Saris Bones Bike Rack Mod for Ford Focus - Making It Fit

It has been years since a new car sat in our driveway. But now a 2014 Ford Focus lives at our house. I love the look, the handling, and the mileage. There is something about a new car that makes you want take a road trip. One of the first trips I wanted to make was a trek to a local bike park, and this time, any park in the area, no matter how far away.

But as I was loading the bikes up I realized my faithful Saris Bones bike rack wasn't going to work… the two top straps pulled down against the spoiler and no amount of adjusting was going to change that. Was I going to have to spend three hundred dollars on a new hitch-mounted rack? With a new car payment, I had to at least try to come up with a work-around solution.

I could find anything in Google addressing this problem. My first thought was to lift the rack up with some sort of blocks so the straps didn't hit. But then It dawned on me, why not lift the straps, not the rack:

Adding a bar across the top will hold the straps high enough for them to sit right above the spoiler. And in order to keep the bar held tightly in place, I used two bungees pulling it tight under the straps.

So far my "system" is working well. Today I really gave it a hard test drive to the doctor's office (sick child). Thankfully both rack and son did well.