Tex's 2019 GX460 build

[Tex68w]

Well I was at half mast today after the rack showed up, or so I thought. There was only one box delivered and it was for the 84x49 Pioneer Platform, but not the Backbone side rails. I called and inquired about the other half of my order only to find out that the Backbone system is currently on backorder. Luckily it will be arriving to Rhino Rack USA on November 8 and I should have it in my hands about one week later. It sucks that they would ship half of the order instead of waiting and shipping it all at once, but it is what it is and at least I got to get started on what is the more involved portion of assembly.

I have to admit that I am pretty impressed with this product and how easily and precisely it all goes together. More so, I appreciated the simple instructions and the included tools. They provide you a Philips head driver and a pre-set torque t-wrench with socket for the seventy some-odd nuts you must install. The torque wrench is pre-set to 6.0 Nm or 4.4 lb-ft and it has a nice, loud, audible click when it hits capacity. The side rails are laser marked with numbered positions front and rear in order for you to place your crossbars exactly where the fit guide instructs you to do so, which is based upon your particular make and year model vehicle. According to the CS rep at Rhino Rack, this is the second generation Pioneer Platform and it has some improvements over the original.

Everything went together as it should and I couldn't be more pleased with the fit/finish and overall quality of the platform. Hopefully I receive the Backbone system when expected so that I can get this rack completed and on the truck. I couldn't be more ready to get the spare out of the cargo area on our trips so that I can reclaim that space for cargo/gear.

 

[Tex68w]

Birthday Beach Bash for the misses yesterday. Saw this lifted Gen 1 Disco, I know they are riddled with issues that keep most any sane person away, but I will always be a fan. We ran across a nicely modded GX470 as well but I didn't have my phone in reach to snap a pic.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Birthday Beach Bash for the misses yesterday. Saw this lifted Gen 1 Disco, I know they are riddled with issues that keep most any sane person away, but I will always be a fan. We ran across a nicely modded GX470 as well but I didn't have my phone in reach to snap a pic.

Is that a part that fell off the Disco?

 

[Tex68w]

Is that a part that fell off the Disco?

There's no telling with those things haha. We always look for sea glass when we are down there, that just happened to be one of the pieces I found, but who knows, maybe it's a fix for the "Three Amigos" lol.

 

[Tex68w]

Originally I was told November 8th on the backorder for my Backbone side rails (when they were sold to me as in stock back in October), well that date came and went and then I was told November 23rd and once again it was pushed back. Now I am told that my side rails will arrive in the states on December 23rd, given the holiday I doubt I'll see them before the end of the year and that's if they actually show up. Moral of the story, all of the nightmares I had heard about customer service with Rhino Rack were true. It's a shame that a company can make such an amazing product but their CS can suck so hard. As much as I like their product I don't think I'll be buying anything else from them in the future.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Originally I was told November 8th on the backorder for my Backbone side rails (when they were sold to me as in stock back in October), well that date came and went and then I was told November 23rd and once again it was pushed back. Now I am told that my side rails will arrive in the states on December 23rd, given the holiday I doubt I'll see them before the end of the year and that's if they actually show up. Moral of the story, all of the nightmares I had heard about customer service with Rhino Rack were true. It's a shame that a company can make such an amazing product but their CS can suck so hard. As much as I like their product I don't think I'll be buying anything else from them in the future.

Can you cancel the order?

 

[Tex68w]

Yea but then I have an assembled platform and no side rails so that wouldn't really work.

 

[Tex68w]

You've gotta love Kaon's Customer Service. I ordered the shelf on the 13th, it was booked on the 14th and delivered to me here in Texas on the 18th. It amazes me that I can receive an oversized package from the other side of the world (8,290 miles away) in under a week and yet I have packages sit at the USPS distribution center for more than week only a few miles down the road from my house.

I love the shelf, I just wish it hung a tiny bit lower. I'll see how well it works for my intended purpose as is, but I might modify it to hang another 1/2-1" lower. At least for now my windshield shade isn't rolling around the cabin.

 

[Tex68w]

Well much to my surprise, the Backbone side rails for my Rhino Rack platform unexpectedly arrived on Friday. I was last told that they wouldn't even arrive in the states until the 23rd so I wasn't expecting to see it until after the first of the year. I was more excited about finally being able to get the platform portion of the rack out of the guest room than I was about actually getting the rack itself installed lol.

Before anyone makes a comment about the crappy condition of the trim or the paint color and roof/yard littered with downed branches let me just say that we currently live in a rent house while we await relocating for work. In other words, I couldn't give a rats ****** about this house or the yard lol.

A year of parking under a 50ft Oak tree certainly made for a lot of pollen spore mess to clean up in the rain gutters once the factory side rails were removed. I'd be willing to bet that more than half of the time spent on installing the rack was spent on cleaning up the roof, what a PITA. Rhino provides you with some very convenient Butyl rubber pads with bolt cutouts to put around the holes in the roof in order to seal out moisture and dirt, they beat the hell out of having to goop up everything with a sealant. Once those were in place the remainder of the roof rack install was pretty straight forward. Six bolts per side for the side rails and then three per side to affix the platform portion of the rack to the side rails.

I chose the Rhino Rack with the Backbone side rails solely because it sat over an inch lower than the FrontRunner rack but if I am being honest I'd prefer that it sat even lower than it does. I guess I am just used to the more modular style racks like Prinsu/Sherpa/SSO/LFD etc. and I prefer the look of their lower height. That said, I am blown away with the quality of this rack and the attention to detail in regards to the design and fit and finish. I'll reserve my decision about whether or not I want to run a wind deflector until after I've gotten some miles under my belt with it. I expect a slight decrease in fuel economy but I hope that there isn't much of an increase in wind noise.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Looks like you got some branches on your roof.

 

[Tex68w]

Looks like you got some branches on your roof.

Dammit lol.

 

[Dmski]

Dude, sweet bike AND rigs. Liking your 460 build. keep it up!

 

[Tex68w]

Dude, sweet bike AND rigs. Liking your 460 build. keep it up!

Many thanks! The bike sold a few weeks ago so it's on to the next. The GX will hopefully be done by the end of 2021, but who knows.

 

[Tex68w]

 

[Tex68w]

Knowing that the 200 series is essentially dead and all but very few are sold, I went ahead and did a thing.......