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I finally installed the Coastal Electronics hitch - 04 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Eug, May 24, 2004.

  1. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    I got the hitch MONTHS ago but being the lazy person I am, I only just got the hitch (2") installed on my Prius 2004. I had talked to my local dealer and the Prius mechanic there said he had never done this before so he was gonna charge 3 hours labour. Of course, I said forget that.

    So I tackled the job today. About an hour after I started (including perusing the instructions), I got the thing installed. Coastal Dave says it's about 20 minutes and I can see how you could do that if you knew what you're doing and esp. if the car was elevated above ground level, but I neither had the car up beyond ground level nor did I know what I was doing. :p I trust a mechanic doing it for the first time could have done it in 15-30 minutes though. The procedure is a little hard to visualize just from reading the instructions, and that's why I talked to the dealer in the first place, but once you get under the car it makes a lot more sense.

    You definitely need the socket wrench as is recommended in the instructions, because there is no room for a standard adjustable wrench. The latter might not work anyway, since I had to crank with all my strength to get the original bolts off. A standard adjustable wrench would have slipped off I'm sure. My cheapo socket wrench set was fine though.

    I did the installation myself with no extra help, but it might help to have somebody there for the last 10 mins of the installation. The hitch is very solidly built and consequently it's fairly heavy. Given the lack of room underneath the car, it's awkward holding the hitch up to screw on the bolts. A box underneath the hitch to hold it up (if you don't have an extra pair of hands at your disposal) might help too.

    And some paper or something to put on the ground is recommended. ;) I was picking dirt out of my hair for quite some time in the shower. :?

    Anyways, while I'm not a complete klutz with tools, I'm definitely no mechanic either. Anyone afraid of doing this yourself: Don't be, as long as you're OK with getting your hands dirty.

    P.S. I can post a pic if you want, but it pretty much looks like the pic Coastal Dave had on his website... like a hitch. :p
     
  2. aarons12

    aarons12 New Member

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    thanks for the info... i used to be pretty mechanical in the old days when there was stuff on cars you could fix yourself, so probably not beyond my abilities...

    but i think this is an important accessory for me, because i am downsizing from a buick rendezvous and occasionally i did fill that up with stuff so this will give me a bunch of extra carrying space.
     
  3. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    If you can do any sort of work on a car, then you can do this. In fact, even if you can't do mechanical work on a car, you can do this. :p

    BTW, can anybody recommend a good store for hitch racks for bikes in Toronto? The only place I know of is Rack Attack. Should I assume this rack is overkill (and maybe too heavy) for a Prius? It's CAD$399 (US$291).

    [Broken External Image]:http://www.rackattack.biz/cart/product-images/Roc N Gate.jpg
     
  4. Mike Sarmiento

    Mike Sarmiento Junior Member

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    I installed the hitch as well. If you have a hydraulic lift (and safety stands), the job goes much easier. I picked up the 1 1/4" hitch vs. the 2" hoping to save with the mpg loss you'd get by attaching a bike carrier to your Prii.

    I picked up the Thule 937 - 2 bike carrier and was surprised by how much clearance there was between the bike and the hatch back. Although I can tilt the bike carrier away from the hatch back, there was plenty of room to get into the back of the car with the bike carrier on.

    You will suffer on the mpg's a bit and the extra weight tends to make the car bounce a bit.

    P.S. Make sure your tail pipe clears the hitch assembly or you'll hear the exhaust pipe all throughout the car! Use the included Clamp!
     
  5. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    It looks as though I have sufficient clearance. I haven't heard any rattling but I've only driven in the city since the install, at low to moderate speeds. However, I don't recall receiving the clamp. Or maybe I did and just put it away somewhere and forgot about it. (I got the thing several months ago.)
     
  6. Mike Sarmiento

    Mike Sarmiento Junior Member

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    When I first installed the hitch, it looked to me that there was enough clearance between the tail pipe and the hitch assembly and therefore I did not install the clamp. It didn't take long until I started to hear the raddle. Maybe you got lucky and won't need to install the clamp however I'm sure once you put on a bike hitch, the dynamics of the system will change and your luck might change.

    The clamp is just a hose clamp (a very large one) that you put around the muffler hanger. If you can't find it, you can pick one up at Home Depot for pennies on the dollar.

    You bring the tail pipe up by tightening the clamp around the rubber hanger and thereby raising the tail pipe.

    You're not really putting on a 4 bike hitch on your Prius are you?
    I was really surprised with the weight of the 2 bike system I bought. Even with one bike on the rack, the system does cause some bouncing. I could only imagine what a fully loaded 4 bike system would do to your ride.

    I don't think you'll need the "swing away mast" of the Yakima system you showed. With my "basic" Thule system, there's enough clearance between the bike and the car that you can easily access the trunk even with the bike rack loaded.
     
  7. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    Yep, but for 3 bikes. I'm thinking a 4-bike rack because 3-bike racks seem to be very uncommon. They seem always to jump from 2 to 4. Plus the bikes are very light. My road bike is just over 20 lbs, and my mountain bike is maybe 25. Those weights are similar for my friends' bikes too. My GF's might be 30 though, but when I carry hers I usually only carry two bikes total. Also, I have a 3-bike Saris Bones strap-on bike rack that seemed fine fully loaded on my 2001 Prius.

    In other words, besides my GF's bike, 3 of our bikes is about the weight of 2 department store bikes. (I'm ignoring the leverage factor though at the moment.)

    Yeah, maybe you're right, but I'm now thinking I would like to have a rack where the arms fold down at least. Otherwise I'll have to remove the rack whenever I park the car in the garage. It seems the cheaper racks usually don't have foldable arms. Come to think of it, that Yakima rack I posted earlier doesn't have foldable arms either, so I guess that's out.
     
