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The Rhino-Rack Vortex Roof Rack is built from full-length aluminum crossbars that can handle up to 165 lbs of gear. The strong construction gives you the confidence to haul kayaks, cargo boxes, or camping gear without flexing or wobbling. It’s a setup made for real trips where stability matters most.
Long drives can get noisy when air rushes around roof bars. The Vortex crossbars use an aerodynamic shape and rubberized strips in the top channels to help reduce drag and cut down on the whistling sound. You’ll notice quieter highway driving and less vibration when you’re loaded up for a trip.
These aero-style bars are ready for nearly any adventure setup. The top channels accept channel-mount carriers, while the shape also works with clamp-on attachments. That means you can mount bike racks, watersport cradles, ski holders, or cargo boxes using the accessories you already own—no need to change your system every season.
Each crossbar includes built-in plastic locks that help deter theft of channel-mount accessories. If you want even more protection, you can upgrade to all-metal locks (RRVA-LEC4?– sold separately). The lockable cover plates on the legs keep the rack itself secured once installed, so your setup stays put whether you’re parked overnight or stopped along the road.
The system installs directly to your roof’s ditches using included brackets and hardware, creating reliable mounting points for the legs. Once in place, the setup feels solid and permanent—ideal for anyone who wants a rack that’s always ready to load up when adventure calls.
Alternate Instructions
Ratings & Reviews
This product is very intuitive in its design. Yes, it has a quick detach feature, but it can also be canted up or down, depending on the curvature os the vehicle roof. Attachment to the roof rails and the Vortex bars seems solid and looks great. And, if you transported camping gear to a site and don't want to take your roof rack offroading, simply remove the rack with the QD feature and snap on the included covers. I'm very pleased with my purchase!
Delivery was a little slower then I would have liked, but otherwise it was perfect. Great customer service when I called to ask about them. Make sure you read the instructions when you install (I didn't and wasted an hour fooling around with the wrong parts) other then that, the install was smooth as silk.
The bars look and feel great. They have such a tough presence while still being aerodynamic. I love the look of the rubber grip strip on top and I like how the rubber strip on the bottom ends have graduations so you can easily match the overhang with the other side. They feel incredible strong, no bend in the them at all. If the platforms were a bit more robust this thing would outshine all the competition. However, it competes with every other system at a much lower price point so that gets 5 stars in my book.
I spent a week reading reviews and forums to find the right one for my 2019 Jeep Cherokee that I just bought a few weeks ago. I just have to overthink everything but it paid off. I just received them this morning and installed them myself! First time for everything! It was really easy. The only part that was frustrating was the very first part... sliding the rubber pieces into the crossbars. They would not slide very well so I ended up using a bit of oil to make them slide better. Other than that, installation was easy and quick. I LOVE the looks of them. Very gorgeous!!! Thank you so much!! Very happy with the end result!!
Works great like the quick disconnect for taking off cross bars
Very fast shipping, and exactly what I needed for our truck rail system with tonneau cover.
My Thule UpRide Roof bike rack mounted perfect in the T-Slots! Mounts easily and no issues in the Truxedo T-Slot rails on my Ford Ranger.
Mounts perfect in Truxedo T-Slot rails.
Easy to read instructions, easy to install. Watched the install video a few times just to be sure! They do whistle a bit at highway speeds, but certainly not unbearable. In fact, I was surprised as to how quiet they are. It's to be expected, especially when paired with kayak j-racks. So happy with this purchase and I would definitely recommend them!
my rhino crossbars and a rhino basket purchased else where months ago. With dogs traveling in the backseat and limiting my cargo space with a locking retrax bed cover I needed a little bit more room for those extra things I couldn’t live without in my travels. Paula S was the bomb and assisted me with the perfect size setup. Super fast shipping.
Love these aero bars. Perfect for on my 2018 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. Run fairly quiet and perform as expected. As always the customer service from etrailer was top notch.
Received the roof rack on the date promised, it was well packaged and all parts required were included. Everything fit together very well and the instructions were easy to follow. The rack looks good on the car. Once the rack is installed and the included decals in place it only takes a few minutes to remove it and reinstall. This is important for me because we will only use the racks to transport our kayaks the rest of the time they will be removed and stored.
There are two small items that can be improved. First the legs are different lengths yet nowhere in the instructions does it tell you where each size goes. Second I own 10 tape measure and not one of them is in meters and I do not care how good your eyesight is you are not going to be able to measure to 53/64". If the measurements are critical you should ensure customers in the US have measurements they can use or include a MM tape measure.
