Thule vs. Yakima Roof Rack for 2010 Prius

It wouldn't be possible. The sunroof is curved & moves into the line of the roof chassis/sill. Have a look at the sunroof in operation from the outside/top of the car & it will be clear why.

 

john1701a -

I'm looking into a Yakima (and maybe Thule) roof-rack right now for my 2010 Prius. What did you mean by "dimples" in the rear? Did the clips somehow cause dimples in the metal? Could it have been resolved with better fitting? Thanks for any input you might have! I don't have a moonroof btw, so no issue there.

oh - forgot to mention. This is only for 2 bikes. Don't plan on carrying anything more...

 

Sorry guys about reviving this thread. But I thought that the Thule clip-on racks could never scratch the paint, whereas the Yakima system could? Now I am confused as to which to get, and I do not want to install a permanent roof rack either...

 

Yes and Yes.

I didn't realize how much the 2010 differed from the Iconic model. Had I known that, the very subtle mental dents could have been avoided.

Oh well. At least for me it serves as proof that I really do carry stuff on the roof above the glass.
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Apparently both will damage the paint? Hmm lucky I didn't go and order it.

Looks like I have to carry my bike with something else.

 

In my case, after removing the rubber coat left on the paint with finger nails (and time), I ended up with 4 lines where paint is not glossy and smooth anymore, on the edges of where the pads were. Barely noticeable, unless you look for them.

I tend to think that the pads fitted for the 2010 Prius are not a perfect fit and caused friction along the edge of the car.

This was not my experience before with the same roof rack and pads designed for my old Echo; as the paint is still intact.

 

Thanks for the reply! I went ahead and bought it anyways, since the Thule lock cylinders that you can buy may be slightly (emphasis on slightly) more secure than the Yakima equivalent, and the Thule Traverse 480 system looks real easy to use & take on & take off.

I am going to deal with any possible paint scratching by buying some clear 4in. wide polyeurethane tape to put under the clips, and see if that helps:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3627400419_9aee512898.jpg?v=0

 

Anyone have the 48" bars on the 2010 prius?

I know there was a forum debate about the 58" or 48" bar length for the Gen II Priuses and noticed that Yakima recommends 58" for the 2010 as well. I've got the 58" and am thinking about taking them back as they seem quite long - but wanted to see if the 48" would work as well.

 

The first time you attempt to remove the assembly, you'll discover why that length is a benefit.

Shorter would work, but leverage isn't possible with nothing extra to grab on.

That length also helps with careful placement of the rack back on later and serves as a tie-down location for really large loads.
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Thanks.

I did end up buying the Thule Traverse with the 50" square bars and installed it on my Prius yesterday. I'll see how the pads hold up over time. How long did you have yours on? I plan to take mine off during the winter season.

I also bought some 4" wide 8mil polyurethane tape, cut about 5 cm of length, and placed it exactly where the metal clips touch the car, just to protect the paint. If I have to I can use the very same tape and place it underneath the rubber pads for protection.

p.s. I hear no whistling at all with the square bars. Guess the fairing helps for this. Also, if anyone else installs the Thule system, remember to fully untighten the metal bolt in the foot, or else the fit clip will never "click" into the foot properly. Took me 15 minutes to figure this out. Will post some good pics later.

 

I had it on only during our last summer vacation, to bring our two bikes with us, for something like 2,500km (mostly highway).

Else I never leave the rack on the car, as it would almost be a paradox (to buy a Prius and voluntarily raise my fuel consumption by leaving a rack on the roof)!

See this post where I have put some info on gas consumption with the rack on (+15% fuel consumption) and with rack+bikes on (almost +50%). Note: Part of it was due to higher speed that what I usually do.

 

Thanks for publishing some real numbers!

I have a hitch mounted Saris rack that can hold up to
three bikes. I have noticed a barely discernable
effect on gas consumption, on the order of 1 mpg
driving at normal highway speeds.

 

Thanks Jon. I'll be using it with a Rocketbox only so the extra length is not necessary ---- I think? I'm only using it a few times out of the year so we'll see how the 48"'s work.... Although, your photos are pretty cool with the 58"s.

