I just bought a monocycle. ~500lbs wet weight. Occasionally, I may want to use it in another city and also take a car if possible. The simplest option is a real wheel caddy tow. See for example, MoTow MoTow | The Ultimate Motorcycle Tow Hitch, eBike and Scooter Carriers I expect I will need about 300lbs normal tongue weight. torque arm will be around 1.5 feet. Can this be done with a normal 2-inch hitch on the 2012 Prius? Are there 2-inch hitches available that would be appropriate for an application with tongue weight and torque?
Towing a bike with one wheel down is NOT A GOOD IDEA, regardless of which wheel it is. It can screw up all kinds of things from brakes to tires to wheel bearings. And then there are pot holes. You would be MUCH better off looking for a small "motorcycle specific" trailer.
While I don't think there's any issue with damaging a motorcycle on a tow dolly, tongue weight on most Prius hitches is about 200 pounds, though some hitches will claim their hitch is 300 pounds but seems doubtful because there's no added structure. But you could modify a hitch to add more structure so you don't end up with a slightly bent hitch which has happened to myself and many others. If I were in your situation I'd skip the hitch entirely and remove the front wheel of the motorcycle and mount the forks to the rear bumper. That'd mean either welding aluminum to metal bumper under the bumper cover, or replace metal bumper with steel, then you'd have two mounts that'd stick up out of the top of the bumper cover to bolt the forks to. This likely is the most stable and lightest solution... Though driving in reverse will take some time to get good at...
I've got a slightly different model, but 300lb on the tongue seems like a lot to me. I consider 200 to be enough. Wouldn't a front wheel dolly reduce the load on the tongue?
I've been riding and wrenching on bikes for near to 60 years now and trust me, a problem CAN occur. Especially if you are an "amateur" at it. For instance.......if the rear wheel is the one that is down, you should disconnect the drive line. If it is a shaft drive bike, that's a problem right away. IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA. Ask any mechanic in a bike shop.
I think that is the idea behind the rear wheel dolly design... The free-spinning front wheel is the wheel dragged. Also, the turning pivot is in the dolly rather than the motorcycle, so it stays perpendicular to the ground in a perfect vertical upright upright posture and the front wheel is dragged in the center (where the rubber is hard) I will eventually replace this Prius with something I like more, but for now it is fine. I only drive it a few thousand miles a year. I'm thinking something like a GV70 might be next.
While it is possible to get 2" receivers that fit a Prius, it should be understood that it is to open up compatibility to accessories that only come in 2" size- it does not improve the load carrying ability of the car one bit. I've towed with my Prius. It can do light loads. You hit maximums fast- with a tiny little trailer and say, a snowblower on it + me in the drivers seat = the car is already at max gross with all other seats empty and no rear cargo. And you can tell every time you have to stop. These cars have brakes built to stop ~1000lbs of payload. They don't care whether it's in the seats or bolted to the bumper, just keep it under 1000 total if you expect them to work normally. ...and there's the other half of my $.02.
As someone who's used both sizes of hitches on a Prius, the 2" receiver has way more options, but hitch pin is harder to line up than smaller one.
I have hitches on all my Priuses, only comes in level 1 hitch rating @ 1 inch receiver.. I have a 8x5 tilt trailer and 3 bikes.. I can tell you anything over 65 with the trailer and the 2 big bikes, Indian scout and a Honda vtx1800n is unsafe.. I've towed a ton of stuff with these cars, just pay attention to the battery temps and inverter temps on the 3rd gen..
Folks, thanks for your input. Like always, I posted and got a zillions answers. I want a GV70, but I'm also looking at a hybrid escape 2020/2021 to replace or supplement my Prius, which will give me 1500lbs towing and it says 350 tongue weight https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/resources/general/pdf/guides/20Towing_Ford_Escape_Oct15.pdf
