Rhino-Rack Vortex Roof Rack for Naked Roofs - Aluminum - Black - Qty 2
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2012 Ford Taurus
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2012 Ford Taurus
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The Rhino-Rack Vortex Roof Rack gives you a solid foundation for carrying gear on vehicles without factory rails. It includes 2 aluminum crossbars, four 2500 Series legs, and a custom fit kit for a secure setup. The lockable cover plates on the legs keep the rack attached firmly, while integrated plastic locks in the crossbars help deter theft of channel-mount accessories. It’s built for confidence whether you’re loading up for a weekend trip or everyday hauling.
When you drive with bars overhead, wind noise can quickly get annoying. The Vortex crossbars have an aero-style shape that helps reduce drag and turbulence. Rubberized Vortex strips in the top channels close around accessories to smooth airflow and minimize that high-pitched whistle. The result is a quieter, less fatiguing ride even when driving long distances.
Each crossbar measures 54" long x 3-1/8" wide x 1-3/16" tall, giving you full-length space to mount bikes, kayaks, skis, or cargo boxes side by side. The aluminum construction keeps weight low while providing strength for loads up to 165 lbs (always observe your vehicle’s maximum roof load capacity). This rack is ready for everything from paddleboards in summer to snow gear in winter.
No need to start fresh with new mounts—these bars work with both channel-style attachments that slide into the top track and clamp-on accessories that grab around the bar. That means you can use the carriers and boxes you already have, whether they’re set up for watersports, camping, or general cargo hauling.
The crossbars are backed by a limited lifetime warranty, while the legs and fit kit each carry a 5-year limited warranty. The aluminum and molded components resist rust and wear from everyday use, so your setup stays sturdy and dependable through years of road trips and outdoor adventures.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hello neighbor, this is Curt with etrailer and today we're gonna take a look at the Rhino-Rack Vortex roof rack and we're gonna see how it fits and how it installs on our 2024 Chevy Colorado. Now a roof rack on a pickup truck is actually a little bit more common of a thing than people realize. You may be wondering, what kind of purpose would a roof rack serve on a pickup truck where you have all this storage space in the back for whatever you need to take with you Well, the truth is, is that truck owners use them for a lot of reasons. One of the reasons that they use it for is if they have a ladder rack and they're carrying something really long that's gonna go over the cab and they want to have some extra load support for it. Another reason would be that you know, you've just got a bunch of stuff in the bed of your truck, maybe it's really dirty with stuff back there from work and you need to transport some larger items that you just don't want mixing with all of that back in your truck bed. Third reason would be something like a kayak or something like that that would generally just be kind of laid in the truck reaching out over the tailgate.
I don't feel like that's the most secure way to take a kayak somewhere. Really just kind of tying it down in the front and listening to it jostle round back there. I would much rather carry it up here on a roof rack. And the Vortex roof rack from Rhino-Rack is going to give us 54 inches of bar space to put those rooftop accessories on. It's gonna feature an overhang, so we do have the opportunity to load, you know, something a little bit closer to the passenger or driver's side while maybe fitting another accessory on the opposite.
It's gonna have a 165 pound weight limit, but double check your owner's manual and see what your weight limit is on your rooftop capacity. Whatever number is lower, that's the max weight that you're allowed to take with you. Now these bars are going to accept clamp mounted accessories and they're gonna accept T channel accessories. This roof rack is a little bit different. The Vortex bars have a really nice weather strip that does a really good job of keeping these quiet.
Only thing is, is if you use T channel accessories, the idea is to remove the strip, trim it to where you have the opening of however your accessories go in, and then replace the rest of the strip around it. It seems like a pretty cumbersome thing unless you know you have an accessory that basically lives on your roof rack all the time. If you do like to use T track accessories and this type of style doesn't really appeal to you, I urge you to check out Rhino-Racks Sports Bars. These bars leave an open channel at the top and just make it a lot easier for you to mount your T channel accessories. And while we're up here, let's just take a few measurements and see how this fits on the Colorado.
