To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
Aerodynamic, aluminum crossbars let you build an aftermarket roof rack for your vehicle. Full-length bars provide plenty of space for carriers and accessories. Vortex strips in C-channels reduce wind noise. Theft-deterring plastic locks included.
Features:
Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Crossbars - Black - 49" Long - Qty 2:Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hey everybody, welcome to etrailer.com. I'm Bobby, and today we're taking a look at the Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Crossbars, 49 inches long, here on our 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now, guys, roof rack are gonna be an excellent way, of course, of really accessing all that you can from your vehicle. So we can go ahead, start adding a ton of accessories on top, whether it be kayak carriers, roof baskets, anything else we might need to go ahead and make our trips that much more enjoyable. The Rhino-Racks here, definitely make a great little option for yourself on the Jeep. I'm really liking how low profile these guys are.
They don't look too frail, of course, on there. And also, the installation can be a little tricky at times. However, once you finally get it in place, I think you're really gonna like how this rack starts working out for you. With 165 pounds of weight capacity as well, we should have a pretty decent time of getting everything we need up on top of the roof. Of course, make sure you are consulting that vehicle's owner's manual guide to make sure you're not exceeding your own weight limit on top of that roof.
Now, they are gonna be made of aluminum as well, which is gonna be great 'cause they're gonna be lightweight, not gonna take any time to actually get them laid across, but B, they'll hold up well to that rust and corrosion that we're gonna experience, especially by leaving this on our roof at all times. That way we won't have to worry about it breaking down anytime at all. Now, one thing I really like about Rhino-Rack too, they do have these nice little plastic locking cores. Now, if you guys want, you can get those changed out to metal ones. And that way you can go ahead and make sure the roof is, our roof guard is gonna be staying there, that allows us to go ahead and make sure our T-slot accessories can't be taken out anytime soon unless we want them to.
And you are seeing here too, since we are on our flush mount here on our Jeep, are certain pads from Rhino-Rack here allowing us to also lock that, that way our entire roof system stays there when we leave it unattended. Well guys, it's not gonna take too much time to go ahead and get this installed. Let's go ahead and see how we can do that. All right guys, to go ahead and get this installed, we're gonna start with a few of our things. Right at the gate, we're gonna start with our little bracket here.
Now, this is our rear one. Our front ones are gonna be just a little bit longer. And what we wanna do, we're wanna take that plastic skirt guys, it's gonna have little tabs as you can see, you wanna fit those through those open slots in your bracket. Get it nice and set. Pretty straightforward of how it's gonna go. Now, you also are gonna have six of these bolts. Your rear ones are only gonna have a single bolt. So make sure you're following your instructions, making sure what side of these you're gonna need for those front and rear brackets. And we'll go ahead and install this in just a second. But we can actually start with our other pad here to connect to here. So we're gonna start with this locking mechanism here. We are gonna have that little front plate on there, so we're gonna need to remove that really quickly. Now, that's gonna go ahead and just open this up for us for later when we install it. But we can go ahead and start putting in our middle element here. So we're gonna take our bolt, we're gonna need our washer and our locking washer of course. Put them just like that. Get that set right through the middle there. And then start adding this on. Now, I like to have that flatter side, guys, towards the inside here just so we don't have any issues with that raised side interacting and getting in our way. So we just go ahead and get that set. Now, we'll need our included tool here as well to start tightening this down and getting that in position. Now, we're not gonna tighten too much, in fact, we're gonna leave it pretty loose here 'cause we wanna actually be able to slot this into our crossbar here. So we'll keep that little tab like so. We'll lock up here, make sure that your pad's facing the correct way. And we just wanna simply slot that into our T-channel there, guys. Now, you can see it's very, very loose right there. I'm gonna go ahead and tighten that down just a little bit more. Now, I'm still gonna leave it to where I can go ahead and still slide this across, but that way we can go ahead and make it a little less floppy for ourselves. Now, we're gonna take our crossbar and start setting across our vehicle. To start getting our crossbar laid across, we're gonna have to install our bracket, of course. So we're gonna need to start by taking out the factory screw that they have in place. Now, you are gonna have your little torque key here to help you remove it. And by simply going lefty loosey here, we can go ahead and take out this screw. Now that we're released, we can take our bracket and start getting it set in place. So we're gonna want our skirt to go ahead and start fitting on our flush rail like so. And then take our included tool and start getting that screw set in place. Now, you also are gonna need the two on the front one, so keep in mind, you will have two bolts on the front, but here in the rear, we just need that solo one in the back. So we've gone ahead and laid our crossbar over as you guys can see. Now, right