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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 - 59" Long - Qty 2:Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today on our 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, we're gonna be taking a look at and showing you how to install the Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Crossbars with the Rhino-Rack Quick Mount Legs. These crossbars also do come in silver.Having this BackBone system installed is going to help increase the weight that you can carry on the hard top of your Jeep. Having three crossbars as compared to the normal two bar set, is going to allow you to carry more accessories, and it's gonna help evenly distribute the weight across the BackBone system.What's really cool about this BackBone system installed, is that we don't have to remove our crossbars if we want to take the hard top off our Jeep. You can remove it as you normally do. The elliptical shape of our Vortex Aero bars is gonna help cut down on wind noise and drag while we're traveling.We have our Quick Mount Legs which are tightened down onto our crossbars, and those attach to our foot kit. This locking system is a very nice security feature, so that no one can remove your roof rack without the key.
We'll just unlock that end cap and take it off real quick. It's a very simple system to install these bars. To get them off, it's the same way as putting them on. We're just gonna pull those red tabs in, push them back, and that's gonna unlock. As you can see, what happens when we pull those out, these little pegs come out and lock in to the foot kit.
It's very simple to put in, you just put a little bit of downward pressure, and then pull out the red tabs, and they lock into place.Our end caps lock in place. We have this plastic key right here. If you wish to have a more secure system, you can purchase lock cores separately at etrailer.com. We're just gonna unlock our end cap, go ahead and pull that off. We can see it gives us direct access to this channel right here.
That's gonna allow you to utilize any T-Track accessories that you might have. All you have to do, is remove this rubber strip, cut it to length, and then reinsert it along with your accessory. This rubber strip up here is also going to help cut down on that wind noise and drag.I am gonna provide you guys with a few measurements to give you an idea of the height you have between the top of your roof and your crossbars. First, we'll go from the top of our roof, to the bottom of our crossbar. That's gonna be sitting at about 2 1/4".
Now, if we go from the roof to the top of our cross bar, that's gonna be about 3 3/4".One thing you do want to keep in mind is that the weight capacity has not changed from the two bar set to the three bar set. They're both still at 165 pounds.We're gonna be installing these bars on top of our BackBone system that we already have in place. First thing we gotta do is go ahead and flip our bar over. As you can see, we already have it partially put together. We're gonna grab our other Quick Mount Leg, we're gonna go ahead and slide it through the channel with that little silver bracket. Then we're just gonna line it up with this little rubber strip that we already have pre-cut and put it into place. Once we line it up we can tighten it down.We're gonna go ahead and use this tightening tool that comes in our kit. Want to make sure we get it pretty tight. You don't want to over tighten it. Once you have that, you can go ahead and take your end cap and put it on.Now we're gonna take our footpad and install it on top of our BackBone system using this screw with a flat washer and a lock washer attached to it. We have our foot right here, and we have our little slot where our screw's gonna go. We're gonna put it in the middle hole. So, we're gonna set that on top, then we're gonna just set our screw into place, kind of start threading it with our fingers, once we do that, we can take our tightening tool, and tighten it down all the way. Then just make sure you repeat this for the other side.Now, we're gonna take our cross bar, particularly our Quick Mount Legs. We're gonna come down in here, and see these little red tabs, we're going to push those in, and then push them back. What that's gonna do is it's gonna push in these little pegs right here, which are going to mount to our feet.Now, we can set our bar in place. If you have a height restriction, you can just set the leg over on the other side. We'll go ahead and mount this leg, and then we'll come in here and we'll pull these red tabs back, and that's gonna lock them in to these little slots on the feet. Then, just make sure you walk around and place the other leg in the foot.Now, we're gonna take our end cap and slide it in, like that. We'll take our key, and lock it into place.Now you're ready to load your favorite accessories and hit the road. There you have it for the Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Cross Bars with the Quick Mount Legs on our 2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
Great addition to the bed track of my 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz! I got these for my rhino rack rod holder since they made such noise on the oem roof rack. So happy I went with rhino rack. You can't beat the price and the quality is as good if not better than Thule or Yakima. Highly reccomend.
