Traveling at max load capacity...going on vacation

Apart from the safety aspects, I'd be worried about killing the suspension, breaking a spring etc, which could end up costing you more than $400.
I'd probably up the tyre pressures, load it up and see what it looks like. If it looks low go for the van rental.
Another option is to fit a tow bar, if one is available in the US and use a trailer for the luggage (and maybe a couple of kids ), although that might cost you more than the van rental.

 

I have done 4 holiday trips driving over 3000 km each, 4 passengers, roof-box fully loaded (over the 75kg limit), 300 liter box on the tow bar (over the 60 kg limit). No problem at all. Cruising speeds up to 150 km/hr, still no problem. Yes, the car is heavy then and acceleration slower. You are breaking more weight, but still, enough braking power to need and use ABS for emergency braking. Will do the same this year. Car suffers more from the lemonade in the cabin than the weight.... ok, it is a 3, but would do it in a 4 as well.

 

(1) Can you take the Camry first, and have daughter bring the Prius later? Not that the Camry's load rating will be all that much higher than the Prius's rating.

(2) How much will the excess miles on the Tacoma really cost? This should set an upper bound to how much money you put into a solution.

(3) Rent a minivan for the trip?

 

Make sure you read the "fine print" on your tire sidewalls regarding max. cold tire pressure and max. loading. The max. tire load is usually associated with the max. cold tire pressure (at least the way I read it). In other words, your tires are only rated at max. load rating at the max. cold tire pressure. Usually 44 psi. So, pump them up to the max. tire pressure on the sidewall. Overloaded tires blowout because there is excessive flexing of the sidewall, leading to overheating of the sidewall and failure.

 

i have never thought about the weight when going on vacation. i always figured max seating plus normal vacation accoutrements = you're good to go. if it fits it flies. i don't drive over the speed limit, corner hard or slam the brakes. leave plenty of room in front of me on the highway.

 

This seems to be what very many people do, going substantially over the labeled load rating, and few get into trouble over it. Or at least, few experience enough trouble to notice a connection.

Though do note that this was a contributing factor to the Firestone tire / Ford Explorer rollover issue that killed a bunch of people a couple decades ago. But this issue was the result of stacking multiple factors together: overloaded tires, too-low tire pressures, excessive speeds, hot weather, a tire manufacturing defect, and problems with the vehicle design and OEM tire selection. Taken just one at a time, without the other factors present, the risk from any single issue was far lower.

 

the perfect storm, kinda like piling up floor mats under the go pedal.

 

My concern isn't with whether the PRIUS (or CAMRY) would cope - but the legality of having 5 passengers and only 4 seatbelts. Both are only 5 seater cars:



If there were an accident, insurance could very well deny the claim if the vehicle is overloaded (not sure if the EDR records if seatbelts aren't fastened). More than that, there are lives at risk.

 

It sounded to me that she won't have any issue with unbelted passengers. Both Prius and Camry have belts for 5, and she wasn't going to have 6 people until the older daughter arrived in a second vehicle.

Insurance claims typically don't get denied in the U.S. for common things such as exceeding weight labels or changing to non-original tire sizes. Obstruction for such trivia is for our health insurance system, not our car insurance system.

 

I was muddled too, so it's 5 bodies in total I guess.

 

Not sure - she said "All 6 of us are driving ...". And later "... 5 passengers ...".

But sure - if it's only 5 people, shouldn't be any real problem.

 

6 people going in total, however one daughter is driving up later because she has to work. So 5 people in one car on the way up, 6 people in two cars on the way back.

"Passengers" can be a confusing term. When referring to the capacity of an automobile the number of passengers includes the driver, i.e. a "seven passenger vehicle" means seven people including the driver. In all other contexts normally passenger does not include the driver. If using the term outside of its normal context it's usually best to qualify it, like saying the driver and three passengers or four passengers including the driver. Or even better, just use "people" and no qualification is needed.

I was thrown by the Camry at first. The initial post seemed to imply that the daughter who owned the Camry was not the same as the daughter at college coming up later. But apparently it is the same person, which is why the Camry is not available for the drive up.

I think it is commendable that the OP is thinking about safety and wants to make sure that there won't be any problems. However my main concern is not vehicle weight, but will there be enough beach chairs? Four doesn't seem like enough.

 

Oh - I can understand that - one is like me. I prefer to stay back and read a book rather than venture on the beach and endure Sun, Sand, Sunburn, Sunstroke, Salt, Sandflies, Sharks, Stingers ... and Sunamis

 

And a Steak on the barbie

 

I think I'd be more worried about cramming 5 people into the Prius for a trip that long.......and not having at least one of them end up dead or severely injured by the other occupants before the trip is over.

Would an extra 4 days on the rental really be $400 ?? Maybe some shopping around on that would be warranted.

I think it would be a bad idea for several reasons.
We can talk about leasing being a BAD option at some later date.

 

The prius can handle it fine if the passengers can. Many people have hauled more weight over the last 15 years in their prii. I remember a guy posted on here after hurricane Katrina, he has a prius and loaded it down with 5 huge guys, and everything they Possiblely could fit in the prius. It made it! And was totally fine. Now days the prius has a much much better suspension system. No need to worry

 

Used to be the owners manual told you to add pressure to the tyres if running loaded or on long highway trips. Now I guess it's expected we all know this. RIGHT!

I would run 2-4 PSI more than "normal", whatever that means. I don't ever run the low pressures the door placard calls for. I run 40 PSI front and 38 PSI rear (inflated "cold", or early in the morning before driving the car). For long highway trips and/or a fully loaded car I would be running 42 PSI front and 40 PSI rear.

I would also check wheel temps. with my hand when stopping for fuel. If too hot, slow down on the next and all additional legs of the trip. "Too hot" means it panics you how hot they're running. Sometimes "common sense" is automatic.