Which Hitch?

[alexilic]

I want to purchase a hitch to use for a hitch mounted bike carrier, and also a storage shelf when we need the extra room. I don't forsee ever "towing" with it. Why would you get an 1 1/4" over the 2" and vise versa. I did a search, but didn't find a pros/cons on the two sizes. Any help out there?

Alex

[fshagan]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chitown guzzler @ Sep 2 2007, 10:04 AM) [snapback]505890[/snapback]</div>

I want to purchase a hitch to use for a hitch mounted bike carrier, and also a storage shelf when we need the extra room. I don't forsee ever "towing" with it. Why would you get an 1 1/4" over the 2" and vise versa. I did a search, but didn't find a pros/cons on the two sizes. Any help out there?

Alex
[/b]

The REAL reason to have a larger hitch ball is to allow larger loads, but the Prius isn't going to ever be in the position where you can tow larger loads. So, the 1 1/4" ball is fine for whatever you're going to put on the back of a Prius ... except for those manufacturer's who will put a 2" receiver on their bike carrier!

So check the ball size of those carriers you want to use first, and size the ball on your hitch to fit.

I haven't seen the hitch setup for the Prius, but if you can swap out the ball, its usually pretty easy to do. I have a receiver mounted under my truck and two ball assemblies that slide into it, the 2" and 1 1/4" ball.

[alexilic]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fshagan @ Sep 2 2007, 02:03 PM) [snapback]505949[/snapback]</div>

The REAL reason to have a larger hitch ball is to allow larger loads, but the Prius isn't going to ever be in the position where you can tow larger loads. So, the 1 1/4" ball is fine for whatever you're going to put on the back of a Prius ... except for those manufacturer's who will put a 2" receiver on their bike carrier!

So check the ball size of those carriers you want to use first, and size the ball on your hitch to fit.

I haven't seen the hitch setup for the Prius, but if you can swap out the ball, its usually pretty easy to do. I have a receiver mounted under my truck and two ball assemblies that slide into it, the 2" and 1 1/4" ball.
[/b]

Thank you, I was inquiring about the actual hitch receiver, not the ball. Most standard trucks and suvs, come standard with the 2" receiver, and I believe more options available. The 1 1/4" receiver is plenty, but what would be the negative of putting a 2" receiver?

[justlurkin]

I need a hitch too for my Prius to carry my bikes.. After reading the numerous threads on PriusChat, I think it boils down to this:

- The only 2" hitch available for the Prius is the one by Coastal Electronics, and it is not a very strong hitch. Some forum members have experienced failure in the weld joints with this hitch.

- The other hitch available for the Prius is the one by Curt Manufacturing (also available at U-Haul). It is better-designed and will carry heavier loads than the Coastal, but it only comes in 1.25".

I think I'm going to take my Prius to a U-Haul and have them install the Curt for me.

[fshagan]

I think the same criteria applies to the hitch receiver. I'm trying to remember, but I had a Ford Taurus with a 1 1/4" receiver, and the shop that put it on told me something about the difference being that you needed 2" with heavier loads (but that the 1 1/4" hitch would handle more than the Taurus can tow anyway, and its more compact and looks nicer under the bumper.)

[1fixitman]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(chitown guzzler @ Sep 2 2007, 01:04 PM) [snapback]505890[/snapback]</div>

I want to purchase a hitch to use for a hitch mounted bike carrier, and also a storage shelf when we need the extra room. I don't forsee ever "towing" with it. Why would you get an 1 1/4" over the 2" and vise versa. I did a search, but didn't find a pros/cons on the two sizes. Any help out there?

Alex
[/b]

I know you just want it for the small things you suggest but keep in mind the ability to brake safely with extra capicity added to the car. I would just go with the 1 1/4 inch as it is lighter and will do what you need it to do. The fact that the smaller one takes up less room before hitting the ground should ring some bells also. Yes, ground clearance is less with the 2 inch also. The 2 inch is only for larger loads which we know the Prius can not handle. Not that it can not handle the acceleration but the fact is that most towing systems are designed around the ability to safely brake the load. There is a very good reason that the Prius has a max weight design for total passenger/cargo weight.......braking. The regen braking and the friction braking can only handle the design of the car. Anything extra and you are pushing your luck. Hope this helps for your particular situiation.

