Prius over a curb

I haven't tried it, but my concern wouldn't be climbing over the curb so much as going back down again. You would be much more likely to bottom out going down.

Isn't there a handycap access area to the sidewalk where you could drive up?

 

With 5" of clearance under the Prius climbing up/down a curb wouldn't be on my list of things I'd prefer to do. With that being said, are you handy with wood? Perhaps you could build a ramp with a gradual rise? Heck, you might be able to get away with putting down a couple of 40lb bags of water softer salt in front of the curb (obviously keep the salt in the bags). That would give you a gentle step to climb.

 

Find some flat rocks shorter in hight then the curb and place them before the curb and you should be fine. Going back down will be the problem but you could always angle with one tire first and then the next, still using rocks. Should work no problem.

 

Well I hit my first curb at the beach a couple days ago. I was suprised I didn't bottom out but I did not drive over the entire thing. Just the front end when it hit the I corrected it.

 

I would try to rig up a ramp as others have suggested. Maybe it could be a quick project for the school's shop class. Even just taking a couple pieces of scrap lumber or bricks and stepping them up the curb would help. There are enough ramp solutions that I can't see any reason for taking a chance simply driving up the curb.

Let us know how the car is received at the school. Pictures are always good too.

 

ok, the rocks might not work, so....lay out some wood that is half as tall as the curb and as long as your car, drive on up on the wood first, now onto the curb.

 

Tell them they need to put in a curb cut. The ADA would require such a thing for wheel chairs

Since they probably won't do that by the time you need it, go with the 'planks' plan. Get a couple of 10 foot 2x10's. You might need a couple of shorter ones as well depending on the curb height. They will fit inside the car with the hatch closed (fold the front seat back, back seat forward and get a towel to protect the dash). Besides impressing them with all the other features, imagine their bulging eyes when you pull those suckers out of the car to climb their curb The car looks small from the outside because the engine compartment is small but from there back, it is a midsize

 

If you have the room to turn, try going over the curb at a sharp angle. Get one side of the car up first, then the other. Are we talking about a rounded curb or squared-off?

 

A ramp looks to be the only viable solution. Recommend that you buy several 1x6 feet strips of plywood. then sorta cut them so that they gradually become shorter. a la "miniature" staircase for the wheels...

 

The problem with your picture is that you've drawn a curb that is taller than the center of the wheel. The 185/65R15 tires on the Prius have a 12.2 inch radius. If you are trying to climb a curnb that is taller than 12.2 inches you will definitely need some good ramps.

Assuming that the curb is more like 6 inches and the clearance under the Prius is 5 inches, you will need to get the rear wheels at least one inch off the ground before the body meets the curb.

Assuming that the front and rear wheels are on level ground and:

Wheel base = 106.3 inches
Clearance = 5 inches
Curb = 6 inches

Since the front wheels are 6 inches higher than the rear wheels:
Sine()= 6 / 106.3
Sine()=0.05825
()=3.3395 degrees
The car is tilted 3.3395 deg. above horizontal.

With angle of 3.3395 deg.
Tangent(3.3395) = 5 / X
0.05835 = 5 / X
X = 85.7 inches
The body would touch the curb when the front tires have traveled a bit more than 85 inches.

106.3 - 85 = 21.3
You'll want ramps that are at least 21.3 inches long.

Cut a piece of 2x12 wood into 2 lengths of at least 21.3 inches, and you'll probably be fine.

If you want to make the ride up a bit smoother, you might want to cut the 2x12 into 2 lengths of 26 inches, and another 2 lengths of 20 inches. Stack the 20 inch lengths on top of the 26 inch lengths.

Anything you do to get the rear wheels an inch off the ground before the front wheels have traveled 85 inches should work.

Note that none of this takes into consideration the clearance before the front wheels have climbed the curb. I don't know how far the front edge of the airdam under the front bumper is from the center of the front wheels. I'd guess that 2x12 long enough to prevent the front airdam from scraping are probably long enough to prevent the body from scraping.

 

How did it go? Since the OP was on the 24th and said "in the morning" I'm betting this has already happened.

What I would have asked is what kind of curb is it? A chairback curb or straight curb with an abrupt 6" rise, or is it a roll curb with a more gradual 3.5" rise?