Now because this is a naked roof without any rails, Rhino-Rack is very specific about where your bars get placed in order to get these rubber foot pads contoured correctly. So with this particular setup here, we're gonna measure our crossbar spread, which is gonna come to a little over 28-1/2 inches. Now the crossbar spread is important because you really need to know that in order to make sure that whatever rooftop accessory you want to put on there is going to fit. Most rooftop accessories look for a minimum maximum between like 25 and 35 inches. So being between 28 and 29, most rooftop accessories are gonna be able to accommodate that spread. And we're also gonna take a look at how much height this is gonna add to the vehicle. It's gonna measure just under five inches that it's gonna add to the height of the vehicle. So if you're worried about roof clearance, whatever accessory you put up here, add five inches to it in order to understand just how much room this is taking up over the roof of your car. We're also gonna take a look underneath the bar. It's gonna come out to 3-1/2 inches of clearance underneath the bar, which is more than enough room for your clamp mounted accessories to get around and get latched on. Now, I had mentioned earlier a little bit about the installation process of this and that they needed to be placed in a certain area. So follow along. I'm gonna show you exactly how we got these bars on our roof. So to begin our installation, we've just kind of got everything laid out here for our crossbar. We've got our towers, our feet and pads for it, our clips to go around our frame there and we've got the tower covers. So we're gonna start by assembling the tower. And to do that, we're gonna take one of our foot pads here and with the arrow pointing outward to the outside of the tower, we're gonna go ahead and clip that on right there, just like this. Next thing we'll do is take one of our foot pads here just like this, and we're gonna go ahead and put that on with this kind of groove shape here is gonna be facing the inside of the tower like that. Now this is just gonna compress on. We wanna make sure that it goes all the way on all the way around the lip of it as well. So real easy, just like that. And the next thing we're gonna do is add our clip. So to do that we're gonna go ahead and remove this bolt, slide this up and over just like so. And we are gonna very, very loosely just so it just barely catches that bolt back in. We wanna leave as much maneuverability to this clip as we can to make sure that it goes around the lip of our doorframe. Our second tower is gonna assemble exactly the same. Now, it is important to note with these rubber pads on the bottom, on the second bar or the rear bar, both of our pads are numbered the same as M368. However, the front bar is going to be side specific. You need the M505 to go on your driver's side and M506 to go on your passenger side. So we're gonna take our assembled tower and then we have this little blue key that we get from Rhino-Rack. And that is what's going to go in and remove our end cap here. So we're just gonna unlock that, set that aside. Then we're gonna take our tower and with the clamp end facing the outside of the bar, we're gonna take this metal square here and we're gonna slide that underneath this slot and just kind of move it over to the side just like that. Now you're gonna notice there's these little measuring strips right here, and these are what we're going to use to measure how far apart our towers need to be for the bar. So we're gonna get that inserted right there, and we're gonna double check our measurement to see where our tower needs to be according to this before we lock it down. Now our front bar, Rhino-Rack asked to set it at 123 millimeters. For our second bar, which is what we have right here, is to set it at 118. So we're gonna go ahead and move this out until it hits the hash at 118 millimeters. And at that point, I'm just gonna slide my tower over until it butts up against it. We wanna make sure this doesn't move on us. We're gonna take our Rhino-Rack tool and then through this bolt right here, we're gonna go ahead and tighten it down into place. Now it's gonna be the same measurement on both sides. So once this part is done, we're gonna do the same with our other tower. And once this is set and tightened down, what you'll want to do is go ahead and trim this piece off right here. What we're gonna be doing is getting rid of the gap underneath the bar so that it doesn't create a lot more of that wind noise before putting our end cap back on. But since we're just doing this for demo purposes, we're gonna go ahead and just plain remove it and we're gonna reset our end cap. Now before we get the second bar up there, we're gonna talk a little bit about bar placement. Our front bar is going to be measured from the door seem to the center of the tower. They call for 320 millimeters here to here. And honestly, if you have a tape measure that uses millimeters, it's gonna be a lot easier than trying to really cut down on some of those, you know, fractional increments