Prius Hitch Mounts Strength

To be clear you aren't being clear at all... If you want to discuss actual design and materials with us then do so... But if you just want to keep making vague dismissive metaphors, the original poster has already explained that ignoring that kind unhelpful help is what prompted him to seek out our advice on PriusChat in the first place.

 

The comment was not directed to the OP.

 

See! Now this is actually being helpful... You're finding information for the original poster so they can come up with a better design. Good onyou for that!

And again, if I was trying to do what they're doing I'd save up for the electric version of their preferred motorcycle and then find a way to rapidly remove the wheels, drop the handlebars and lay it on its side and then buy a used rear hatch from the wrecker and modify it so aerodynamics are improved and the hitch is only holding part of the load with additional mounts distributing the weight closer to the inside of the car. Then I'd integrate a sleeping space into it to save money and not have to get a motel room on long trips because electric motorcycles are expensive!

 

Glad to know you don't know what we do here every day on PriusChat, that explains alot.

To be clear, people ask questions and we help them as best we can... There's also posts on here that are just for the purposes of discussion, I'd prefer that this post was not one of them out of respect for the OP that explained they've had enough of that kind of talk.

 

I like cool projects, but please consider this: If you somehow have an accident that is in any way a grey area as to who was at fault, the other insurance company's lawyer is going to absolutely go to town on you. The odds of the accident are low, but the resulting risk to your financial well being may be catastrophic. Balance that in your equations along with yield strength, and considering whether any part of the frame you were considering welding on had a certain spec hardness for strength or a certain spec toughness to avoid cracking. If it were me, I would run out and buy a hybrid AWD RAV4 prime. In its weakest trim it can still tow nearly a ton, and perhaps the hybrid prime version is a bit higher rated. Get in an accident with something rated for towing 1750 lbs that has a 300 or 400 lb hitch accessory on it would be MUCH more legally defensible.

 

Lol, I bet every last person driving an old Prius that they want to put a motorcycle on the back of are not going to have any assets valuable enough to sue them for... And in case you didn't know we've almost entirely done away with debtors prison in the US & Canada.

 

I did some quick calculations. It appears that the back of the rear bumper is at least 34" from the rear axle, and you are considering about another 20 inches behind this, for 54 inches. the wheelbase of the Prius is 106 inches. So for every two pounds you put 20 inches behind the bumper, you take one off the front axle and put all three pounds on the back axle. So the net effect in weight distribution is 150 pounds off of the front axle and 450 on the back. That doesnt sound like much, but it is probably approaching the design limits of the rear axle. It is also shifting your weight distribution from 60/40 to about 50/50. if the weight were all inside of the wheel perimeter, that might actually be a good thing, but if you have to emergency brake in a turn I think the car would push hard into the turn given the reduced weight on the front axle and the extended moment arm increasing the rotational inertia of the car turning left or right. Driven conservatively it might never be a problem, but again, if something happens and a lawyer is trying to sue you, it becomes messy. Even people who drive 3/4 and 1 ton diesel trucks hauling large RV's have to consider the limitations of their vehicles. It isn't always about going, it is usually about stopping. With a trailer and the extra axle on the rear, that changes the dynamic for the better. If you have not seen it, they make things like this that might be a more practical solution

 

No debtor's prison, but having a few hundred thousand dollar judgment against you makes it really hard to buy a house later in life. Maybe they don't care in Canada. People here in the deep south of the states do crazier things regularly. I only make the point because I did not see much discussion. I am not sure how much hassle one might get from the Canadian equivalent of the State Police here who patrol major highways.

 

QUOTE="PriusCamper, post: 3008965, member: 87188"]See! Now this is actually being helpful... You're finding information for the original poster so they can come up with a better design. Good onyou for that!...[/QUOTE]
I actually think it's all helpful. Really.

Along those lines, but maybe a little off topic, what do you think about Olympic athletes that go and give speeches in auditoriums at middle schools encouraging the kids to just follow their dreams, try hard, and one day they can compete in the Olympics just like they did? (All BS in case you don't know.) I personally think they are doing a disservice to the naive innocent kids. Of course 99.999% of them would fail, possibly after passing up better opportunites on things to focus on, like paying attention in their welding or structural design classes, and the 0.001 percent that succeed would have done it regardless of the inspirational speech.

And on the following discussion about insurance and legal liability, etc. ... does anyone care about the actual potential death and destruction regardless of placing the blame? If the anarchists win and things go further in that direction, I may end up getting my welder out and building up a brush guard that would make even Mad Max proud. I guess when it's every man for himself, ...



Yeah, I guess if I had this, I'll green light the OP on rigging up whatever he wants.

 

My used 2013 had a tow bar installed when I got it. Has loud whine in the trani.......................