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This replacement rubberized Vortex strip slides into the top channel of any Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero crossbar to reduce drag and wind noise. 15-3/4" Long rubber strip can be cut to accommodate all your channel-mounted carriers and accessories.
Features:
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, everyone. It's Lily Angeline here at etrailer and today we're are looking at the replacement Vortex Strip for your Rhino Rack Vortex Aero crossbar here at etrailer. When you do get some Rhino Rack Vortex Aero crossbars, they come pre-installed with these strips and you may need to replace them for some different reasons, sometimes you might cut off a little bit too much when you're fitting your accessories in there or they may get damaged from extreme weather conditions, whether it be a lot of sun or a lot of cold, either way it's really easy to replace them, and let's take a look at them. These are made for the Vortex Aero crossbars and they have a unique design here at the top. Now your Aero Crossbars are designed to reduce wind drag and wind noise and these strips just add to that design. You can see how you have grooves as well as how they are shaped to help with that drag and noise.
Now, these are very important, not only to reduce that wind noise and drag when they are on your vehicle but also to protect your crossbars. As I lift this up you can see how the inside is now open to the elements. Water can get in through and grime can get in. You really don't want those inside your crossbars. So if you do find gaps on your strips, please replace them or fill them up as quick as you can.
The Vortex strips are 15 and three quarter inches long. Now that's gonna be a useful measurement for you because these crossbars come with those separate strips. So here we have the 49 inch long crossbar and what that actually means is your crossbar's space or where t-tracks are, are 49 and 5/8th inches long. So we have one, two, three and a small piece of a fourth of these strips on there. So you're gonna have to cut and mix and match according to your crossbar spread.
Another purpose for these strips are they do give a little bit of a rise to your crossbar, that way if you do have your kayak, your canoe, your surf board straight on the bars, and you're not using a kayak here, you don't have to worry too much about it having contact with the crossbar. You have a little bit of cushion just to prevent those extra scuffs and scratches during transport. Now I have here the old strip and you can see how it maintains its shape, it's not as flexible as it was before and it's slightly brittle, it's still gonna be effective and it still works, but compare it to the flexibility of this other strip, you can see why I wanted to change it. So for install, what you need to do is just take off the end cap first, so that you have it in an open space, so use your key, unlock that end cap and pop it off. You then have two options for installing your replacement strip.
The first one is you can feed it through the t-tracks here at the bottom or the second one which I like to do a lot more is just place it right where you want it to go and pop it in. One thing to make sure is that it's lined up with the other strip on the bar and that you push it in to make sure there are no gaps between the two strips. Once you have all your missing or damaged Vortex strips replaced, you can then pop your end cap back on and then lock it into place and then you are good to go. My final thoughts about these Vortex strips is it is a good idea just to check on your own current Rhino Rack system if they're good and if they're brittle or if they need replacing, they're still gonna work great but if you want them to work greater, I recommend replacing them since it's a really quick and easy process. Again, these are just for Rhino Rack Vortex Aero crossbars. If you have other types of crossbars, check them out on our each trailer site to get the right replacement for you..
Average Customer Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars (120 Customer Reviews)
This replacement rubberized Vortex strip slides into the top channel of any Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero crossbar to reduce drag and wind noise. 15-3/4" Long rubber strip can be cut to accommodate all your channel-mounted carriers and accessories.I received these vortex strips yesterday and installed them. They are working great at stopping the whistling noise that the crossbars create without them. The order process was easy, I got a confirmation email when the order shipped and when it arrived. The price was also pretty good!
Chris - 05/09/2022
I am very pleassed with our rhino rack serieus 2500 roof rack. It is very sturdy. We also like the idea that it is removeable and very easy to take on and off. We bought 2 sets of Malone J Pro 2 Kayak Carriers from another company that were suppose to fit with the rhino rack but the bolts were too short. Just a warning if you were planning to get those to go with the rhino rack. We were able to contact Malone and they sent us longer bolts so they should fit now.
#RS299B- Rhino-Rack RS 2500 Roof Rack for Fixed Mounting Points - Vortex Aero Crossbars - Aluminum - Black Really liked the rack, made well, looks like it will stand-up well. One problem was the lack of actual instructions for this particular install. Had to pick text items out of 2 guides that were included but neither was for this exact install. Wasted quite a bit of time that could have been better spent. Overall the rack seems to have mounted OK, seems tight and is quiet when driven at higher speeds. The next real complaint is the four end covers and locking assembly that secure them to the crossbar ends. After installing these end caps and securing them with the lock, it became apparent that the locked end caps were not actually a security feature since one good pull with your hand from underneath the open bottom edge could rip those end caps, lock included, off the rails in a split second. There is a 3/4" inch gap between the top edge of the rubber foot that sits against the vehicle roof and the bottom edge of the end cap, giving ample space to fit in your four finger and rip those end caps completely off the rails. Once off, the rack can easily be removed with simple tools. At best the locks just give the appearance of a deterrent. Extending the bottom edge of the end caps inward about 3/4" inch might help alleviate the problem by not letting you get your fingers up and under the end caps as easily. Aside from those two minor problems I like the rack and hope to get some good kayaking days in this summer.
