Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform Rack with Gutter Mount Backbone Mounting System - 57" x 59"

Video Transcript for Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform Rack Installation - 2023 Jeep Gladiator

Hey everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer, and today we have the Rhino-Rack Jeep Overlanding Kit. We're gonna take a look at how it works, as well as how it installs here on our 2023 Jeep Gladiator. This is gonna be the lightweight Pioneer Platform from Rhino-Rack, which allows you to have a versatile platform on top of your Jeep while keeping it easy to install, as well as easy to carry. This is going to weigh 49 pounds, so you do have to be mindful of your Gladiator's roof weight capacity when planning out the cargo you're loading on top of this tray. The platform is made of aluminum, and then you have that black powder coat finish. So it is designed to be left on your roof, used in on-road and off-road situations.

For the shape, it's gonna be 57 inches by 59 inches, which creates almost a square over your Gladiator's roof. I like the fit of it. It doesn't fully cover the Gladiator's hard top, but does cover most of it, creating that platform. This is gonna be mounted to the gutters of your vehicle, and it creates a low-profile platform. Now if you measure at the highest point of the vehicle, which is over there in the center of that hard top, that measurement to the top of the platform is going to be 2 3/4 inches in height.

So if you have a low clearance in your garage or if you're parked underneath something, this won't add much height to your roof until you start loading cargo on there. For loading up the cargo, you do have different options here. You can load the cargo directly to your rack and then purchase separate load stops in order to strap things down or you have other accessories. Check out our Rhino-Rack channel mounted accessories here at etrailer if you're curious about those. You do have to be mindful that these slats have the channels running lengthwise of the Jeep.

A lot of other brands have slats running crosswise, so that's something to remember with those accessories that require a very specific spot to mount them to. The channels are going to sit nine inches apart if that helps you out. Now the options for the Jeep Gladiator may get a little confusing, especially since the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform is available in different configurations for your Gladiator. So just to help you figure out which one is which, now this is going to be the Jeep Overlanding Kit. It has the backbone mounts that install to your gutter system.

This makes for very easy installation. The other option is to get a Pioneer Platform that uses the backbone mounting kit. That is a little bit more involved and sits on your hard top rather than only in your gutters. That one is gonna be a heftier system that will take a little bit more time to install, but is usually left on the Jeep for longer periods of time. So for something that's lightweight, easy to install, let's go take a look at that process. The first step is to get your tray assembled, and then you can put it onto your roof. The good thing about the Gladiator is you can just rest the tray in the truck bed, and then get it onto the roof, which is what we're gonna do right now. I have Sam here helping me out. So he's gonna grab one end. We're gonna carefully hoist up, get that up there, and then sit it into the gutters. And then I like to just slide it forward from this point. For different Jeeps, you can have the tray facing different ways. For the Gladiator, you're gonna look for these angled brackets, and these are gonna be your front towers. And for the tray, you want that rear foot about four inches away from the end of the gutter mount. Technically it's 100 millimeters, but that is about four inches. Now secure your system. You're either going to use a 10 millimeter socket or a T30 Torx bit. You're gonna need those to secure your clamp. So here's your parts of your clamp. You first have your middle bracket, this goes up against the gutter, and then you have your plastic cover, which goes onto that metal clamp and then makes contact with your tray. And these will be held in place by your two flanged bolts. So I'm just gonna pop this down here so you can see. It fits through that plastic cover, fits through the metal, and then screws into the tray. (screwdriver clicking) Once all four towers are secured, then that's it for your install. Assembly's gonna take a lot of time the first time, but after that, it's very easy to remove this rack if needed, and then to put it back on. If you do have trouble with the bolts, lining them up, I do recommend putting your tool up against them as you get them threaded for the first time, just because that powder coat might be a little thick the first time you have to thread these through. But other than that, you're done with the install. The Pioneer Platform rack is very straightforward. It creates that extra cargo space to carry those bulkier items, something that you may not experience with simply crossbars. Now this is going to be the easiest platform available for your Jeep, but it is gonna have slightly less weight capacity compared to those other options. And those other options are going to be either the Pioneer Platform that uses the backbone mounting kit that mounts directly to your hard top, or if you really wanna get intense, you can take a look at the Front Runner tray for your Jeep Gladiator. That one will involve drilling, but it's definitely a more permanent option. But for something that is easy, simple, and really fast to assemble, as well as take off and put right back on, this was a look at the Rhino-Rack Jeep Overlanding Kit consisting of the Pioneer Platform with the backbone mounting towers to your gutters of your 2023 Jeep Gladiator.