Regarding letting the bottom feet of the Sarris Bones 3 rest on the bumper rather than against the trunk:
Originally Posted by
DGlenday
...
But you can't open your trunk that way.
So I put the feet against the bottom of the trunk, and can now open and close the trunk with the rack mounted.
... .
No, there is nothing blocking the trunk from opening. The only negative is that the straps loosen a little when I open the trunk when I have it positioned with the feet resting on top of the bumper. But that's a small price to pay for the security of having the bumper take the weight rather than depend on the straps and buckles.
With the bottom feet resting on the bumper, all the straps and buckles do is keep the rack tight against the car rather than supporting the weight (which can probably be considerable when you have 2 or 3 bikes on there and then hit a bump).