washer/dryer, lumber, kayaks on top, many trips, etc. It has been a work-horse on very, very bad roads. But, we just bought this used Prius v and really like the ride and the gas mileage. I have a place I kayak that is only 5 miles from here, and another that is about 15. I would love to be able to use a trailer because it would make loading and unloading so very much faster. If I could use it on both vehicles, it would be great to have options.

I agree, storing stuff locally and shipping might be an option. I already considered that for some things, and buying things online to ship there for free. We are planning on being minimalist with possessions this year. But, we might need to take a bicycle and 3 adults. I just thought taking the Prius might be so much nicer and cheaper due to the gas mileage.

 

Sorry, I'm a bit dense. What do you mean they are dogs? Do you mean the gas mileage goes way down?

Also, are you agreeing that a trailer for such things on the Prius v would be nicer? Having loaded the interior of my van with leaves, I can certainly say a trailer would be advantageous, though the one I'm looking at would have to be retro-fitted for leaves. It is really meant for light, clean hauling.

 

As for the trailer, yes, it is a lot of money. We really can't afford it - at all. But, the way it can be moved by hand and stored so compactly is extremely important since we don't have storage or garage. It would give us the ability to move the kayaks to the back yard by hand very quickly and easily. We're still debating whether to do it. Honestly, it is not on my SO's radar, and I'm trying to decide whether to push for it because it affects me the most in our situation. It is very hard for me to load kayaks by myself onto our van. A trailer would be wonderful.

 

Very educational, rjparker! I didn't really understand the relationship between the HV and gas engine. Now I see that the battery power is important for climbing, which I didn't realize before. I also didn't think about the suspension wear when hauling heavy loads. Thanks for your detailed explanation!

 

Haha! No, The Electric Me, I'm not so determined, just hopeful. SO and I disagree on this, and I already had one early death of a vehicle last year due to no fault of ours (faulty engine, but with no recall) - the one that was supposed to be able to pull 5,000 pounds with ease but never pulled anything and still died. So, I will have to have enough evidence before I can convince him to take the risk. The loss of our Jeep was devastating financially and I don't want to repeat a vehicle loss - especially since this Prius is the replacement. So, I am determined to gather as much first hand knowledge as possible to make a well-researched decision. However, I have found that manufacturers err so far on the side of caution that they make perfectly good vehicles unusable for perfectly reasonable things. My Odyssey is rated to only carry 2 kayaks and a rack on top. That seems ridiculous! But, because I'm afraid of ripping the top off like a tin can, I have obeyed that rule and limped along, despite the rack companies saying it is safe. I might take the risk when I see others who have done 4 kayaks and had windsheer from 70 mph cross-winds. Then I might try it. But, our Prius is so new to us and in such good shape, I'm not willing to kill it just yet without good evidence. I take my 290,000 mile Honda CRX on treacherous nearly off-road roads it was never meant to go on because it is only worth about $400 resale and because I have enough experience after 24 years to know how it handles. But I've still not put a rack on it, even though it is a rust bucket now, because I worry about the handling risks. So, I'm a reasonable research-happy hound. I want to know everything before I make a decision that would affect safety or risk damage.

 

Yeh! That is pretty bad - and stupid! I think the smoke was probably not the first clue that he was in trouble! I bet there was some noise and gauges that would have clued him in to the problem long before it got that bad - not to mention maintenance. I did see an image on the internet of a little Prius carrying a big trailer like that on a flat freeway, but even that I thought was pretty scary. Some light trucks couldn't carry what they were carrying. I'm sure the guy in the video was just figuring he could replace an engine (why he would want to, I don't know), but never dreamed he might be in danger when the engine gave out.

Thanks for the advice! Though I never planned on pulling anything like that with my little car - or my van, for that matter - I am glad that others might see that and think twice!!! Seriously, he could have easily been killed. We have people killed every year losing control on the roads around here without being that crazy. Actually, 3 just this last week. Good lesson.

I'm still not giving up on pulling only 200-350 pounds - but I want to talk to others who have done it and know what conditions they have done it under before I ever attempt it. I'd have to know they did it without any stress on the motor or control issues on steep and long ascents/descents, at near highway speeds (or at least 55 miles/hour) for long distances, and in heavy cross-winds. At this point, I'm staying cautious and not attempting it. We'll use our van until I'm totally and completely satisfied that the experience of others is nearly scientifically validated. Actually, I'd love to see the engineering specs for the design to determine just how much on the side of caution the owners manual is giving advice. Is it all just for liability or is the engineering really not capable of it.

 

LOL!!!! Yes. I have definitely noticed that nice little latch on the driver's side mat! I have wished they put them on the other mats, too!

As for the video, I also think someone would realize that if that trailer tipped, that little car simply would be no match to keep it on the road - nor keep the passengers safe! Just a month ago only a block from my house, a semi-truck fell over because he let his load tires slip off the side of the curb only a couple inches down off the edge. He ended up blowing out the entire side of his trailer, but he was very fortunately safe. Lots of risks when carrying a much bigger load.

 

Yes, times have changed. I just remember taking a couple suitcases! But, our teen is being pretty practical about the distance and size of the room. So, I think we'll be okay. The trip is about 1300 miles or more. Terrain is relatively level most of the way, though I don't know what we will be doing before getting there since we plan to take an excursion. Might behoove us to drop off the stuff in a storage unit for a couple days before continuing.

I have not even begun to weigh things. There will be 3 adults weighing approximately 450 pounds max. Then, whatever can reasonably fit inside the car. I have no idea how much all that weighs. When we travel on vacation, we carry about 110 pounds in fully-loaded backpacks for 3 people plus maybe 50-120 pounds in additional food and other car-camping or traveling items, depending on the type of trip. We'll probably have the same since we are going on a trip before stopping at the college - plus all the rest of the things from the kid's room like a comforter, bedding, the entire year's worth of clothes, a handful of videos, all the toiletries, personal effects, maybe a couple kitchen appliances and things like that. No furniture.

If we can fit a bike, that might be another 30 pounds maximum. But, I really, really, really do not want a bicycle inside the Prius. So, that is partially why I want a trailer option. I could ship it, but then I'd have to pay to have a shop put it together, unless we shipped it ahead of time and then picked it up and put it together there. But, shipping might cost a good bit - maybe $65-$100 for a large box, I don't know, yet. I am debating the bicycle at all. I don't think there is enough reason to have one, but kido thinks differently. Might possibly buy one there since we actually don't have one I want to send, yet. But, that would put a lot of time constraints on us and rush a major decision - which I'd rather not do.

If we had not bought the Prius, we would just be taking the Odyssey. But, we like traveling in the Prius so much and the gas mileage is so much better that we prefer it. Also, the Odyssey currently has a leak somewhere. If it is bad weather, that could mean everything getting soaked from the carpet, which would be devastating. We've had several trips where we were sleeping on sopping wet things - not pleasant. So, I am reluctant to take it unless I can find the leak this summer. I am planning on taking off all the inside panels and looking for it.

As for the regenerative braking on the Prius - that is something, too, I didn't think about. I'll have to investigate that and do some more thinking about how that works. Thanks for the heads up.