Trunk rack.. would this worry you?

[TrekTheKaty]

sarahspins, I also feel that will leave marks. And it looks like a pretty new car! My next car will be a small SUV/wagon that I can put the bikes in. Oohhh, I have to add that to the addicted thread..........

[sarahspins]

No, not really new.. it's 3 1/2 years old now, and it's paid for.. plus I've put 55k miles on it, and I tend to drive my cars until they have way more than that (I gave up on my last car at 178k.. still ran fine, I just couldn't afford the gas it took at 14mpg).. so I'm not terribly worried about scratches (it's already gotten a fair share.. and lots of dings too).. it's going to be my car for a while, I'm more worried about how the trunk rack just doesn't look safe at all

[Cataboo]

go to yakima.com and go through the fit things... after market roof rack footings sit in the door frame and kinda clamp on, so there's probably after market kits that will fit your car.

I have at least one fork mount bike tray that I'd be willing to sell pretty cheap - it's a rocky mount one (google around for them, they are a lot cheaper than yakima or thule ones). it will not work with disc brake bikes, however.

[ridebikeme]

I would definitely be worried when a part of the rack is being supported by the glass. The glass on our vehicles is not meant to support racks, or any amount of weight from a bike(s). Like others here, I have had people in the past show up to the shop with a broken back window, and a bike that is simply dangling. One customer actually had their bike come off the rack on the highway, and unfortuantely the bike was run over. Roof racks are good options, and so are hitch mounted racks. You will need a towing hitch on your vehicle...1 1/4" or a 2". The larger hitch will accomodate more bikes, but either are great options. In terms of cost, they are roughly in the neighborhood of a roof system.

Personally, I have a 2" hitch rack that supports either 2 or 4 bikes. I have owned a Hollywood rack for many years, and have used it extensively with)out any problems. Be careful of the companies that are marketing lightweight hitch racks... many of them are breaking and have been recalled.(Thule)

[Tuckervill]

I'd get a hitch put on that sucker, and get a hitch rack. Even a hitch rack from a big box store would make me feel better than that one does.

I get my hitches at etrailer.com. In case you're thinking they don't make hitches for your car...I had one on my VW Beetle! It didn't hold much weight, but it held bikes!

Karen

[HillSlugger]

The Saris instructions said that the lower arms should be resting on the bumper, but the LBS shop guy set it up this way for us and I stayed with it.

When I bought my car I was going to put on a hitch mount but decided not to spend the extra money. I really wish I had gone that route.

[Aggie_Ama]

Sorry was out of town! I took some photos but my car is black so not sure you can see everything (sorry the resolutions stinks on these).

I will try to describe how I have mine because it looks different but has worked for the last 3+ years on my Caliber. One thing is mine is only a two carrier and my car has the standard spoiler. It does pull against it which looks really concerning but after 3.5 years and many bike trips I still have a spoiler. We went all the way to Little Rock dragging two bikes on the Caliber. I can't put it one without opening the gate so we might be doing something different. As you have probably figured out there are very few Caliber options short of a hitch (a bit pricey for me) or roof rack (I like my sunroof and pulling in the garage without thinking too much).

1. The top hooks are latched into the part where the gate hinges, does that make since? They are not in the spoiler but the metal of the gate that the spoiler is attached to.
2. The side straps are slide between the gate and side of car. We then use the adjustment to tighten.
3. The rubber rests on the glass and bumper.
4. We hook the bottom under the bumper, there are actually two holes to secure it but we found this by crawling under the car. DO NOT remove it until the car cools down, I burnt myself once having a blond moment.

For scratching the guy at BSS recommended getting that thin foam to wrap around your pedals and bars. At 75k on my car I am not super concerned. The car has been dented by carts, scratched down the side by someone, etc... My husband is super attentive in loading them and uses the extra strap to tie the handlebars so they aren't swinging around.