 

Some pictures of the new Thule Rack - used 50" square bars, since I prefer the all-black look as opposed to the silver-colored aluminum aero-bars:








Below is the Thule Prologue bike rack. Its the cheapest that Thule sells. Since I normally won't be driving long distances with it, I decided to get the base model. Even so, the bike racks held up fine during the 520 mile roundtrip. Unfortunately Thule is vague about how hard to tighten the bike rack onto the crossbars - I even sent them an email and they basically said "hand tighten them until it you can't tighten it further", which is too general for me. So I decided to torqued the front headpiece pictured below it up to 35 inch-lbs (the roof rack feet should be tightned at 26 inch-lbs / 3 Nm if that's any comparison). If there is any complaint about the Prologue rack, it is that the way it is tightened onto the crossbar, it can occasionally allow for slight lateral movement, so a few times when going slow speeds on bumps, I can hear a small "thunk" sound when the bike's lateral movement is causing the base of the headpiece pictured below to sway laterally a bit. Its not a big deal in my opinion though, just wish Thule was explicit on how much to tighten the hex bolts. When driving over 45mph, the issue actually happens much less.




I setup the roof rack exactly as specified in the installation guide (according to the measurements they gave in feet, not metric). Even so, there is a slight gap on where the rear crossbar & bike rack meet. After examining the flat top of the square rear & front crossbars, I noticed that they are not %100 parallel to each other, thus causing the gap in the rear. My guess is that if Thule specified them to be exactly parallel, the bars would probably be too close together. Either that or Thule didn't think it necessary to provide appropriatly sloped/curved rear plastic "feet" that would fit the curve of the car so as to make the rear crossbar even in line with the fronts. A non-issue though imho since Yakima crossbars don't even have a flat surface top surface since they are round, so I am not concerned about it.



pardon the photo below, didn't fully push in the thule plastic panel. I also used some 8mil clear polyurethane tape to protect the paint in case the rubberized metal feet gouged the car.







I was able to use the rack this memorial weekend for a trip out to Door County from Chicago. With the tank of gas I used (from Chicago to Door County, and 1/3 of the way back to Chicago), my mpg was 44.3 on the display, and 43.65 calculated via gas pump. My driving was about 330 miles @ 55-65mph, and 30 miles on local roads at 25-45mph.

Since my driving on a daily basis is almost exact the same, %90 hwy, %10 local, and for the past few warmer months I have gotten a pump-calculated 54.5 mpg, that makes the mpg loss from the roof rack + two bikes equate to about 10.85 mph less that normal, which is a %20 loss in mpg due to roof rack + bikes.

I should also note that just the roof rack itself, plus fairing, made me lose about 2.0-3.0mpg. So I am going to just leave the roof rack on this whole summer since I am going to use it a lot.

Hope that helps!

** updated **
Looks like the roof rack by itself with fairing is about a 4mpg hit, not 2-3. Just an fyi.

 

Would like to get a box for Prius with Solar panel
But my heart skipps a couple beats even time I see the prices
Anyone have a comment on this 2004-2009 Toyota Prius INNO roof rack system :: Sigma Automotive

Also anyone use a Swiss cargo box ?

 

There is another company out of PQ, their large box is about $500
3 available models : Parabolik, Expedition and Excursion

 

So with a couple of Bicycles fastened atop the Prius it acts like a Big Sail to help slow the car down, and increase the gas consuption. They make rear mounted bicycle racks that would have been less gas consuming. And folding the back seat and removing the bicycle front wheel might've saved the cost of the rack entirely. I would probably have tried those other choices over the roof top assemblage of air resistance devices.

 

Since I don't normally drive with the bikes on, the mileage hit isn't a big deal - I put the bikes on only once every two weeks, and I only drive at most 50 miles per trip. And its actually a lot easier and faster for me to throw two bikes onto the top of the car than it is to throw them into the trunk, and I don't have to worry about scratching them either or having them scratch each other. Bikes on top is also easier than using a trunk rack (I have one of those as well), since you don't have to worry about the straps, nor have to worry about the straps pushing on the parts of the car that shouldn't be pushed/rubbed (e.g. spoiler). Rear hitch is a good way to go, but since Toyota says that should not normally be done, I don't want to bother with any grief Toyota may give later about the hitch rack. So for me at least, the roof-top carrier makes sense.

 

I need to replace the roof rack on one of my 2008 Prius, because one was traded in for a 2010.

Frustrating thing is that the both my Prius sport 400xtr Rapid Aero Foot Pack with 2142 Fit Kit.

According to Tule website not only I have replace the Fit Kit (which I expected), but it is designed to use with the Traverse Foot Pack...

Has anyone used the 2142 Fit Kit on 2010 Prius?
It looks almost identical to 1566, not to mention that the roofline between 2008 and 2010 looks very similar as well.

 

The Thule people just informed me that the 2142 Fit Kit/400 XTR on my 2008 Prius will work on the 2010 Prius!!
Cool!!!