trunk mounted bike carrier

[frankierx]

Is a trunk mounted bike carrier stable for a long ride on the expressway at 80 mph? Anyone with experiences?

 

[Anubis]

yes, ive had my bike on there for 9 hours at ~80mph

use a couple bungies and its not going anywhere

my car has a "trunk rack" on it itself that the bungies hook into tho

 

[notfred]

I have one, it works just fine.

 

[boyRacer]

should be no problem if its secured properly. we took one from LA to Vegas and it got there fine... it didnt have any anti-swing feature but it was ok even though it looks like its about to bounce off your car from the rearview mirror.

i personally prefer hitch mounted bike racks... as opposed to trunk and roof mounted ones...

 

[frankierx]

Originally posted by: bR
should be no problem if its secured properly. we took one from LA to Vegas and it got there fine... it didnt have any anti-swing feature but it was ok even though it looks like its about to bounce off your car from the rearview mirror.

i personally prefer hitch mounted bike racks... as opposed to trunk and roof mounted ones...

why? what if the trunk one is my only option for price and ease of use reasons?

 

[NutBucket]

The hitch mounted ones are just more secure. I remember the first time I used my trunk mounted rack the clips for the two lower straps both came off within 5 minutes of driving. Had to rig it up so they wouldn't. Plus, the way it moved and bounced just didn't leave me with a good feeling about how secure the bikes were. I did use it at least once on the freeway without any problems. I will say this though; people tend to leave more distance in front of them when they're following a car with a trunk mounted rack.

I just bought Yakima roof rack for my car. I haven't tried it out yet; maiden voyage will be Saturday.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: frankierx

Originally posted by: bR
should be no problem if its secured properly. we took one from LA to Vegas and it got there fine... it didnt have any anti-swing feature but it was ok even though it looks like its about to bounce off your car from the rearview mirror.

i personally prefer hitch mounted bike racks... as opposed to trunk and roof mounted ones...

why? what if the trunk one is my only option for price and ease of use reasons?

nothing wrong with the trunk ones... go for it.

my friend got a thule trunk model for $106... and i just got this for $138 shipped. It's not as good as the $300 saris but it's good enough hopefully.

his trunk rack did bounce a lot but it didn't fall of or anything... the bikes were swinging though and with 3 bikes on there there was a little contact here and there.

roof racks are cool too but it would too much of a hassle since id have to put it on top of an suv.

 

[The Stigenator]

i have a 30-40$ kmart one.. made by Bell.

It works fine.. it took my bike from LA to sacramento and back with no problems.

 

[LongCoolMother]

i have one. it always makes me nervous because it looks insecure. never had any problems with it though, but i never take it on the freeway. lol.

 

[C'DaleRider]

There is nothing wrong with trunk-mounted bike carriers. They all just have the same defecits......can't get into the trunk when installed, bike usually will swing, rust, etc., etc.

When I was working in a shop and selling, I would first recommend hitch-mounts, then roof mounts, then trunk-mounts, depending on the vehicle, stiuation, and finances. For trunk-mounts, I almost always recommended the Saris Bones racks.

Quite a unique trunk-mount system......able to be configured to fit over most spoilers which most others are incapable of doing, no steel so no rust, feet won't mar the car's paint, built-in straps to hold the bike and built-in anti-sway straps that fit around the bike's seat tube. It is also configurable to fit cars, minivans, and SUVs.....darned near any vehicle on the market. It's also VERY strong......have had a 180# man hang off the three-bike version when put on a trunk without seeing it strain at all......Billy, the shop's owner, would put the rack on the trunk and then hang off the rack's arms, the ones the bikes go onto, feet in the air. Never saw one fail when he did that........darned strong rack.

Has consistently been one of the highest, if not the highest, rated trunk-mount rack systems on the market. The two-bike version sells for around $120 retail and the three bike rack, the one I'd personally use and always recommended, sells for around $140 retail.

Look into them......you could do much worse than these.

 

[Kelemvor]

As long as you have a quality rack that's matched with your vehicle model they work fine.

 

[frankierx]

Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
There is nothing wrong with trunk-mounted bike carriers. They all just have the same defecits......can't get into the trunk when installed, bike usually will swing, rust, etc., etc.

When I was working in a shop and selling, I would first recommend hitch-mounts, then roof mounts, then trunk-mounts, depending on the vehicle, stiuation, and finances. For trunk-mounts, I almost always recommended the Saris Bones racks.

Quite a unique trunk-mount system......able to be configured to fit over most spoilers which most others are incapable of doing, no steel so no rust, feet won't mar the car's paint, built-in straps to hold the bike and built-in anti-sway straps that fit around the bike's seat tube. It is also configurable to fit cars, minivans, and SUVs.....darned near any vehicle on the market. It's also VERY strong......have had a 180# man hang off the three-bike version when put on a trunk without seeing it strain at all......Billy, the shop's owner, would put the rack on the trunk and then hang off the rack's arms, the ones the bikes go onto, feet in the air. Never saw one fail when he did that........darned strong rack.

Has consistently been one of the highest, if not the highest, rated trunk-mount rack systems on the market. The two-bike version sells for around $120 retail and the three bike rack, the one I'd personally use and always recommended, sells for around $140 retail.

