How to turn a Yaris into a Tacoma

[bronsin]

Always wanted one of those!

Not to cause trouble but....

1) How much weight is safe to haul? The car is FWD and youve got all that weight on the opposit end of the car.

2) Wouldnt that thing interfere with accessing the hatch? How easy to R and R?

Thanks!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by bronsin

Always wanted one of those!

Not to cause trouble but....

1) How much weight is safe to haul? The car is FWD and youve got all that weight on the opposit end of the car.

2) Wouldnt that thing interfere with accessing the hatch? How easy to R and R?

Thanks!

Good questions!

1. The rack is rated for 500 lbs. My cans fully loaded would not likely ever exceed 150lbs combined. If I (~160 lbs) jump up and down on the rack (besides looking quite silly) I find that the rear squats and the front does not seem to be effected.

2. It does interfere with the hatch when the cans are on it. With objects up to 17" tall on the rack the hatch will open completely.

By R and R I think you mean put it and take it off. If that is the case, I just slide it into the receiver and slip the receiver pin in (literally seconds on and off). Because the receiver is under the bumper I have to reach through the rack to do so. If the rack had a solid or mesh floor, I would have to reach around from the side of the rack to deal with the receiver pin.

It does block visibility of my rear license plate. Thus far (four runs with it) I have not been stopped and I have passed by police cars on the way. The tail lights are still fully visible as the rack is just a tad narrower than the space between them.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by CTScott

It does block visibility of my rear license plate. Thus far (four runs with it) I have not been stopped and I have passed by police cars on the way. The tail lights are still fully visible as the rack is just a tad narrower than the space between them.

I purchased a hitch basket 3 years ago so that I could use the Yaris for our annual family vacation to New Brunswick. So far I have logged approx 9500 kms across 3 provinces with the plate obscured by a large duffel bag in the basket. Have not yet drawn the attention of the various law enforcement units I encounter throughout the journey.

So far mine has been used to haul;
- luggage
- gas cans
- pool chlorine
- a tree

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by CTScott

Good questions!

1. The rack is rated for 500 lbs. My cans fully loaded would not likely ever exceed 150lbs combined. If I (~160 lbs) jump up and down on the rack (besides looking quite silly) I find that the rear squats and the front does not seem to be effected.

2. It does interfere with the hatch when the cans are on it. With objects up to 17" tall on the rack the hatch will open completely.

By R and R I think you mean put it and take it off. If that is the case, I just slide it into the receiver and slip the receiver pin in (literally seconds on and off). Because the receiver is under the bumper I have to reach through the rack to do so. If the rack had a solid or mesh floor, I would have to reach around from the side of the rack to deal with the receiver pin.

It does block visibility of my rear license plate. Thus far (four runs with it) I have not been stopped and I have passed by police cars on the way. The tail lights are still fully visible as the rack is just a tad narrower than the space between them.

Absolutely fantastic!

2-3 questions:

Which size BRUTE cans are you using? (if 50 gallon, then the next question is moot)

If your BRUTE cans are the 44 gallon ones or smaller, do you know the largest size can that will fit on that basket?

Which strap w/hooks are you using?

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Absolutely fantastic!

2-3 questions:

Which size BRUTE cans are you using? (if 50 gallon, then the next question is moot)

If your BRUTE cans are the 44 gallon ones or smaller, do you know the largest size can that will fit on that basket?

Which strap w/hooks are you using?

My Brutes are 32 gallon and they fit in like a glove. The inside dimensions of the rack are 18" x 46.5", and the 32 gallon Brute is 18" at the bottom, so they slide in and fit snugly. I really just use the strap to hold the covers from popping off.

For the strap, I added two eye bolts in place of two of the screws on the carrier, to make it easier to hook on. I started off with one of the ratcheting straps (that I trimmed the excess off to make it perfect for the two cans). I found slipping the end into the ratchet a hassle, so I instead switched to a motor cycle strap. It was about 18" too short though, so I sacrificed a second one and sewed 18" of it into the other one to make it fit perfectly.

[nookandcrannycar]

Originally Posted by CTScott

My Brutes are 32 gallon and they fit in like a glove. The inside dimensions of the rack are 18" x 46.5", and the 32 gallon Brute is 18" at the bottom, so they slide in and fit snugly. I really just use the strap to hold the covers from popping off.

For the strap, I added two eye bolts in place of two of the screws on the carrier, to make it easier to hook on. I started off with one of the ratcheting straps (that I trimmed the excess off to make it perfect for the two cans). I found slipping the end into the ratchet a hassle, so I instead switched to a motor cycle strap. It was about 18" too short though, so I sacrificed a second one and sewed 18" of it into the other one to make it fit perfectly.

Thanks so much for this ^^^^^ post and this thread! This is really going to help me in California re temporarily moving some things a relatively short distance (about 20 miles), taking some things to be recycled or donated, and taking some other things to the dump/transfer station. I imagine it won't matter which Yaris I take to California as (according to thehitchstore.com website) that hitch will also fit on a 2014 Yaris (as long as it is not an SE). I'll purchase the BRUTEs in California (right before I need them)....they're listed as in stock at some Home Depot stores around here, so I imagine the same is probably the case in California.

I have a friend who lives in one of the colder (during the winter) East Bay (SF Bay Area) suburbs. IIRC, his house is between 3000-3500sf (2 story). He has a pellet stove insert in the fireplace in his living room, and has sworn by it for quite a few years. He's had me stand in every room to illustate to me how effective it is . He'd drool if he saw the number of bags of pellets you've got stored (6 tons total, IIRC from another post) . His garage is big enough...he just can't get his beloved wife to get on the same page he is (re neatness and organization) in order to clear enough room. They're originally from Chicago (suburbs)....so, very in touch with 'keeping warm in the most efficient manner possible'.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

Thanks so much for this ^^^^^ post and this thread! This is really going to help me in California re temporarily moving some things a relatively short distance (about 20 miles), taking some things to be recycled or donated, and taking some other things to the dump/transfer station. I imagine it won't matter which Yaris I take to California as (according to thehitchstore.com website) that hitch will also fit on a 2014 Yaris (as long as it is not an SE). I'll purchase the BRUTEs in California (right before I need them)....they're listed as in stock at some Home Depot stores around here, so I imagine the same is probably the case in California.

I have a friend who lives in one of the colder (during the winter) East Bay (SF Bay Area) suburbs. IIRC, his house is between 3000-3500sf (2 story). He has a pellet stove insert in the fireplace in his living room, and has sworn by it for quite a few years. He's had me stand in every room to illustate to me how effective it is . He'd drool if he saw the number of bags of pellets you've got stored . His garage is big enough...he just can't get his beloved wife to get on the same page he is (re neatness and organization) in order to clear enough room. They're originally from Chicago (suburbs)....so, very in touch with 'keeping warm in the most efficient manner possible'.

The pellet stove really is amazing. We bought it to make use of the fireplace and to have a place to warm the buns. In the first couple of weeks of using it from when we woke up until we went to bed, I noticed a significant drop in heating oil consumption, so we started running it 24 hours/day. In that mode I found that 1 ton of pellets equaled a 275 gallon tank of oil for 1/4 the cost.

Last winter was super cold and long and we burnt just over 5 tons of pellets. We ran out towards the end of heating season and had to scramble to find a few bags here and there. This year we bought six tons to make sure we don't have to do that again.