Trunk Mounted Bike Rack Recommendation for 2017 Subaru Forester

Updated 03/31/2020 | Published 03/30/2020

Question:

Hi etrailer Am nervous that the Bones EX 2-Bike rack, mounted on my 2017 Forester, will press to hard against the back window. But it looks like a good solution to avoid paying up for a hitch and hitch rack, or trying to load bikes on the top of the car. Can you advise on this newer model as to 1 risk to glass 2 will the spoiler protected from stress? Many thanks.

asked by: James H

Helpful Expert Reply:

I can understand your concerns and hopefully we can put those to rest. I'll start off by saying that I've never seen a trunk mounted bike rack that has damaged the rear window or spoiler when properly installed on the vehicle. The great thing about the Saris Bones EX 3 # SA803 is that most of the weight of the bikes and rack is going to sit on the lower legs of this rack, which means that the rear bumper and the frame of the vehicle are going to do the heavy lifting, so to speak. The top straps are going to be installed in the gap between the rear lift gate and the body of the vehicle, so it's not going to directly attach to the spoiler and the pressure put on it will be limited.

Saris is the pioneer of vehicle mounted bike racks and although they make a lot of other great styles of racks that I love, they specialize in the trunk mounted rack and have pioneered a lot of great designs-both aesthetically and as far as how they're engineered to work on your vehicle. The Saris Bones EX 3 is no exception to this. It really is the perfect solution when it comes to trunk mounted racks- especially if your vehicle has a spoiler.

I'm attaching a photo of a vehicle that has a really prominent rear spoiler that will allow you to see that it works well in these types of applications, as well as our review video of this rack in case you haven't checked it out yet.

expert reply by: Erik B