Okay I hope this will be the last of my rack questions. I've noticed some people end up trimming the their bike rack to open the rear hatch while the rack is mounted. Is this true for all of you? What is the maximum tray length? Does moving the trays closer to the outside of the car make the trimming less?

I have a 2011 MCS and plan to carry an all mountain bike and maybe a down hill here and there. These bikes can get a little longer than the traditional road bike.

 

I cut my Rockymounts and it wasn't exactly rocket science. I laid them up on the cross bars to visually see how far back they stuck out. Took them off, opened the hatch, then eyeballed how much needed to be removed. Then the all important thing, I took the longest wheelbase bike I would normally carry, my large framed 29'er hardtail, put it on the rail and made sure my planned removal would still allow the bike to be mounted. It was, barely, so I wrapped a piece of painter's tape around the rail to keep my line straight and went to town with a hacksaw. Opening the hatch with my 29'er mounted, it will still hit the tire of the bike which hangs off the rail a couple of inches. It will still open almost all the way and nothing that's going to scratch or dent hits.
It will not matter where you mount the trays laterally, they will still likely hit the roof spoiler with the hatch open. Just remember the old adage, measure twice, cut once!

 

i did the same. i put my mountain bike (longer than my road bike) on the tray and made a mark where i needed to cut it. then i measured this on the car to make sure it would be enough (it was). my mountain bike is just a 26er, so it's not as big as scott's. i took a jig saw with a blade made for metal. now i can leave the bike rack on the car and open the boot without it damaging the spoiler. FYI, i ended up cutting off about an inch and a half.

i looked at a number of options for mounting the rack and cutting was the best option. you could also mount it backwards if you want, but it will stick out over the front of your car.