Question Was Asked By - David

Recommended Bike Rack to Fit a 2007 Jeep Liberty with Rear Spare Tire

Question:

I owned a 2007 Jeep Liberty, with a spare tire on the rear door. I had difficulty finding a 2 Hitch Bike Rack that will fit the vehicle. I had brought and returned a Saris t-bone3 and tried the thule helium 971 and is a bit short. could you help? I would like to stay with the Saris Brand or perhaps the softride?

asked by: David

Expert Reply:

We have several options for your 2007 Jeep Liberty. The easiest and best route to go with is to purchase a rack that has a long enough extension to clear your rear mounted wheel and tire combination. To do this you will need to measure from the center of the hitch pin hole on your receiver hitch to the farthest out part of your rear wheel or tire. Once you have this measurement you can select a bike rack with enough clearance to clear the spare tire.

We have several models of bike racks that have extended shanks and I have listed a few here along with the measurement from the center of the hitch pin hole to the back of the bike rack upright which you will need to match to your clearance measurement.

Thule Parkway 2 Bike Hitch Mounted Folding Rack # TH958 - 9-1/2 inches
Yakima DoubleDown 2 Bike Hitch Mounted Folding Rack # Y02423 - 11-1/2 inches

If you would like to use a Softride bike rack then you could use the Softride Dura Parallelogram Tilting 4 Bike Rack, item # SR26247, along with the Softride Bike Rack Extender Bar for 2 inch Hitches, item # SR26033, which will extend the racks 6 inch clearance by 4 or 8 inches to work on your vehicle.

Finally we also have a spare tire mounted bike rack that will fit on your Liberty spare tire and carry two bikes. The Yakima SpareTime 2-Bike Tire Mounted Rack, item # Y02598, which is easy to install and the arms fold down for storage.

expert reply by: Bob G

Have a question for the experts, click here.