Buyer Beware
Submitted: Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 13:24
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Member - John G
G'day Folks
Had a Rhino roof rack fall apart on our dual cab hilux on our first day on
Cape York roads. Turns out that instead of having bought a door frame fitting (two bars/ four legs), I should have gone for the track system. The roof rack was not overloaded and support legs had been routinely checked previously.
When I had the opportunity to fix it - needed to replace one lost support leg - in
Cairns, a major 4WD dealer was adamant that individual legs / clamps could not be purchased and that two legs/one bar was the only option. Didn't seem logical, and Rhino have since confirmed that individual parts are available, and also that their advice to dealers is to advise customers travelling on unsealed/corrugated roads to use their track system. Rhino themselves have been more than helpful.
All this is probably no surprise to experienced folk, but it may be of some use to those looking to use a roof rack for the first time.
Cheers
John
Reply By: Will 76 Series - Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 20:09
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 20:09
John,
Interesting havn't heard of that before. I am a fan of the Rhino rack, I do not have one due to purchasing another brand years ago.
Recently a friend of
mine in
Woomera said that he had heard of a similiar thing occurring.
Hope it all turns out OK.
Will76
AnswerID:
430988
Reply By: get outmore - Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 22:12
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010 at 22:12
dude in
cairns was seriosly yanking your chain
individual parts is how they are sold, you dont buy a set for a cruiser - you buy the bar and the legs
when i got
mine he consulted the chart and grabbed this bar and then those legs etc
i have got just the clamp part when one got torn off
its people like that that make people not want to walk into shops
hell ive even bought the special allen key bolts seperatly
AnswerID:
431015
Follow Up By: OzTroopy - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 00:30
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 00:30
X 2
...... cant imagine how they could fail either ????
A bit of loctite on the threads, fittings checked at the end of the days run ..... and ones I've had have been fine.
FollowupID:
701794
Follow Up By: Member - John G- Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 10:02
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 10:02
G'day OzTroopy
I checked daily what I had been advised to check, the clamp bolt which secures the leg to the vehicle, and the U bolts that secure the cage to the cross bars.
What I didn't check was the fitting for the leg to the cross bar, and this appears to have been the problem. One leg disappeared into the bush, another leg was loose, and it was the fitting (leg to bar) that was all but unthreaded. I'm not trying to absolve myself of blame, carelessness, or ignorance, but there is no key to get at the fitting to tighten it.
It's all part of the learning experience.
Cheers
John
FollowupID:
701819
Follow Up By: Ballfyboy - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 10:13
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 10:13
If it makes you feel better,
mine came off on the way back from
Cape Melville. I gave it a shunt every morning to see if there was any movement, however I should not have been lazy and got a spanner out. The culprit was the same bolt that attaches the clamps to the cross rails. My car (PB Challenger) has roof rails as std and the racks were clamped to these. The funny thing was, when it slid off the side of the car it was still attached to one rail so it swung down hard against the car (dinting it in the process) and jamming me in the car! I had to crawl out through the passenger door to lift it back up and fix it all up.
This reminds me I better advise the insurance company now we are back.
FollowupID:
701820
Follow Up By: OzTroopy - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 12:35
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 12:35
G'day John G.
Was more interested in what caused the failure than laying blame ... and your follow up info on which bolt and its location will be handy for others.
Do enough
miles on rough roads and all sorts of funny things can vibrate loose off the vehicle ...
I remember looking in the dvrs mirror one day and all I could see was a 10r15 wheel & tyre .
It was
mine ????
Turned out the locking latch on the carrier had ground itself down over time.
FollowupID:
701828
Reply By: Michael ( Moss Vale NSW) - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 13:24
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 13:24
John, Rhino are a major manufacturer and they would sell all parts as spares in any case.. regardless how big or small.. you should advise rhino of the fools who retail their quality products and risk their good name. Michael
AnswerID:
431065
Follow Up By: Member - John G- Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 15:16
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 15:16
G'day Michael
Yep, done that, and Rhino have been both concerned and helpful.
Cheers
John
FollowupID:
701834
Reply By: tim_c - Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 23:06
Wednesday, Sep 22, 2010 at 23:06
Hi John, sorry to read of your dramas...
You'll find that bolt on the underside of the bar at the foot - you can get to it with a flat spanner (ring spanner works best). It's also one of the rare after-market accessories that uses metric bolts!
When I bought my Rhino bars, all the bars and feet etc. were separately listed on the invoice so you should be able to buy them separately (as Rhino already confirmed!) - it sounds like the dealer just didn't want to have odds and ends left over, just wanted to set full kits/sets.
Finally, I had a trackmount system and although it seemed like a tidy job, despite the assurances from the fitter, I'm not convinced it didn't leak when I parked the car in the rain (since the tracks were installed, it always had that wet carpet smell in it after being in the rain). One of the tracks also started to pull out of the roof towards the end of
the Tanami Track (certainly not the roughest outback track you'll find!) even though the bars were not overloaded (even allowing an "off-road" margin of a roof-rack rating 1.5x the actual load) and even though the bars weren't closer than Rhino's recommended 50mm from the end of the track If you do decide to go track-mount, just keep your bars as far from the ends of the tracks as possible.
AnswerID:
431129