Will a Trunk Mount Bike Rack or Hitch Mount Bike Rack Allow For Better Rear View Camera Visibility

Question:

Thank you so much for your reply. I believe you've answered the question, but to answer your question, the vehicles I was specifically asking the question for are: 2015 Honda CRV And 2019/2020 Honda Passport My wife and I intend to purchase a Passport in 2020. And even though you are not yet selling 2019 Honda Passport carriers, I was also wondering if the carrier but I'm a purchase from you works on both a CRV and the passport? Thanks in advance,

asked by: George A

Expert Reply:

That is certainly a tough question to answer as it can vary from vehicle to vehicle, bike to bike, as well as where the camera is located so I am not sure I would have a good answer for you. I looked at both the Swagman XTC-2 2-Bike Platform Rack part # S64670 and the Saris Bones 2 Bike Carrier part # SA805BL. It appears that most of the time, a trunk mounted bike rack will position the bike(s) so that the center cutout section is inline with the license plate which is where the rearview camera is generally located, therefore having the best chance of retaining the rear view camera picture. However, this is by no means a rule because there are just too many factors that simply cannot be accounted for unless an exact test fit was performed.

If you can let me know the exact year, make, and model of the vehicle I would be happy to see if we have done any test fitting for you. Generally speaking, the rear view cameras are not of use with a hitch or trunk mounted bike rack installed and bikes attached.

expert reply by: Conner L

click to enlarge

George

4/3/2019

Conner L.

4/3/2019

The Saris Bones 2 Bike Carrier part # SA805BL will fit the 2015 Honda CR-V so long as you are using the Hatch Huggers for Saris Trunk Mount Bike Racks part # SA3035 in place of the lower hooks. I cannot confirm how much visibility you will have with your rearview camera as we have not yet test the Saris Bones on a Honda CR-V (Saris Has) but I assume that it will be similar to the Jeep in the attached photo. In regards to the 2019/2020 Honda Passport, neither we nor the manufacturer has had a chance to test this rack with the vehicle so unfortunately, we cannot confirm fit but I can confirm at this time that it is not, not a fit. The trunk mount bike racks are generally very universal in design so I don't foresee any issues but we won't know for sure until either we or Saris has the chance to test this.