Trailer hitch?

So far as I know, the first Prime owners are getting theirs now, so those first owners who are near a trailer hitch manufacturer can volunteer to be the template the manufacturer's use to make a hitch for the Prime. Until someone does volunteer, no hitch will be made by that manufacturer.

Curt
6208 INDUSTRIAL DRIVE
EAU CLAIRE, WI 54701

Draw-tite and Hidden Hitch
47912 Halyard Drive
Plymouth, MI, 48170

Reese Hitches
3301 West Burnsville Parkway
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337

Torklift Central
315 Central Ave N
Kent, WA 98032

 

Thanks. I contacted Curt and Richard Martin said that their engineering department has been notified of interest in a hitch for the Prime (the more people who contact them, maybe the higher the priority it will get??). No timeline for Prime hitch development yet. I hope to have a Prime by the end of the year. I'd volunteer mine but the hitch manufacturers you listed are pretty far away.

 

I hope to get mine fairly soon too; however, I live very close to one of those addresses.

 

Hmmm, I might have to take a little trip w my new Prime when I get it.

 

Have you received a reply from Curt yet? Thanks.

 

Trailer Hitch?
Yes.
If not now, soon.
There are simply too many Prius drivers that have hitch mounted bike racks and garden-type trailers.

Towing with a Prius? (Prime or otherwise)
Your call, but it's one of the 12,345 reasons that I wouldn't buy a used Prius with notable exceptions. (a.k.a. @bwilson4web 's G3)
There are too many people who confuse the ability of a car to pull a wheeled trailer down the street with "towing capacity."

Yes.
You can pull a small house with a Honda Insight given the right leverage and some wheels....but that's about the same as the difference between babysitting a kid and being a parent.
Once you get the house rolling......you also have to be able to do things like turn and stop.......preferably without killing other drivers or your car.

Again!!!
Towing a bulky but relatively light item, or a small item like a bike isn't a problem.
Getting a garden trailer and picking up a (FEW!!!!!!) items at your local big box store shouldn't be a problem either.
Any dealership that says that a trailer hitch installed (correctly) on a Prius would endanger a warranty should never be visited again, and they should be aggressively targeted targeted for some social media and corporate hate mail.
Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act - Wikipedia

However (comma!!!!) seeing a trailer hitch on a Prius to me is more warning sign than not.
Like many things in this forum......it's not the car.
JMHO.

 

Putting the hitch on won't invalidate the warranty, but it could be enough for Toyota to refuse warranty repairs to the frame and suspension.

 

Is there any structure under the Prime to bolt a hitch receiver to? Someone could look under a Gen 4 and compare that to the Prime and let us know.

Toyota probably had a good reason to say no trailers, no hitch mounted cargo or bike carriers... I don't want to be the one to discover that good reason for myself.

 

1) They have a tow rating in the UK.
2) Typically we use the shipping 'tie down' points. They are extremely strong for good reason if you've ever been in a storm on a ship.

Bob Wilson

 

Yeah, reduced legal fees.

 

bump?

 

Is a hitch being produced in Japan or Europe for the Prime ?

 

http://draw-tite.com/support/installation/N24944.pdf is the link for the Draw-Tite instructions for the Gen 4 Prius. Someone might see if their Prime has the same mount points. Draw-Tite is the same as Reese, Hidden Hitch, all brands of the Cequent Corp, plus the same hitches labeled for U-Haul.

32 year career as an engineer on merchant ships.

 

Bill at Draw-Tite says they inspected the Prime and the Prius hitch will work w the Prime. DrawTite part #24944.
Has anyone else heard anything?

 

I also read the installation sheet but I don't like the way it depends on the bolts being in tension versus shear. The instructions @bhtooefr (?) posted from UK Toyota showed two bars along side frame beams that are bolted 'in shear'.

Those bolts are designed to 'hold' the rear bumper assembly for a compression load, impact. But in tension, the forces would tend to 'unscrew' the bolts:

• use Loctite thread adhesive - along with proper torque
• check bolt strength - bolts come in different grades and it may make sense to get a higher grade bolt that can easily increase the strength

My requirement is a wheel chair carrier for my wife and light weight trailers. I really want the receiver hitch to be well integrated to the car.

Bob Wilson

 

FYI, bolts are NEVER supposed to be in shear. Bolts are springs - they clamp things together via bolts stretch.

If a bolt has to be in shear, it has to have a smooth shank, like the pin on a lifting shackle or a shoulder bolt. Bolted connections that place the threaded portion of the fastener into shear are considered failed connections.

 

We agree about not having the threaded portion under shear stress. The smooth shank should be used as a pin. However, I still don't like having bolts in tension or if they must, use adhesives or mechanical lock mechanism to prevent unintentional rotation.

Bob Wilson