that you're gonna get with the inches. So that's a good way to get it a little bit more accurate. We've got our first bar up already because the placement of our second bar is measured from the center of these towers, which is gonna be 700 millimeters back. So we're gonna grab our second bar, we're gonna put it up here right around this area, measure it up and tighten it down. Okay, so we're gonna put this in the spot that's roughly about the 700 millimeter mark and we're gonna lay it down so that that rubber foot pad, that kind of ledge on the back of it, contours around the top of our roof there, just like that. And we're gonna get it in a good roundabout place, which we have it in now. Now I'm gonna get down and double check my measurements, make sure it's right at that 700 millimeter mark. So with everything in place, we've got our measurements double checked. Now I'm gonna just kind of make sure that my clamp is set right under the roof there. We're gonna take our Rhino-Rack tool and through this bolt right here, we're just gonna tighten it down. Now at first what I'm gonna do is just get it to where it's snug and I don't really have any play left in this clamp. Once I have it like that, I'm gonna go ahead and do the same thing on the driver's side. Now what you shouldn't do is completely tighten down one side before tightening down the other. There's a good chance that by doing that, that other side's gonna pop out of place. These clamps are essentially working against each other on each side of the vehicle to make sure that it stays put. So definitely just incrementally tighten this down a little bit on each side until you have it tightened down completely. And with everything tightened down, I'm just gonna give it a little bit of a shake, make sure there's no play in it. I've got the truck moving, but nothing is moving on the bars or the towers. So the last step in our installation is gonna be to place our tower covers. So we're gonna go ahead and use that. There's two tabs over here on the left side that we're just gonna fit into these slots. Pop it right on, take our key and get it locked right there. Now our roof rack is installed, we can load it up with whatever we need and head out on our adventure. So as you can see, installation was relatively simple. You just do have to pay attention to those measurements and increments to make sure that everything gets placed correctly. They're also, you know, maybe a little bit tricky to use with that T track, as I mentioned with the trimming and things like that. But if you're somebody that really only uses clamp mounted accessories, that's something that wouldn't bother me at all. I wouldn't even really think of it. I love the fact that you do get your own locking towers with an actual metal key and core. Some of the other roof racks out there, they just give you a plastic tab that you're gonna turn and you have to buy your locks separately. Not so with the Vortex roof rack. And all in all, I think the fit is great. You know, 54 inch bar is a good amount of overhang. That's not too cumbersome. It's well above my head. It's not that far outside of the door that I would worry about hitting my head if I was taller. So really I think the fit of it and the look of it is really, really nice as well. But if you decide that the Rhino-Rack Vortex roof rack is the roof rack for you and your 2024 Colorado and you get 'em, you install 'em, you get to use 'em a few times, please share with us what you think about 'em in the comments. We would love to share your experience with other neighbors so they can make the best decision for themselves. Once again, this is Curt with etrailer. Thanks for stopping by.
Ratings & Reviews
I’m so glad that the etrailer sales person recommended this product and saved me a lot of money.
I purchased Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero Crossbars with Rhino-Rack 2500 Series Legs (RRRLKVA) and Fit Kit (DK284) for my 2020 Honda CR-V EX Hybrid. The rack was easy to assemble and took about an hour. The only tool not supplied that you need is a sharp knife or scissors to cut the rubber strips to length. Once assembled, the installation took about 30 minutes, making sure to measure accurately for placement. I used blue painter's tape to initially mark the locations. I then placed the white marking arrows (supplied) to align with the marks on the tape. I then removed the tape, placed the racks aligned with the arrows, and tightened the clamps.
This product seems well made and engineered (I'm a retired mechanical engineer). Kudos to Rhino-Rack and to etrailer for selling it.
I decided on the 65” instead of the recommended 59” for my 2018 F250 Crew. Before I did I called etrailer to confirm that the crossbar would be ok using the custom DK Fit and Rhino Rack 2500 series legs. The guy confirmed and I placed the order. Everything does fit and quality is great but all I received was measurements using the 59” bar. Something is different between these two bars and etrailer couldn’t help me out.
I figured it out myself and determined the bracket distance on the bar so it fit properly.
