I actually made a plate mount for my hitch-mounted bike carrier when I used it on the Jeep. But then I also took a 4-bike carrier, modified it to carry the spare tire and 2 bikes, which did totally block the plate from view. I left the spare on the carrier all the time- made a ton of room in the hatchback, but my daughter didn't like having to fold the carrier down (with heavy spare on it) to get in the hatch. So the bike/spare carrier went in the garage when she took the Jeep.