The 10 Best Bike Racks For The Jeep Cherokee
This wiki has been updated 7 times since it was first published in January of 2019. We don't have to tell you that the Jeep Cherokee is one of the best crossover SUVs ever designed -- it's probably why you bought it. Its rugged features make it especially suitable for all sorts of adventures, from hiking to camping. For those who like to take a two-wheeled vehicle with them, these bike racks, including both trunk and trailer hitch variants, will do the job nicely. When users buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki. Skip to the best bike racks for the jeep cherokee on Amazon.
Editor's Notes
November 20, 2020:
While updating this list we wanted to maintain a range of mounting options for various types of bikes, including mountain bikes, electric ones, kids bikes, and more. We also tried to ensure there was a suitable pick for every budget. With this in mind, we retained the Hollywood F2 Over-The-Top, the Yakima FullBack 2, and the Allen Sports MT1 as decent trunk-mount selections. The advantage of these is that you don't need to install a trailer hitch, however, one major disadvantage is that you can't open your tailgate when the bike rack is in use. If you can't deal with this drawback, but still don't want to install a hitch, you may want to check out the Yakima Highroad. This one situates your bicycle up on the roof, though it does require you to have a roof rack, and it isn't ideal for heavy bikes as you need to be able to lift them up there.
The rest of our selections are installed via a trailer hitch. In the interest of keeping a good mix of designs and trying to cater to most budgets, we removed the Thule T2 ProXT 2 as it is a similar design and in the same price range as the Kuat Sherpa 2.0, which we retained. We preferred the latter as it's straightforward to install, its low profile means you don't need to lift your bike as high as with other models, and it's 20 pounds lighter than Thule's offering.
We added the Allen Sports Premier Locking, which is one of several options available from this company. This one caught our eye as it is relatively easy to set up, and equally simple to adjust if you want to raise or lower the arms or tilt it away from the vehicle to access the trunk. It can hold four bikes; and two keys are provided to lock the rack to your trailer hitch, preventing opportunist thieves from running away with it. Furthermore, if you have a spare tire mounted on the rear of your jeep, there is an option of adding a hitch extension to clear the additional length on the back of your vehicle.
January 24, 2019:
In putting this ranking together, we combed through over two dozen racks to find the ones that work best with the Jeep Cherokee. Using the 2018 (5th generation) model as a template, we checked manufacturers' "fit guides'" to ensure that each item is indeed compatible with the crossover SUV. In some cases, such as with most of the hitch-mounted options on this list, the models do require some modification to the vehicle -- specifically, hitch receivers do not come standard on the Cherokee, so you'll have to install one if you want to use one of these racks. Overall, we feel the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 is the best option for most people, since its lightweight and tray-style design makes it one of the easiest and safest to use.