Good looking Cruiser there man
Rhino Rack Vortex (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter AndersN
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I'm about to pull the trigger on this exact set of three Rhino load bars for a 2005 LX470, but I've got a question about application. I've called eTrailer and Tepui in an attempt to get an answer, but neither could really help; the person at Tepui didn't really understand the question, and the folks at eTrailer kept saying "have my installer advise me." I'm the installer, and I don't trust my advice!
On top of recently scoring my LX470, I grabbed a Tepui Ruggedized Autana 3 used, about six hours from my house, and I want to get there and get it home as soon as I can in deference to the seller. My 470 has the factory rails and two crossbars.
The Tepui person said that the tent weighs 175 pounds, and that I need two crossbars that are rated for more than that. The car manual says "do not load more than 143 pounds onto the luggage carrier." The two-bar version of the Rhino bars in this thread are rated at 175 pounds, while this three bar kit is 330 pounds, so I figured, good to go. However, the Tepui site and their rep said "Be sure to mount the racks on your vehicle .. 32"-48" apart for our 3-person tents." No pair of mounting points fits in that range; any two adjacent points are too close, and skipping from B to D is too far. When I mentioned going with three bars, the rep said that it wouldn't work; their tents had four mounting points and were designed for two crossbars. When I suggested that the third bar would spread the load out, she responded, "but our tents are designed for two and aren't rated for three." At that point, I figured we weren't really communicating so I gave up.
QUICK!!! How do I mount a Tepui Ruggedized Autana 3 on an '05 LX470? What am I not seeing here? Would love to get these ordered and shipped out today, or whatever I need to hit the road and pick up the tent. I can adjust my factory bars to those distances... would my crossbars at least get the tent home, and I can sort it out later?
Thanks, greatly, for any input.
On top of recently scoring my LX470, I grabbed a Tepui Ruggedized Autana 3 used, about six hours from my house, and I want to get there and get it home as soon as I can in deference to the seller. My 470 has the factory rails and two crossbars.
The Tepui person said that the tent weighs 175 pounds, and that I need two crossbars that are rated for more than that. The car manual says "do not load more than 143 pounds onto the luggage carrier." The two-bar version of the Rhino bars in this thread are rated at 175 pounds, while this three bar kit is 330 pounds, so I figured, good to go. However, the Tepui site and their rep said "Be sure to mount the racks on your vehicle .. 32"-48" apart for our 3-person tents." No pair of mounting points fits in that range; any two adjacent points are too close, and skipping from B to D is too far. When I mentioned going with three bars, the rep said that it wouldn't work; their tents had four mounting points and were designed for two crossbars. When I suggested that the third bar would spread the load out, she responded, "but our tents are designed for two and aren't rated for three." At that point, I figured we weren't really communicating so I gave up.
QUICK!!! How do I mount a Tepui Ruggedized Autana 3 on an '05 LX470? What am I not seeing here? Would love to get these ordered and shipped out today, or whatever I need to hit the road and pick up the tent. I can adjust my factory bars to those distances... would my crossbars at least get the tent home, and I can sort it out later?
Thanks, greatly, for any input.
Last edited:
Received my Rhino Rack Vortex in Aluminum ‘Silver’. Old rack came off pretty easily, but I took time to clean the gutter and molding from 20 years of gunk build up.
One tip for installation, I sectioned the metal gutter molding (lost patience with using Dremel) and removed approx 4 inch piece where you have to open a spot for the B pillar bolts, see pic.
After mounting, I noticed whistling at 60mph. I then applied super sticky foil duct tape over the exposed underside adjustment channel on each side of leg. This solved the problem. No noise whatsoever-happy with this product. It’s very low profile and solid. Now to mount RTT!
One tip for installation, I sectioned the metal gutter molding (lost patience with using Dremel) and removed approx 4 inch piece where you have to open a spot for the B pillar bolts, see pic.
After mounting, I noticed whistling at 60mph. I then applied super sticky foil duct tape over the exposed underside adjustment channel on each side of leg. This solved the problem. No noise whatsoever-happy with this product. It’s very low profile and solid. Now to mount RTT!
Last edited:
Anyone know if the Rhino low profile legs will work? The RCL vs RCH? I have a garage clearance issue and would love to keep my rack as low profile as possible.
@AndersN Installing Rhino Rails and a RTT this week and very curious what awning mounts you used or what you did. Having trouble finding awning mount options that work with the limited space of the RTT. Appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!!!
