Carrying 4 bikes on Auris Touring Sports Hybrid?

[DuncanJ]

Have any Touring Sports Hybrid owners come up with a better / cheaper solution to carrying four bicycles than Toyota's suggestion of paying £845 to have a bracket fitted to the car into which a Toyota 2-bike rack (£300) can be fitted, and then buying roof bars and two roof mounted bike carriers (a further £400?).

I already own an excellent 4-bike tow ball mounted bike rack but apparently I'm not allowed to fit even a detachable, non-towing towball to a hybrid in case I try to tow with it!

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Witter do a four cycle carrier that fits to a tow bar - contact them as regards a tow bar fitment for the Auris:

https://www.witter-towbars.co.uk/

[DuncanJ]

Problem is my local tow bar fitter says he won't fit a tow bar as hybrid Auris TS isn't type approved for towing. He mentioned it would invalidate insurance/any warranty. Toyota will only recommend fitting the "Easyclick" system. I wondered if anyone on the forum has ignored Toyota and just had a standard tow bar fitted anyway?

[FROSTYBALLS]

7 hours ago, DuncanJ said:

Problem is my local tow bar fitter says he won't fit a tow bar as hybrid Auris TS isn't type approved for towing. He mentioned it would invalidate insurance/any warranty. Toyota will only recommend fitting the "Easyclick" system. I wondered if anyone on the forum has ignored Toyota and just had a standard tow bar fitted anyway?

Bit different to your original post.

[DarrenM]

:) 

[catnash]

With 2 kids and my mountain biking same problem came about with my hybrid that I had to send back to Motorpoint because of a bad repair.  Ended up with a ts but in 1.2.  the roof is the only option.  Also I read that the cooling system isn't geared for towing, hence not being type approved for the UK,  you could theoretically  get any towbar fitter to fit one but like you've read they shouldn't and warranty/insurance will be compromised.  Anyway the roof one is out for me,  there's be a lot of mud and it's so much quicker for me to put them on the back on a wet and windy Welsh mountain.  Other hybrids newer Prius and RAV4 can have a towbar fitter.

[Heidfirst]

13 hours ago, DuncanJ said:

Problem is my local tow bar fitter says he won't fit a tow bar as hybrid Auris TS isn't type approved for towing. He mentioned it would invalidate insurance/any warranty. Toyota will only recommend fitting the "Easyclick" system. I wondered if anyone on the forum has ignored Toyota and just had a standard tow bar fitted anyway?

you would need to discuss this with your insurer - whether they would be prepared to cover/sanction (& put in writing) the fitting of a towbar purely to facilitate the mounting of a bike rack with absolutely no intention of towing. (e.g. my car is not type approved with my winter wheels even though they come from a mechanically identical Avensis T4 but my insurer is aware & happy with it). This also assumes that mounting points are available on the body.

Going ahead & doing so without would possibly mean that you are driving uninsured & thereby comitting an offence.

[DuncanJ]

On 23/08/2017 at 9:21 AM, catnash said:

With 2 kids and my mountain biking same problem came about with my hybrid that I had to send back to Motorpoint because of a bad repair.  Ended up with a ts but in 1.2.  the roof is the only option.  Also I read that the cooling system isn't geared for towing, hence not being type approved for the UK,  you could theoretically  get any towbar fitter to fit one but like you've read they shouldn't and warranty/insurance will be compromised.  Anyway the roof one is out for me,  there's be a lot of mud and it's so much quicker for me to put them on the back on a wet and windy Welsh mountain.  Other hybrids newer Prius and RAV4 can have a towbar fitter.

Hi Martyn,

I think I found your posts about this on Toyota's blog: http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-hybrid-towing-questions.

The thing is the UK Auris 2013 MY brochure states: "The Easy Click holder fits directly to a Toyota towing hitch, or can be mounted with a stand-alone bicycle bracket for hybrid models that do not have a towing capacity" http://www.ukcarline.co.uk/uploads/pds/auris.pdf

But this 2013 MY Auris brochure states "The Easy Click holder fits to the standalone bicycle holder bracket, or to the base of a Toyota horizontal detachable towing hitch when the hook has been removed." http://www.toyotaadria.com/ba/pdf/katalozi_dodatna/dodatna_aurists.pdf

So if Toyota's Easy Click holder fits to either, then this suggests that the standalone bicycle holder bracket that Toyota say should be fitted to a UK hybrid TS could then accept a detachable towing hitch, which could in turn be used to mount any make of tow bar mounted bike rack surely?