here, you're seeing little tabs also in on the ends of our towers. As you guys can see, that becomes easy to slot that right in place. Now, we need to go ahead and grab our screw, start tightening this down. So what this guy is gonna be a 10 millimeter wrench. So we're just gonna ahead, try to set this guy in place. Of course, get your washer set correctly. Go ahead, get a wrench in position, start tightening it down. So we can go ahead and repeat the process on the other side. One reason for actually kinda tightening down those pads, guys, it makes it really easy to shift this bar across. Now, we've already gone ahead and measured it for ourselves today. Now, this is gonna be upside down for you, but we're looking about five and a half inches on either side. Now, one thing you can do as well before you actually get that hardcore measurement, it can help just to get to one in of your car and see what those crossbars are doing to start getting lined up. That makes that dimension check that much easier. Then we're gonna take our included tool here, and that little bolt we installed earlier with that T-slot, we're tightening it up now, making sure that our bars can't swap. So we go ahead and just start tightening this across. Well now that each one is tightened down, we can go ahead and add on our end caps. We just simply wanna make sure that our logos are just like that, they'll fit right in. And then we can simply lock it with our included tool. Now, the very last part of installation, guys, is something you're gonna have to do at home. You are gonna have this little rubber striping that can fit within your channels here. So yes, you're gonna have the one on top, but make sure we are fitting this in in the bottom here as well. Now, these open holes will really cause a lot of whistling and it's just gonna be really annoying when you guys have that on top of your roof, especially as you start reaching high speeds. So make sure we are filling in those gaps, that way we don't have any kind of wind interference, and that top one as well, we can go ahead and worry about when we start adding on accessories. Well now that we've got our bars installed, we can go ahead and see how they're interacting with the roof of our Jeep here. So let's go ahead and see from our roof to the very top here is gonna be putting us at four, and just to double check me here. Oh, I'm sorry guys. About 3 3/4 there to the very top of our roof bar from the roof. And at the very end there is gonna be putting us right at 2 3/4 from the roof to the very bottom there. So, that clearance can be very important if you have any accessories that will require you to have the appropriate space between your crossbar and your roof. So make sure you're checking your accessories there. While we're up here too, we can go ahead and talk about this floral Vortex striping up top. Now, these guys, you can see that nice little design, hopefully to cut down on a little bit of that wind drag as we go across. But this nice rubber friction becomes great if have any accessories that don't need to use that T-slot attachment, gives it a nice little friction point, that way they aren't sliding across our roof bar as we go down the road, of course. Now, one little thing with that too, again that Vortex striping can be taken out and actually cut to size if you guys have any T-slot attachments. So, as you guys can see, that becomes really easy to get those T-slot to sit, accessories slotted in, and then we can cut that Vortex striping to size that we need if you have a semi-permanent accessory you're putting on your roof. Well guys, the Rhino-Rack system definitely is one of my favorites. I really like Rhino-Rack just for the quality of the products they make. I really like how low profile these guys are sitting on the grand Jeep Cherokee here today. It gives us that nice feel to it. It looks pretty factory, and not in the too kind of wonky and weird. I also like how it's not adding too much height. We're not gonna have any trouble with this getting in the garage by itself, and definitely not through any of those pesky drive-thrus that we might be going. Now, one little thing with it too, guys, one great aspect, if you do find yourself taking these off, we actually do have a nice little cover plate here. So you can go ahead and put that in, that way you don't have anything getting in those tracks, it'll cover those bolt holes and that way, you can just keep it nice and clean for ourselves. But that does kinda bring me to my kinda thoughts on the Rhino-Rack. I like how it's gonna be put on there. Now, the installation can be a little tricky at times, especially trying to get underneath it. However, once you actually have it all the way tightened down and in place, because of these locking cores and because of it's aluminum, I don't see ourselves taking this off anytime soon. I think it's gonna be right there, ready to use for the seasons to come, and we're gonna have no trouble at all with it. Well guys, I think that about does it for our look at the Rhino-Rack Vortex Crossbars here on our 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'm Bobby, thank you for watching..
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (178 Customer Reviews)
Aerodynamic, aluminum crossbars let you build an aftermarket roof rack for your vehicle. Full-length bars provide plenty of space for carriers and accessories. Vortex strips in C-channels reduce wind noise. Theft-deterring plastic locks included.Indeed they were the wrong parts in the box marked demo on them.
The new parts came and I was able to
Put it on my car with no problem!!
Thank you for listening to me and helping me problem solve. It looks great on my car and I'm ready to load the kayaks now!!
Kalie is a gal that sent me some return labels so I'm going to put that on the box and send it back to you guys!
