Reviews for Rhino-Rack JC-00455 72" x 56" Pioneer Platform with Backbone System & RCL Legs for 18-23 Jeep Wrangler JL Unlimited with Hardtop
Looks like a great product
A little scary to drill in the roof but once you get started it wasn’t that bad! Make sure to lay out your parts on the parts sheet they provide and follow the instructions. I also watched a couple install videos before hand so I had a better idea to do it.
A little scary at first, having to drill 12 holes in your roof, but if you follow the diagram and lay all the pieces out, it should all come together. One note, an easier way of finding and drilling holes in the Pioneer Platform is to keep the two forward arms loose and use the back feet as the base. Once the back two feet are in, you can easy adjust the other arms and feet to fit the mounts, then remove and drill new holes.
Jeep Rubicon JLU with 2.0L Turbo
My overall opinion of this rack is good and it looks great. I have two small concerns and two problems with missing information.
1. Concern 1 - the 4 small self-tapping screws (into plastic) on each end-cap should have been done using a better method IMO, maybe using a threaded metal insert. If you screw these screws in too tight or too quickly I can see them stripping the plastic hole and becoming useless.
2. Concern 2 - The 3 machine screws used for each end-cap appeared to screw into an aluminum hole that was not threaded. At least I could not see any threads. I assume the machine screw is meant to cut its own threads as it is screwed in. I don't like that method either, but it went OK.
3. Problem 1 - The instructions in our box had an error on the chart showing the parts and how many of each you have. Two of the pieces had pictures in the wrong column. It doesn't take too long to figure this out.
4. Problem 2 - This problem took the longest to figure out. Our instructions did not come with the fitting information for the spacing of the bottom bars or ribs. It only showed spacing for 3 bars and my rack comes with 5 bars. You can either tighten all the bars down to the point where they are tight almost to the point of not being able to move the bars. This way you can put the platform on the roof and adjust the 3 bars with feet to match up with the backbone bracket (awkward), then take the platform back off and fully tighten them down. Obviously bars 1,3, & 5 have the feet and are the most important in their location. I assume the best position for bars 2 and 4 is halfway between bars 1 & 3 and 3 & 5.
After some searching I did finally find a fitting chart that gave what looks like excellent starting positions for the bottom bars. They are:
FRONT-> -54.1 -20.5 13.2 45 76.5 <-BACK
Don't know why they use negative numbers as the marked rulers on the side-rails do not use negative numbers. The marked ruler is numbered with a "0" in the middle going to 80 to the left and right of the "0".
Drilling twelve holes in your roof, four of which are 1/2 inch, can be overwhelming. I found the installation video better than the printed instructions (which contained clear errors, mislabeled parts, etc.). Take your time and you should be fine.
Like the other posts, I had a few manufacturing issues. For example, on the Rear, Left, and Middle castings make sure the locking bolt is still glued inside the casting. One of my castings is missing the locking bolt, making it impossible to mount the RCL leg to the casting.
Rhino Rack engineers did an outstanding job of making this a DIY product (if you choose). I was worried about everything lining up, especially when putting the rack on top, but everything lined up as planned. Overall, seems like a rock-solid rack and am looking forward to using it.
Overall quality of the rack seems to be good but had a couple of manufacturing flaws and a few pieces of hardware that broke upon assembly. While these are relatively minor, Rhino Rack customer service seems to be non-existent....I have made multiple attempts by phone, left VM, and emails all with no response....consequently I have had to make multiple trips to local hardware stores in attempt to remedy these issues on my own, also has delayed the install. Still have one issue unresolved that nobody has a part for. Rack seems to be good but if you have any issues you are on your own....
The rack is a top quality product, but.....The rack requires a spacer that mates the rack to the Rhino roof mounts. And this spacer was not part of the kits. In fact Quadratec does not carry them. I had to order the spacers from Rhino. Rhino part # QMHD05 or QMPS10. These were not expensive, but after spending $1500 on this rack system I kinda expected these to be part of the kit.