To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
These heavy-duty, aluminum crossbars work with Rhino-Rack legs to create a sturdy roof rack. The square bars include built-in C-channels for mounting Rhino-Rack heavy-duty, contractor-grade accessories.
Features:
Rhino-Rack HD Crossbars - Black - 54" Long - Qty 2:Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Speaker 1: Today on our 2015 Ford Escape, we're gonna be test fitting the Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Roof Rack System. This is gonna consist of part numbers RRVA137B-2. These are the Aero cross bars, 54" long. These also come in silvers, part number RRVA137S-2. We'll be using part number RRRLKVA, these are the 2500 series legs for the Vortex Aero crossbars, particularly for naked roofs, and finally part number DK375 and this is the custom fit kit for the Ford Escape.The Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Roof Rack System is great for carrying a wide variety of accessories on you roof while freeing up space inside your Escape. This can carry anything from bike racks to cargo baskets to cargo boxes.
The bars have an elliptical shape to them and that coupled with the Vortex Aero strip up at the top, that's gonna help cut down the wind noise and drag while you drive, making it much quieter. It's not gonna be completely quiet, but it'll definitely cut that down.Removing our end cap here with our little tool, you can see that you can use T-Track accessories with this roof rack system. What you would do is remove the strip, install your T-Track accessory and then cut the strip to length to go around it. With our end cap here, while right now it has a plastic lock on the end, you can have this removed and replaced with a lock core which is sold separately and you can find on etrailer.com. Once that's installed and locked down, you can actually secure your T-Track accessory in place because it can't be removed without taking off the end cap.It's very easy to install, it simply clamps around your existing door frame.
And with the end caps here, they do come with locks already installed to secure this to your roof once it is installed.now I'd like to give you a couple quick measurements. From the center of the roof to the bottom of the bars is gonna be about 2.5", and from the center to the top is gonna be about 4". So this is more than enough space between the bar and the roof to install your accessories that wrap around the bars instead of utilize the T-Track accessories. Both bars combined have a carrying capacity of 165 lbs, but you always want to double-check with your vehicle's manual to make sure your roof can withstand those weights and go by the smaller of the two weights.Now that we've gone over some of the features of the roof rack system, let's go ahead and show you how it installs. We have our front bar already installed into our Ford Escape, and we have our rear bar partially assembled on our table here.
So our first step is when I flip the bar upside down, we're gonna take our leg and our fit kit and install it on the other side. Now we have our bracket here at the top, slide that into place. At this point you would take the measuring stick here, you'd go to your instructions, find the proper measurement, cut this to length, and then you would tighten it down. But for demonstration purposes we'll just measure it out, .. then we'll take our included tightening tool, tighten the bolt in the center here, ...
and then we can move on to our fit kit.You'll see that the rubber pad here is gonna match up with our base and you also wanna make sure the number and the arrow is facing the proper way, and again, you'll find this in your instructions. These just push into place and now we can put in our end cap. Take our special tool to secure that in place, . and our final step is to install our clamp on the other side.Start by removing the screw completely, . we'll bring in our clamp, . just loosely tighten that screw. And now we can go to the rear portion of our vehicle and start installing our roof rack. We'll open up the two rear doors and set our bar in place. Now when you set it down, there's no particular place you need to put it, because we're going to be doing some measurements from that point. Just be sure to set it down gently on the roof because you don't want to scratch off your roof at all when you do this.We'll measure from center to center on each side to make sure it's even, next we'll take our clamp and push it up against our door frame. I'll take our included tool and just snug it up on both sides, then we'll start tightening down evenly on both sides until it's completely attached to our roof. Now with our tightening tool here you notice that it's curved. As you tighten it, once it straightens out, then you know it's completely snug around the roof and you're ready to go. This it to make sure that you don't over tighten it. There you go.Then our final step, we're gonna take our end caps here, push those into place, then we'll take our included keys and lock those in place.And there you have it for the Rhino-Rack Vortex Roof Rack System on our 2015 Ford Escape.
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (98 Customer Reviews)
These heavy-duty, aluminum crossbars work with Rhino-Rack legs to create a sturdy roof rack. The square bars include built-in C-channels for mounting Rhino-Rack heavy-duty, contractor-grade accessories.
I’ve had this rhino rack for over 3 years and it’s been excellent on long road trips to the ski slopes. A year after my purchase, I realized that I was missing the plastic coverings that attached to the end of the bars and called their customer service to resolve the missing pieces. I was impressed with their quick response and seamless delivery.
The rack fit well and was easy to install. Seems to be made well. The problem is the amount of road noise. I never even put the basket on. It was so loud, it roared. I repositioned it several times but the noise was way too much and I finally just removed it. I spent a lot of money for the rack and the basket and now they are in storage. I wish it would have worked out better because I thought it looked really good.
This has been a disaster, and terrible experience from the start. Original product Rhino roof rack ($188.00) misrepresented for sale, even called and was told all parts were included as "Open Box" item. Received item with missing parts and mismatched parts, then ET sent wrong parts (Legs) causing having to order these cross bars ($192.00) to fit parts sent (Legs). Now my $300.00 BougeRV ski rack - mounting base plates won't fit the crossbars. Still waiting for return label for original item so I can get my refund of $188.00. Three weeks later, still dealing with problem. I do appreciate Shawnee and EDW for their efforts in follow up service attempts.
Ordered a Rhino Rack for my 2014 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali. Rack arrived in very good shape and all items were there. Installing at this time and see no problems ahead.
Great product, fit was spot on with correct vehicle specific parts. Etrailer
was fantastic to work with. Great communication and feedback, worked through a small problem with positive outcome. Will definitely purchase from them again, their customer service department is top notch.
