Comparing Thule and Rhino-Rack Roof Racks for a 2011 Nissan Maxima

Question:

Im looking at the Thule Traverse rack and the Rhino-Rack 2500 Series with Aero Crossbars for my 2011 Nissan Maxima. What are the pros and cons of each? Is one easier to put on and take off than another? How about protecting the cars surface? The Rhino-Rack appears to give you more for the $.

asked by: Guy F

Expert Reply:

In terms of protecting the vehicle finish, both the Rhino-Rack and Thule systems install by using specially designed clips to fit the vehicle and the towers rest on pads. As long as the bottoms of the pads and the vehicle roof are clean when installing, you should not have a problem with the finish on the vehicle.

Both systems also will be about the same in terms of installing and removing. You will have to do some careful measuring when you first install the systems. After that removing or re-installing will be easy for each system.

The Thule system WingBars will be a little quieter than the elliptical bars on the Rhino-Rack system. Both bar types are compatible with a wide range of accessories. Thule offers more in the way of roof mounted racks for bikes, watersports, and snowsports than Rhino-Rack. The Thule system is on the higher end but you would not be disappointed with it. For it you would need the following items:

Thule WingBars, # TH711400 in silver or # TH711420 in black
Thule Rapid Traverse Roof-Rack Foot Pack, # TH480R
Thule Roof-Rack Fit Kit, # THKIT1542

For Rhino-Rack, you would need # DK171, that you have referenced, and # RRVA118B-2 for the bars and # RRRLKVA for the feet.