Alu Cab mounted on a Jeep mounted Rhino rack

[radebaugh03]

Howdy,
I have a JKU (2014) and have an AluCab gen 3 mounted on a "custom rack". The issue is, it sits higher than it needs to and I want to make any improvement I can in the wind drag and aerodynamics.
Is there anyone here who has a gen 3 AluCab mounted on the low profile Rhino JA 8328 (it has the lowest profile). And mostly inportantly pics of how the AluCab is actually mounted to it. My AluCab has the crossrails under it that are bolted to my existing rack. That in itself raises the Cab another 3/4 inch. Am hoping the AluCab mounts to the Rhino without needing those bars.
I have no dealers close to refer to and would certainly purchase from OK4WD if I can confirm I can lower this thing an inch or so.
Any info would sure help and pics would be great. Feel free to send to my email if you have pics. radebaugh03@gmail.com
Thanks a bunch.
Regards,
J.R.

 

[TheDriver]

I have used the Rhino Rack Backbone base system for my custom 80/20 solar rack. You can get just the base system and it will give you a solid foundation that, at the six mounting points (aluminum castings on the roof edges) is actually lower than the center fiberglass ribs in the hard top. From there some spacers and/or custom low profile crossbars (depending on how wide the Alu-Cab is) and you should be good to go. No need for an actual rack and you should be able to mount it within an inch of the roof high point. I'm about to re-work it to be full length but here is a picture of how it looks currently. You can omit the short Rhino Rack feet if you work out an even lower spacer setup, the bases each have a threaded (smaller than I would like) hole. With my 80/20 crossbars the bases + short Rhino Rack feet leave maybe an inch of space at the center of the roof.

EDIT: FYI those are 15 series (1.5 inch) ultralight series extrusions. They sit nicely in the Rhino Rack feet (between the side lips) and bolt through perfectly into the t-slot using the existing holes in the feet.

 

[ratled]

Isn't that the exact set up @tomtruckerstravels uses? I know he post those AMAZING pictures on Expo as TTEPHOTOS
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/post-pics-of-your-jeep.11148/page-503

 

[TheDriver]

Isn't that the exact set up @tomtruckerstravels uses? I know he post those AMAZING pictures on Expo as TTEPHOTOS
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/post-pics-of-your-jeep.11148/page-503

That is the Front Runner full length rack - I didn't realize how long that Alu-Cab is. For my 80/20 rack update I'm extending it to full length in order to re-orient the solar panels down one side and have room for a box or snowboard mounts down the other. To do this I'm having to figure out a pair of front connection points in addition to the 6 provided by the backbone. Given the length of the Alu-Cab this might be necessary if the original poster was to go down the route I am. He can probably save 2 inches in height over the front runner setup but it would require some hacking together.

 

[radebaugh03]

Thanks guys. Looks like one way or the other I can get this thing lowered. I did have a brief chat with OK4WD about the Rhino and am going to call again today.
They may provide some good info. It does appear in the pics you posted that the AluCab crossbars that sit under my current set up are not necessary. These are AluCab bars that seem necessary when mounting on a more traditional crossbar rack. Those bars raise the AluCab almost an inch by themselves. With the Rhino and Front Runner it looks as though they are not needed. Right?

 

[radebaugh03]

I guess more specifically I should just ask, How does the AluCab mount to the Rhino rack platform? Any pics available?
Thanks

 

[radebaugh03]

The folks at Adventure Ready in Seattle have filled me in very well on mounting my AluCab to the Rhino Rack platform
I will be able to lower my Cab almost 3 inches with the new rack and mount..
All good!

 

[PiDiBi]

Hey, @radebaugh03 could you please do some photos how they did it? I want to mount AluCab same way to fit into underground garage ..
Thank you

 

[ivers]

directly to the alucab bar, i can take more picture if needed

 

[ivers]

it is the lowest it can be, the alucab itself is higher then most hardshell and weights mor, you feel it in the trail.

 

[86scotty]

Radebaugh, I did not mount an Alu-cab but I did mount a FSR Adventure series tent on to the Rhino Backbone system and wanted it as low as possible. I completely removed the towers which came with a hard top/Backbone/aero bar and tower setup I bought and drilled the aero bars to mount the tent and bars right on to the backbone system. This is probably a good bit different than yours but my point is this: Get out the drill and make it work.

I personally have no problem drilling holes in expensive things especially if it will enhance the aerodynamics of the vehicle and a lot of Jeeps I see with high RTTs mounted on already high bars/racks are just awful. You'll never be happy with it if it's a wind sock or looks wrong after spending lots of money on it.

 

[radebaugh03]

I decided to go the trailer route and mount my ALuCab on my newly built trailer. All things better now!

 

[emulous74]

I've talked with OK4wd about mounting my Alu-Cab RTT and just the Shadow Awn to a Rhino Rack and was told to mount alu-cab low rise load bars to the Rhino Rack and then mount the tent or the awning. This was also the solution my friend used on the Rack she has on her 4-runner, we mounted the Alu-Cab load bars to the rack and then the tent to the bars. My Alu-Cab Shadow Awn is mounted to my Alu-Cab RTT, but I was looking of getting a separate Shadow Awn to use between my Leitner Rack on my truck and the 80/20 Rack on my trailer, and that's when I asked about fitting it to a Rhino Rack. While the Shadow awn has some different mounts, it's basically permanently mounted and not easily movable from one vehicle to another.