Hitch causing trim to melt?

For those who are having issues, what is the hitch size (i.e. 1 1/4" or 2")? I went to the local U-Haul and they only had a 1 1/4" receiver hitch listed, and they said it was a U-Haul hitch, not Curt. I was quoted less than $160 installed, about a week lead time. I don't have a bike rack yet, was going to see about the hitch first, then get a rack to accommodate.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Erik Tkal @ Jul 11 2006, 09:45 PM) [snapback]284721[/snapback]</div>

I have to admit, this is amusing me, watching you all hitch your rides. A car's manual says not to do something, like a bike rack, and you all do it...

Or the hitch. I suppose you could argue it's all the Toyota Lawyers doing their thing, warning us not to do it, but in this case, I just think the car is not designed to do what you all want it to do. I have seen the pictures with canoes and what not on top, but I think that must be harmful to the MPG, to the suspension, when you figure they don't want more then, what is it, 850 pounds in/on the car?

I wonder, why Toyota did not make the car strong enough, or whatever, to allow for hitches and gear on top. In other words, they must have figured Americans would do what they want, so why not make the car strong from the get go?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Erik Tkal @ Jul 11 2006, 06:45 PM) [snapback]284721[/snapback]</div>

U-haul sells the 1-1/4" Curt hitch. The guy may not know who makes it... it is Curt.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Jul 11 2006, 06:57 PM) [snapback]284727[/snapback]</div>

Well, I'm glad somebody is enjoying this. Toyota says not to tow. Our problem isn't due to towing. I've found nowhere that we shouldn't carry bikes or boats as long as we're within the gross weight limits. This problem has nothing to do with Toyota's design, or the limitations of the Prius. It has everything to do with an aftermarket part that was designed poorly.

You've found somewhere that says not to install a hitch?

Yeah, like driving 85mph, I guess. I get 42mpg with a kayak and cargo box up there. I'm not complaining about that!

Again. This has NOTHING to do with the design or limits of the Prius. If the hitch were made properly, this issue and this thread would not exist. Where did we lose you?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Jul 11 2006, 09:57 PM) [snapback]284727[/snapback]</div>

Well my canoe weighs 58 pounds, bikes are maybe 25 each; I seriously doubt I'll come close to exceeding the Prius' weight limit. The manual says it's not designed to tow, but nothing about avoiding carrying items on the roof or using a rear hitch receiver to mount a bike rack.

What good is a car if it only carries people?

 

You said it yourself: Toyota says not to tow. In order to tow, and the point of this thread, you installed a hitch.

Which was flawed, it seems, and what if it was? You still towed. Which Toyota says the car shouldn't do.

As to what good is a car if it only carries people? You knew what you were buying when you bought a Prius. No big surprise there. If you needed to haul other junk that weighed more, or more people, then buy a hybrid Escape, or the hybrid Highlander.

I would not buy a motor bike and expect it to hold more then two people, and their stuff. So why buy a lightweight car, and expect it to do more then it's designed to?



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jul 11 2006, 10:03 PM) [snapback]284732[/snapback]</div>

When you decided to go against the engineers at Toyota, and put a hitch on a car that was not designed to have a hitch, I guess.

 

Forget it. Life's too short; post erased.

Thanks for your... uh... concern in this matter.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Jul 11 2006, 08:39 PM) [snapback]284775[/snapback]</div>

Why are you trying so hard to piss people off? What part of this situation do you not understand? Let me say it slowly and carefully for you...

I ride bicycles from time to time, and the best way to carry one is with a rack on a "tow hitch". In this case "tow hitch" is just the name of a part that bolts onto the car and provides a mounting point for said bicycle rack. It could be called a "left handed fribbus" if that makes it more acceptable to you.

There is nothing that says I can't add parts to my car -- mud flaps, better tires, sharkfin antenna, etc. (None were offered by Toyota in the U.S.) Adding a left-handed fribbus is exactly the same. And like any after-market part, the design of it can lead to problems, such as in the case of this fribbus.

Consider this: Toyota never said it was OK for you to have tinted windows. But those windows on YOUR car look awfully dark. Did you leave your windows with the factory-specified light transmission or did you make modifications which were not "approved" by Toyota?

 

This will be fun.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ Jul 12 2006, 01:27 AM) [snapback]284827[/snapback]</div>

Oh, piss people off. I don't care what you think. Why should I? I don't know you. This is the internets.
And words are just that: WORDS. Who cares?

Anyway, L e t m e t y p e r e a l s l o w f o r y o u.

I am just responding to posts where there are people complaining about a hitch melting their bumper, after they did something that Toyota recommended you don't do. It's like watching someone smoke, after reading the warning that tells you can die from smoking. You got to laugh at their arrogance. Thinking that they won't die if they smoke, even when experts know they will.

