anyone with a trailer hitch installed have better stability

I haven't noticed this, but perhaps it's because I wasn't looking for this benefit. I have the 2" Coastal hitch.

I would, however, like to find or make a set of faux wheelie bars (like they have on dragsters) to attach to the receiver when I don't have the bike/ski rack on. I think that would raise some eyebrows...

 

It appears if I am using my degree in ME way too much on this forum! Installing a trailer hitch or other such device in the rear of the vehicle will do nothing for the rest of the car in terms of chassis stiffness or rigidity. If you want to increase the RF of the body, you would need to place a stiffening member towards where the fulcrum of the chassis is located, not at the rear bumper.

At the least you do have a trailer hitch though which is something I could use to tow my trailer.

Ken Stewart

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priussoris @ May 16 2007, 08:05 AM) [snapback]443208[/snapback]</div>

 

On the topic of trailer hitches.........

The only reason we haven't sold our Jeep Grand Cherokee to buy another Prius is because of towing. I have a cruiser motorcycle and trailer that I tow it on sometimes (no, it's not a Harley so it's ok to tow it). I was curious if the Prius ('07) is capable of towing a 600lb bike on a 200lb trailer.

Thoughts or tech advise?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BexarWolf @ May 16 2007, 10:50 AM) [snapback]443503[/snapback]</div>

I think the Prius should be good for a 200 lb tongue weight and a 900 lb trailer, but I would be wary of trailer loads applying more than 200 lb due to hard braking, excessive rocking, etc. A 600 lb motorcycle on top of a trailer platform is going to have a high center of gravity. This will translate into a lot more downward force in a hard-braking situation, and I think you'd end up with a momentary tongue-weight force way over 200 lb.

I got the Coastal hitch for our 04 Prius. It seems to hang "low" on my car for some reason - about 3/4" clearance between the hitch and the bumper - and it's got a lot of vertical flex when carrying the Coastal basket (a great basket BTW). I would not trust the hitch with any trailer+load over 400 lbs.

Last year I took it into a hitch specialist to move it onto our 06 Prius, and asked about modifying the hitch to raise it up to the bumper height. Instead they made a custom hitch and bolted it into the wheel well and bumper area directly (gasp!) It struck me at the time as a total hack job but we had to leave on our trip so I just went with it, figured I'd document my list of complaints to address when we returned. Well, it works like a dream: totally solid, totally stiff, lots of ground clearance. The hitch guys warned me of the 200/900 rating, and said if I plan to tow any trailer I should beef up the rear suspension first. If I did, though, I would not hesitate to pull a well-balanced trailer on that hitch.

Cheers,
Bob

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bobdavisnpf @ May 20 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]446221[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for the info, Bob. I think we'll just stay with using the Jeep to pull the bike on the few occasions it's necessary. I think most of our trips will be by Prius anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BexarWolf @ May 16 2007, 01:50 PM) [snapback]443503[/snapback]</div>

I use the curt hitch and so long as the tongue weight is not more than 200lbs you should be able to test it. I say this because the Prius is a light weight car and 800lbs might be too much push for it to handle. I would interested in your results.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(faith2walk @ May 21 2007, 07:44 AM) [snapback]446573[/snapback]</div>

Well, I doubt I'll be able to post any results. See, the Prius is the wife's transportation (120 miles round trip 5 days a week) and getting her to let me install a hitch is going to be hard. She loves her little gem and most likely won't give it up to have something mounted on the tailend. IF it was going to happen, I'd have to trade the Jeep in on another Prius and then it'd be too late to find out if it can tow the bike. So, it's Jeep'n it for me for a while.