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Rear mounted bike carrier on Prius v wagon?

Discussion in 'Prius v Accessories and Modifications' started by lyonsquark, Jul 16, 2012.

  1. lyonsquark

    lyonsquark New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi - Just purchased a Prius v wagon (great so far). On my old car (2003 Honda Civic sedan) I used a Thule 911XT rear mounted bike rack. This is the kind held on to the back of the trunk with straps that clip into the top, bottom, and sides of the trunk lid. It worked quite well. According to Thule, this rack will also work on the Prius v wagon. One clips the straps to the very top edge of the hatch back door and to the bottom of the door. I think that will work but the upper straps, that carry most of the weight, will drape over the "spoiler" at the top of the hatch back (where the 3rd brake light is). There could be a lot of weight from the bikes and the carrier (e.g. weight of carrier + 2 bikes is ~70 lbs) pulling down on the spoiler and I'm concerned if the spoiler is attached strongly enough to handle it.

    Has anyone tried a rear mounted bike carrier on their Prius v (or the Thule 911XT in particular)? Thanks for any advice/info.
     
    #1 lyonsquark, Jul 16, 2012
  2. lyonsquark

    lyonsquark New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
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    So the Thule 911XT does not really fit on the Prius v, even though the Thule web site says it should. Setting the fit number that Thule suggests (8), the top straps pull hard on the top spoiler. I can see it bend if I put weight on the bike rack. Not good. I can adjust to a different fit number, like 7, which pushes the bike rack out more and makes the straps more parallel to the spoiler. That's better, but now the rack arms point downward towards the road. Not good.

    So I think it's not going to work. I've just ordered a Yakima King Joe Pro 3 trunk mounted bike rack, which looks like it will fit much better. The key there is that you can adjust the arm angle independently of the frame. So I think I should be able to adjust the frame so that it doesn't pull on the spoiler, and then adjust the arms so they point in the right direction (e.g. parallel to the road or slightly tilted upward). There's some good experience with it on a Prius c (see Yakima Hang on Back Bike Rack | PriusChat), which has a similar spoiler to the v.
     
    #2 lyonsquark, Jul 20, 2012
  3. TPriusV

    TPriusV Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two

    I bought an Allen MT-1 and it worked great. This is a single bike rack which has 2 straps to the hatch lid and another one to the bumper cross beam. The MT-2 is supposed to work as well. That, as the number suggests, is for 2 bikes. I had no problems on a 3 hour ride at high speeds and heavy rain. Stayed fine although it shifted a bit when the guy in front of me panicked stopped so I hit the brakes hard and there was a one inch shift. I stopped soon thereafter and checked it. It was tight and no further movement was noted. I paid $40 at Performance Bikes - it was an open box and missing the bag that comes with it. I emailed Allen and they sent me a new bag asap. So that was pretty cool. It stores very small too. Online prices is roughly $38 deeding upon vendor. Sorry, no info on the Thule. T.
     
    #3 TPriusV, Jul 23, 2012
  4. jasonlo

    jasonlo New Member

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    Location:
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    2001 Prius
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    Does the MT1 mount below the spoiler? do the straps go over or under?
     
    #4 jasonlo, Aug 13, 2012
  5. lyonsquark

    lyonsquark New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
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    N/A
    I've used the Yakima King Joe Pro 3 a few times now and it works great! The straps drape over the spoiler, but because the rack extends out pretty far, the straps don't really pull down on the spoiler itself. The Yakima site has a fit guide tailored to the Prius v including pictures showing where it should go. Very happy with this bike rack.
     
    #5 lyonsquark, Aug 14, 2012
  6. TPriusV

    TPriusV Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    the
    it mounts below the spoiler with straps go over the top spoiler and clip into the space between the spoiler and the roof. hope that makes sense.
     
    #6 TPriusV, Aug 16, 2012
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