To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
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.
This custom fit kit lets you mount 4 Rhino-Rack 2500 legs to your vehicle with a naked roof. Clamps mount to legs with bolts. Includes 4 clamps and 4 pads.
Features:
Specs:
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today on our 2011 Chevrolet Malibu, we're going to be test fitting the Rhino-Rack Roof Rack System. This is going to consist of part numbers RRVA126B-2. These are the Vortex Aero Crossbars, forty-nine inches long in black. These also come in silver as part number RRVA126S-2. We also have RRRLKVA. These are the 2500 Series Legs for the Vortex Aero Crossbars, and part number DK183, and this is the custom fit kit for this particular vehicle, and this is how it clamps to your car. We have the front one already installed.
It has a nice aerodynamic shape to the bars, which is going to cut down wind noise and drag while you're driving. Combined with the rear crossbar, it's actually going to have a carrying capacity of a hundred and sixty five pounds, although double check with your vehicle's manual to make sure it can withstand that weight on the roof. Let's go ahead and show you how the rear one goes on. We already have it partially assembled on our table here. It's very easy to put together. You'll take the 2500 Series leg and you'll see it has this bracket on the bottom here.
That's going to fit into the T-slot at the end of our bar, like so. Next, we'll take a measuring strip and measure out from this point to our leg. Now normally you would have a strip that you would cut and put into place, so it holds it place from that point forward. However for today's demonstration purposes, we're just going to go ahead and measure it out. Let's go ahead and get everything set up.
That looks good. Then we'll take the included tightening tool and snug that leg down to the bar. While we're here, we'll go ahead and put our end cap back on, and take the included tool to just lock that into place so it can't be removed. Then we'll take our rubber pad for the bottom of our leg, making sure that arrow is facing out. These are numbered and specific, so double check with your instructions to make sure that you're putting the right one on the right leg. Then finally, let's go ahead and install our clamp.
I'll turn this around so it's easier for you to see. We'll take this screw out all the way, and then we'll take our clamp and just put it into place, and just get the bolt started so it holds the clamp in. With that done, now we can open up our two rear doors and put our bars into place. Now we'll just loosely set them on for now. This is by no means the final place that they're going to be put at. Being careful not to damage the roof. Now that we have these set on, we'll grab our measuring tape and and we'll actually figure out our crossbar spread. That's going to be from center of the rear bar to center of the front bar. You want to double check with your instructions to make sure you're putting them at the right spacing. Once we got these generally where we want them, we can start tightening them down. We'll snug them up first. Then we'll tighten them down completely. Again, using that same tightening tool. I would like to point out that this this curved right now. Once these are tightened down all the way, this will straighten out as you're tightening, so you'll know that you're not over tightening or under tightening. I'll repeat this for the other side. Once we have these loosely tightened up, we're going to go back and forth on each side, and tighten them down evenly, giving about five or six turns each side. Now some things you could actually put on these roof racks, there's a wide variety of things, bike racks, ski and snow board carriers, kayak carriers, cargo baskets, and enclosed cargo boxes, but I do want to emphasize, you always want to double check your weight ratings to make sure you're not going over on your roof or your crossbars. With everything tightened down, our final step is to put on our covers. These are lockable so your roof rack will be secure on your roof once you install it. There you have it for the Rhino-Rack Roof Rack System on our 2011 Chevrolet Malibu.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (3492 Customer Reviews)
This custom fit kit lets you mount 4 Rhino-Rack 2500 legs to your vehicle with a naked roof. Clamps mount to legs with bolts. Includes 4 clamps and 4 pads.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.
I received excellent prompt service for a minor parts-related problem not impacting installation, safety or use of the Rhino Rack system I purchased. I would order from etrailer again without hesitation.
This was a great purchase. I originally ordered roof crossbars from somewhere else and immediately returned them. They were a universal fit and were not secure at all when they were tightened down. They were from a third seller on Amazon. I found these on etrailer and I am glad that I made the purchase. I did not want to spend the money at first that these cost, but am glad that I did. The install was easy and the crossbars are very secure and hold up well with the cargo basket installed. They were well worth the money. Can't wait to try them out when we go camping. Thank you etrailer.
