Prius V Torklift Ecohitch install review

Hey fellow V owners, I searched here for a couple months for the Prius V Ecohitch by Torklift without any luck so last week I decided to call and just order new. The receiver arrived Friday and I installed it that day and wanted to give my thoughts on the install for which I did myself.

Overall the process was really easy from ordering to having it on my doorstep within 4 days (I do live 90 miles from Torklift so that probably helped!).

Items needed for install.
1) Socket set (metric and standard) with a wobley for getting around hard corners near muffler hanger.
2) Gloves so you don't bust your knuckles.
3) grease for bolt threads in case you ever want to get the receiver off.
4) Ability to easily access bottom of car (curb, loading dock, jacks)
5) Coffee/beer depending on time of day (I went coffee as it was early AM).
6) Torkwrench

The setup:
The receiver came nicely boxed with all the proper protection inside. I actually did preread the instructions which really helped. First step was to back the car to the edge of our parking spot off the alley, a bit sketchy. This allowed good access underneath which I believe is essential. If you don't have a jack and stands you could easily use some blocks of wood and back it up one of those parking barriers or find some type of loading dock or something. I believe this saved me a lot of time rolling around on my back with a headlamp.

The process:
The old bolts came out pretty easily without having to use WD40/PB Blaster. They say to keep the old driver side tie down, but I tossed it figuring I would just find it in my shop in 10 years and not know what it was. Once all the old stuff was removed, I got my neighbor and we moved the new receiver up in place. Pretty straight forward. We held the new hardware in place with a couple of the new bolts on the driver side. The passenger side is the only pain in nice person in the entire process. Using a wobley on the end of my socket, I was able to get one of the new bolts in place and then got the second with my fingers. Everything else was super straight forward. Overall process was 1.5 hours (including feeding two kids breakfast).

Final thoughts:
I thought the install was super straight forward. Directions were more than sufficient and prereading over a cup of coffee really helped. I did not opt for wiring in the receiver as we don't plan to do any towing. I really like how tucked up and away the receiver is and it combined with our bike rack makes for a really good setup. Overall 5 out of 5 stars. Yes, its a bit expensive, but well worth the money in my opinion.

 

a few pics...

 

a few more....

 

RJ- Yes on the 2". We didn't want another rack as we already owned a 2" receiver bike rack for our Tundra. Also liked the lower profile (closer to back of car) so I didn't want to use a conversion.

Living in the PNW, we don't have much rust. I guess I would add if you live in salty (rusty) area you might want to start a couple days early with spraying the old factory bolts prior to doing your install.