Video Transcript for Set up: Custom DK Fit Kit for 4 Rhino-Rack 2500 Series Roof Rack Legs on a 2021 Volkswagen Jetta

Hey everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer and today we're taking a look at our Rhino-Rack roof rack system here on our 2021 Volkswagen Jetta. This system has the 49 inch long vortex aero crossbars, the towers for naked roofs and the custom fit kit for your Volkswagen Jetta. You can get longer crossbars of up to 54 inches if you want more overhang, but the downside to too much overhang is you're more likely to hit your head against the crossbar getting into the car. So that is something to consider. This is a very good balance between the two where you still have crossbar length but you don't have too much. So if you wanna carry around some fun accessories on your Jetta, maybe you wanna carry around some kayaks or a roof box.

The first thing you're gonna need is a roof rack system. So the Rhino-Rack System and there's a bunch that are custom fit for your car from different brands, but this one in particular is gonna be the best if you want something that's easy to install but still a custom fit for your car. So we'll talk about those features and we'll see if it is the right fit for you. With that in mind, you do have a little bit of overhang here. So measuring from the tower to right before the end cap, there's 2" of overhang.

For some accessories you can mount them around the bar or to fully maximize it, you can use the T track mounted accessories. Now with this, you do have to think about when you put cargo on your accessories, will it clear your roof So the first measurement is the height from the top of the roof to the bottom of the crossbar. I have it at 2 and 3/4". So that means if you have clamps that go around, some of them have wing nuts and U bolts, 2 3/4" on the lower side, but still pretty good. The next measurement is the height your cargo sits at.

So here we have it at about top of the roof to top of crossbar, 3 3/4" or a little bit above that. So that means if you're carrying around items, let's say skis, oh, especially skis with extra tall bindings, you wanna make sure that your cargo does not hit your roof. And if you do not have enough clearance, that's when you can start taking a look at accessories that give you that clearance. So here we have our locking end cap. This requires a special Rhino-Rack tool in order to open but once it's open, you now have access to your T track.

So those are the accessories that slide in through the top and then be secured. You do have the vortex strips up top. Now the pros to the vortex strips is if you put anything directly on your crossbars it helps cushion them. The downside is you have to take them off for your accessories and you could tend to lose them or cut up too much. So this uses a custom fit kit that is designed to fit around the contours of your vehicle. So that involves a rubber pad that sits on top and then a hook that goes into your door. So here with our hook, it does take up a little bit of extra space, but if you do it right, you'll be able to slam the door without having to worry about it. So this kit has everything you need to install it onto your Jetta. Double check and please use the etrailer fit guide to make sure you have the right fit for you just because of those three parts, which is gonna be the fit kit, the towers and the crossbars. Now, some other things you might wanna add on though is go ahead and grab your tape measure if you have a soft tape measure, even better. And finally, if you do wanna get the metal lock cores to replace the classic ones, you can find them sold separately here at etrailer. Now let's take a look at that process. So this is gonna be a really simple process actually compared to the others just because the hooks are all the same number and as are the pads. So the first thing we're gonna do is we are going to attach our tower to our crossbar. So with that metal plate loose, we're just gonna slide that into the bottom of our crossbar, bringing our tower in. Then you're gonna have this measuring strip. So this pops into the bottom of your crossbar. There's numbers on it, so cut to the appropriate number and that's where you're gonna line up your tower. So I did not leave our strip in here because of demonstration purposes, but make sure that that's there and it's lined up with the right number and then tighten it down. Next, you have these foot plates with arrows on them and then you have the pad with an arrow on them. So both of them are gonna be facing out. So just put them together where they're both facing the correct direction. Double check where those arrows are facing and then pop them onto your tower. And then you're going to have a measurement where you would put your tower. We do have included stickers so that you could just mark your spot but once you know where you're gonna put your crossbar, then just gently place them onto your roof. Since you have the rubber bottoms, you can move this around a little bit. Once you've double checked that your crossbar's in the right spot, you're then going to secure your hook. So see how it has it not right back there You're gonna have an included bolt and then you're gonna have your hook. What I do is I just line the hook up to where it needs to go. So it's flush in the sill and that's when I tighten it down. So I try to tighten it down evenly, so like halfway on this side, 75% on that side, and just go back and forth. That way you don't pull the whole system to one side and that it's even. So your wrench actually has a little bit of a torque setting. So to prevent over tightening, just put your pressure on the end of the wrench. If this flattens out, you know you have enough pressure in that bolt and that's when you stop turning it. Your final step is to pop everything right in. So you have your locking door and then you have your end caps for your crossbars as well. Just double check that everything is secure, all your end caps are in place and locked. And once they are, that's it for the install. You are now ready to hit the road. And that right there was a look at the Rhino-Rack roof rack system for your 2021 Volkswagen Jetta..