What is the best solution to mount a bike on Prius Prime?

No personal experience with it but maybe SeaSucker – SeaSucker ?

 

There are other threads discussing this but: 1 1/4" Drawtite hitch from etrailer.com. I installed it in about 2 hours. It would be faster if I had help. Holding the the bumper and hitch in position while you tighten the bolts is a bit awkward.

And I recommend the Thule Helium. Not cheap, but relatively light, and super quick to use.

 

A 2 inch hitch will look big and ugly, but is stronger. I can't imagine needing one on a car the size of a Prius. Most hitch-mounted bike racks are 1 1/4, and would need an adapter to fit a 2 inch hitch.

 

you can order it cheaper through Amazon , or just use e trailer.

the 1 1/4" hitch I have has a 200lb tongue rating. that's plenty for hauling bikes or light duty trailering. I pull trailers with dirt bikes and camping stuff, usually around 800 lbs total.

if you do go the trailer hitch route for your bike rack, get yourself a conduit clamp to keep the bike rack from rattling/wiggling all over the place from the slop in the hitch vs hitch receiver. it's basically just a u bolt clamp, about 4$ at home Depot. use loctite.

 

Trailer hitch is your best bet. The 2” is triple the price but can take any accessory

 

Not sure which rack that is ... never seen it before. Looks nice. I like my Thule Helium because I don't leave it on the car when I'm not using it, and it has a quick-connect that literally takes 30 seconds to plug in and lock it. Another 30 seconds to take it off. And it weighs 25 pounds.

 

Roof rack with bike attachment would be another option. Much easier to install.

 

On my non prime I used oem roof bars and Yakima high road rack. But now I have a 1up hitch rack on my work beater and that’s the way I’d go on my prime. Roof bars are loud and you lose a few mpgs

 

The Seasucker is a good choice. Its suction cups are pretty strong.

 

The only 2" hitch that I've been able to find is the Eco-Hitch by Torklift. It's expensive, about $950 installed, but $500 of that is the labor: they have to remove and re-install most of back end of the Prime, including the muffler, to access the rear bumper mounts. The job takes 5 hours, but the finished product is the strongest accessory hitch you can buy for a Prius. Advantages of a 2" hitch over a 1-1/4" hitch: Much more torsional stability. Overall much stronger. The Eco-Hitch is basically a Class III hitch, with far more weight carrying capacity than the Prius can actually handle. If you use it with a swing-out cargo basket or box, or a spare tire carrier, you won't have to worry about the off-center weight overstressing the hitch when the unit is swung out to the side when accessing the car's rear hatch. There are far more accessories available for 2" hitches than for 1-1/4" hitches, and it you already own some other vehicle like a pickup truck with a 2" receiver, you can use all of your existing hitch ball mounts or other accessories and not have to buy duplicates in 1-1/4".

 

I tried to find a dimensioned drawing of that hitch but I didn't succeed. Do you have one?

One thing I tend to look at with those is where it mounts to the body. Often they will just mount to the body stiffening channels (which could be called "frame rails" but, in a unibody, are really places where some sheet metal is folded into tubes) using threaded spots that were originally there to attach tie-down chains for transport. Two on each side, but the two are quite close together front to back, which means a any vertical force that's applied a couple feet behind the car is multiplied by a lot where it torques against those folded-sheet-metal channels. It can probably handle the static force of your folded-out basket ok, but anything like an unruly teen taking a running bounce off it, I wouldn't be so sure.

The Toyota hitch that's sold for the Gen 4 in Europe has a neat answer to that: it's installed with these long bars that go right into the hollow body channels, with its mountings now a good distance apart front-to-back. That greatly reduces how much it multiplies any out-behind-the-bumper forces.

 

I put an E-Trailer 1.25" hitch on by myself using some plastic buckets to help hold in place.
When re-installing plastic I forgot the two little screws on either side of the big black plastic rear piece but seems OK so far. To install a bike racks I had to first install a 1/25" to 2" extension which was OK because the bike racks included a spacer for either. All that required TWO of these, one normal bolts down at extension and another at 90deg at Bike Rack to Extension (might post pics later).http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TRTSRVE?ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details&th=1
haven't actually used for bike yet, but seems like would also be good for hanging duffle bags, buckets, etc or "table top". Main reason for this model besides low cost was welded triangle section for running locking cables for bikes.

I"m also hoping to mount this unit on end of this cargo tray with a few modes.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QEKG8C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I put 1-1/4" Draw-Tite hitches on both my Gen 3 and Prius Prime. The Gen 3 was a much easier installation. I can't see getting a 2" hitch because the Prius mountings are the weak point, not the hitch, unless you already have a 2" bike rack. It says in the manual not to put on a hitch, which is telling. I wouldn't carry more than 2 bikes back there either, put the heavier bike close to the car, and extenders make the load worse (the Draw-Tite doesn't need one, as opposed to the Curt). I've got a 1-up USA rack. The 2" version of my rack was more expensive and so are 2" hitches.