  8. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    So I got the Yakima KingPin 4, with the extra locking setup.

    [Broken External Image]:http://www.rackattack.com/cart/product-images/202401.jpg

    It's a 4-bike rack. The guys at the store felt that the Coastal hitch isn't appropriate for 4 bikes (as we had already thought), but said that 2-3 bikes on this 4-bike rack should be fine. If I can, I might just even remove the mount for the 4th bike. This rack is primarily built as a 2" rack, but you can get a 1.25" adapter for it (for extra money).

    There were 3-bike racks there, but they were all 1.25" racks, and they didn't fit mountain bikes very well. Plus the arms didn't fold down. At that store it did seem that the racks built first with 1.25" connectors in mind were aimed more at the low end. There were many more options with the 2" size.

    The KingPin rack doesn't have the anti-sway arm at the bottom of the rack like some of the others, but it there is a third strap setup on the rack arms for the seattube which will reduce sway. The Thules I saw didn't have these 3rd strap, but had that anti-sway arm.

    The rack arms fold down, so I'll be able to fit the car with rack installed in my garage.

    Yep you're right. There is enough clearance. I don't know how much exactly, but it's probably around a couple of inches actually. The rack does tilt down if necessary, but luckily I won't need that feature.
     
  9. Eug

    Eug Swollen Member

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    So this is the Yakima KingPin 4 with the Coastaletech hitch. I have removed one set of straps, so that I can only carry 3 bikes maximum. Four bikes I think is pushing it for this hitch, even with the light bikes I have.

    Rack arms folded down:

    [Broken External Image]:http://www3.sympatico.ca/eug/Other/Prius2004/P1010001-edited.jpg


    Rack arms folded down, and hatchback door open:

    [Broken External Image]:http://www3.sympatico.ca/eug/Other/Prius2004/P1010003-edited.jpg

    There are a few mm of clearance between the hatchback door and the rack, so there is easy access to the cargo space. The main support of the rack can also be folded down, but this requires the removal of a bolt. Luckily the few mm of clearance is enough.


    Rack arms extended, and hatchback door open:

    [Broken External Image]:http://www3.sympatico.ca/eug/Other/Prius2004/P1010005-edited.jpg

    There are a couple of cm of clearance between the hatchback door and the rack.

    I knew I should have gotten the car washed... ;)
     
  10. jane_emley

    jane_emley New Member

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    I want to get a rear-mounted bike rack. Could folks weigh in on their preference for Thule vs. Yamika?
    Thanks
     
  11. RadMarv

    RadMarv Member

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    Re: I finally installed the Coastal Electronics hitch - 04 P

    Not a Thule vs. Yamika but,

    I recently had a hitch put on my Mazda 626 and have just purchased Coastal Dave's Prius 2" hitch(not yet installed).

    I purchased an Allen Deluxe 3 Bike Carrier for 2†Hitches Model 530RR and really like it. It swings away from the car which will be good for the Prius. I got in on a GREAT deal on Overstock.com for $72.95 + 2.95 shipping. No longer available at Overstocked.com.

    Allen Racks Site

    Marv
     
  12. Ken S

    Ken S Member

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    Thank you for the information. My Coastal hitch came today and I'll be installing it tomorrow. I don't have a lift so I'll be doing the worm I guess.
     
  13. Ken S

    Ken S Member

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    Re: I finally installed the Coastal Electronics hitch - 04 P

    Just installed my hitch....without a hitch :) Took a little less than an hour. I was able to back my car up to the edge of my garage so that the rear was over the driveway which gave me a couple of more inches to work in as my driveway slopes down. (I, of course set the parking brake and put a chock under two wheels so as to not have my wife find a much slimmer version of me later that day).

    Anyway, the kit was fine, instructions were fine and I definitely needed the exhaust pipe lift as the pipe was basically resting on the hitch when everything was tightened up. I was able to raise the pipe about half an inch and hopefully all will be well.

    One comment.... did your hitch kit include a pin and locking device for securing whatever is put in the receiver? Every hitch I've ever purchased came with that...but there was none included with the coastal setup. I guess I'll have to go to a hitch store and purchase these if they weren't just forgotten.

    Ken
     
  14. RadMarv

    RadMarv Member

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    Re: I finally installed the Coastal Electronics hitch - 04 P

    NOPE.

    However, my Allen rack came with a special "NO WOBBLE BOLT".

    Marv
     
  15. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    I've installed quite a few hitch receivers and none of them have come with a pin. In my experience, the pin comes with the towing tongue that slides into the receiver. And the bike racks (Yakima at least) come with their own.
     
  16. joelparks

    joelparks New Member

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    The hitch I bought from eTrailer.com (# 247470 Da'Lan Class I Trailer Hitch Receiver with Drawbar) came with ball mount and hitch pin. <$150 plus <$25 shipping in 9/05.

    Joel
     
  17. nidugo

    nidugo Junior Member

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    I think that a 2" receiver is overkill on a Prius. They are generally rated for a 6,000 lb. trailer with 600 lb. tongue weight. A class 1/2 hitch with a 1.25" receiver will handle a 3.000 lb. trailer with 300 lb. tongue/bicycle weight which is more weight than you want to hang on to the back of your Prius. The smaller hitch is lighter, cheaper, looks less obtrusive, and is easier to install. If you need a 2" receiver to accommodate a certain bike rack I would look for another rack.
    In Toronto I bought my Curt 1.25" receiver at Rack Attack. Their Mississauga location is almost next door to Curt's Canadian warehouse.