This in turn seems to match a comment from a hybrid owner (David Radcliffe) on Toyota's Touring Sport blog:

"Actually you can fit a carrier on the Auris hybrid. We have the Toyota Thule foldable carrier 500 quid which comes with lighting and wiring. All the parts to mount to the Auris are there and include in effect a detachable towbar. It is just that Toyota do not recommend towing with a hybrid as it can trash the transmission. The carrier fits on the towbar ball just like any other towbar mounted carrier so it is possible. Honestly. I can send pictures but look on the auris hybrid accessories on the Toyota build your car page." 

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-touring-sports-your-questions-answered?replytocom=1551695#respond

At the end of the day, I know that I should never use a UK spec Auris hybrid to tow, but if the bicycle holder bracket that Toyota sell can be used to mount my existing 4 bike carrier then that's going to be more fuel efficient, cheaper and more convenient than putting bikes on the roof. (And it being alloy is the same 14kg weight as Toyota's 2 bike steel one, and the total weight with four bikes is under 75 kg).

So if anyone can let me know for sure whether this is possible please let me know!

[FROSTYBALLS]

20 minutes ago, DuncanJ said:

At the end of the day, I know that I should never use a UK spec Auris hybrid to tow, but if the bicycle holder bracket that Toyota sell can be used to mount my existing 4 bike carrier then that's going to be more fuel efficient, cheaper and more convenient than putting bikes on the roof. (And it being alloy is the same 14kg weight as Toyota's 2 bike steel one, and the total weight with four bikes is under 75 kg).

So if anyone can let me know for sure whether this is possible please let me know!

As forum members don't know what bike carrier you currently have, how can they comment whether or not it will fit the Toyota bracket?

Why can't your towbar fitter fit the Toyota bracket rather than a towbar?

[DuncanJ]

I explained that my existing carrier is a standard tow ball mounting one. My question is whether Toyota's hybrid bicycle holder bracket accepts a detachable tow ball which could then be used to mount any tow ball mounted bike rack.

But if it helps my bike carrier is an Atera Strada DL.

[FROSTYBALLS]

39 minutes ago, DuncanJ said:

At the end of the day, I know that I should never use a UK spec Auris hybrid to tow, but if the bicycle holder bracket that Toyota sell can be used to mount my existing 4 bike carrier then that's going to be more fuel efficient, cheaper and more convenient than putting bikes on the roof. (And it being alloy is the same 14kg weight as Toyota's 2 bike steel one, and the total weight with four bikes is under 75 kg).

18 minutes ago, DuncanJ said:

I explained that my existing carrier is a standard tow ball mounting one. My question is whether Toyota's hybrid bicycle holder bracket accepts a detachable tow ball which could then be used to mount any tow ball mounted bike rack.

But if it helps my bike carrier is an Atera Strada DL.

 

The second question actually puts things into perspective - better phrasing of the original would have helped.

[catnash]

7 hours ago, DuncanJ said:

Hi Martyn,

I think I found your posts about this on Toyota's blog: http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-hybrid-towing-questions.

The thing is the UK Auris 2013 MY brochure states: "The Easy Click holder fits directly to a Toyota towing hitch, or can be mounted with a stand-alone bicycle bracket for hybrid models that do not have a towing capacity" http://www.ukcarline.co.uk/uploads/pds/auris.pdf

But this 2013 MY Auris brochure states "The Easy Click holder fits to the standalone bicycle holder bracket, or to the base of a Toyota horizontal detachable towing hitch when the hook has been removed." http://www.toyotaadria.com/ba/pdf/katalozi_dodatna/dodatna_aurists.pdf

So if Toyota's Easy Click holder fits to either, then this suggests that the standalone bicycle holder bracket that Toyota say should be fitted to a UK hybrid TS could then accept a detachable towing hitch, which could in turn be used to mount any make of tow bar mounted bike rack surely?

This in turn seems to match a comment from a hybrid owner (David Radcliffe) on Toyota's Touring Sport blog:

"Actually you can fit a carrier on the Auris hybrid. We have the Toyota Thule foldable carrier 500 quid which comes with lighting and wiring. All the parts to mount to the Auris are there and include in effect a detachable towbar. It is just that Toyota do not recommend towing with a hybrid as it can trash the transmission. The carrier fits on the towbar ball just like any other towbar mounted carrier so it is possible. Honestly. I can send pictures but look on the auris hybrid accessories on the Toyota build your car page." 

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-touring-sports-your-questions-answered?replytocom=1551695#respond

At the end of the day, I know that I should never use a UK spec Auris hybrid to tow, but if the bicycle holder bracket that Toyota sell can be used to mount my existing 4 bike carrier then that's going to be more fuel efficient, cheaper and more convenient than putting bikes on the roof. (And it being alloy is the same 14kg weight as Toyota's 2 bike steel one, and the total weight with four bikes is under 75 kg).

So if anyone can let me know for sure whether this is possible please let me know!

Yes,. It was a possible option to adapt the 2 bike version to fit my current one.  Would have had to see one in person to work it out.