hi, I found a set of Rhino Rack mounts that are supposed to fit the L322 and which will take most roof racks, but when i went to install them the legs on the bottom of them seem too tall and the base of the mount is about 1/4" or 6mm in the air above the roof.

Has anyone else tried to install these? I found one reference on a different RR site that said they were too tall but that is it. etrailer.com says they have sold a number of these and had no complaints.

I'm now wondering if the later L322s ( '10 - '12) have shallower recesses in the roof than the earlier cars and maybe I'm the first person to try to install these on a later car?

Link to the mounting kit:

https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Rhino-Rack/RRRCP05-BK.html

Link to the main legs that bolt into those:

https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Rhino-Rack/RRRCH6.html

Click image to enlarge

Photo showing the 2 legs at the bottom of the mount. Those go into the recess in the roof of the car after you flip the plastic covers up and I believe carry some of the load and the rest of the base might carry the rest of the weight?

I have a Rhino Pioneer Platform on my L322.

That looks like the same foot that I used but there are spacers to make the tops level. I wrote it all up here:

https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/rhino-...st-2336470 Ron B. VK2OTC
2003 L322 V8 Auto
2007 Yamaha XJR1300
Previous: 1983, 1986 RRC; 1995, 1996 P38A; 1995 Disco1; 1984 V8 County 110; Series IIA

Thanks for the reply, Ron.

The last post in that thread (from another person) describes the same issue i am having (i bolded it):

Quote:

gdalglei. Mar 2, 2022
Thanks for the info. It helped me make a decision to go with the setup you had but I just received the mount kit RCP05-BK and they don't fit because the plastic feet on the inside are too long so the mount doesn't sit flush on the roof. Either the depth of the mounting point is too shallow or the mounts are the wrong part number. My roof depth where I screw in the brass screw is only 5mm deep and the legs are about 18mm long from the bottom of the mount.

I have used the same Rhino Rack mounts on an 2007 and a 2012. There is no difference between the models as far as the roof is concerned.

I was kinda tempted to buy 8mm bolts and do away with the brass mounting studs entirely but
A. There is likely a reason they are there, such as for them to sheer off if you are in accident so the roof rack and its contents don’t damage the car roof structurally
B. I would need to drill the plastic mount itself tout and there isn’t a ton of material on the center bit

So I think I’ll acquire another brass stud to replace the broken one.

It would be nice of Rhino Rack to provide a torque spec for that but it only says “Do not over tighten”, which is defined as a few less clicks that you just tightened it to

Click image to enlarge

I was working with etrailer.com, where i ordered the mount kit from. But they were not able to answer the question on the gap and could not order the brass stud mounts, so they referred me directly to Rhino Rack. (I will put in a good word for etrailer - they were very responsive and tried to help)

So when i called Rhino Rack directly, they said the gap is a know issue and they are pulling the product from the market. I don't recall the exact words but the gist of it was they do need to fully make contact and iirc it would be unsafe as mine now sit. So he is arranging a refund for me from etrailer.com.

I'm searching for alternatives now and will update when/if i find anything.

So I'm looking at the Front Runner rack and it appears from what i am seeing that there might be 2 long rails that bolt to the roof, and then their mounts bolt to those? Its sort of hard to tell given the mounts are in the shadow under the main rack.

But that gave me the idea that maybe I could make something like 1/8" aluminum plates to go under the Rhino Rack mounts to act as spacers. That seems to me to not be all that much different form the long strips Front Runner uses.

I called Rhino Rack back and they said they can't recommend that without their engineers doing an analysis, and they are already working on a new design so he can't ask them to do that now.

I might try that myself - I think I have some 1/8" aluminum in the garage from a project on my '65 Land-Rover 2A so it won't cost anything but time. I'll look for some EPDM sheet I can cut to fit between the mounts and the the aluminum plate so the latter doesn't wear the paint off the car. That will add to the thickness under the mount so may need to reduce the aluminum to a 1/16".



Last edited by MilesBFree on 11th Feb 2025 9:11pm. Edited 4 times in total

Forgot to add: he said the reason for the gap is that the version of the cars that went to Australia (where the main company is located) seem to have a slightly different trim on the roof mounting system than the US ones do.

If anyone is reading this from Oz, can you please post a photo showing the mounting area and bolt hole?

OK, I was thinking about buying a sheet of 80A hardness EPDM and cutting pads for under the mounts since several of the photos others have posted do show a small gap too. And I never liked the idea of the mounts scratching the roof of my car.

I was going to order the brass studs too, to replace the one that snapped and have a couple of spares. So I went back to the Rhino Rack product page to see how long the bolts were and found the smoking gun - it looks like these mounts are meant to have the rubber pads!

McMaster-Carr has the EPDM in the hardness I wanted so I think I will order it and proceed

MilesBFree wrote:

Does the outer “skirt” of these mounts make solid contact with the roof, and carry the weight? Or is all the weight carried by the “legs”?

The outer skirt is purely cosmetic and does not make any load bearing contact with the body. The older I get, the more I realise that people confuse wrinkles for wisdom

Rhino Rack tech support said it is, and the load is supposed to be spread across the entire base.

Reading the product description where I highlighted that it’s supposed to include rubber pads, the pads would cause it to make contact and carry load as the mounts flex side to side as the car and load on top sways.

Without anything bracing the load side to side, the bolt holes will be flexed where they are welded into the roof and the metal will fatigue. It may take years before this shows up but I’m going to play it safe and add the missing rubber pads. (But I’d argue that even that is not the safe route since Rhino Rack said to either return them or work with a specialist that deals with roof racks to engineer a solution to make these work properly).

And I’ll add that I’m impressed with Rhino Rack’s tech support - it seems these days not many companies would admit there is an issue with their product and work with the customer to make it right. I’ll definitely look to them for more gear in the future

etrailer.com, on the other hand, has done nothing but give me a runaround and neither their email nor messaging systems will accept a photo so you can't show them the problem nor send them a screenshot OF THEIR OWN STUPID WEB SITE that they can't find themselves.

I'm just furious with etrailer.com now - they at first refused to help with the replacement brass studs as Rhino Rack said they should and seem to be dodging responsibility as a reseller. I had to badger them into contacting Rhino Rack and arranging the replacement. But I got the feeling they will come back in a few days and tell me again I have to contact Rhino Rack directly (even though the last time I did, RR asked me to contact etrailer)

It's impossible to communicate with etrailer - they are giving vibes that they may be one of these shady internet fly-by-night places that only takes a cut for selling an item and then doesn't provide the help Rhino Rack expects them to. No photos go through. The humans on the chat function on their web site hang up on you after telling you to contact RR. And f they don't, they appear to not to understand