That was a little more difficult than I had planned it being. But, overall it went smoothly because I followed a video of someone doing an install. I love it!! I already put on my kayak rack too!!
Ease of order, receipt, installation and excellent customer service is what I received in this order.
Thank you, e-trailer!
I've been using my Rhino-Rack primarily for hauling up to two kayaks. It has performed very. On the particular trip we are on now we went thru some pretty high winds blowing from the side of our rig and the kayak stayed secured. I would highly recommend this for anything you want to carry on top of your vehicle.
Takes a little while to assemble the rack bars.
The stickers are great I can mark the positions after measuring the distance between the bars.
One of the screws is underneath the bar; it is hard to reach to tighten the bars.
Finally, I got the roof rack installed and it looks good.
Just followed all the etrailer website prompts for my naked roof Toyota Matrix and it set me up with the three packages needed- rails legs and fitkit. Installed easily enough. I like the little arrow stickers hidden in the door jams for fast re-install later. Held two 10’ kayaks on a 2 hr journey with ease.
Pretty nice rack system. Held up to my 90lb canoe no problem. However a piece did fly off on the highway and the "locking" bar end cap can pull off super easy.
The directions were ok. There is some stuff you have to kind of figure out for yourself, mainly the roof trim. I plan to leave the rack on so I drilled theough the trim
Buying this rack was a decision that I'm glad to report was spot on. It not only looks good on my Ford Maverick Hybrid but it has held up well and looks as good today as it did the day I bought it. It is also solid as a rock. The Rhino is also priced lower than other brands of similar quality.
This is a perfect fit for our 2015 Prius V with "naked" roof. Instructions were clear and accurate, and the bars are solid and able to support our canoe and kayak easily. We added the air deflector, as there was a bit of wind noise, but now there is none. Great product at much lower price than the big names.
The Rhino 2500 series is well built. The etrailer customer service person Trevor W. was great. He was so helpful in getting the right components for my Rhino 2500 roof rack to mount to my 2010 Silverado. Thanks for the help Trevor.
Absolutely love the Rhino Rack. Easy to install (watch the [online] video). Looks GREAT. Hauls my kayaks no problem. Very well made and I highly recommend this product.
This was the kit for my 2020 equinox. The spacing of the feet on the vortex aero bars was incorrect I had to use the Euro sizes. Went back and forth with customer service trying to get confirmation that was the right size but it never was confirmed. Everything is installed now and sturdy.
Seemed to work well with my 2012 Kia Soul. I have only had it on my car for a day at writing this so I can't really give it five stars. I would bump it up to five stars once its been on for a few months. Easy to install, and after doing a bit of research Etrailer.com Had the best deal, and support for installation.
Installed this and 65" Vortex Areo crossbars on a 2015 RAM 5500 chassis cab/crew cab. It is listed to fit 1500 to 3500 RAM's and neither Rhino-Rack or etrailer would confirm it would fit the 5500. My research suggested there was not much, if any difference, between the 3500 and 5500 crew cab, so ordered it any way. Installation was relatively easy, fit seemed to be good and have made multiple 200-300 mile trips with a 75lb kayak. Good price, great customer service and fast delivery through etrailer.
This review covers the Rhino Rack 2500 Vortex Aero crossbars and associated parts (DK284, RRRLKVA, RRVA137S-2) for a naked roof installation on a 2018 Honda CR-V.
Very solid racks. We just took our first trip using them and the didn't budge. As recommended, a few days after installing, I tightened the bolts a bit. I'm not sure they needed it--just a little insurance.
The installation process was clear, but fairly detailed. It would be easy to miss a step, so take your time. Also, I tried a couple shortcuts in the order when installing on the car, but had to back track. So, go in the order they give you.
The racks easily supported our filled "pod" and a couple surfboards, strapped side-by-side. Sorry, no photos of the rack loaded. One thing to watch out for is that our old Thule pod almost didn't fit because of the thickness of the racks. I had to loosen the bolts almost entirely.
Of note: I feel that although I followed the measurements to the millimeter, the fit on our 2018 Honda CR-V wasn't exact. Where the pads sit on the roof of the car didn't align perfectly. I could have adjusted this by just re-trimming the rubber pads that go in the channels, but it's not a big deal, so I just left it.