Rhino Rack should offer the proper bracket measurements for all 3 Areo Crossbars ( 59, 65 and 72 ) as they pertain to Ford F-250 “17” and up. They all fit - as bracket is in the same spot on the truck.
Great quality solid rack. I’d give 5 star if it wasn’t for this
Been wanting to get a roof rack for my small Honda H-RV suv for some time now. Finally decided to pull the trigger on one and opted for this Rhino rack system.
Watching the etrailer install video and following the manufacturer's instruction, the front rack went on easily and perfectly. However, the rear track turned out to be a very long process. Why? Because I thought the manufacturer's measurements for the rear was an error. After the rack was assembled, it didn't seat into the roof channel at all. It appeared to be well short. So, I proceeded to use my mechanical ingenuity to get this rack to fit on my own. After a lengthy span of time and numerous adjustments, I'd come to realize that the manufacturer's measurements were correct. The footing did not sit perfectly until the unit was fully tightened against the vehicle. Live and learn.....once again.
The rack is absolutely solid, and looks very clean and sharp on top of the H-RV. I could not detect any additional noise while driving, even at highway speed.
The main purpose of this roof rack was for transporting my recreational kayak. I was not aware that these bars had a rubber strip running along the entire top of the bar. This turned out to be perfect for the kayak. Now, I didn't need to buy a specific kayak cradle. The kayak, one strapped down, is held absolutely secured to the rack.
I am very happy with this product! Once again, etrailer comes through perfectly with another of my order. Prompt service and indepth product info are the reasons why I shop here!
Purchased a Rhino Rack custom fit rooftop system, along with the kayak rack to hold two kayaks and the Swagman rv bike rack. Made several trips and they all work great! Included photos to share.
The Rhino Rack is very well made. I installed it my self on our 2016 Ford Escape, but had an assist from my wife to fine tune it at the end. There was no whistling or any other distracting wind noise on our 3,500 mile drive to visit family out West. A Sear's Cargo Box was easily mounted to the Rhino Rack and it remained centered and secured at western highway speed limits plus. The included locks on the roof mounts were the selling point for me. The Rhino Rack remained securely mounted to the roof with no additional adjustments or tightening being needed. Great Product. Donna P. @ etrailer was super with the order.
This roof rack works great! At first I was skeptical about putting a rack on my IS250, but it couldn't have turned out better. Paired with the Yakima Highroad, I can easily transport my bikes around without worrying about anything coming loose while driving. The installation instructions for the legs and bars are pretty straightforward. Takes about 30-45 minutes total to install.
I bought this last yr to haul my kayaks on my Toyota camry. Being 5'2", getting them on top of my SUV was next to impossible for me and my daughters. Since then, I have traveled from Michigan, all the way to the west coast with two 13' ft kayaks. These racks have been absolutely perfect in every aspect. I mounted them myself, and checked them regularly to see if they needed adjusted. Not once did they loosen or move. They with stood Traveling with speed limits reaching 80 mph on I84, along with the windy weather on our cross-country trip. My car moved around from the high winds, and the racks stayed put. These racks have by far reached and surpassed every expectation I had when purchasing them. I would not recommend another. Only thing I would recommend is showing installation for both front and back bars, since the measurements are slightly different for both. As I had to figure this out my self, after watching the installation video. Thank you Rhino for providing such a high quality product.
Extremely sturdy and well made. I also like the locking endcap design. Only thing I dodnt like is the rubber channel strip is 4 separate pieces instead of one long strip. Maybe they do that so you can remove a section for installing accessories, but id prefer to simply cut it where needed.
We love these racks! They were easy to install with the website videos. They whistle a bit but honestly it’s not terrible. The racks we got for our kayaks fit perfectly. Bonus - I can still open the panoramic roof!
Very straight forward to install. Took about a half hour in total. No whistling whatsoever. They look awesome on my 2016 Ford Explorer Sport! Especially with my running boards and tires...
Waiting on my Rhino basket to get here to install that next!
