Hey guys, My wife and I are looking for a decent bike rack for our 2006 Prius. We don't have a hitch installed and would like to stick with the trunk racks. We plan on using this rack very frequently varying short and long distant trips. Our trips will mostly be around 30 miles but in August we are going to the beach which is 500 miles away. W We are looking for a very sturdy, secure rack that won't have us worried everytime we hit a pothole. Thanks in advance.
Take a look at my thread about the Thule Raceway racks - which includes my review of the Raceway 2 and the Raceway Platform racks. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...e-raceway-2-3-raceway-platform-2-gen-iii.html
This same old rack (Saris Bones) I've been using for 8 years... ...starting on my 2004, then my 2010, was used on PHV today. Works great, but killed my efficiency. I only got 66 MPG.
I just received a new Draw-Tite 1-1/4" hitch (24847) in the mail from etrailer.com. The video and reviews show that it doesn't take much to put a hitch on. I haven't installed it yet because we are still waiting for our new 2012 Prius II to come to the dealer. The benefits of a hitch is that you don't have to take the rack off to open the hatch. My older Yakama Bedroc, when unloaded, can pivot forward to allow for the hatch door to open. Also, you don't have to worry about scratches or dents. Might be worth consideration.
+1. The first thing I did when I drove my '07 Prius off the dealer's lot back then, I went straight over to U-Haul to get a Curt hitch. I hated dealing with all those straps on the trunk racks, and having the bikes bump into the car and scratch things up. With the Curt hitch, all I had to do is fasten or loosen one 1/2-inch bolt to put on or take off the bike rack. When I trade in my '07 for a new Prius in a few more years, I'm doing the exact same thing-- First thing off the dealer's lot, I'm going to get a hitch receiver installed.
Since there isn't any worry about scratches or dents from strap-on racks either, what is that in reference to?
There are those of us that don't want to modify the body in the end... And some times having to deal with low driveways and such....
Far as I'm aware, all of the current hitches available for the standard 3rd-gen Prius / Plug-in, Prius c and Prius v are all straight bolt-on hitches with no body modifications. The Gen-II does require elongating a slot in the plastic air dam, which the U-haul guy did for my '07 using a pair of tin-snips (neatly, under my obssessive eye). Personally I have never had ground clearance issues with my rack. With my carbon fiber bike mounted on the particular rack I have (the rack clamps onto my bike's top tube), there is 1 foot of clearance between the bike's tires and the ground. Photos of my rack and bike: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-main-forum/38000-finally-got-my-curt-hitch.html I would be an idiot to chance dragging my $2000 carbon bike on the ground. 7500 miles so far on my carbon-fiber Sirrus LTD bike.. Incidentally purchased the same year as my '07. Thinking about getting a new bike too the same year I trade in for a new Prius.. Maybe an S-works Tarmac.
I know you said you want a trunk rack, but I highly recommend the hitch. I bought a curt hitch online and put it on with one arm in a cast past the elbow. And then bought a thule platform rack. Super secure and stress free. Totally worth the money.
One benefit that I haven't heard yet for a hitch mounted bike rack is security (or at least a level not attainable from a trunk rack). My hitch mount has a lock to secure the carrier to the car, then a cable that wraps around the bike frames and locks them to the carrier. I know that someone really wanting to steal my bikes could saw/cut the cable or use an angle grinder to break the lock, but it won't be easy or quiet. With a trunk mounted carrier, a thief could loosen the straps and remove the whole thing, or just take the bike off the car and be on their way, and look like the owner just removing the bike to take a ride. I don't make habit of leaving the bike on the car when I'm not riding, but I feel safe running in to a store or getting something to eat knowing it won't be easily stolen.
Just lock the bike to the frame of the vehicle. It's just a simple matter of connecting your bike-cable to either of the tie-downs under the bumper on the Prius. Quick & Secure. No big deal.
