Bikes on the Prime.

Within the next 2 weeks CURT is expected to release a hitch for the Prime: product #11473

 

I'm looking for a bike rack that isn't permanent. I don't want the extra weight on my Prius Prime, so no hitches. Does anyone have a suggestion for a hatchback-mounted bike rack? I'm nervous about securing the straps on the glass.

 

Installed a Curt hitch 11473 on our month-old 2018 Prime Plus today. The hitch cost $202.00 CDN including taxes, no shipping cost via Amazon. Installed the hitch myself as I knew none of the local hitch shops would have seen this car as it's only been sold in BC for about a month. If anyone is going to learn by doing on my car, it will be me. I must say the process made me wonder if that was wise. The hitch was rated as 10 out of 10 for difficulty and for good reason. The hitch itself is not the issue, but disassembly and reassembly of everything is a real chore. The fasteners are tricky to remove, it's complicated how it all the panels fit together and I found getting the bumper assembly and hitch into place and bolted was awkward and tricky. I was especially concerned about cross threading the first bolts because you can't visually see if the hitch and bumper assembly are aligned. A local shop said they'd install the hitch for $325 including hitch and everything and I might be tempted to let them do it in retrospect.

Our rack is a Thule platform rack and I held off ordering a hitch extender until I could see how it would all work on the car. The result is the hitch and rack do not and can not touch the tailgate when the rack is loaded and the lift gate is closed. I can open the gate with bikes on, taking a little care as it passes the handlebar on the bike. I think an extender would increase twisting forces on the hitch and would be a shin bonker so I'm happy I held off purchasing. The one down side (apart from saving $35 on the extender purchase) is that it's hard to get the rack in the hitch. Will see how that goes in the long run. I expect carrying bikes will harm efficiency but the many benefits of bike life will more than offset that; it's really part of our lifestyle.

 

Do you have a link to the exact bike rack you used?

 

Had to do some digging to find the details.... had the rack for 7 years. So the exact model may no longer exist but Thule is a popular brand so no doubt they have an updated model to replace it. Bought from ORS Direct Web site. The same rack here in Canada was sold for twice as much.


2011 Thule 990XT thule-990-doubletrack-hitch-bike-rack 1 238.95
DoubleTrack Platform
Hitch Bike Rack for 1.25
inch & 2 inch Hitches

 

Hello Prairiedog53,
I want to do the same as you and get my bikes on a rack behing my prime premium. Where did you find the information about the removal of the rear bumper for installation of the hitch or how did you proceed?
many thanks,
cheerios,
Mczouav

 

Ok, forget it, i went to a shop and paid 50 $ for installation...

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