Custom DK Fit Kit for 4 Rhino-Rack 2500 Series Roof Rack Legs - Naked Roof

Video Transcript for Rhino Rack Roof Rack Installation - 2015 Chevrolet Cruze

Hi everyone, it's Angeline here etrailer. And today we'll be taking a look at our Rhino-Rack Roof Rack System with the 49-inch long Vortex Aero Crossbars, and the Towers and Custom Fit Kit for naked roofs, right here on our 2015 Chevrolet Cruze. So do you have your cruise You know that your options for storage or after-market accessories might be a little limited. So honestly the easiest way is to get a roof rack on your vehicle if you wanna carry really cool items like rooftop boxes, kayaks, or even roof-mounted bike racks. So what we're gonna take a look at today is our Rhino-Rack Roof Rack system, which is gonna be one of the easier roof rack systems to install on naked roofs, and this specific one is going to be the ideal length. When I say ideal length, that's the recommended length from the manufacturer, in our case Rhino-Rack.

So for a sedan, you actually don't want too much overhang because as you enter into your car you don't wanna hit your head around or against the crossbars. But if you wanna carry more items, I actually installed a kit with longer crossbars, that's gonna be the 54-inch long kit. So speaking of overhang, let's take a look at that. And it's gonna be a little bit different depending on your front or your rear crossbars. But from the tower to right before the end cap, ours says 2 1/4 inches of overhang in our rear crossbar.

So if you have items that have clamps that go around the crossbar, you could possibly clamp them around here. Just note that if you wanna fully maximize your space, go ahead and use T-track marked accessories. Now another measurement is gonna be roof clearances, and that's actually gonna be two different numbers. So the first number is the height from the top of the roof to the bottom of the crossbar. So right here, it sits at about three inches.

So if you have, let's say, a roof box with a clamp that goes around, some of them have U-bolts and you're just threading bolts underneath your crossbars, you want a good amount of clearance. And three inches here is perfectly good for that clearance. Next measurement is gonna be the height added. So from the top of the roof to the top of the crossbar, ours sits at 4 1/2 inches. So this is gonna be where your accessories sit.

If you're carrying skis and snowboards, especially those with extra-large bindings, you wanna make sure that if you don't have enough height, you get accessories that add height. Here, actually, we would have pretty good clearance. Just be mindful of your antenna in the back. Since this is gonna be a naked roof rack, you actually don't have any option when it comes to where you can install your crossbars. You have to just follow specific measurements, so make sure to stay tuned for that process where I show you how to do that. But our crossbar spread is gonna be about 27 inches. So if you have accessories that require a specific crossbar spread, keep that measurement in mind. Also, note the way that this curves on our Cruze because of where it's installed. You're gonna have a little bit of a tilt forward on your front crossbar and pretty level on your rear crossbar. If that's gonna be a big issue for you, let's say you're carrying around kayaks, keep that in mind, try to get some with spacers to compensate for the angle. So this roof rack system does have a weight capacity of 110 pounds. But remember, when you are thinking about weight capacity, be mindful of your actual roof weight capacity. So add up the weight of your cargo, the weight of your accessory, the weight of your roof rack system, and make sure that does not exceed the Cruze's weight capacity. So these are gonna be the Vortex Aero Crossbars. And what that means is, if you remember, in the older days there used to be just round or square crossbars. When you we're going down the highway, they we're really noisy, really loud. And then Aero Bars we're invented to help reduce that wind drag and wind noise. So you could see here how it's tapered at the end. And then you also have the Vortex Strips on top to help guide that wind through. Speaking of Vortex Strips, when you turn that key and open up the end cap, you now have access to your T-channel. So you lift these strips up, and then you can Mount your T-track mounted accessories. I think this is the only con of the Rhino-Rack Roof Rack System because you do have to cut your Vortex Strips around your accessories. So my personal thoughts about this Rhino-Rack Roof Rack System is the 49-inch Long Bars are a pretty good fit for the Cruze. Where you still have a good amount of space but not too much where it's cumbersome. Now, if you do need more space, check out my video with the 54-inch long crossbars, which will be longer crossbars for more accessories. Now, in terms or comparing it with other brands though, the Rhino-Rack is what I consider the easiest one to install. Just because it's very simple. You just put your clamps, you put your hooks together. The downside for it being easy to install, though, is you don't have that much adjustability. So because of that, you do have this curve towards the front. If you wanna remedy that, maybe take a look at the Yakima Roof Rack for naked roofs instead, that's a little bit more complicated. but then that also adjusts the tilt, to adjust for the tilt of your vehicle. So you have your different pros and you have your different cons, but hopefully, this video helped guide you through that process. It isn't that difficult to put a roof rack system on your car. So I wanna make sure you get the best one. So installing your roof rack be can kind of tricky, especially once you have a naked roof like this. Now the good news is that the Rhino-Rack Roof Rack is probably the easiest one to install. So that's what this video is for. We'll go through that process, and I'll show you how to do this. We will start by installing our front crossbar because from there you can get the measurements for the rear crossbar. So first you need to set up your Fit Kit. So underneath your hooks, you're gonna have a number, and that helps you figure out what goes in the front, what goes in the back. So for the front crossbar, we want the hook that's 145, and that's gonna be paired with the pad that's gonna be M 416. So setting up our tower, we first use the footplate, and you're gonna want the Aero pointing out. And then on the footplate, you put the pad. So that Aero is also pointing out and fits onto the footplate. With both towers now set up, we're gonna put them onto our crossbars. And we don't need to put the hooks on just yet. That goes on once you have them on the roof. So this fits right into the track underneath your crossbar. And now we're gonna place this on our roof. So there really isn't a tapered portion of your crossbar. But what I like to do is just to get the Rhino-Rack logo facing the front. And then, make sure that this is carefully set on there with the rubber portion, keeping that padding. So you're gonna have a measurement for where you're gonna place to your crossbars, and it's gonna be 13 inches and 3/8 inches. So you're just gonna line that up with your Aero, measuring from the seam of your door, do that on both sides. Once you have that in place and don't forget to check for overhang too, that's when you tighten down your crossbars, if you have not already. So then here we have our hook, and this is gonna fit right around that door, and then you're gonna put that bolt through. You may have to hold it from the back, just to get threaded on the first time, lightly thread it. You're gonna then, continue tightening it down with the included Rhino-Rack tool. But this is very important, make sure to evenly tighten it on each side. What that means is I would tighten it down maybe 60%, 70% on this side and then I go on to the other side, continue tightening it there, go back and forth until they're fully tightened down. We have this torque tool. And what that means is that as we turn this, and you put weight on the end of that lever once it flattens out, that's how you know you have enough tension in that bolt. So if you've double-checked your measurements and you've installed it properly, then you can even slam your door on your hook, no problem at all. Now do the exact same thing for your rear crossbars. Once you double-check that all four towers are nice and secure, your hooks are tightened down to 4.5 Newton meters, then your final step is to put the end caps on. So there's gonna be an end cap for your crossbars that uses the Rhino-Rack blue tool. And there's the end cap for your towers. So ours just fits right in there, like a door with a hinge. You get your key, you lock it, and then that secures it. Just double-check that all of them are nice and good. And you're ready to load this up and hit the road because you're done with the install. And that was a look right here at our Rhino-Rack Roof Rack System, with the 49-inch long crossbars. Our Towers and Custom Fit Kit, for your 2015 Chevrolet Cruze. My name is Evangeline, and I hope you enjoyed the journey..