You CAN tow with a Prius

Good luck with that. I think it’s more about the physics of the momentum at speed and the ability of the brakes to stop you.
As I said in an earlier post I’m not here to judge. Tow 2 tonne 3 tonne. It’s only yourself you are putting at risk. I don’t actually give a damn
Just consider that family Wagon you hit and the deaths of their children.

 

Anybody can post a number; I was more curious where you got the number.

Nearest thing I can find in a 2008 Prius owner's manual is this, which is lower (and includes the driver and passengers):

 

Gen 4 2016 750kg same engine as gen3. Numbers are just numbers good luck with your 2200lb

 

Largely the same engine as Gen 3. Not the same engine as Gen 2. Different car from both. Towing limits aren't just about the engine.

It seems a lot of people just think "aha! I can tow this!" as soon as they prove that their engine is able to pull it up to cruising speed. Which pretty much any engine can eventually do with pretty much any load.

Not everybody goes on to thing about what happens when they need to make an urgent maneuver or stop.

 

It's actually higher than that. This number doesn't count anymore because people were skinnier in 2008.

 

What I’ve found is that I can control what I do but I cannot control what The Other Guy on the road might do.

Far too many times I’ve seen idiots on the road cut me off with impunity even if I’m going above the speed limit. Some just for the fun of it, it seems. If I were towing a trailer, I’d have been dead along with others near me from the debris field.

Then there are always the truck tire fragments, aka Alligator Skin, that pop up and require a quick zig zag maneuver to avoid. The trailer would not miss them and there goes the tire and wheel.

 

Insurance doesn’t bring back the dead.

 

Have you asked your agent about the resurrection rider?

 

A quick zag maneuver at freeway speed is usually how inexperienced drivers crash because if your zag is too quick and you fish tail and don't understand how easily a correction can turn into over-correction and loss of control...

I'm a big fan of having a hitch on my Prius, but towing on a freeway doesn't sound like fun or safe to me at all.

 

UPDATE: Rode my BMW C650 GT up the single ramp of the motorcycle trailer behind my Prius and absolutely hated the experience. Newer models of my trailer have ramps on each side to keep your feet "grounded" as you power the bike up or roll it back down. With my older trailer, there are no ramps, and thus a few seconds on the way up and down when your feet are dangling in the air, in no man's land.

You'd better hope to heck you lined your tires up straight and the ramp doesn't fall off (which it did after I rolled the wheel in the chock). "Nope," I thought, "that is not going to happen twice."

I sold the trailer within 8 hours (Facebook Marketplace is amazing). Not sure I want to fork out $3,000+ for a newer model with ramps, versus the $1,200 deal I got. And I'm not unhappy my 2011 Prius won't face 2,600 miles of hauling a payload that would weigh 167 lbs. more than its recommended max.

For now, I'm shipping the bike from Florida to New York, flying up to meet it, and likely riding home in 150-mile increments. Not towing for me. In the end, it wasn't the Prius that made that decision; I thought it would have been fine. I couldn't get past feet dangling from a motorcycle when they're supposed to be feeling the ground.

 

You could of just bolted a piece of plywood to the bottom of your ramp...

 

"You could of just bolted a piece of plywood to the bottom of your ramp..."

Easier said than done. There is some origami-type design with the ramp detaching and storing below the deck, then the deck folds in half like a taco, then the whole trailer stands up to minimize storage space.

The metal deck was already a mod that took away storage space below the deck for a spare tire. So I was also looking at creating an arm to hold a spare, because the previous owners' advice of a) "you don't really need a spare," and b) "just toss it in your car," was not acceptable.

I'd rather find a great deal on a trailer designed the way I want it. Or ship and fly, which sounds like the kind of adventure I want right now.

I have a towing question. I have a 2011 Gen 3 but posted in this Gen 2 thread based on search results. Are towing capacities, anecdotes, etc. basically equal for the different generations?

 

Gen 4 actually has a towing capacity. As sold in Europe, anyway.

 

Wonder if that's because their lawyers were getting concerned that telling people it's not for towing wasn't enough due diligence / accountability in terms of liability suits?

 

Yes similar, though each generation might be better able to handle a slightly heavier load. But it really comes down to trailer quality and driving conditions and the more experiences you have with a trailer the better you're going to be able to decide on that.

If I were you I'd buy a used harbor freight 4 foot X 4 foot trailer and get a welder and build a custom trailer to exact specs of what the motorcycle requires to make it as easy as possible to load and unload. Also upgrade trailer tire quality for more stability.

 

For those doubters amongst us, check this out
Toyota Prius Becomes Ultimate Tow Vehicle With Gooseneck Hitch Upgrade

 

please read the following with sense of irony.
Lol 8 mpg. Wow.
I think that Gooseneck might be pushing some sort of “weight limit” for the car?

quote from article:
“The Prius doesn't like the extra weight, with the roof further caving in, but the roof holds. The extra weight also crushes the car's suspension, pushing the wheels deep into the wheel wells. However, the Prius is still drivable, and Justin then tests it on public roads. The trailer trashes the car's fuel economy, though it steadily creeps up from two to four to five to nearly eight miles per gallon when the on-road test is complete.

The Prius isn't a speedster, and it didn't sound happy about towing the weight, but it got the job done without much fuss. However, there were signs that the car had struggles. The amount of smoke emitting from the tailpipe only increases, suggesting that the oil oil is getting into the combustion chamber. “

 

Go big or go home

 

So true