Cyclists - Roof Rack or Install a Hitch & Thule Rack?

Torklift doesn't yet show one on their website. They first need to borrow a local car from a volunteer, and there are very few Primes here yet.

 

Draw-Tite has one listed on their website. It's the same one as the liftback. I ordered one the other day. I hope it fits though.

 

Incorrect.

Mine was delivered yesterday... not installed yet, since my Prime won't be delivered for another week. Nonetheless, I'll be ready to go biking when the weather here (Minnesota) warms up.

This is what I got... 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Trailer Hitch | etrailer.com

 

Thank you John!

 

Good to know - I'm looking to do the same. I went to your site and saw the installed hitch. Can you post a pic with the bike rack installed. I'm looking to get a Thule 3 bike mount.

I assume the original bolts were long enough? Also, did you have to make any modifications to the molded pieces you removed to accommodate the hitch?

Also my Prime is a lease, does anyone know if this causes a problem with leasing terms?

 

my bike goes into the back, in my 2015 Prius it fit in without taking the wheel off, in the Prime, front wheel comes off ... small price to pay for me ... still have a Thule rear rack for the occasional need to carry 2 bikes ...

 

You might consider using a couple of heavy-duty 30 gallon garbage bags, pop the wheels in them will save all that mud getting over everything, also use one to wrap around the chain & gears (oil is a bastard to remove from upholstery!)

 

@john1701a
I saw on your site the installed Hitch and Bike rack. Thanks for making them available.
Did you need to use an extender, or did the bike rack fit as is?

 

I like how you added plastic bags as protection for your front-seat upholstery. I used to use a big clear plastic sheet I folded over the rear of the bike for that purpose. It's interesting how people solve a problem from different angles.

 

My particular rack required an extender. CURT 45789 worked well.

 

those are actually regular trash bags, too the head rests out and re-inserted through the bags so they would stay in place, and then tucked into the pockets, not a "nice" solution but works, and since i spend 90+% of the time alone in the car, i don't really care, and if i have to make it look "nice", easy to just rip out and use 2 new trash bags

 

I'm amazed how much my bike rack with bike on it cuts gas mileage. 5-10 mpg!

 

yep, on my 1st Gen 3 Prius the hatchback bike rack dropped mpg by almost 20%, that's why my bike is inside the car now

 

I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing when 45 mpg(give or take) is no longer good enough .

 

Couple of questions:

Do you think a second bike could be laid down on top of the first bike and still get the hatch closed?

Have you actually mounted the Thule rack to see if it fits and can handle the weight and bulk of two bikes?

 

I don't see why not. The one time I tried that in my PHV, there's was plenty of room. 2 bikes don't need anywhere near that much height.

The catch was, we didn't like the bikes touching like that. Purchase of the hitch quickly followed, especially considering the convenience it offers.

Unless you have really heavy old school bikes, it's a non-issue for 2. I've carried 3 of the lighter type (touring aluminum weight, not as light as carbon fiber) without any concern.

I couldn't care less. Biking opportunities are so few and far between, the tradeoff is totally worth it.

 

According to Thule web site there are two types of hitch mounted carriers, platform and hanging.
Platform typically holds 60lb of bike per slot
Hanging typically holds 35lb of bike per slot

Of course this depends on the Hitch Class and overall load capacity of the Bike Rack.

 

That is what packing blankets are for.

Though I certainly agree on the convenience of a hitch rack too, even when the internal cargo volume isn't needed for other stuff.

 

The chance of spreading grease/oil simply isn't worth it.

 

I used to manage a $3mil/year bike shop. The very best hitch rack I have ever seen is the Kuat NV 2.0. Products | Küat Racks