[bobdavisnpf]

I went with the 2" on 2 Prii. I would not trust a cargo basket with a 1.25" receiver without some sort of end bracing at the left & right corners. Downward forces on a smaller-diameter reciever translate into a great deal more stress on the receiver and, probably more to the point, on the receiver-centric connection points (welds/bolts/etc) on the basket.

Suppose you have an unloaded basket 30" wide on the back of your Prius. A 180-lb person sits or stands on it, to change shoes, get a better view, step around the car, etc. Their weight is centered, oh, 12" from the centerline of the basket. The back-side of a 2" hitch receiver experiences a twisting (upward) force of 990 lbs. The load-side of the receiver is worse off (downward force), since it's getting the 990 lbs plus it's carrying the 40 lb basket and the 180 lb person.

Now put the same load on a 1.25" receiver. A 1.25" receiver gets a twisting force of 1638 lbs! (Again, the load-side gets the extra 220 lbs load to boot.)

The wider baskets just make this worse. Suppose you go with a 48" basket... a 2" receiver is getting 1800 lbs of twisting force -- more than I'd be willing to risk. (Plus 220 lbs for the down-side, assuming the basket's the same weight.) But your poor little 1.25" receiver is getting 2934 lbs of twisting force. (Again, plus 220 lbs for the down-side.)

With a heavy-duty enough bike rack, the lateral forces are probably manageable. Nobody's likely to run into the side of the bike rack with 200 lbs of force, and if they do it won't be sustained. The only real risk is in turns, and you'll probably take it easier because you'll feel the car rolling. But the cargo baskets I've seen tend to use lighter-gauge metal, and even if they've been patched up with strap steel I don't think they'll take 2000 lbs of force without deforming or weakening.

[a priori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bobdavisnpf @ Sep 4 2007, 01:22 PM) [snapback]506848[/snapback]</div>

I went with the 2" on 2 Prii. I would not trust a cargo basket with a 1.25" receiver without some sort of end bracing at the left & right corners. Downward forces on a smaller-diameter reciever translate into a great deal more stress on the receiver and, probably more to the point, on the receiver-centric connection points (welds/bolts/etc) on the basket.[/b]

Sounds like you've more than thought this through. Do you mind explaining your calculations (in a very basic way), so I have some idea of the basis of the evaluation? Perhaps I won't understand it, but I'd like to give it a shot.

One reason I ask is that I recall other threads discussing the problems with the 2" receiver made by one particular manufacturer. As I remember it, some welds didn't hold. Some of the problem had to do with the higher leverage certain loads were exerting on that receiver (versus the Curt-designed 1.25" receiver). The 2" receiver gives us more options in terms of bike carriers and baskets, but I was not going to buy one that had the failures I'd read about here in PC.

Also, since you've had success with the 2" receiver, would you be willing to describe what systems you've used and how they have been better than others you'd considered (in your opinion, of course)?

Also, would the use of a 1.25" to 2" converter (to allow a specific bike rack or carrier to be used with a 1.25" receiver) make the situation worse? Meaning: Would the extension (additional leverage) allow too much lateral stress?

I'm in the hunt for the right setup, and I had thought the Curt receiver (1.25") was the right way to go, so I'd greatly appreciate your additional insight and comment.

a priori

[justlurkin]

For reference, here's the thread on the failures suffered by a few Coastal 2" hitch owners: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=9326&st=20

Looks like the Curt can handle more tongue weight than the Coastal even though the Curt is only 1.25".

[a priori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JustLurkin @ Sep 4 2007, 02:16 PM) [snapback]506878[/snapback]</div>

For reference, here's the thread on the failures suffered by a few Coastal 2" hitch owners: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=9326&st=20

Looks like the Curt can handle more tongue weight than the Coastal even though the Curt is only 1.25".
[/b]

Thanks for the reference.

Still, I wonder, is tongue weight the issue bobdavisnpf was describing? Truly, I wonder about this, I just don't understand it all. He was talking about the twisting stress of (what I assumed were) a different type of lateral load. Whether the sqare nature of the receiver opening has any bearing on this (no pun intended) I do not know.

I don't suppose I'm looking for the full engineering explanation on this, but I do want to know that if I had the Curt 1.25" receiver with a 30" basket on the back, that I could stand on it without fearing I would damage the carrier, the receiver, the wonderful Prius, or even my own backside. Likewise, I want to know whether the same activity on a 2" receiver (the Coastal one, for example) would produce any different result.