This is Thai Khuu ,Thanks I got packaged ,and I already installed, It just take about 1 and 1/2 hour,but I just take time to do carefully,so it is took me 2 hours, It is great ,me and my wife like it,and I my order the other package exactly like this for my second acura mdx 2016, I enclosed the pictures installed roof rack , Thanks
Perfect. Low Profile, Looks Good. Solid Rack System. Had a year and Highly recommend
I used this rack to mount two 65lbs kayaks to my vehicle and travel. One of many trips was over a thousand miles (round trip) and they moved maybe half a centimeter a piece during. I was extremely pleased with how easily I could adjust them. The original shipment had everything that was supposed to be in it and the directions were realitively clear. I had them together and on in roughly an hour. Also, they look great. When they are off the roof the only issue I have arises. The rubber feet that sit directly on the roof tend to fall off easily. Not a big deal.
Solid platform for all your gear. Easy to install and adjust, great looking as well. Initially I was frustrated because I failed to insert the plastic ruler under the cross bar. If you don't cover all the gaps they will whistle like crazy!
The instructions don't tell you that...I had to call Rhino tech support. They are quiet now at any speed.
I'd buy them again for sure!
The instructions were clear and the rack installed perfectly. I am impressed with the custom foot mouldings that match my car's contours exactly, and the rack is still as tight as when I installed it 4 weeks ago. I have been using it frequently to pick up 8' lumber for a large shelving project I have underway, and I hope to soon use it to carry my kayaks. The rubber strips on the top hold the lumber so securely I have no worry of having the load slip off the car. The two negatives I have are: (1) the crossbar end-caps consist of 2 locking and 2 slip-ons. I have come out to my car to see 1 of the slip-ons half slipped-off and I expect I will lose one or both of them in short order; and (2) the instructions should put the forward bar at least 1 inch further forward. As you will see in the photo, Rhino's guidelines result in the front bar being higher than the back bar, which results in additional wind pressure on the goods being carried. Finally, I would like to thank etrailer for shipping the product exactly as promised and also for packaging the entire order in an additional box as I requested. I found your service to be outstanding! You are welcome to post my comments and or photo if you should wish to.
The crossbars are great, but the rubber strip in the middle gets bunched up or comes out when loading heavy items across the bar. But the rubber provides grip, and the grip is amazing. I am not worried about kayaks or rafts sliding around. I do need longer ones though...
Fairly easy to install onto my 2017 Honda CR-V. The crossbars feel very sturdy and are securely attached to the vehicle. Took me about 30 minutes to get it installed and could be done even quicker if you get help from another person. The bars themselves are a little fat so my Thule ski rack has a super tight fit. There is very minimal wind noise, so I'll probably be getting a fairing for that. The instructions felt a bit jumbled but with just the measurements alone, you can install it with a bit of common sense.
i George from etrailer,
The rack is awesome! Strong, firm hold and nice looking. When doing surveys, I put my ladders on the rack.
I highly recommend this etrailer.
Hi George from etrailer,
The rack is awesome! Strong, firm hold and nice looking. When doing surveys, I put my ladders on the rack.
I highly recommend this etrailer.
I purchased a full kit for my 2017 Ford explorer, connectors, Feet and these cross bars. I will use them for hauling my roof top box on trips as well as other things that will not fit in my vehicle. The install is farily simple however some of the tools provided for tightening are not the best. Luckily I had a number of other tools to get this complete. The main thing I feel is needed is a socket allen key to tighten down the cross bars nice and tight. The allen key provided is difficult to work with and get the leverage you need to snug the bars down.
Another tip is to be sure to use the excess measuring closure to close off the inside of underside of the bars. Use a box cutter to cut the excess and fit it to the inside. I read some reviews about noise and I have zero noticeable noise. Do not tighten the bars down until you have this all inserted in and slid under the feet. Then snug it all down. If you do these things and close all the gaps the bars are almost silent.
The bars look great on the vehicle and seem very sturdy and solid. I would have no reservations hauling ladders, lumber and all of the typical stuff you see on roof racks. The rubber strips are heavy duty and add a nice non slip feel to the top of the bars.
Got this for a 2015 Prius. High quality works great. Use their measurements included as a guide and measure everything out yourself before cutting the spacers and when installing. I had to make minor adjustments to make it perfect.