Overall this is a very good product that I would purchase again and recommend to friends.
I ordered the complete Rhino-Rack with legs for my 2009 Subaru Forester. I watch a couple of videos prior to installation. Followed instructions and installation was completed without any issues. Product was delivered promptly and Natalie helped me with my order and she followed up to inform me of the status of my order. Thanks for the help and thanks for a product.
Rhino-Rack installed on my 2022 Jeep Cherokee. There was wind noise (whistling) when all the rubber spacers were not installed, now it’s very quiet. I also installed the Yakima fishing rod//Ski holder. I wound up deviating from the directions and using the third lot, so the clamps would close on the bar. So far so good, without the fishing rod holder it’s low profile enough to get into garages, etc. Fast delivery on the products.
My Rhino-Rack Aero 2500 roof racks fit solidly on my 2007 Honda Civic EX. I was really impressed with the construction and strength of the rack system. Also the versatility of the 'legs' with a swivel pad allow them to fit any roof pitch perfectly. The clamps are so solid, nothing could knock these racks off. I added a paddleboard attachment and went surfing today. The black racks also look great with the black trim on my silver Honda. Great product at a much better price than Yakima or Thule.
Easy to install. The pins on the legs clamp perfectly into the fixed points on the car's flush rails. This is a nice low profile set up. The top of the crossbar is about 4" above the roof glass and does not interfere with opening the sunroof. This is a very sturdy setup for our Thule Motion XT XL. etrailer shipped extremely fast. Very pleased with my purchase.
My inital thought of these crossbars were that they were going to be too small. Two of the other big makers call for 53" min and 60" recommended. However after installing, 49" is a perfect fit for the Cayenne I feel. The rack is extremely quiet (make sure you use the channel rubber on top and bottom) The Cayenne is fairly quiet car inside and it was one of my big concerns but I only hear what sounds like a slight rush of air, no buzzing or whistling at all.
The downside to this rack is I think the black paint is too thin. Just laying it on the pavement while setting up caused scratches to appear. Silver would be the way to go if your getting these, or spray them plastic.
I bought this rack for my son who is a rower so he could take his single shell and oars to regattas using his new Chevy Cruz. First trip from Wyandotte, Michigan to Boston, Massachusetts and back was great. A learning curve to get in the right spot on roof but very sturdy & strong. He is looking forward to many regattas with this car and roof rack. Very Satisfied with etrailer and the rack itself and thank you for the quick shipping.
These crossbars were easy to install, are sturdy when installed and look great on my factory side rails when installed with the SX Series legs. The standard end caps are an all-plastic affair and use a little key to engage a cam lock. That plus the distance from the end of the crossbar to the nut that tightens the foot onto the rail keeps things relatively secure. Most people probably want to opt for proper locking end caps, though.
The rubber vortex strips look nice and give items something grippy to rest on. I haven't tried a load test yet but did drive around in moderate wind on the highway in multiple directions. Other than a slight whistle at 70 mph, you'd never know they were there. Overall, real happy with the product and looking forward to hauling some stuff around with them.
Incredible product super reliable , over a year of having it not a single issue , ima super hardcore fisherman , and also use the bed of my truck for various activities I can’t believe how easy this is too completely disassemble and put back together , this is a thief deterrent. Use it on a F 150 2022 truck with retrax electric bed cover
You have to order the cross bars and connector hardware separately. I also ordered the end cap locks.
I consider myself a pretty good DYI person and it took longer than I expected according to other reviews on here to get everything installed and overlapping the same on both sides.
Once installed the crossbars are very solid. I do get noticeable wind noise at say 70+MPH.
I installed these on a 2020 Jeep GC Overland and they look and function great! Was a bit concerned about the sun roof retraction with the bars, but there is plenty of clearance. No issue.
I for sure recommend the Rhino Rail crossbars. Etrailer is a great site to get the bars. Given the COVID issues and supply chain breakdowns retailers are facing, they still had everything I ordered to me in a very reasonable time frame.
Great sturdy rack. I put it together myself and have already started using it. I was concerned that it would cause leaks in the door the way it has to mount..but its Florida and its rainfall in the past few days and no leak! The weak link would be the end caps..two do not lock on and im concerned the will fly off at some point.
Purchase for a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee, black rails. Perfect fit.
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.
Excellent product and construction. I also have used it for mounting a cargo carrier for vacation and they held the weight with contents with no issues.
Great product! Works well with our Thule Tracker II rails installed on our truck cap. Solid system that is easy to install and remove.
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