Today on our 2012 Jeep Liberty, we'll be test fitting the Kuat Sherpa Aluminum Hitch Mounted 2 Bike Rack with Wheel Mount Cradles, part number S102. Now using the included 2-inch adapter, we'll slide the bike rack shank into the hitch, line up the hitch pin hole, and insert our hitch pin. We'll then move to the back of the shank where we'll turn the knob, tightening down the anti-rattle device securing the bike rack to the vehicle. We'll now go ahead and give you a few measurements. Our ground clearance here at the back of the bike rack with the platform in the stored position measures 22-1/2 inches. From the closest point of the bike rack here at the wheel cradle to the back of the vehicle measures 6 inches.
We'll now go ahead and unfold the bike rack platform, and with the platform down, we've added about 32 inches of overall length to the vehicle. We'll now go ahead and open the cargo door, and as you can see with this bike rack secured to the vehicle, we can still gain access to the cargo area. We'll now unfold the front wheel clamp and make sure that the rear wheel strap is out of the way. We'll then place the bike into the rack and bring our front wheel clamp up clamping in the front wheel just in front of the front brake caliper. We'll move back to the rear wheel where we'll put the strap through the wheel and secure it on the other side.
That's it. Our bike is loaded. Now, another feature of the Sherpa is its ability to fold down with the bike loaded to allow access to the cargo area. We'll pull the handle that we used to unfold the bike rack platform and allow the bike rack platform to tilt down further. We'll then open our cargo door.
That will complete our test fit of the Kuat Sherpa, part number S102, on our 2012 Jeep Liberty.