I'm wondering if anyone here has used a Thule trunk mounted bike rack on their Rogue? Fitting the car on Thule's website only gives me options for the roof or hitch mounted racks - I don't want to spend the money installing a hitch and don't want a roof rack unfortunately

I was looking at the 961XT - Speedway (http://www.thuleracks.com/product.asp?d ... &sku=961XT) , which it shows mounted on the back of an Audi SUV, so I can't figure out why it wouldn't fit the Rogue.

I know Yakima makes some trunk racks that would fit, however I get significant discounts on Thule racks so would prefer to go with them.

I would be interested to know what you find out as welll. Keep us updated.

Another member, Irich524 has successfully used a Yakima Mighty Joe trunk mounted rack on a Rogue. It also appears the newer Yakima King Joe should fit as well.

Here is his post:

lrich524 wrote: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!

I am not sure about other products ie. Thule. Honestly, you would have to test fit one. Try a dealer that just sells roof racks/bike racks or cycling shop, they should allow you to test fit one.

I juts use my old Xterra rack that mounts on the hatch with clips. Works great

Well I went to a cycling store and looked at the Thule book, apparently they don't recommend the trunk mounted racks for Muranos/Rogues because the top of the hatch where the clips would go is glass instead of metal.

I did look at the Yakima and saw that some of their trunk mounted ones can go on the Rogue. I'm probably going to have to go back and do a test fit and see. Although at this rate I'll probably end up getting a hitch rack and install a hitch for it, who knows if I'll have to tow something someday :p

JenR wrote:Well I went to a cycling store and looked at the Thule book, apparently they don't recommend the trunk mounted racks for Muranos/Rogues because the top of the hatch where the clips would go is glass instead of metal.

Hmmm, didn't think about that. The glass at the upper portion of the hatch extends to the very edge where the side clips from the rack would go.

I really like my hitch mounted rack. It's been great.

I have a King Joe, but haven't put it on the Rogue yet. Only been used on my wife's Subaru up until now. Yakima's website gives the spacing specs for the Rogue so I'm gonna try it out this week. I'll post some pictures when I do it. BTW I thought Thule had attachment straps that allowed the hooks to be place on the glass portion of hatches.

NismoPhan wrote: BTW I thought Thule had attachment straps that allowed the hooks to be place on the glass portion of hatches.

I didn't see any information like that on their website, but I was wondering why the straps couldn't go above the glass and hook to where the hatch opens. I'm going to call Thule directly and ask what the deal is (tomorrow since they are closed on Mondays for some reason).

The Saris Bones 2 or 3 should work just fine on the Rogue as long as you DONT have a spoiler. The spoiler gets in the way of the upper hooks. I ended up getting a hitch and a Thule Hitching Post rack. Best money I've spent on my Rogue

I did see a Saris Bones (not sure which) yesterday on a Rogue without the rear spoiler.

Sorry I haven't been able to get this posted sooner. We've had a pretty long stretch of rain a past week. Anyways, put the King Joe 3 on the Rogue today and fits pretty good.



This was using the Yakima specified spacing of the supports at 25.5 inches.



As noted earlier in this post... if you've got a spoiler, this ain't happening.



I definitely like the fact that Yakima thought to encase the buckles and hooks in rubber so as to eliminate any possibility of scratches.





The KingJoe is an outstanding rack. Strapped into the cradles on the arms and there is no swaying of the bikes. I've carried my bike and 2 very heavy "Huffy's" over an hour on the highway with no problems. Very little bounce or flexing of the rack. I used to have a hitch mounted on my last car, and yes it looked good, but I was always bothered by the way the rack shifted in the hitch when you drove. I've also had a Thule Speedway, and immediately returned it because the open cell foam padding on the feet caused some scratches on my paint. The KingJoe uses a very dense closed cell material on it's feet. So that's what I have to say about that. Hope this helps anyone in the market for a rack.

philipa_240sx wrote:
Hmmm, didn't think about that. The glass at the upper portion of the hatch extends to the very edge where the side clips from the rack would go.

I really like my hitch mounted rack. It's been great:

phil,what rack is that? Did you need an extension?I just got my hitch installed, and my old 2 bike bell rack actually fits perfect, but I'll need to upgrade to a 3-4 bike rack soon, and wanted to be sure it has the clearance needed.I don't feel like spending another $40 on an extender.

thanks

It's the Yakima BigHorn 4 and I am not using any sort of extension with it. I have about 2-3" of clearance from the bumper. The hitch is the Curt Mfg. 1.25" Class I/II.

It's one of the least expensive hitch mount bike racks that Yakima sells. It doesn't have many features, but it works well. It normally carries 4 bikes, but I've removed 2 sets of clamps as I only ever carry 2 bikes and it makes my life easier.

Since the photo above, I've chopped the mast by about 5" to lower the bikes and get better rearward visibility. Ground clearance is a non-issue.

Images courtesy Yakima.com

http://yakima.com/racks/bike-r....aspx

I've got a Yakima Hitch rack that I used for my Xterra, so how much does it cost to install a hitch on the Rogue?

Read more on all the available hitches for the Rogue here:

zer...32118

Cost is about $150 US, but you can find it cheaper.

I bought my Curt Hitch in Canada for only $135 CDN at a local Truck Accessory store. Way cheaper than anything online including eBay.

As for installation, the Rogue comes equipped from the factory with hitch mounting bolts. The hitch is a simple bolt-on that takes 15 minutes or less to install. You could pay someone to install it, but why?

Thanks for the advice philipa. Sorry I'm not very car savvy so I didn't know installing a hitch was something that wouldn't be too hard to "do it yourself."

No problemo.

Here are a few pointers on installing the hitch:

- The Rogue uses all metric fasteners. Make sure you have a metric socket set with extensions.- There is no need to remove the exhaust like some of the directions say. You can wriggle the hitch over top of the exhaust with room to spare.- Use a floor jack, box, blocks of wood, or a friend to support the hitch while installing.- If the bolt holes do not properly line up, it's possible your hitch was dropped or banged up during shipping. You can try to bend the hitch back into shape or drill/file the offending bolt hole.

philipa_240sx wrote:It's the Yakima BigHorn 4 and I am not using any sort of extension with it. I have about 2-3" of clearance from the bumper. The hitch is the Curt Mfg. 1.25" Class I/II.

It's one of the least expensive hitch mount bike racks that Yakima sells. It doesn't have many features, but it works well. It normally carries 4 bikes, but I've removed 2 sets of clamps as I only ever carry 2 bikes and it makes my life easier.

Since the photo above, I've chopped the mast by about 5" to lower the bikes and get better rearward visibility. Ground clearance is a non-issue.

I ended up getting a Thule Ridgeline 954.. Its an awesome rack, and just fits perfectly on my hitch without needing an extension, but man it is REALLY heavy.I can post some pics if anyone is interested.


Modified by boooey at 7:26 AM 5/29/2009