Great bars. It's my second pair. Both on jeep Grand cherokee. The pair I put on my 2015 overland didn't whistle at all. This pair I put on my 2020 trailhawk whistled starting at 20mph and changed pitch throughout the acceleration process and while causing. I bought a fairing and the problem is solved. At least for now. I put the fairing on wit the label in. Looks better and Rhino Rack isn't paying me to advertise. The fairing they recommended seemed small but works so go with whatever they recommend.
etrailer.com's videos and additional customer support made the purchase of a Rhino Rack system from them for our 2010 Malibu a no brainer. The rack fit the car perfectly, and with the videos and clear instructions that came with the kit, I got it installed on the car with only one misstep. The instructions came the the measurements in centimeters and inches. I didn't have a metric tape measure, and ended up messing up converting fractions to decimal.
My Daughter is going to college 500 miles away and is moving into an unfurnished apartment and needed to pick up some small furniture that wouldn't fit in her Malibu. She purchased several items from Facebook Marketplace and was able to transport a twin bed and mattress, a medium sized desk and some dining room chairs (in several trips) with no problems.
The only thing I can think of to improve the installation would be to have the Inches measurements in decimal or to include an inexpensive metric tape.
Rhino-Rack installed on my 2022 Jeep Cherokee. There was wind noise (whistling) when all the rubber spacers were not installed, now it’s very quiet. I also installed the Yakima fishing rod//Ski holder. I wound up deviating from the directions and using the third lot, so the clamps would close on the bar. So far so good, without the fishing rod holder it’s low profile enough to get into garages, etc. Fast delivery on the products.
Great sturdy rack. I put it together myself and have already started using it. I was concerned that it would cause leaks in the door the way it has to mount..but its Florida and its rainfall in the past few days and no leak! The weak link would be the end caps..two do not lock on and im concerned the will fly off at some point.
You have to order the cross bars and connector hardware separately. I also ordered the end cap locks.
I consider myself a pretty good DYI person and it took longer than I expected according to other reviews on here to get everything installed and overlapping the same on both sides.
Once installed the crossbars are very solid. I do get noticeable wind noise at say 70+MPH.
I installed these on a 2020 Jeep GC Overland and they look and function great! Was a bit concerned about the sun roof retraction with the bars, but there is plenty of clearance. No issue.
I for sure recommend the Rhino Rail crossbars. Etrailer is a great site to get the bars. Given the COVID issues and supply chain breakdowns retailers are facing, they still had everything I ordered to me in a very reasonable time frame.
I love it works amazing on my 2017 Hyundai sonata sport 2.0T
I bought this rack for my son who is a rower so he could take his single shell and oars to regattas using his new Chevy Cruz. First trip from Wyandotte, Michigan to Boston, Massachusetts and back was great. A learning curve to get in the right spot on roof but very sturdy & strong. He is looking forward to many regattas with this car and roof rack. Very Satisfied with etrailer and the rack itself and thank you for the quick shipping.
I bought the complete set (mounting points, mounts and aero cross bars) looking for a less expensive approach for a rack to carry my sea kayak. The equipment shipped quickly from or via etrailer. The instructions that came with the whole kit leave a little bit to be desired and a little bit of mechanical interpretation is needed to figure out what parts you need and which you don't. The whole set went together relatively easily in an hour or so. I remove the bars, mounts and mounting points when not in use which is a bit time consuming and fiddly. I had to replace the mazda 3's roof moulding which was continuous with one that had the necessary pop out pieces to accept the rack but this was not costly nor a big job. Overall, I am pleased with the rhino rack and it looks just fine. The one area it could be improved is wind noise - at some speeds there can be quite a heavy drone either off the bars or mounts. The bars do have rubber inserts to smooth out the surface across the width of the car. I suspect it might be the mounts which have the inboard side of them completely open so the air flowing along the car goes over this open space like you would have happen when you blow across the top of a bottle. I am going to try to cover the sides with gorilla tape to see if this makes a difference. Apart from that, I am quite happy with the etrailer ordering, delivery and the Rhino rack in general.
These crossbars were easy to install, are sturdy when installed and look great on my factory side rails when installed with the SX Series legs. The standard end caps are an all-plastic affair and use a little key to engage a cam lock. That plus the distance from the end of the crossbar to the nut that tightens the foot onto the rail keeps things relatively secure. Most people probably want to opt for proper locking end caps, though.
The rubber vortex strips look nice and give items something grippy to rest on. I haven't tried a load test yet but did drive around in moderate wind on the highway in multiple directions. Other than a slight whistle at 70 mph, you'd never know they were there. Overall, real happy with the product and looking forward to hauling some stuff around with them.
Easy to install. The pins on the legs clamp perfectly into the fixed points on the car's flush rails. This is a nice low profile set up. The top of the crossbar is about 4" above the roof glass and does not interfere with opening the sunroof. This is a very sturdy setup for our Thule Motion XT XL. etrailer shipped extremely fast. Very pleased with my purchase.
