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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.
John with etrailer. Listen, if you need more space on your SUV and who doesn't, then check out this option from Rhino-Rack. This is the Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Roof Rack System that we've installed on our 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now our kit is gonna be the easiest way for you to get some crossbar up on your Jeep. We've already sourced the parts. You've got 49 inch long crossbars.
You've got the legs and you've got the brackets on the bottom, the fit kit to actually bolt it up to your Jeep instead of trying to find all of these individual items separately. This is a great way to utilize the space up on top of your Jeep instead of just loading the backup. Now you can consider like a rooftop carrier or if you have oversized items like kayaks or surfboards. So let's take a closer look at the bars and how they fit the Jeep here. First of all, they're aluminum and the ones that we have on here are matte black.
They also come in silver if you would prefer that color instead. Now the shape of these, the design is made such that they reduce wind noise up on top. Same with the vortex strip or this rubber strip up on top that fits into the T track. This can be cut for different T-track accessories that you have but just the design of this also made to reduce wind noise. Also, it's gonna cushion anything that you put up here and secure it better to the bars.
Speaking of security, you're gonna notice we have locks. Locks on the legs and locks on the end caps here. This can be upgraded to a metal core lock if you prefer. So let's take a look at some of the measurements and how these are gonna fit on your Jeep. Now, measuring from the roof up to the top of the bars, we're looking at four inches.
So this is gonna add four inches of height to your Jeep. Something to think about if you're going in and outta your garage of course. Also something to think about if you have like a roof rack up on top this is still gonna allow enough room for your sunroof to pop up into the vented position. Now, as far as from the roof to the bottom of the bars, that's two and three quarters of an inch. So that's gonna be an important number if you have clamp on accessories underneath, that's how much room you're gonna have to be able to clamp down. Now, side to side with the 49 inch bars on here we have virtually no overhang. So I'm able to stand right here, not have this thing poking me in the chest to be able to load and unload a rooftop box. Now speaking of that weight capacity on these regardless if they're silver or black, it's 165 pounds. Of course, you want to check with your owner's manual on your Jeep to make sure how much weight you can haul on up here. Now also keep in mind that this is a fixed point system meaning it screws directly into the factory holes that are up here on the Jeep like I said earlier. So our spread from center to center is gonna be 29 inches. Now that has its ups and downs. Being a fixed point system, you don't have to worry about lining them up perfectly on either side, but also with a fixed point system you can't adjust them to allow for different types of rooftop gear that you may have. So all in all, I like this system, especially on the Jeep. I like the way that it looks. I like the way that it performs. They are quiet going down the road. Installation-wise, it's fairly easy. You know, you do have to be able to get up on your Jeep and tighten down the bars underneath here. It comes with tools. Honestly, if you have basic hand tools you might be better off. We're gonna show you when we go to install this on here but this is my pick at least for the Jeeps. They're sturdy, they're strong, and they're quiet. You wanna see how to install them Stick around and I'll show you. Now, before we begin our installation, let's go over what you're going to get with your kit. Of course, you're gonna get your crossbars, two of those. I've already got one installed on the Jeep. These are 49 inches long. You're going to get your legs, all four of those. You're gonna get four brackets. You're gonna get four cover plates if you ever want to take your crossbars off, these cover plates will just go on top of your brackets, that way you can leave the brackets on your Jeep. It'll be quicker to reinstall 'em next time. You're gonna get two keys. You're gonna get a security key. These keys are for the legs. This key is for the crossbar. So you're gonna get kind of a double security feature there. You're gonna get the hardware that's included here. You're gonna get the two tools that you need to install them. That's an Allen Key security bit and a T-27 Torx Security. Now, things that's not included that you need to install these; 10 millimeter ratcheting wrench is going to help you out quite a bit and then a T-30 Torx bit to get the factory screws off the top of your Jeep. Now these crossbars are going to install they're gonna screw directly into your Jeep. Your Jeep already has screws up there. Let's go take a look. Now if you look down into your rails on the front side you'll see the two black T-30 Torx screws that need to come out. Now on the back, you're just gonna have one that needs to come out. We can go ahead and remove these on both sides. (wrench clicking) Back here at the table, these are the brackets that are gonna bolt to your Jeep. This one is complete. We've had the rubber skirt installed on it. So all of these, you're gonna have to install all four. Now the front brackets are a little bit longer than the rear brackets. So this is gonna go underneath and there's these little tabs that you need to press up into the slots. You also need to make sure that the rubber is surrounding this top lip. This is one of those things that for some reason it's a little bit harder than you would think it would be. We tried soapy water and that just made a mess of things. So this is something that, especially being brand new they're pretty difficult to get in but this is what it should look like. So for the front, we're gonna need two of the screws and these are gonna be the security torx bit screws. They're gonna have a split ring lock washer that goes on first and then a flat washer underneath that as well. So let's flip this over and you'll see that the holes are oval shaped. That's gonna help you get the screw through the bottom of the bracket. So when you go in on the inside you wanna go from this way, not this way. It'll jam up if you go that way. So just go with the length of the hole and we will need one in this location here. This is the outside of the Jeep. This will be the inside of the Jeep and we'll need one in the very front hole here. Now, something that you saw on the table that we're not gonna use for this particular installation is this foam base pad. This is adhesive back, and what this does is this will go on the bottom of all four of your brackets that bolt down to your Jeep. You could just put your bracket on here, the foot of it, trace it out and cut it. This is gonna cut down on noise and vibration on the Jeep. Now we can just line up the bolt holes. That'll sit down into it. Tighten these down. Make sure it's seated in there. Nice. Go down evenly. Now these have a torque setting in the instruction manual but you just want 'em just snug. You don't want to overdo this. Certainly don't want them coming loose though, so you get these installed on both sides. When you get your crossbars, they're not gonna have this rubber strip already installed. You'll have to install it. It's easy enough and you could cut this to length. If you have any T-track accessories, then you could just cut this to length, but it installs easily enough. It just presses down on it. You're gonna get enough to do the top and also the bottom of it down here. Once we install the legs, you could put some down here. It's just gonna cut down on noise and whistling as you go down the road. So let's get these assembled. You're gonna get the security key. We'll take the end cap off. Just goes in here and it's a quarter turn. It'll slide off. Now for right now, your legs may not come assembled. Ours did. That's something also in case your legs have the lock on there, we want to have that off this end cap, off for right now. This is how we're gonna install it on our Jeep. Same deal as before. Slide that in. Lock our end cap on, and we'll snug this up. Now grab your hex head screw and your 10-millimeter wrench. And we'll come over to our brackets and we'll just get 'em set in there. And then we can put this in and tighten down the legs onto the bracket. (wrench clicking) Now, once you have both legs torqued down. This is when, this is the reason we kept it loose. You can get a measurement and measure each side or just kind of eyeball it up. And then to tighten this down, we can grab the hex head. It came, tool that came with it and tighten down the bar. Now this part is a little, little awkward to do but this is why we pretightened it up on the bench. And again, you don't have to go crazy with the torque on here. We just want them to be secure. Then once you have all the bolts secured on the crossbars you can install the locking side panels onto the legs which there isn't a whole lot of room but it works great. When everything's completed I like to give it a good shake test, make sure everything's on there solid and you're ready to hit the road. And that was a look at some of the features in the installation of the Rhino Rack Vortex Aero Roof Rack System on our 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 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.
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