Author Topic: Prius and racks  (Read 12673 times)

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Offline driftlessregion

Prius and racks
« on: October 29, 2016, 04:46:58 pm »
I'd like to know what your experience has been with a roof rack on the Prius. Do the feet fit well? Does it have enough power when there are four bikes up top? How about with a hitch rack out back?

Offline Storming

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2016, 08:44:35 am »
Just make sure to purchase Thule feet and bars. You can read about different bike carrier and rack types from here.
Four bikes are okay, I've carried flag-pole, washing machine, bikes etc on my roof  ;D
Ride en' joy

Offline driftlessregion

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2016, 11:34:23 am »
ok, but what specifically makes Thule better than Yakima for a Prius? I've used Yakima for 30 years on a variety of cars and see no reason to switch. I'm looking for specifics not generalities for the  Prius only.

Offline Storming

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2016, 03:46:20 pm »
You're right. I've used Yakima bike racks and Thule Roof racks. I'm also lazy to change it, should also try Yakima roof racks.
Ride en' joy

Offline Pat Lamb

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2016, 04:13:00 pm »
How about "none of the above"?  I got a bolt-on hitch for my wife's Prius, and use it with a trailer rack.

Offline driftlessregion

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2016, 05:41:50 pm »
So basically, no one has experience with roof racks on a Prius. Interesting.

Offline DaveB

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2016, 06:10:47 pm »
So basically, no one has experience with roof racks on a Prius. Interesting.
The Prius's main attraction is high fuel mileage.  Nothing hurt that as much as a roof rack with multiple bikes. 

Offline jonc123

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2016, 10:53:20 pm »
I hauled 2 bikes on a hitch rack with my Honda Civic. We were going a few hundred miles with a headwind on 70 mph interstates mostly. I did check the mpg; I would have done better with my Chevy Silverado pickup I replaced the Honda with. I couldn't hardly get the car to go 70...kept on trying to downshift to get up to speed.

Better read your owner's manual on warnings, maintenance issues, etc. It can't be good for the vehicle in the long run.

Offline DaveB

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #8 on: November 18, 2016, 07:44:43 am »
I hauled 2 bikes on a hitch rack with my Honda Civic. We were going a few hundred miles with a headwind on 70 mph interstates mostly. I did check the mpg; I would have done better with my Chevy Silverado pickup I replaced the Honda with. I couldn't hardly get the car to go 70...kept on trying to downshift to get up to speed.
Are you really describing a hitch rack, not a roof rack? If so, that must have been a very old, very high mileage and very worn out Civic. 

I've driven thousands and thousands of miles with one or two bikes on rear hitch racks and the effect on fuel mileage has been minor and the cars had no problems maintaining speed.   Hitch racks have far less aerodynamic drag than roof racks.

Offline Pat Lamb

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2016, 10:17:37 am »
I can easily believe jonc's story.  We took a trip a year after buying a 2005 Prius using a hitch rack to carry three bikes.  There was about a 20 mph headwind for 100 miles, filling up as we left and driving 65 mph.  The Prius got 30 mpg.

The 50 (+/-) mpg mileage is really sensitive to external conditions, and speeds over about 60 mph is one of the things that cuts it down.  Drag from bikes on a hitch rack seems to cut mileage by 5-10 mpg in quiescent conditions IME.  Add bikes, high speed, and headwinds, and you're asking for lousy mileage.


Offline driftlessregion

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #10 on: November 22, 2016, 11:39:40 am »
I was not clear in my OP request for information. I was looking for how well roof rack towers fit on the car, and any issues that arose from having to narrow the distance between bars to max of 30" (I have them 39" apart now for a large bike on my Jetta Sportswagen). Will have to replace short tray mounts with long trays. Re the MPG, yeah it makes it worse, but when you start at high MPG v. crappy MPG it is still probably a good deal in the long run. The total miles driven with a bike on top, let alone 4 bikes once a year, is insignificant for the overall miles driven.

Offline jonc123

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #11 on: November 26, 2016, 11:46:13 pm »
I can easily believe jonc's story.  We took a trip a year after buying a 2005 Prius using a hitch rack to carry three bikes.  There was about a 20 mph headwind for 100 miles, filling up as we left and driving 65 mph.  The Prius got 30 mpg.

The 50 (+/-) mpg mileage is really sensitive to external conditions, and speeds over about 60 mph is one of the things that cuts it down.  Drag from bikes on a hitch rack seems to cut mileage by 5-10 mpg in quiescent conditions IME.  Add bikes, high speed, and headwinds, and you're asking for lousy mileage.

That trip was from St. Louis, MO. to Little Rock, AR. Really bad headwind for most of the trip. At the time, on a good day I think it got around 40 mpg, on that trip 24mpg. Civic is 2005 and I think at the time it probably had less than 100,000. The car has almost 170,000 now. Your statement "sensitive to external conditions" is right on the money. These high mpg smallish cars are made to do what they do best without bolting stuff to the outside.

I now transport our bikes inside a truck with campershell. If the OP isn't going cross country it should be OK. I still suggest that if your hauling bikes on the outside of a small car to read the owner's manual front to back.

Offline driftlessregion

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2017, 10:18:35 am »
Bought the Prius V, love the car so far, especially the gas mileage. But, clips for the new Yakima towers won't stay attached to the car. It appears that there is not enough lip for them to grip well. Anyone else have experience with these clips, specifically on the Prius V, with or without problems?

Offline Molly88

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #13 on: June 01, 2017, 07:37:59 am »
If you decide to go to a hitch mount rack on the back, this type of hitch worked well on my older Prius and was easy to install. http://www.curtmfg.com/part/11276

Offline driftlessregion

Re: Prius and racks
« Reply #14 on: June 23, 2017, 05:34:50 pm »
Problem solved. Directions included were not clear, I missed a crucial step. Must be installed with specs to the millimeter. I recommend having it installed by a dealer that has done many. Working well now.
As to the MPG, again, still ahead compared to anything else.