great product. sturdy easy to install and held my thule cargo box (also an etrailer purchase), really well! Fit perfest in my 2002 Excursion roof rack factory rails and easily adjusted. One note for excursion owners is to mount the front leg of the rack more directly over the rear door vs moving it up towards the front. I was tempted to move it as far forward as I could so I could stand in the rear door opening to access the inside/contents of the box and the weight of the box and contents actually bowed the roof steel in and out while driving, causing a popping noise, once i moved it back a little it was fine. Also making note that I have one of the biggest boxes you can buy so weight was at a max for the roof/roof rack for me YMMV depending on what you have on top of the crossbars. overall good solid product and the cost savings for the Rhino rack vs other brands is a BIG plus for me.
The selection process that etrailer uses is top-notch. This really helped narrow down the choices for my 2019 RAM Quad cab. I bought this all kitted together. The assembly process is very straightforward and well-documented. I would highly recommend etrailer as a source for vehicle accessories. I have Yakima bike racks on our Subaru and this is as good if not better.
It’s a good product. The only install issue I ran into is the drill bit I used (dewalt) for the front two holes on the hard top wasn’t long enough to work with the included drill stop and I ended up scratching the paint on the roll bars. I installed mine over the top of a carpet headliner with dynamat underneath. I did a “soft install” of the roof rack (used regular nuts instead of nylock, low torque, and no sealant), removed it, then put in the mat and headliner, then finished the roof rack install. Multiple cross country trips with my pioneer platform and no issues with excessive noise and no water leaks.
Works awesome and was the best solution for carrying bicycles while towing travel trailer
Used my rhino rack traveling thousands of miles over the past year. They are a great product for the price, no need to buy the expensive big name products. Highly recommend these roof racks.
Wow! It's a real well made and engineered product and was delivered fast. I got it so I could remove it due to garage door clearance... It is heavy duty enough to carry our boat and 2 kayaks. The key lock, pivot system and removal system were well thought out and so easy.
Service from ETrailer was excellent. Personal and very helpful service (kudos to Michele S.) . Prompt shipping and items exactly as described. The installation videos on their website were helpful but I still needed to follow the written instructions. Without hurrying it took me about an hour and a half to assemble and install the rack on my Tundra. It fit very well and feels very secure. Still need to take it out onto the road. If anything bad shows up I'll post an updated review but I really don't expect any problems. I've used racks like these before (not from Rhino) and this looks like a pretty solid piece of equipment.
These quick release feet are a great addition to my 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz. I will say that I had to modify the T-nuts by cutting off about 1/4" off each of then. Pretty simple modification to get the nuts to fit the oem track. Highly recommend these so much easier than the oem thule feet!
I love the Rhino-Rack Quick Mount Legs for Vortex Aero Crossbars. At first they were a pain to crossbar on, but they I used my thumbs correctly on the lock, and haven't had an issue since the first alignment. They really served their purpose and lifted the old Sears Sport 20-SV cargo top carrier off of the roof for easier mounting and for now hold the kayaks. I do need longer crossbars, but that's a future problem that etrailer.com will be glad to provide a solution to.
I have used the Rhino Rack backbone system on a previous Jeep and it worked well. Installation instructions were clear. Definitely recommend.
Also a word about etrailer. I have ordered a few times from etrailer. These folks have great prices and have really fast shipping. They are quick to respond to questions and have great follow up after the sale (5 star).
These aero crossbars compliment the other accessories I've rated previously. It all cam together to be a great roof rack for my new Nissan NV200. The crossbars are oversize to accommodate my Thule Hulavator kayak racks.
The instructions and how-to videos on etrailer helped me do it myself. Thanks.
Purchased the Rhino Quick Mount Legs and Vortex-Aero bars, to mount on our Retrax XR Pro Tonneau cover. As always buying from trailer is easy, Terri N make the experience much better, from order to delivery. Terri ensured compatibility with existing hardware, and that everything needed is included.
