I've been thinking of getting a receiver hitch for my 2009, to attach a bike rack. Coastaletech sells both 1.25" and 2" hitch sizes, and Thule sells bike racks for either size, so I can't go wrong there, but what about other stuff? Is one size more popular overall? Any suggestions?
I would say that 2" receivers are way more common and there are many more accessories available for 2", but it is ridiculously oversized for a Prius.
There are more accessories (especially USED accessories) available in 2". I'm going to have a 2" receiver installed on Friday at a custom hitch shop for $225 (installed) even though I could go to uhaul and buy a Curt 1.25" receiver for $130 (not installed). I don't like the converters that make 1.25" into 2" mainly because it puts the connection point further from the wheels (this probably doesn't matter much for a trailer if your tongue weight is extremely light). I have read on the priustrailer yahoo group that people have done some serious towing using just a uhaul/curt hitch, and it seems that the only downside to this hitch is the 1.25" size. If your accessories fit that then you'll probably be happy with that hitch. If you use a coastaltech to hold much weight, you might need to reinforce it since many people have had problems with them bending. After having a welder reinforce them they are apparently great. And I haven't really heard any good or bad feedback on a "quality s" 2" receiver that is now on the market--if their product had a good reputation I would have bought it already ($160 shipped to my house). And I'm planning to wire my car for lights tonight using a "tow ready" tail light converter, part#18130/118130. It's a generic part made to allow a car with separate turn signals send the turn signals with the brake light signals, the way the trailer is expecting it. This is not an electrical isolator but just a cheap converter for the way the cars' tail lights work. I have installed new LED lights on my trailer and will be buying extra fuses for my lighting circuits. If we encounter any problems I'll buy a modulite isolator. We found a "tent trailer" used last weekend, I still need to bring it to the scales but I believe it is around 300lbs, and it is pretty easy to move around by hand. It is a "trailmaster" brand trailer, apparently now they make all motorcycle trailers, but the older one we bought is a 3'6"x7' multipurpose utility trailer that folds out to 7x7, then you build a canvas tent on top. It'd kinda like one of those "jumping jack trailers" but much much much smaller. We're big on tent camping, and planning to move to northern california where I'm told there's a lot of rain. The goal is to get the prius towing it by Sunday. Remaining tasks: Repack or replace trailer bearings (trailer came with a dust cap missing, hasn't been repacked in years) Install prius trailer wiring Install new LED trailer light kit on trailer Have welding shop install 2" receiver
Perfect, concise answer. I use 1.25" recievers on both cars because I don't need the extra strength, and there are more than enough accessories available for the smaller receiver now. 2" makes sense on cars that are actually supposed to tow stuff. 1.25" makes more sense on cars with limited ground clearance and limited towing capacity. 1.25" is growing in popularity, and just about everybody makes accessories in this size now.
Thanks for the advice everyone. This is mostly for carrying a bike, though it would also be nice to have a small hitch cargo carrier for the back of the car. I don't plan on ever actually towing with it. I think I'll go with the 1.25", especially after walking by a car today, noticing its 2" hitch and thinking how massive it looked on the back of a regular car.
Please read what people that bought the Coastal hitches are stating. The bottom line is that they have had some serious problems. Do yourself a favor and do some research on this board. You will end up with one of the good 1 1/4" solutions. FYI - here's a start on your research. The 2" Coastal is still a Class I hitch. -Brad
GT Welding in Salt Lake City installed a custom Class III 2" receiver last week, and the prius taillight converter is installed without an issue. Being able to probe the exposed metal at the back of the wire harness with a multimeter was extremely helpful. The new LED trailer lights ($30 at harbor freight) look awesome. So I just have a trailer bearing repack before we're ready to leave town with our tent trailer.
