Roof Rack Bike Rack Recommendation for a 2007 Hyundai Tucson

Expert Reply:

For your 2007 Hyundai you will need to take some measurements to determine if the back hatch can be opened with a bike rack attached.

If you have factory cross bars then you will need to move the cross bar as far forward as possible on the side rails and then measure from the center of the crossbar back to the point that will clear the rear hatch when opened.

If you need cross bars for the raised rails you can use the Yakima RailGrab Towers, # Y00138, and the Round 58 inch CrossBars, # Y00409. To determine the center of the cross bar on the farthest forward part of your roof, measure 2-1/8 inches back from the most forward part of the side rail that the RailGrab could be positioned at, and then measure from that point (which will be the center of the cross bar on the 4-1/4 inch wide RailGrab mount) back to the point that will clear the rear hatch when opened.

Once you have this measurement you can select a roof bike rack that will work on your vehicle.

The Yakima Raptor bike rack, # Y02085, has a 52 inch long wheel tray and the front mount is centered 8 inches back from the front of the tray. This leaves 44 inches from the center of the cross bar back to the end of the tray. If your measurement is more than 44 inches from the center of the crossbar back to the point that will clear the rear hatch when opened, the Raptor will work. Keep in mind that if you have a bike on the rack that hangs over the rear of the bike rack tray, the rear tire may contact the rear hatch when opened.

The raptor will mount to factory cross bars with the addition of Universal MightyMounts. # Y03590, and will mount to Yakima round bars without any additional parts.

Another option for you would be the Thule Sidearm bike rack, # TH594XT, that will attach to factory cross bars or the round cross bars mentioned. The tray on this rack is 56 inches long and the center of the cross bar will be 19 inches from the front wheel tray, leaving the back of the tray at 37 inches from the center of the front cross bar.

I attached an image of both of these racks with the dimensions added for you to see. I also added links to the installation instructions for these racks.

expert reply by: Bob G