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I have the backbone system on my 05 LX. They do mount into the existing factory holes with no drilling. However, they recommend you completely remove the stainless steel trim piece on each side. I would highly recommend siliconing the bolts and adding some additional self leveling butyl rubber roof sealant around the attachment points (3 on each side). The Rhino Backbone kit comes with butyl rubber gaskets for each mounting bolt but I had several areas that leaked, so I removed the rack, added the butyl sealant....no more leaks.
I have the shorter Rhino rack with the backbone system with minimal wind noise. However, I tried mounting a lightbar both below the rack and above the rack and both caused significant wind noise so I removed the lightbar.Can anyone speak to the differences between the backbone system and the towers? Specifically any wind noise difference or platform height difference.
Maybe I read the website wrong but it looked to me like there were different attachment options for feet.I'm not sure what you mean by "normal" attachments? The install is pretty straight forward. If you use the regular attachments to secure the platform to the roof, you will still want to use clean the area and use a liberal amount of sealant. Trust me, it's a PITA to remove the rack and reseal the mounting holes.
As for the rack size, I use the shorter version which does not completely cover the sunroof and my Tepui 3 man RTT fits with room to spare. rack sizing simply needs to accommodate the RTT you have. Measure, measure, measure....
Hey guys, bumping this for 2 questions:
- Is there a part list I missed if I want to use the "normal" attachments and not the backbone? I'd like this as low profile as possible.
- If I were to go with the 84 x 49 would that limit my future RTT considerations?
Awesome man, thanks for taking the time! Much appreciated.These are all the parts for the 'normal' attachments vs the backbone system. 49" width will not adversely affect a future tent. I personally prefer the look of this size and style, so imo you're on the right track. It's probably what I'll get when the time comes.
I've seen them cheaper than the rhino site, though. If you don't mind assembling the rack part JA9776 is usually less than JA9640 shown below. Check ebay and maybe look for a discount day. You could also look for the part numbers separately and possibly piece it together cheaper.
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I just got the wind fairing for the pioneer platform backbone. It seems to make noise on the roof. Does this happen to you?
Looks Great. What width Platform did you end up going with?