Finally, I do have one concern. The angle of final installation doesn't really protect the racks from theft very well. The plastic plate that locks over the screw would allow someone with the proper tool to get up under it and loosen the bolts. That being said, someone so inclined could also just break the little plastic door or drill a hole in it to access the bolt. So, I guess it's just a deterrent anyway.
Overall, I'm very happy with the racks and etrailer.com! Despite shipping delays due to Covid-19, they were able to get the racks to me in time for an upcoming trip. I did choose to expedite shipping, but the cost was very reasonable.
Once installed the product is very sturdy and looks great. But the directions are hard to follow because of the separate components and would have been really tough without the video which was great. I have one problem, how can I eliminate the annoying wind sound when driving when nothing on the rack. I saw a video where wrapping a line around the crossbar can help. It has helped a lot but not completely. Is there another secret for this?
I bought the roof rack to carry kayaks back and forth from Pennsylvania to Florida. The rack is solid and performs that task very well. My plan was to take the rack off and on but I decided to just leave it on. I do notice some wind noise since I've added the rack but it does not distract me and I would say that it is not excessive but it is noticeable.
I did have problems during the installation. I mounted the racks on a Ford 250 super duty. And the instructions were very clear as to where the feet that's support the rack where to be installed. Plastic strips are cut and the feet that support the rack on the roof push up to the cut plastic strips and that is what determines placement. I read the instructions several times and had seen an installation on another truck owned by a friend of mine. When I pushed the feet to the proper position I could not attached the clamps from the rack feet to the rain gutter on the truck which holds the whole assembly on the roof. They were too short. I spoke to Etrailer and a consensus was that I had cut the strips correctly. Etrailer's input of course was over the phone and they could not actually see or measure anything that I did. Nevertheless, in order to install the rack I had to move the feet on each side a bit closer to the rain gutter on the truck. I did not think that this would make any difference and based on the performance I have not noticed any problems. I would have given this product and excellent rating if I did not have to deal with the little problem that I had with the fit. As I said I have not taken it off the roof and I reach up and check it now and then and it's as solid as the day I put it on.
Customer support was great. After reading the instructions and watching the video on how to install the Rhino Rack installation went well. The ski rack has one draw back, if you leave car out over night with skis locked in the ski rack, every thing can be easily stolen. All you need is an Allen wrench to remove the ski rack with the skis. The roof rack has locking covers the prevent theft of the roof rack. The ski rack can be easily removed from the roof rack.
Very happy with etrailer.com and the amount of information I found before I made my selection. I went with the Rhino Rack for my 2016 Corolla. I watched the videos, read the instructions and within just a couple hours, my rack was attached, my canoe was loaded and I was out taking a test drive. 2 issues with the instructions. I didn't realize that there were two different size hooks...I did not see it mentioned in either the video or the written instructions. I got it right, but it was purely by chance. The other issue was the rubber pads which were, again, not mentioned. I installed them wrong the first time, but it didn't take me long to see my mistake. Happy with the stability and looks of the rack, and the help I received from Robert during the ordering process.
Fairly easy installation. Read the instructions thoroughly before hand and get familiar with the parts. Take care when installing mounting studs onto car itself so as not to strip or cross thread them. Once installed they look great.
The boxes were delivered quickly and promptly (earlier than expected). The instructions were easy to follow. I just needed the space to lay everything out and to match the numbers to the correct items. My only issue was that the specs for my 2016 Nissan Versa Note SV asked for 144mm for the front, but in fact, it needed to be 148mm. The rear asked for 142mm, but it needed to be 144.5mm. Once I figured that out, the rest was straight forward. The crossbars are super sturdy and the rubberized top is a nice add to keep things from slipping. Thank you!
I plan on installing a V-boat rack on the car rack. I can't wait to transport canoes!
Fits perfectly on my 2007 Audi A3.
People at etrailer.com were very helpful, nice and professional.
Thank you carol and george for getting me back on the trail again.
Will definitely be my to go place for all my roof rack, bike rack and other accessories.
Thank you again
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.
Mark T.
8/20/2020
Still rock solid after one year. Very happy with the Rack. My daughter has put things on it from time to time over the past year that wouldnt fit in her car.