Has anyone put a trunk mounted rack on their Rogue yet? I have a Yakima Mighty Joe rack that I hope will fit. I used it on both my Pathfinder and my XTerra. I usually only carry one bike so I don't want to go to the expense of adding a hitch and buying a new hitch mounted rack. Has anyone tried a trunk mounted rack? Any pictures?

Here are some ideas. But they do require a hitch.

zerothread/283582

I don't know of anyone who has tried. Yakima does list their latest 'Joe' series of racks as usable on the Rogue so I do not see why you would have an issue. Those trunk/hatch mount racks are pretty universal and fit anything with hatch or trunk so long as ther is lip around the top and bottom edges.

lrich524 wrote:Has anyone put a trunk mounted rack on their Rogue yet? I have a Yakima Mighty Joe rack that I hope will fit. I used it on both my Pathfinder and my XTerra. I usually only carry one bike so I don't want to go to the expense of adding a hitch and buying a new hitch mounted rack. Has anyone tried a trunk mounted rack? Any pictures?

If only carrying one bike, why not just put the seats down and toss it in the Rogue. That is what we do (or will do - did it with our Vibe, I imagine it can be done in the Rogue).

I emailed Yakima and while they wouldn't say that the Mighty Joe would fit because it is a discontinued model, they did give me the measurements for a King Joe. The distance between the bars should be 25.5" and the lower support frame rests on the lower portion of the license plate below the numbers. Hooks attach at the top of the hatch, bottom of the hatch, and on the sides above the tail lights. I tried this set up with the Mighty Joe and it seems to work fine! Good news. I don't have to buy another rack!

Great! This information will be useful to other owners.

As part of the deal when I bought my Rogue the Yakama Anklebiter racks were thrown in. I have to say that I'm not very happy with them, they are not easy to use, you must have some kind of step ladder or other means or gaining height to put the bike on the roof rack, and it is very difficult racking a bike by yourself.

I'd very much rather have a hitch mounted rack that allows one person to use, and can be removed easily when not in use.

Here is 2 pictures of my Rogue with standard roof Sportrack.It was on my Explorer Sport Trac before and I was suprised that it fit on my Rogue. Happy guy

Hope this help.Dom

Rcook wrote:As part of the deal when I bought my Rogue the Yakama Anklebiter racks were thrown in. I have to say that I'm not very happy with them, they are not easy to use, you must have some kind of step ladder or other means or gaining height to put the bike on the roof rack, and it is very difficult racking a bike by yourself.

I'd very much rather have a hitch mounted rack that allows one person to use, and can be removed easily when not in use.

+1 for hitch mounted bike racks. Much easier to load and use.

I have a similar set up that I will use for my kayaks. I have a Thule rack that I used on my XTerra and it will also work on the Rogue. It has the Cross road feet on it and attaches to the side roof rails on the Rogue. So right now I am 2 for 2! My Yakima bike rack fits on the hatch and my Thule kayak rack fits up top. No need to buy new racks

I put a 2 inch hitch on mine. It's only six bolts and $100. I had a bike rack I used on my previous truck. No problems with the Rogue.

Okay, does anyone have any suggestion for buying a new bike rack? I'd prefer a trunk mount style as I do not want to have a hitch installed. Right now I am just throwing it in the back, but would like to be able to carry my other bike as well or at least some passengers.

Here you go.

zerothread/283582

calpiger wrote:Okay, does anyone have any suggestion for buying a new bike rack? I'd prefer a trunk mount style as I do not want to have a hitch installed. Right now I am just throwing it in the back, but would like to be able to carry my other bike as well or at least some passengers.

For my first week or two of owning my Rogue I did the same thing as you did by tossing it into the back. I quickly realized that I also hated cleaning up the interior of my Rogue after every ride because of dirt, gunk or grime not to mention I put a nice scratch in my rear bumper when loading the bike into the back one time >.<.

I had a Saris trunk mounted rack for my Maxima that I absolutely hated mostly because over time, the anchors for the trunk mounts actually wore away at some of the clear coat on the car (this was over a 3 year period on my Maxima). I also noticed the same thing on my brother's Civic which he had a Thule trunk mount on.

At this stage I decided on a hitch mounted rack and I haven't regretted it. I ordered my hitch off Ebay for $119.99 USD that included free shipping to Canada. It was a U-haul hitch that is identical to the ones made by Curt Mfg. Took all of 20 minutes to install with a torque wrench.

As for my bike rack I'm using a Thule T2 2" mount version (not taking a chance with the flimsier looking racks for my other baby, my 07 Specialized Enduro SL). It's a pricier rack but it's rock solid and can be expanded to carry 4 bikes (if you ever need to). The bikes are locked down by the wheels so there's not contact with the frame of the bike. Yakima also makes a comparable model to the Thule T2.

One thing to note if you go with the Thule T2 is that you have to either get an extension to the hitch or shave off about an inch off the plastic front wheel support on the rack to allow it to lock in the upright position for when you are not transporting your bike. With an inch shaved off the wheel support it still holds my 28lb Enduro very securely.

Not to mention the stock hatch supports will not be able to hold it in the open position with the bikes attached. With a hitch style rack, you can easily tilt it out of the way and open the hatch.

Goblin wrote:I put a 2 inch hitch on mine. It's only six bolts and $100. I had a bike rack I used on my previous truck. No problems with the Rogue.

So installing the hitch is a simple do-it-yourself job? Do the 6 bolts just line up with existing holes in the Rogue frame? No drilling required?

No drilling required, you just have to removed what used the holes and put the hitch.Better be two to do that as the hitch is not light but my friend installed it alone while I was responding a phone call (strong, my friend )

Just bought a new bike last weekend. The store owner also has a Rogue. I asked about bike racks and he recommended a Hollywood Expedition rack. He said they weren't cheap but very secure and wouldn't harm the Rogue. I've not tried it but will likely drive over and try one on. FWIW, it's kind of a small bike shop and I had a real sense of trust in the owner. Gave me a good deal on the bike, tossed in a couple of freebies, we talked about dogs, bikings, Rogues, etc. So I'd at least take a look at that one. It'll hold 3 bikes.

I just bought the Thule Roadway 914 (4-bike hitch mount). It seems very solid, with two easy-to-operate latches: one at the top to fold the arms down when not carrying bikes, the other near the base that allows the whole rack to tilt away from the hatch so you can open it up.

I just used mt old one that was a hatch style that I used on my Xterra and Matrix. It works just fine