The Rhino system is an easy install, the fit of the T-slot plate style nuts was tight, eliminating the damage that can occur with loose fitting slot inserts. Assembly can be completed on or off vehicle, as long as all accessories are fitted first. If done off vehicle, accurate measurements will be needed for the base fitment.
We paired the Rhino system with 1up USA bike racks, and a Yakima box.
I have been using etrailer for many years and have never had a bad purchase. We are about to start traveling quite a bit with our 5th wheel. Putting our kayaks on the back of the trailer was not an option. I researched several roof top carriers and this package was by far the best value and quality. The Rhino rack is awesome, works extremely well with kayak "J" carriers and installed relatively easy. There was an issue with the measurements for the underside channel covers. For my Ram, they were short. But I always use the old adage of measure 2, 3 or 4 times. Cut once. Saved me a few problems here. As alway7s with etrailer, we are very pleased with the product, the serv ice and the information before purchasing.
These are excellent! Check out my YouTube channel, Road and Reel, to see how I used the to carry 4 bikes above my Retrax Tonneau cover.
I purchased two Vortex Aero crossbars as part of a complete roof rack system for my kayak. My vehicle is a 2013 Ford F-150 FX4 with sunroof. The sunroof is no problem with the Rhino Rack 2500 system
I am very pleased with the Rhino Rack 2500 system. It is very strong, easily handling my 42 lb kayak, which is 19’ long.
I recommend mounting the kayak carriers to their final position on the crossbars prior to cutting the plastic strips. The plastic strips prevent wind from causing whistling noises at highway speeds. These plastic strips can be inserted into the tracks on the top side of the crossbars with the kayak carriers premounted. Simply cut the strips to filt all empty track sections and carefully press the plastic strips into their respective track sections. Note that the bottom side of the crossbars also have tracks. The empty track spaces on the bottom side use a different type of plastic strip. The bottom plastic strips look like a plastic ruler, with graduations in millimeters. This is described in the user direction guide. It took me a while to figure that out!
My crossbars do not whistle at all at any speed up to the max I have tried at 75MPH.
I bought these racks for my Ford Transit and I couldn't be happier with the racks or the service from trailer. The rhino racks added a nice touch to an awkward looking van with its great looks and perfect functionality. Reading reviews about other racks making howling noises while driving made me a little hesitant , but am pleased to say, no noise whatsoever. I've added a basket to the racks and everything has worked perfectly. We do a lot of traveling,(2 adults,4 kids, 3 dogs) and the racks have provided exactly what we needed. Thanks etrailer for the best price and great service
Just what I was looking for for my 2021 MB Metris Cargo Van with Raised Rails, for hauling a 14-foot SUP. I wanted as low profile as possible and the Rhino Rack SX Series Legs and Aero Crossbars looked best. Relatively easy to set up.
Great addition to my roof rack. Super strong and sturdy.
Have used the roof rack on our Ford F350 to carry 2 kayaks while towing our 5th wheel. It has worked well and allowed us to bring our kayaks with us while we RV around the country.
Well built. Just not a good fit for my f150 roof. It makes a lot of vibrating noise in the cab from wind. I got them for the snowboard rack and for 16 ft canoe. Hope this helps anyone who is planning on using them for similar uses. Maybe look for something else.
This kit provided everything I needed to install on my 2011 Ford Flex. Instructions were on point and very easy to understand. Very sturdy roof rack and looks great. Thanks etrailer.com for the awesome kit! Very happy!
2022 Ford Maverick with a Rhino Rack on a retrax xr tonneau...love em both. THANKS etrailer.
Platform racks are the best in the market I think. I'm removing my Platform rack from my 2007 Jeep Sahara JKU and installing it to my 2021 Rubicon JLU. That shows my love and devotion for this very durable and such a beauty to look at system. Had this rack on close to 5 years and still looks amazing. I'm not installing this rack anytime soon. Just wanted to make sure I have the Backbone system for my new JLU when the time comes. Pic of my red JKU with rack attached. Hopefully I can update with my black JLU pics later.
Worked great for our 12 ft kayaks. No issues after 16,000 mile trip with high speeds, adverse weather, and high crosswinds.
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