I have a Yakima box, no problem at all on the slats. Easy to take on and off.

 

If I was building and expedition rig the Front Runner rack would probably have been my choice with 6 feet mount and larger roof rack surface area. I don't see the D5 as that type of expedition rig though, may be wrong but on that. I like the more rounded angle of the Rhino Rack and the easier mounting system + the accessories fits well for my needs camping/offroading with friends/family - nothing too hardcore.


I still need to test it out a bit in regards to see if there is wind noise and impact on Sat reception with the antenna. I already took it off and will only fit it before taking it camping or similar when I need the roof space.

 

@andries good call on rhino rack. Front Runner is a few miles from my house and it's the rack I have used on my Wranglers which were setup for longer/more hardcore expeditions. I went with what I know and liked, additionally I have several of their accessories - surfboard mount, axe, shovel, etc. When buying the Yakima box I came across the Rhino Rack platform and versatility which is awesome. Most likely better use case for my needs now thus the reason I have been thinking about switching but not sure it's worth it in the end as I already have FR installed. That being said, love your set-up and excited to hear more about it as you get to use it.

 

If I had one already I probably wouldn’t switch either.

 

Well, I pulled the trigger and bought a Rhino rack. Supposed to be here Friday, and I’m like a kid on Christmas. Can’t wait to see it on. I’ll be sure to use your pointers. Thanks!

 

Congrats. Let us know how you like it. I just looked at my first post with tips and there are a few typos, will try to correct it.

 

Well, my weekend project was mounting my Rhino Rack. Thanks for the tips! They helped a bunch.

I was able to get the platform and crossbars all mounted in ~1.5 hours (and I'm a perfectionist, so lots and lots of double/triple measuring). And because of your moonroof comment, I made sure to have mine open when deciding on the mounting point



I also ordered the full rail kit, eye bolts, and hi-lift jack/shovel mount to go with it. The rest of this took about another 1.5 hours because you have to get the t-slot clamps installed in the correct order. So, I had to take rail kit ones out before putting hi-lift mount in.



I'm really impressed by the sturdiness and build quality of this stuff. It is rock solid. Can't wait to get more stuff mounted up for the next trip!







Coming from a Wrangler, I'm used to noise on the highway. But after 6 months of an extremely quiet ride, I could definitely notice the noise coming from this thing. I can't decide if the wind fairing is going to help. In the meantime, I decided to rig up a solution to remove it when I'm not using it.

 

I went to Lowe's and purchased a bunch of hardware to mount this thing to the ceiling of my garage. And since this will be right over my car, I made sure to over-engineer the hell out of it. 14ga slotted steel for the the 4 permanent holds and 12ga slotted steel for the pulley system all mounted in two studs. 1300lb chain link will be used to hold them to the pulley and then the ceiling through the eye bolts.



My climbing days paid off as I made a double figure 8 knot for the pulley. Works well with the thimble to prevent any wear.

First attempt with a single pulley didn't pan out as well as I wanted. So, I rigged up a three pulley system to make things a bit easier to lift. However, I still need to make adjustments to the pulley location to get it over the center of gravity. The hi-lift is throwing things off, but that's the great thing about the slotted steel. Just move the pulleys over.



Right now, my steps start with getting the car in the garage under the mounts and putting it in the Off-Road height. Then, connecting the chain to the eye bolts before loosening the cross bars. Once everything is secure, I put it in the Access height and help the platform off as it lowers. This gives about 3-4 inches of room to work with.



Next, I use the pulley connected to an eye bolt in the center of the platform to raise it further up out of the way and reseat each of the chains to lock it in place.



Worked out pretty nicely! At 6'2" 200 lbs, I even swung on it to be sure .



So, in the permanent position the weakest point is the the spring clips that each work up to 320 lbs. Spread over four of them, I'm satisfied they aren't going to break. Every other connection is 880+ lbs. But, just in case, the Disco will be spending the first night out from underneath it

 

Great job - really nice, seriously!
One way to further test the sturdiness of your ceiling mount is to put your Disco in offroad height, attached the rack, then immediately lower to access height. If the wheels come off the ground, you're good to go! This will also allow for fast tire rotation ^_^

 

That's some next-level stuff right there! This guy's going places.