Trunk Mounted Racks

[MaryG]

Greetings -

Your advise please. I need to purchase a trunk mounted rack. Various model finders recommend these three models for my car.

Yakima's Might Joe
Saris' Bones
Thule's Speedway

All three seem to be good brands but what about ease of use and things like that. Any input (pro & con) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Mary

[doorah]

Thanks for asking! I have had my bike for 2 days and I am in need of a trunk rack to be able to enjoy the local bike paths & trails! I live near an industrial park and the semi's are scaring me silly!

I'll be watchin' your post for information too! Thanks again

~doorah~

[singletrackmind]

We have a bones and it's ok. Easy to use, and to remove, and it's fit on everything from a '63 Volvo 544 to a 95 Volkswagen Jetta. I am not familiar with the other brands. Do beware anything that hooks onto the painted surfaces of your car. We put a little piece of towel under our old rack hooks to keep the vibration from rubbing the paint away like the old one did to the Jetta.

-BUT-

Have you considered a hitch rack?? That would give you full time access to your trunk so you wouldn't have to remove it all the time though 1 hitch pin and off it comes!

[MaryG]

Singletrackmind -

Thanks for replying. I had looked into the hitch mounted racks as a more user friendly option but with the added expense of having to have a hitch installed on my car it would have doubled the price of the rack. I am driving a '94 Tempo and just can't see dropping $200-$250 on a rack set up. Heck, my bike isn't worth much more than that. And I know the car isn't!

BUT hey, great point about the vibrations and the paint. Not an issue on my car but it would be on a car worth more. It's shared information like this that makes this forum the best!

Thanks again,
Mary

[singletrackmind]

Hey, our old cars are cool though I see your point if you aren't going to keep it longer. The rack could go with the next car but having to get a new hitch and all does seem like a monetary waste. Of course, with the next car you might decide on a hitch rack and then the trunk rack would be the waste. Good luck deciding! For those interested in a hitch rack stick with the 2" receiver. Many more options.

(sitting in our driveway: a '63 Volvo, '71 Volvo, '89 Ford Bronco II, '96 Toyota 4runner)

[MaryG]

You know very good point. If I went with the hitch mounted option I could think of it as spending $100 on the Tempo and making a long term investment by buying the hitch rack. I will definitely have to look into this.

And hey, nothing wrong with older cars. Personality and character. Mine has 170,000 miles on it and it will be a sad day when she won't run anymore for me.

Thanks again,
Mary

[SJCzar]

I have the Saris Bones rack. I love mine. It really stays on tight. I'm pretty lazy about taking it off in between rides, so mine stays on most of the time. I've used two other trunk mounted racks over the years and this one (once it's set up for your car) needs very little tightening or adjustments compared to the others.

I have a MINI Cooper and the Saris was the only trunk-mounted rack that I could find that was approved for my car so I can't say that there aren't better ones out there but I'm happy with mine. There are two other people in my Weds. night biking group that use the Bones as well and are happy with it. It's seems to be especially good for cars that have narrow bumpers or spoilers on the back.

[singletrackmind]

Personality and character indeed! Wow, if that's the 2.3 4 cylinder I am going to be so impressed with the mileage!

BTW, I'm not trying to talk you out of a trunk rack, just remembered how much of a pain it was not being able to use the trunk while it was on. If you don't need to use the trunk much this is a moot point. We use the Bones on the '63 volvo because of its shape, a Yakima spare tire rack on the bronco II, a roof rack on the volkswagen (I'm always afraid I'd drive under some low object and ruin the bikes but so far my hubby hasn't) and a hitch rack on the 4runner.

[RebeccaAnn]

We have a Saris Bones, I'd love a hitch rack but the Bones moves from car to car, no matter who in the extended family needs to carry a bike. Everything from small SUV (Escape & Forester) to sedan to subcompact.

If I'm loading myself, I usually tighten everything a couple times. I learned from my MIL to put an old sock on the pedal that is closest to the car. A foam block works well too, but when the foam block disappears I've always got an old sock to use.

We can reach the trunk area from the back seat in our family car, but have to remember to load the trailer into the trunk before attaching the rack.

The hitch rack is on the "someday" list. I wish now we'd had the hitch installed on the car when we bought it. Next time...