Thread: Rhino roof rail differences

Thanks for the input guys. Aero is the way to go for me.

Anyone have any experience putting the tracks on themselves. I did read somewhere of some drama's?

I am putting Rhino rails on this weekend. I will keep you posted.

Agree, it's not the strength of the bar, I was talking about the connection from the bar to the basket.

I believe the Aero bars have a plastic bracket where the square bars are an all metal bracket

Aero bar brackets




Square bar bracket

Hi Admiral,
I installed the Rhino roof rails myself last year on my D3 2008 and added 2 aero bars. The rails are only on the high section of roof and were easy to install - only tricky bit was drilling, inserting and sealing a pop rivet into the extreme rear end of each bar. This is recommend as the rear bar can be placed behind the rear most roof bolt hole, potentially creating an upward cantilever force on the rail. The hardest part of this was coming to actually drilling a hole in my roof
I carry 2 Spirit crosstrainer kayaks with no problems - just a long way up to lift and tie them. I find the aeros a little noisy especially if the long centre rubber inserts have not been put back in after taking the kayak holders off. Getting these back in can be pain so I usually don't.
Also have a shovel holder which I use often on the WA beaches
Andrew

Originally Posted by AndrewM

Hi Admiral,
I installed the Rhino roof rails myself last year on my D3 2008 and added 2 aero bars. The rails are only on the high section of roof and were easy to install - only tricky bit was drilling, inserting and sealing a pop rivet into the extreme rear end of each bar. This is recommend as the rear bar can be placed behind the rear most roof bolt hole, potentially creating an upward cantilever force on the rail. The hardest part of this was coming to actually drilling a hole in my roof
I carry 2 Spirit crosstrainer kayaks with no problems - just a long way up to lift and tie them. I find the aeros a little noisy especially if the long centre rubber inserts have not been put back in after taking the kayak holders off. Getting these back in can be pain so I usually don't.
Also have a shovel holder which I use often on the WA beaches
Andrew

Thanks Andrew. The bars arrived early and went on tonight. I have not used the rivet at this stage, as I am putting the expedition rack on, and I am not sure where the attachment bolts pick up on yet. The rails look neat, but I recommend a 'dry ' fit before trying to attach with the tape off and silicone sealer in place. I found the front mount hole in the rail required a little elongating to line up correctly with the nutsert in the roof. I will probably still use the rivet for the rear of the track, as I notice it doesn't sit down as tight, and needs something to pull the end down. I always use a step drill for light metal drilling. Gives a lot more control over depth and reduces the risk of accidents. I would also recommend anyone doing the job, get a fork type trim tab remover, if they are at all hesitant about removing the plugs on the oe roof trim.

A couple of points that may be of interest.

I recently fitted a full length Rhino Rack and initially based the purchase around the factory rails I had. When fitted with the Rhino legs and adaptors supplied it was way too high at the front to make any connection with the roof - no matter how many spacers were added.

The result was that the main rails were replaced with Rhino rails which are not only a lower profile than the Land Rover rails but they also allow the rack to fit much lower as the adaptor foot is not required.

I went for a full length rack to accommodate an RV3 Oztent and to provide proper support for an awning.

I too have the heavy duty rails as they are the ones that accommodate the most accessories and are, I believe, of a section better suited to off road use and standing in the roof rack.

I now have a set of Land Rover rails for sale if anyone is interested...?

Andy

Thanks Andy.

I will let you know if I have a similar problem in reverse. I am putting the LR Expedition onto Rhino rails. I particularly want a low, close to the roof fit, so I get where you are coming from with the height of the front leg. I am also chasing support for a full length awning. I don't like the way the front of the awning projects forward without support on the shorter roofracks. Too much risk of serious damage when pushing through brush.

Re-fitting the Expedition rack to the Rhino rails - would have thought that the LR feet would not be compatible with the Rhino channel section...? Unless you are adapting the rack to use Rhino legs...?

Maybe you should just cut out the need for rails and stick it to the roof with velcro....that would be pretty low and close......