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Prius and a roof rack

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by bikechess, Jun 12, 2005.

  1. bikechess

    bikechess New Member

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    I am thinking of getting a Prius to replace our old beater. But, I absolutely must have a roof rack because otherwise I just don't have room to transport my bike (and wife and baby and ...). I am concerned about how much a Yakima or Thule roof rack will affect the MPG. I know that the aerodynamics on the Prius are critical.

    SO, I was wondering if anyone had actually put a roof rack on one of generation 2 Prius's. And what did you find, both with and without equipment on top.

    Thanks
     
    #1 bikechess, Jun 12, 2005
  2. altaskier

    altaskier New Member

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    I have had both a ski box and a bike on but usually not for very long. On a 300 mile trip with ski box I don't think the mileage was down more than a few MPG, but I I don't really remember...
     
    #2 altaskier, Jun 12, 2005
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I know someone has put a Thule Rack. Can't remember the name.

    You could, actually, fit a bike and 3 ppl in the Prius with the hatch closed. If you need space for other stuff, see if they can fit in the lower cargo compartment.
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Jun 12, 2005
  4. KTPhil

    KTPhil Active Member

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    An alternative, with its own unknown mileage penalty, is a hitch rack on the back using a hitch like Coastal's. This is the approach I took, but I haven't bought the rack yet. Hitch went on in about 20 minutes.
     
    #4 KTPhil, Jun 12, 2005
  5. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    #5 prius04, Jun 12, 2005
  6. HYACK

    HYACK New Member

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    Hi all, i'm glad to join this forum and btw, happen to be about 10 days out from [hopefully] receiving a Prius on order.

    Prius04, that was an hilarius story to which you linked and the poster is a truly great writer imo. (Maybe the moral of the story is if you are goin to the everglades to Kayak; rent a kayak upon arrival)?

    But as for BikeChess's inquiry... I'd anticipate you might wish the rack to just be part of your characteristic profile and hence won't be taking it off when not used? If that's the case, I'd guess a 4-5 mpg hit w/o bike, 7-8 hit with? (9-10 hit w/the wife?) oops

    Seriously, sounds like a relative win-win to me still, assuming you are going 'rack' either way.
     
    #6 HYACK, Jun 12, 2005
  7. bikechess

    bikechess New Member

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    The link to the guy that put the kayaks on his Prius was indeed funny.

    I guess that what I am most interested in is what will be the mpg lost with just the roofrack and a bike tray (no bike). I am not that concerned with what the fuel economy will be when the bikes are on the roof - as this will be a relatively small amount of the miles put on the car. It will mostly be used by my wife to do 2 mile trips to daycare, work, the store, etc...

    HYACK's estimations are close to what I would expect, but I am wondering if anyone has actually done the "experiment" and done comparable trips with and without a rack on the roof.
     
    #7 bikechess, Jun 12, 2005
  8. prius04

    prius04 New Member

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    Thanks for the nice comment on the writer. She's my daughter. She convinced me to buy my Prius.

    And I agree about her being a good writer.
     
    #8 prius04, Jun 12, 2005
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