Look into them......you could do much worse than these.

what about Thule 960 Freeway 3 bike carrier ? www.thule.com

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: frankierx

Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
There is nothing wrong with trunk-mounted bike carriers. They all just have the same defecits......can't get into the trunk when installed, bike usually will swing, rust, etc., etc.

When I was working in a shop and selling, I would first recommend hitch-mounts, then roof mounts, then trunk-mounts, depending on the vehicle, stiuation, and finances. For trunk-mounts, I almost always recommended the Saris Bones racks.

Quite a unique trunk-mount system......able to be configured to fit over most spoilers which most others are incapable of doing, no steel so no rust, feet won't mar the car's paint, built-in straps to hold the bike and built-in anti-sway straps that fit around the bike's seat tube. It is also configurable to fit cars, minivans, and SUVs.....darned near any vehicle on the market. It's also VERY strong......have had a 180# man hang off the three-bike version when put on a trunk without seeing it strain at all......Billy, the shop's owner, would put the rack on the trunk and then hang off the rack's arms, the ones the bikes go onto, feet in the air. Never saw one fail when he did that........darned strong rack.

Has consistently been one of the highest, if not the highest, rated trunk-mount rack systems on the market. The two-bike version sells for around $120 retail and the three bike rack, the one I'd personally use and always recommended, sells for around $140 retail.

Look into them......you could do much worse than these.

what about Thule 960 Freeway 3 bike carrier ? www.thule.com

I would get something with straps if i were you... my friend has the 962 speedway model... the 961 speedway is only $20 more from the freeway. how many bikes do you need to haul?

 

[NutBucket]

Forgot to mention, you'll pay 3-4x more for a roof rack then you will for a trunk rack. Lucky for me my trunk rack was a freebie and parts of my roof rack were free as well Still cost me $300 for the other parts I needed tho.

 

[frankierx]

Originally posted by: bR

Originally posted by: frankierx

Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
There is nothing wrong with trunk-mounted bike carriers. They all just have the same defecits......can't get into the trunk when installed, bike usually will swing, rust, etc., etc.

When I was working in a shop and selling, I would first recommend hitch-mounts, then roof mounts, then trunk-mounts, depending on the vehicle, stiuation, and finances. For trunk-mounts, I almost always recommended the Saris Bones racks.

Quite a unique trunk-mount system......able to be configured to fit over most spoilers which most others are incapable of doing, no steel so no rust, feet won't mar the car's paint, built-in straps to hold the bike and built-in anti-sway straps that fit around the bike's seat tube. It is also configurable to fit cars, minivans, and SUVs.....darned near any vehicle on the market. It's also VERY strong......have had a 180# man hang off the three-bike version when put on a trunk without seeing it strain at all......Billy, the shop's owner, would put the rack on the trunk and then hang off the rack's arms, the ones the bikes go onto, feet in the air. Never saw one fail when he did that........darned strong rack.

Has consistently been one of the highest, if not the highest, rated trunk-mount rack systems on the market. The two-bike version sells for around $120 retail and the three bike rack, the one I'd personally use and always recommended, sells for around $140 retail.

Look into them......you could do much worse than these.

what about Thule 960 Freeway 3 bike carrier ? www.thule.com

I would get something with straps if i were you... my friend has the 962 speedway model... the 961 speedway is only $20 more from the freeway. how many bikes do you need to haul?

1 most of the time. Maybe 2 or 3 once in a blue moon.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Trunk mounted is okay, but spend some extra time making sure it is secure.

I've used hitch- and trunk-mounted racks and very much prefer the hitch ones, but trunk-mounted racks should be fine for any amount of driving as long as they are securely mounted.

They probably have a little less effective tongue-weight, too, due to being closer to the car.

 

[frankierx]

Originally posted by: bR

Originally posted by: frankierx

Originally posted by: C'DaleRider
There is nothing wrong with trunk-mounted bike carriers. They all just have the same defecits......can't get into the trunk when installed, bike usually will swing, rust, etc., etc.

When I was working in a shop and selling, I would first recommend hitch-mounts, then roof mounts, then trunk-mounts, depending on the vehicle, stiuation, and finances. For trunk-mounts, I almost always recommended the Saris Bones racks.

Quite a unique trunk-mount system......able to be configured to fit over most spoilers which most others are incapable of doing, no steel so no rust, feet won't mar the car's paint, built-in straps to hold the bike and built-in anti-sway straps that fit around the bike's seat tube. It is also configurable to fit cars, minivans, and SUVs.....darned near any vehicle on the market. It's also VERY strong......have had a 180# man hang off the three-bike version when put on a trunk without seeing it strain at all......Billy, the shop's owner, would put the rack on the trunk and then hang off the rack's arms, the ones the bikes go onto, feet in the air. Never saw one fail when he did that........darned strong rack.

Has consistently been one of the highest, if not the highest, rated trunk-mount rack systems on the market. The two-bike version sells for around $120 retail and the three bike rack, the one I'd personally use and always recommended, sells for around $140 retail.

Look into them......you could do much worse than these.

what about Thule 960 Freeway 3 bike carrier ? www.thule.com

I would get something with straps if i were you... my friend has the 962 speedway model... the 961 speedway is only $20 more from the freeway. how many bikes do you need to haul?

Do you have a Thule carrier too? When mounted on my Thule carrier, the bike's foot pedal rests on my rear licensce plate. Do you think it will swing on any given bump and scratch my paint job?