Toyota's engineers, they have YEARS and YEARS of experience designing cars. More so then the average person. SO, if they thought that the car could do what you want it to do, they would have given instructions as to how. They, (TOYOTA), would love to sell hitches, and what ever, if they could. As I said before, this is a light weight car, and you knew that buying it.

If I needed to haul around a bike, a canoe, something that required a hitch, I would have bought a vehicle that could do that. It's logical. It makes sense. How hard is that to understand?

If I needed a truck to haul stuff, that is what I would have bought. No brainer.

My windows are tinted to legal in Florida. I would not do any darker, since that is against the law. And I don't need the ticket.

However, Toyota would approve, since they do want you to keep the interior cool, so the battery stays cool.

B)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Jul 12 2006, 12:17 AM) [snapback]284796[/snapback]</div>

Golly, thanks. I'm sure that is heart felt.

Yeah.

Here's the deal. You do what you want with the car. It's yours. You can make the back up camera show DVD's, drop the suspension, add a cargo hauler...Just don't bitch when something you do to the car causes a problem, after Toyota warns you not to do it.

Maybe I'm here in this thread, because I get tired of people not taking responsibility for mods they do to their cars, that screws up the car, when the manufacturers warn against it.

You want to add a hitch? Fine. Do that. And if Curt screwed the pooch on their design, that sucks, but then again, if the hitch could have/should have worked, then I am still of the opinion that Toyota would have included instructions as to how that could have been added.

Again, if this post really ticks you off, I don't care. I don't know you. You are a series of words on the screen. Outside this forum, you are a real person, with real concerns, and real feelings. None of which gets conveyed on the screen.

Now, have a nice life.

 

Careful with that karma, TJ. One day you'll be looking for help from this forum, and you won't get it from anyone on THIS thread. Have a nice life and keep sticking your fingers in everyone's eyes. You obviously get some kind of sick thrill from it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Jul 12 2006, 12:40 PM) [snapback]285019[/snapback]</div>

R e a l l y s l o w j u s t f o r y o u.

1) No one blames Toyota for this problem. Please show me where they did. The maker of the hitch on the other hand does have a problem with their design. If someone put on a roof rack and it messed up the roof, we'd blame the rack manufacturer, not Toyota.

2) From the maual:
"Towing Capacity
Toyota does not recommend towing a trailer with your vehicle. Your vehicle is not designed for trailer towing."

Last I checked, a bike rack is not a trailer. No lights, no wheels, does not move independantly of the auto.
There is nothing about roof racks, bumper racks, or hitch racks. If someone designed a rack that mounts to the underside of the car, would you call it a trailer?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 12 2006, 11:24 AM) [snapback]285082[/snapback]</div>

Take two. Has anybody heard back from Curt on this?

 

C'mon, people:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jbarnhart @ Jul 12 2006, 01:20 PM) [snapback]285051[/snapback]</div>

Thrill? Hardly.

Again, these are words. You can't possibly tell if I'm smiling, frowning, yelling, or laughing while I type this out.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jul 12 2006, 02:24 PM) [snapback]285082[/snapback]</div>

Thanks. See, you have no idea, but today, I am having the worse cold, being even worse with the chemo, that I am on, for the cancer I have. (and I never smoked! Having cancer is fun...in a way that fun is not).

So, yeah, that might make me more 'out of sorts' then usual. But I still say, that if Toyota wanted (any of us), to haul any gear, on top, or behind the car, the manual would tell us how.

And to get around that, by installing an aftermarket hitch, seems risky.

 

At one time I found this post interesting to read. Alas, nothing last forever.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jul 12 2006, 05:09 PM) [snapback]285183[/snapback]</div>

Who is this T&J person you speak of?
:lol:
And what about my point gets under your skin so much? When it comes to rims, and tint, neither can be argued that they will cause the bumper to melt, so no point in bringing that up in this thread.

What is the point of you bringing that up? Oh, I see. Since I have tint and aftermarket rims...rims by the way, that my Toyota dealer sells (even though, for the record, I bought them at Good Roads, since they were cheaper there); the tinting was done by the shop my Toyota dealer recommends. Just so you know. You brought those up to try to make me seem hypercritical, right?

But while the aftermarket rims will increase the width of my tire, (and, I'll admit, cause me to lose MPG), I do gain stability and control; the tint will keep my interior cooler, and thus help the battery.

What anyone will have gained by putting an aftermarket hitch on this car, it seems, is a melted bumper.

A hitch, that Toyota warns against, by warning against towing.

Again, you may, and should, do whatever you want, to your car.

I am ready to move on. But I will respond to your inquiry here. If indeed, I am this 'T&J' person you refer to.

:lol:

 

Hey! Hey! What'd I say?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Betelgeuse @ Jul 12 2006, 05:57 PM) [snapback]285223[/snapback]</div>

:lol: Good one. Yup!