Thank you! On order is the 54” Rhino Vortex Crossbars , the tent is 55” wide so there would not be room to mount those adapters on top of the rail. Looks like I should see if the 59in rails fit.
It’s more the narrow distance of the raised rails on my Subaru Forester that might be an issue, given the limited length of gutter on the crossbars where the feet attach. Thule’s 53in Aero rails wouldn’t even fit! But I’ll be at a Rhino distributor picking up the Baroud so I’ll definitely try to 59”. More room for accessories and tie downs. Thanks @AndersN !
Hey all,
I just purchased the RCH (3 crossbar) kit and had a question about the mounting points. The LC/LX has (4) A/B/C/D mounting points from the front to back. It looks like the early LC models came with factory rails that utilized the A/C/D points whereas the later LC and LX models use the B/D mounting points. The kit from Rhino Rack uses the B/C/D mounting points.
Regarding the weather strip (or whatever its called) that goes in the channel by the mounting points, does Toyota offer replacement strips that utilize the B/C/D points? Was this setup ever standard from the factory or just the A/C/D and B/D setup? Other than cutting a hole into the standard strip, do I have any other options other than just removing them completely? It looks kind of ugly without the strips, but from what I can tell, they don't serve a functional purpose.
Thanks in advance!
I just purchased the RCH (3 crossbar) kit and had a question about the mounting points. The LC/LX has (4) A/B/C/D mounting points from the front to back. It looks like the early LC models came with factory rails that utilized the A/C/D points whereas the later LC and LX models use the B/D mounting points. The kit from Rhino Rack uses the B/C/D mounting points.
Regarding the weather strip (or whatever its called) that goes in the channel by the mounting points, does Toyota offer replacement strips that utilize the B/C/D points? Was this setup ever standard from the factory or just the A/C/D and B/D setup? Other than cutting a hole into the standard strip, do I have any other options other than just removing them completely? It looks kind of ugly without the strips, but from what I can tell, they don't serve a functional purpose.
Thanks in advance!
Also, any tips for removing this black thing underneath the bolts? It looks like I have to remove it prior to installing the Rhino Rack base mounts.
I can't tell if it's glued on or not?
I can't tell if it's glued on or not?
I used B/C/D on my LX and didn't need to cut any of the trim pieces. My guess is you're doing an LC you can probably just find the LX trim to swap in.
I have an LX, actually. Since the factory rails only mount to the B/D mounting points, there is no cutout for the C mounting point on the weather strips. How were you able to not cut anything?
Take a look at the 3rd pic in post #44. That guys LC came with the 3-point factory rails that mount to the A/C/D mounting points. Since the Rhino Rack kit utilizes the B/C/D points, he had to cut out a section of the weather strip to make room for the B mounting points. This is what I need to do for my C mounting points... I think... unless a weather strip with B/C/D cutouts is an OEM option.
Last edited:
It's hard to tell, but my guess is that they have the A/C/D cutouts. I've looked all over and couldn't find any OEM rails with B/C/D mounting points which means there is probably no drip moldings (so that's what they're called!) with B/C/D cutouts.
Thanks for your help!
Hmm, weird. I definitely didn't have to do any trimming because I thought about doing the A/C/D mounting options for my RTT, but would have had to trim that front weather stripping. Might be a model year difference? I've got a 99 LX. Been a while since I did the install, and it was the night before my first trip in the truck so I had lots of other prep to do. There was something in the C position that made it easy, cover with screws? Sorry couldn't help more, I'll better document my next project.
Did your factory rails have two or three mounting points?
I'm pretty sure those parts I linked are B/C/D. I just looked at my rails which are off my three-mounting-foot '98 at the moment. Its forward hole is the same as the last pic in post #44. In other words, mine is A/C/D.
Comparing mine with the pics on Partsouq, I can see that the first cutout on theirs is in the B position, which is what you want. Side note, the C position hole is longer and the corresponding cover (which you won't use) is a different part number from the other two, whereas on my A/C/D they are all the same length and cover.
By the way both LC and LX came with two and three foot options in various years, sometimes even in the same year it seems. This particular rail is for a late model, three foot.
Comparing mine with the pics on Partsouq, I can see that the first cutout on theirs is in the B position, which is what you want. Side note, the C position hole is longer and the corresponding cover (which you won't use) is a different part number from the other two, whereas on my A/C/D they are all the same length and cover.
By the way both LC and LX came with two and three foot options in various years, sometimes even in the same year it seems. This particular rail is for a late model, three foot.