This rack works perfectly on my Nissan Versa for carrying my two Perception Sound 9'6" kayaks. The Rhino-Racks look good to me. The kayaks can rest directly on the rubber pads on the rails, unlike the Yakama racks I had in the past that had bare pipe rails. Also, I expect I can buy parts to adapt this product to a different car without having to buy new towers. I am sorry there are not hooks or loops to attach bungees when carrying lumber. They are noisy in the wind, but less so when carrying the kayaks.
High-quality, sturdy rails, but noisy. There was a pronounced and audible whistle driving with these racks at any common road or highway speed (with the rubber inserts installed across the top). I have since replaced these rails with the Rhino vortex aero style (change of vehicles and the HD bars did not fit the new car). Having used both types several times, I would recommend the aero style over the HD if you have the option.
Very happy with this product at the one year mark. No slippage or loose hardware. I wanted a wide flat rack for hauling kayaks and/or bikes and this product gave me enough real estate for both at a far more modest price than other brands.
I'm thinking of replacing the curved and narrow factory rack on my other vehicle with a Rhino as well.
Product installation instructions were fair, and that is the worst thing I have to say. I havent put anything on the rack yet as I just installed it, but I gave a good tug on the bars and they are SOLID. The product came in a reasonable amount of time, and the feedback for etrailer is that I got followup emails at each step of the process keeping me fully informed right up to the message asking for feedback.
Bottomline: etrailer is a great business to work with, and this product seems to be good too.
Tricky to rivet tracks onto car with a manual riveter but once done, a great solution for the car with ease of bar removal. My only regret was going with the square bars which result in notable increase in wind noise.
Thanks to Etrailer, I am ready to do some serious summer exploring with my 2013 Mazda 3! Rhino Racks, Malone top box, and Kuat bike rack!
I am normally a exclusive Amazon shopper, but etrailer gives equal or better service and has specialty items you just can't find anywhere else. The pricing is great also. This is my 4th order from them on this project and the response has been perfect and the shipping has been prompt. They even offered to take back an item that I did not need. I desperately wanted to mount my 19ft Kayak on my new RV and with some Rhino RT tracks, a Rhino Nautic kayak lifter, a few really heavy duty rivets, and some ingenuity, I was able to accomplish the task. I am replacing the current Nautic bars with the heavy duty bars. See the attached pictures.
These work great. I’ve had an 80lbs 32ft extension ladder strapped down going 80mph on the highway and it was held in place.
I used this rack to mount two 65lbs kayaks to my vehicle and travel. One of many trips was over a thousand miles (round trip) and they moved maybe half a centimeter a piece during. I was extremely pleased with how easily I could adjust them. The original shipment had everything that was supposed to be in it and the directions were realitively clear. I had them together and on in roughly an hour. When they are off the roof the only issue I have arises. The rubber feet that sit directly on the roof tend to fall off easily. Not a big deal.
2016 Ford Escape Naked Roof... Easy to put together, easy to put on. Haven't actually used them yet, but the weekend is coming. They got here quickly and with no problems. (the J carriers are from some place else)
Rhino-Rack is an excellent system for securing your kayak/cargo to your roof.
Good quality and locks are included. The plastic lock covers are flimsy but they will keep an honest person honest.
Thank you for the very speedy customer service! My roof rack is already here!
I installed this by myself. It was very easy . Sometimes I found the instructions vague but the online installation video helped me when I wasn’t understanding what to do. I would recommend this product to my friends for sure. It looks great on my Escape. Loading up the SUP Boards in the morning. Can’t wait.
The Rhino Rack is very well made. I installed it my self on our 2016 Ford Escape, but had an assist from my wife to fine tune it at the end. There was no whistling or any other distracting wind noise on our 3,500 mile drive to visit family out West. A Sear's Cargo Box was easily mounted to the Rhino Rack and it remained centered and secured at western highway speed limits plus. The included locks on the roof mounts were the selling point for me. The Rhino Rack remained securely mounted to the roof with no additional adjustments or tightening being needed. Great Product. Donna P. @ etrailer was super with the order.
I got the roof rack mounted anyways. Better pics to come when it's all finished!
Great product everything fit perfectly. With the heavy duty bars almost all the hardware for anything you put on the rack is too short
I was in a roof rack jam. There was a national shortage of the rack I needed for my car and our summer vacation was a week away. I went to etrailer.com when I couldnt find the roof rack anywhere else on the web. Another website actually suggested that they might have what I needed.
I spoke to Ashley E on the phone to make sure that I was picking the right parts. Ashley was very helpful and knowledgable. She helped me find the right roof rack and made sure that I received it in record time. I am a customer for life!!!
This rack worked out great... I installed in on a 2017 Ford F-150. We drove 6 hrs through wind and rain with a SUP and Tandem Kayak on top. It really took a beating in a storm the whole way. One bracket was a little loose and shifted because of the wind on the Kayak, but it held together. Super happy with Rhino rack!
As always from etrailer.com, a great product at a reasonable price. Customer service help was not necessary in this case to choose the best product for my vehicle and needs, but has been a painless process for other needs in the past. Etrailer.com is my go-to for aftermarket cargo hardware needs.
As always, however, the manufacturer (not etrailer.com) provides marginal instructions. In spite of that, initial assembly and installation on my wife's 2016 Escape took about an hour, and it looks like the rack will do a great job for us on family trips. I anticipate removal or reinstall Atkin in the future to take less than 15 minutes for one person.
Do you have a question about this Roof Rack?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer.com we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.