I had purchased my Rhino Rack from a different retailer a while ago and it arrived with several of these strips missing. That online retailer did not offer these strips and trying to get them was going to be a pain. I found them on e-trailer.com at a great price and I felt because etrailer does such a great job with their video library of how-to videos for all things they sell/offer I didn't hesitate to make this purchase from etrailer. They arrived quickly and at a much better price than I see being offered from other online sellers. etrailer seems to be a very well run company and there staff seem to be a valued part of this business. Thanks etrailer - I will definitely purchase from you again.
I actually bought these to install on Mazda (CX-50)OEM crossbars (made by Yakima I believe) that were terribly noisy. These reduced wind noise by up to 80%, especially at highway speeds. Very happy with the results and they fit perfectly despite not being designed specifically for my crossbars
Rebuilt an old Rhino Rack with these a couple of years ago. Looked like new. These are really good quality. So much do I have decided to replace the window trim in my Bayliner Trophy when I replace the broken window. It is hard to get replacement window molding for this boat and the Vortex strips are going to look nice.
Easy fitting, quick installation, fantastic customer service by etrailer. Couldn’t be more happy, finally got rid of that whistling that occurs if you don’t have these
I needed a replacement strip for my Thule racks however the price for OEM parts was too much. These fit perfectly and I got them at a great price. They arrived quickly which was nice.
These replacement strips are exactly what I needed and are a direct replacement. Easy ordering, fast shipping, and great communication along the way. Highly recommend this product and company.
Roof rack fits perfectly. Came with missing the rubber pieces but a replacement was sent quickly. Thanks
Looks familiar. It’s a rack, what’s it’s supposed to do? No noise. No rust as it’s aluminum. Plastic still intact. Contact me next year as my Yakima plastic deteriorated on year 2 with my expensive mtn bike paying the price!
Nicely built, looks great. Wouldn’t recommend this on a truck roof with the snowboard rack. It’s very noisy, unfortunately. I can’t leave them on for too long. I should have gone with a different product. Not worth the vibrating noise when the rack isn’t loaded with snowboards/skis. I hope I can use it with my canoe this summer at least.
Thanks etrailer. replaced with these vortex strips on my tesla crossbar stopped the whistling. installation wasn’t easy as the videos. perfect product to remove noise.
I should probably wait until the strip has some time to settle, but it fits far more loosely than the original stuff that came with my rack. I’m pretty nervous it’s going to fall out and am thinking about applying a thin adhesive to make sure it stays put. Time will tell and I’ll revisit the review later. One of the strips actually blew off on my first drive on the highway. I’ve since gorilla taped the others in and just covered the empty section with gorilla tape to eliminate the whistle.
Jenny N - 11/19/2021This was ordered to have a “spare” on hand in case I need one in the future. Some rack accessories will require the aero strip to be cut so I wanted a replacement “just in case”.
Works great. Using a 3rd party crossbar from [online source] which fits.
Great product fit exactly the way it's supposed to in my crossbars. Great price and fast shipping. Graet customer service too.
Does the trick for what is needed. Carried an aluminum canoe that tore up the strips initially but material is strong most other things.
Keeps water and dirt out. Creates a good grip on canoes and kayaks. Looks good to boot.
My vortex bars came from another seller without the noise strip- etrailer had them cheaper than the manufacturer, delivered fast! Reduced wind noise 99%- superb!
Best price by far for the parts! I ordered a roof rack from a different site, but did not open it and realize these parts were missing within their 30 day window. Had to hunt around to avoid spending another 200$ just on these strips, and had nearly resigned myself to the whistling noise while driving, but then I found etrailer. Shipping was super fast, strips were well packaged and came in perfect shape, and customer service followed up when they saw it had been delivered to make sure all was well. Great service and prices are hard to find, so this site is now on my auto list. Absolutely recommend.
Faster shipping than anybody out there; was surprised when it arrived the next day! Fixed wind noise with Tesla Model Y crossbars. Also cheaper than [online] and anyone else.
Great price and fits perfect to my cros sbars.
Fit very well on my mk4 2003 Jetta THULE rack.
Great looks and function. Had to add slot fillers to reduce wind noise. These should be standard equipment. Rear attachment needs to be modified to enclose the FJ opening similar to the front two. Overall great rack and would recommend
Joe D - 05/15/2018
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