Some Prius owners have posted that they carry canoes on racks fitted to their Priuses. I just bought a canoe, have a rack, but I can't find anything to tie to at (or under) the front of my 2008 Prius. The Toyota-provided screw bolt that you can install in the covered port in the bumper is way off the centerline of the vehicle, so that's not helpful to tie down the front end of a canoe. I'm hoping not to have to drill and mount an eye bolt and I don't do welding. Any canoe-carrying Prius owners' suggestions would be much appreciated!
Priuses4All, Welcome to PRIUSchat. Found using 'tie down' in the search function: 4 Point Kayak Holder: Front, Rear and two middle | PriusChat it is EXTRA important that kayak(s) be secured with a line from the bow to front of car. I have found the perfect attachment point (there are few options). Pop the hood. Attach a permanent loop through the small hole directly below the hood latch, and pull it through the first grill opening. Voila! You now have a bombproof attachment point, that you can tie a line to the kayak(s), without opening the hood,or crawling under the car. Use thin high strength nylon cord....use a trucker's hitch to tie off kayak to loop that you can stash in grill opening when not in use.... Anyone haul a kayak on your Prius? | PriusChat I also recall a member posting that they used the hood and rear hatch hinges as tie down points... But I can't find the post. Thinking about it, the lead angles of the ropes/straps wouldn't appear to be right; more fore and aft than up and down. I do not know!
Rokeby - Thanks very much for your great idea! I immediately went out to the car and popped the hood. -- How in the dickens did you loop nylon cord through that small hole?! I guess I can do it with some dental probes! I'm wondering, given how small diameter that hole is in my Prius (maybe 3/16"?), whether it would be a stronger anchor point for my canoe to use a piece of heavy insulated copper-core wire, and thread this out through the grill. Or maybe use thicker nylon rope around the hood latch support itself? Edit: I tried a short length of (I think, 1/4") vinyl-covered braided steel cable and got it threaded through the hole. Had to use a hooked wire to pull the end back out through the opening in the grill, and then I put a small cable clamp on the two ends of the cable. Once the long end of the cable was cut off I pushed the cable clamp through the grill into the engine compartment, leaving a nice steel cable loop that I can use to tie down the front end of the canoe. Very handy! Thanks again for sharing your ingenious method!
I'm glad that I could point you towards a solution that might work for you. I wish that I could claim some small credit for the through-the-grill idea. But, I can't. I just used the tried and true method of using the search function to dig around in the archives. Just about anything Gen2 related is addressed in there somewhere. 'The search function is your friend.' The Biggest Tool in the Newbie Arsenal | PriusChat
These bolt right on and are the best way to go. When not in use they tuck neatly under the hood. The front and rear lines should only be used as a failsafe if the main hold down lines fail. You do not want them tight as in bending your boat. Thus the off center mounting of the straps is OK 2013 Thule 529 Hood Loop Strap (one pair) - Provides Attachment Points for Tie-Downs On Front of Vehicle
The Prius has the nicest tie downs on all 4 corners at least 2006. Up front they are sort of directly beneath the head lamps. The view from an angle is blocked by plastic so you sort of have to look close to the headlamp. Someone on PriusChat talked me into a Tarpon 100 kayak last year, which he fits in the Prius by leaving the tail gate open with a tie down. I just put it totally inside my minivan. So I have not been doing the canoe much.
If you look on REI's website or similar ones, search for seatle sports hood loops or quick loops. Pieces of nylon that you bolt underneath the hood. This is what I do with my prius (note - the distance between bars is so short that it really seems to be necessary to diagonally cross tie sea kayaks when carrying them... they work themselves loose easily as compared to on my subaru), it saves the paint on the front. I put a hitch on the back of mine, so I hook to the hitch in the back.
Got the rack and kayak (even though it's not quite done) atop my 2014 v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) yesterday.
I guess this is a thread resurrection, but I use the shipping tie-downs underneath the front valence and up under the bumper in back. The canoe tie down cords we have (they've been in the family a while) have sections of rubber tubing over the rope near the ends to protect the bumpers.
That is impressive! What length bar is that? 60"? And the weight/load on roof is ok? Do you have a sunroof?
With a trailer hitch in back it's easy to use that in the rear. In front, the two shipping eyes don't let rope run easily and they are not easy to locate. During boating season, I hang a carabiner (actual climbing carabiners, extremely strong) in each one making it easy to tie in. I like the idea of the nylon webbing loops bolted under the hood, but my boats are too long...
