Video Transcript for Rhino-Rack Pioneer Platform Roof Tray Feature Review

Hi everyone, I'm Evangeline right here at etrailer. Today we have the Rhino-Rack Pioneer six platform. This is an improved design where it's lighter, more capability, more things can fit on it, and it's gonna be a great base platform for all of your gear, for all of your adventures. Will this work on your vehicle Well, the first question you actually should be asking is, will any Rhino-Rack, crossbar, or roof rack fit on your vehicle Because Rhino-Rack made it where the channels or the underbar system is exactly like their vortex or sports crossbars. So you would just use the exact same towers or legs that you attach to your vehicle, and then you just put the platform on top instead of a crossbar system. For example, this truck usually has some heavy duty crossbars on top.

We just reused the legs and switched out the bars for this cool platform rack. So with that in mind, you can always double check our fit guide here at etrailer, put your year, make, and model, and then we give out all the roof rack fits for your vehicle. So if any of those say Rhino-Rack, chances are you can also get a platform. Which brings me to my second point. How much gear can you actually put on a platform What's the actual weight capacity of a Rhino-Rack Pioneer six platform That question always gets me, because in all honesty, you always have to check the vehicle manual for a roof weight capacity.

Now, aftermarket manufacturers like Rhino-Rack use that roof rating to then put all kinds of gear on top of it for your different adventures. So with that in mind, I can't tell you the specific number of what this can actually carry. I can tell you though, that if your vehicle can carry a lot, this can too. This platform, specifically the 59 by 49 inch one, weighs only 36 pounds, but it's made of really strong alloys that even if I put kayaks, a roof tent, or really heavy things on here, it will hold up. All throughout the platform, everything looks super sleek, but when you feel it, touch it, interact with it, it's also really durable.

So this has an aluminum alloy throughout most of the platform. Now there's different channels along it that you can add items to, but you also wanna pay close attention to the angles or rather the lack of angles. So with this being lighter, there's about 60% reduction in drag compared to the old Pioneer platform rack. So making it the quietest and lightest offering from Rhino-Rack so far. What all that means for me is that when I am loading heavier items on top of a platform, I'm scratching and scraping at the platform, sliding things through, that's okay.

This is designed to hold up to that. Plus the materials it's made of means it doesn't corrode. Now, if you did check your owner's manual for your roof weight rating, good for you. You might have some questions there though, and that's gonna be the rating you see may or may not stay static and dynamic. So what if your weight rating says 165 pounds Well, I'm not gonna say how much I weigh, but if you have a rooftop tent up here and you wanna sleep in a tent, that's over 165 pounds. That's because your parts. So when you're parts and the platform isn't going anywhere, that's a static weight rating. Usually that's gonna be in the 300, 500, 700 pound range depending on what vehicle you have. Dynamic weight rating is what is on your roof when you drive. Now I can be on this platform right now because we are not driving. The moment someone hops into that driver's seat, I'm off of this roof. So that's gonna be your dynamic weight rating. So when you travel, how much weight can you actually carry Which brings us to our final main question. So what kind of gear can I put on the platform Well, Rhino-Rack patent air platforms, they've got their pros and cons. Their pros, great weight capacity, lots of channels, lots of spots to put things. Their downsides really is gonna be where you put the things because they have channels that run front to back when most other brands run side to side. However, if you have Rhino-Rack specific accessories, you can then fully utilize this unique design. And bonus points if you get a Zwifloc accessory. Compared to other channel mounted accessories where you have to find a large opening to fit your mount through and then you can slide it through the rest of the channel, Zwifloc, you could put this pretty much anywhere. It has a block on the inside that once you start turning it, it locks into place. So you no need to move a gazillion things out of the way before you install one new item. You just drop your accessory into place anywhere along the platform, slide it around, and then you just tighten it down and then Zwifloc locks into place for you. So this really opens up the Pioneer platform to something that's a lot easier to use and easier to install accessories into. So what if you have your favorite accessories from other brands Will that still work on Orion Rack Pioneer platform It might. I can't say for certain, but there are some situations where you could channel mount something sideways like let's say a ski and snowboard carrier, that could go this way. There's also the East-West underbars that some things could still clamp into as an option. So I'm not saying everything will definitely work, but I'm not ruling out all the options. In fact, if you have a cool setup where you found that your favorite accessory totally fits super well on the Pioneer platform, I'd love to hear about it. Please send us a picture or a video of your setup that way I can see other cool ways to use platforms and other people can get inspired too. So my biggest tip for you really is to do your research before you get a platform and decide what is your priority for your adventure. Because other platforms have great features for them, depending on what you are looking for. Like the Rhino-Racks, I guess lack of versatility for other brand accessories might be a deal breaker for you if you have a specific carrier that you can't live without. But if you are planning to build from the base and you really wanna maximize your weight capacity on your vehicle, so you want something that is lighter as well as quieter, as well as really easy to install, then the Pioneer Series six platforms from Rhino-Rack might be a really good option for you. Again, they are available in different shapes, in different sizes, as well as different mounting options. So the biggest thing that people get confused by is how to fit it on your vehicle. So hopefully, like I mentioned at the very beginning of this video, our fit guide as well as my instructions for just following roof rack compatibility is helpful for you for seeing if this will work for you, your vehicle, and your adventures. And again, if you have any questions at any point, please feel free to reach out to us here at etrailer. My name is Evangeline here with the video team and what you saw was my review of the Rhino-Rack Pioneer six platform at etrailer.com. (no audio).