I give all 5 stars for the product and service, but...I prefer the parts to be all in one carboard, also I was a little panicking looking for blue plastic key...It was inside of cross-bar ??not falling out with strips. Anyway,
I"m owner of Honda cr-v 2022 with bare roof ,and I just installed the rack. Was it simple enough? Yes,so I can share this:
First, rubber pads are all the same, and after placements to plastic legs should be placed with arrow*out*-that is it(a lot of info regarding vertical parts, that they are all different)??
Second, on other hand, in video we informed that clamps are same -they are not. Bigger "hooks" are for rear bar, smaller ones-for the front one.
Third, do not expect precision in rubber pads position(especially on rear bar)regarding plastic rail strips on bare roof.it is not achievable, just try to make same look on both sides.
I was worried about rain and water gets inside. Well, let us see.
What I plan to care on rack? Just a small 6ft step ladder. Believe me or no CR-V is my business vehicle ,and ladder carry was the goal of rack purchase. And only question I have if I can get to underground parking with no problems to cross the front entries usually limited with 6 ft in heights I will find out soon, but rack height plus ladder on it makes me worry.??The review will be update soon. regards.
I own a 2013 Honda CRV I purchased a couple months ago. It has a naked roof and no rack or side bars, and I wanted to be able to carry up to three kayaks. I didn't really want to buy and install the side bars, and then the cross bars also. I also needed the cross bars to be a little wider than the vehicle itself, as I own two Ocean Kayak Scupper Pros, and a Venus.
This Rhino Rack package looked like a great option for my needs. Weight wise, the three boats come right to the limit. Other racks had lower weight limits, and wouldn't work.
I had a couple issues with the initial package, but etrailer took care of the problem right away, and sent out what I needed.
Installation was pretty smooth. I recommend reading and rereading the instructions, before you cut anything. The videos on the etrailer website or directly on YouTube are very helpful to see all the steps. I'd like to see more personalized instructions added in the future, just to to make everything even smoother. Make sure you identify your vehicle and the bar you received on the kit instructions before you start.
These bars are so wonderful. The aero bars make no noise when driving and no whistling that I can tell. They don't seem to effect my gas mileage. I made sure the top rubber strips and bottom measurement strips were cut perfectly with no gaps, as this is important to prevent whistling.
They look so stylish. I get complements on them, and people can't believe they are after market, and that I installed them myself. They really complement the vehicle. Once installed the first time, I can take them off or put then back on in about 12 minutes. I don't really plan to take them off though. I don't use car washes, and I like the look of them on my vehicle.
I made sure to not overtighten them, and then tightened them a few times over the next week and with a couple kayaking trips. These babies are strong and I can't make them move when I test them. I still check them regularly to make sure they are secure, for safety purposes.
I highly recommend this Rhino Rack package. They know how to make the perfect roof rack and you can tell the quality and thought that went into them. Look at my photos I have included.
Thank you to etrailer for such great service. You made the whole process so pleasant and easy.
The Rhino Rack products are top notch and more reasonably priced that "T" or "Y" brands. (I think some accessories may be interchangeable.) I've had both "T" and "Y" racks but I'm now totally sold on the Rhino brand.
Photo attached of four Rhino,Aero bars, towers and ARB awning mounted on my '18 Colorado and Alu-Cab canopy.
My ARB awning fits fine. And the crossbars come in real handy for our canoes and some pairs panel fencing we transported last summer.
As for the staff at etrailer? Well, I'd say they take fantastic care of their customers. Knowledgeable, helpful and they followup, as well.
Etrailer also has amazing HELP videos as well. I bent the crank handle on my trailer tongue jack, which messed up the "internals". I thought Ikd be shelling out for a new Jack, for sure.
Nope. etrailer had a repair kit available (apparently, I'm not the only destroyer of tongue jacks) at a very affordable price and they have an online video to instruct one in the replacement of the innards.
I don't bother with the other accessory or parts sources anymore. I just call these guys and ask what they have. Never have been disappointed, and they enjoy helping.
Do you have a question about this Roof Rack?
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