Toyota hitch for Prius v

Toyota does not recommend you ever tow anything with a Prius v, why would they sell a hitch you should never use?

http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47674U/pdf/sec_02-05.pdf Page 7

 

Hitch mounted bike racks or those small platforms that you can put coolers and such on....

Anyway, you'll have to get one from DrawTite or similar.

 

In Europe there is Thule Euroclick, works beautifully.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izx_uGrz-8k]Toyota Prius III fietsendrager / bike carrier Thule EuroClick - YouTube[/ame]

 

I would love to get the thule euroclick if they would sell them here or I could find a website clearly set up to ship them to the US.

 

The aftermarket will make hitches, never fear.

(were his lips moving?)

 

Curt Manufacturing now makes a Class 1 trailer hitch for the Prius V. I have a Curt hitch on my 2005 Prius used to mount a Thule bike carrier. It is extremely sturdy and was very easy to mount. As others have said, you wouldn't want to tow with this hitch but it is perfect for heavy-duty racks like Thule or Yakima bike racks. The hitch seems to run around $140. The racks, which require the hitch, are considerably more expensive, of course, but once you have the hitch, one rack fits all.

 

Has anyone tried the Curt hitch? Easy to install?

Appears you would also have to buy a 1.25" to 2" converter to attach a rack. The converter claims a maximum capacity of 2 bikes. Anyone try more than that? I only have 2 bikes now, but also have 2 kids who will be riding bikes as well soon.

Thanks!

 

Curt Hitch


Wife takes girls on Scouting trips etc and usually has a pile of light stuff like sleeping bags and cloths. Sometimes tossed firewood in back of van. Kids have their skates and bits for trips to Grandmas. The three guinea pigs may join us. Not heavy, it just takes up room. We needed a way round it if we were to downsize to V.

Installed Curt Hitch in 40 minutes. It's light, I rested it on my chest as I moved it up and bolted it on. Only issue getting the exhaust baffle plate not to touch and maybe squeak. V Looks light strength under there so will not be pushing it with any heavy loads. Only light stuff will be hanging out in rack.

Added 'Tow Ready 65855 36" x 20" ATV Cargo Carrier' with 1-1/4" shank. I know, going to get jokes about ATV label!

When we were looking at 'V' I asked salesman if putting hitch on would effect warranty. 'No, but I will check'. Manager came over and agreed and we wrote that on contract I was signing. Any problems will be with dealership if Toyota ever complain.

V will have its second run to grandmas this week (700 miles round trip). This time we will need carrier on back as guinea pigs and their cage are coming.







Rack fits in back of V even with the shank attached.

 

Re: Curt Hitch

Looks great! Thanks for sharing. One question, can you open the hatch with the rack attached?
Thanks, Dave

 

How easy would it be to install and remove as needed. My lease agreement says "no modifications" and the initial claim is that this would be against the no mods requirement. The program is new, so there are still some items to hash out. Either way, I'd hate to have to go back to a roof rack for my bicycles.

 

Quentin,
It would be easy just a pain to do. When you put original bracket back you wouldn't even know hitch had been on. There is enough clearance to not have to jack up vehicle to do job. I did mine on garage floor. I rested hitch on my chest when installing, its not heavy. I didn't remove the exhaust rubber hanger. Exhaust moved to side enough that I got straight to bolts with socket.

Dave,
If I slide the carrier back in hitch I can open hatch, BUT I only have 1/2 inch in hitch and it could drop out. If bar was 4 inches longer I would be fine. When I get back we are going to weld extra 6 inches or so to stalk that goes into hitch. 1 1/4 inch square bar so that I can undo pin and slide carrier back several inches and hatch will clear carrier. If we are not happy with weld we will make a new bar from carrier to hitch that is longer at hitch end. The carrier is not too heavy and I will only have light loads making it easy to slide back. If I look through hitch I have clear view to front of car, so bar going through hitch can be as long as I want. Too long will be a pain to store carrier though.

Hope that helps guys.

 

Wanted to update you on my hitch.

Oops, posted whole report under wrong thread.

moved it to here... My Curt Hitch & Tow Ready 65855 Carrier | PriusChat

 

Just bought a Draw-Tite Class 1 Sportframe for my Prius V. Price including installation was $189.
Installation by the seller was about 20 minutes. Simple bolt-on. Perfect fit.
Will only use it for bike rack.



Transformer TF101 ? 2

 

This doesn't solve the "no trailer" statement, but these are infriggingcredible for bikes, canoes, cargo boxes, kayaks, surfboards...

Google "Yakima rack trailer," since I can't seem to post a link. Spendy, but versatile, and gets it off the roof. That's important for some of us.

 

Without question, the only hitch to put on the Prius v is the Ecohitch Stealth. I know because I installed one on mine yesterday. It took about an hour and looks great, as in darn near invisible. I got the 2" hitch simply because I can't stand the smaller ones. It works perfectly with the Thule Helium Aero 3 I got as well.

An earlier version required some cutting of sheet metal. The current version does not. It augments the 4 main bolts with a support strap that bolts to existing holes. Honestly, it may even cost a few more dollars, but if you care about how your car looks and works, I'd get the one that is designed for the car.

 

The Ecohitch appears heavier than the Type 1 hitches from Curt and Draw Tite. Shipping weight is 45 lbs vs 20 lbs or so.

 

I have a class 1 hitch installed at u Haul for about $180. It looks like it's probably a Curt. Works great with my Thule T2 bike rack. It does sit lower on the car than the Ecohitch but is not a problem. It's lighter and more than adequate for a 1 1/4" two bike rack. If you need a 2" hitch then go for the extra expense and "classier" fit of the Ecohitch.