My inital thought of these crossbars were that they were going to be too small. Two of the other big makers call for 53" min and 60" recommended. However after installing, 49" is a perfect fit for the Cayenne I feel. The rack is extremely quiet (make sure you use the channel rubber on top and bottom) The Cayenne is fairly quiet car inside and it was one of my big concerns but I only hear what sounds like a slight rush of air, no buzzing or whistling at all.
The downside to this rack is I think the black paint is too thin. Just laying it on the pavement while setting up caused scratches to appear. Silver would be the way to go if your getting these, or spray them plastic.
My Rhino-Rack Aero 2500 roof racks fit solidly on my 2007 Honda Civic EX. I was really impressed with the construction and strength of the rack system. Also the versatility of the 'legs' with a swivel pad allow them to fit any roof pitch perfectly. The clamps are so solid, nothing could knock these racks off. I added a paddleboard attachment and went surfing today. The black racks also look great with the black trim on my silver Honda. Great product at a much better price than Yakima or Thule.
Received the roof rack on the date promised, it was well packaged and all parts required were included. Everything fit together very well and the instructions were easy to follow. The rack looks good on the car. Once the rack is installed and the included decals in place it only takes a few minutes to remove it and reinstall. This is important for me because we will only use the racks to transport our kayaks the rest of the time they will be removed and stored.
There are two small items that can be improved. First the legs are different lengths yet nowhere in the instructions does it tell you where each size goes. Second I own 10 tape measure and not one of them is in meters and I do not care how good your eyesight is you are not going to be able to measure to 53/64". If the measurements are critical you should ensure customers in the US have measurements they can use or include a MM tape measure.
Overall this is a very good product that I would purchase again and recommend to friends.
Love these aero bars. Perfect for on my 2018 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. Run fairly quiet and perform as expected. As always the customer service from etrailer was top notch.
Easy to read instructions, easy to install. Watched the install video a few times just to be sure! They do whistle a bit at highway speeds, but certainly not unbearable. In fact, I was surprised as to how quiet they are. It's to be expected, especially when paired with kayak j-racks. So happy with this purchase and I would definitely recommend them!
Used the cross bars once with a kayak. Black paint easily scratched showing the metal underneath. Was told this was normal wear and tear. The product was bought less than a week ago. Would not buy again.
The only complaint I have about the crossbars is that it causes a high pitch sound. I've been meaning to contact you about a possible solution. Pls advise.
Other than that they are just fine.
I spent a week reading reviews and forums to find the right one for my 2019 Jeep Cherokee that I just bought a few weeks ago. I just have to overthink everything but it paid off. I just received them this morning and installed them myself! First time for everything! It was really easy. The only part that was frustrating was the very first part... sliding the rubber pieces into the crossbars. They would not slide very well so I ended up using a bit of oil to make them slide better. Other than that, installation was easy and quick. I LOVE the looks of them. Very gorgeous!!! Thank you so much!! Very happy with the end result!!
The quality is very good. Ordering was easy and installation using the video made the process so simple. Glad I order them from here instead of somewhere else.
The bars look and feel great. They have such a tough presence while still being aerodynamic. I love the look of the rubber grip strip on top and I like how the rubber strip on the bottom ends have graduations so you can easily match the overhang with the other side. They feel incredible strong, no bend in the them at all. If the platforms were a bit more robust this thing would outshine all the competition. However, it competes with every other system at a much lower price point so that gets 5 stars in my book.
Looks a great and we’re super easy to install.
2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L 4x4 Limited
These are cross bars ONLY and are useless without other hardware. This could be presented in a more clear way. I will be returning and buying a complete cross bar set elsewhere
I haven't extensively used this rack yet, but so far, it is excellent.
Avoid my mistake and buy this rack first... Last summer, I purchased a much cheaper off-brand roof rack that was supposed to fit my car. I figured the off-brand rack couldn't be that different from the more common brands, such as Rhino Rack. Long story short, I was wildly wrong. It was nearly impossible to install, and once installed, I didn't trust it with my wind surfboard on it. This rack, however, was easy to assemble and install and is rock solid. I have zero fear of my board or the rack leaving the party before we get there.
The bars themselves look great and seem strong enough for anything I’ll throw at them. However, I have an issue with eTrailer.com. In the detailed product description on their website, eTrailer indicates that three 15” Vortex rubber strips are included in every individual bar. However, when the bars arrived, each contained only two 15” Vortex rubber strips. This isn’t nearly enough to fill the ~48” of open c-channel and doesn’t match the product description and pictures. The boxes look like they had been opened too. When I called customer support, they said that the bars should only contain two strips each. According to them, the manufacturer only included two strips to leave room for attaching bike racks and other gear. But this directly contradicts the manufacturer’s product description. Also, even with three strips, there would be room for attachments. I suspect that eTrailer may be opening boxes and removing strips to drum up aftermarket sales for extra strips. I recommend the product but buy elsewhere.
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.