Opening the Rear Door with Bike Rack on 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

Question:

Will this rack work given spare tire clearances required on 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited? I am using this with your Draw-Tite Hitch. The Yakima Full Swing does not allow the back trunk to swing out/open even when full swing is “swung open” e.g. fully extended. This is because the post of the Yakima rack that goes into the hitch does not offer enough clearance as it is too high. Thanks.

asked by: Peter S

Expert Reply:

The Thule Apex # TH9027XT has similar dimensions to the Yakima Full Swing # Y02465 and will come in contact with your spare tire if you try to swing the back trunk door open. I attached a picture where we tried this bike rack with a Jeep with a spare tire and it did not clear.

The common issue with bike racks that sit far out enough to clear the spare tire is that they are still too high to clear the back door even when tilted or swung away. I have a possible solution for your but first you need to confirm exactly how much clearance there is from your hitch and your spare tire. You will want to measure from the inside top of the receiver tube to the bottom of the spare tire. I took some measurements and it looks like it can range from 2" to 5" clearance depending on different factors so here are some of my recommendations in that range.

Use a swing-away hitch extender adapter. We have the Kuat Pivot 2- Passenger's Side # PVP20B which has an arm that sits 3 inches above your hitch. It extends your hitch by 12-3/16". It will absolutely clear the length of your spare, but please double-check if the height will clear. We've had a 2020 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with a 3-1/4" clearance, so the Kuat Pivot 2 came close, but the rear door with the spare tire cleared. This also comes in a driver's side version # PVD20B.

You can use this swing-away with any solid 2" hitch bike rack like the Yakima HoldUp 4 Bike Platform Rack # Y02443-2 or the Kuat Nv 2.0 4 Bike Platform Rack # NV22B-NA22B that was shown in the video.

If that still doesn't clear then my next recommendation is a high-low hitch adapter like Curt High-Low Adapter # C59KR. This adapter has a 4" drop and extends 8" long. We also have other adapters with lower drops if needed.

Just keep in mind that all hitch adapters reduce your weight capacity by 50%.