Rhino Rack Issue?

[wanderer]

background. I have a 2024 rubicon x with a SOT. That means racks are hard to find, especially with any capacity. ( I will be adding my snorkel so I can't run the ARS tube rack) After a lot of searching I went with the rhino rack high tower and aero bars 3 pairs. Just started to put it on and came across this issue.
When you go to clamp it down the metal clamp only latches on to the gutter. ( see attached pictures) The gutter appears to be a separate part of the roof like maybe an add on because there is a joint between the gutter and the roof. It seems to me the metal clamp should go all the way under the gutter to the roof and fit tigh agisnt the gutter. Is this a manufacturing issue or bad design? Does it compromise the rack system.

I looked on here to see if Rhino Rack is a sponsor. But they are not.

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[Centurion07]

background. I have a 2024 rubicon x with a SOT. That means racks are hard to find, especially with any capacity. ( I will be adding my snorkel so I can't run the ARS tube rack) After a lot of searching I went with the rhino rack high tower and aero bars 3 pairs. Just started to put it on and came across this issue.
When you go to clamp it down the metal clamp only latches on to the gutter. ( see attached pictures) The gutter appears to be a separate part of the roof like maybe an add on because there is a joint between the gutter and the roof. It seems to me the metal clamp should go all the way under the gutter to the roof and fit tigh agisnt the gutter. Is this a manufacturing issue or bad design? Does it compromise the rack system.

I looked on here to see if Rhino Rack is a sponsor. But they are not.

I battled those mounts for a while. Further complicating things is the fact that the mounts are locked at 90⁰ to the crossbars, but the gutters on the freedom panels are at slight angle.
I ended up having to carry a bit driver to reseat them every few miles so my load didn't fly off on the interstate. Here are before & after pics taken from below the gutter, about 20 miles apart.

I never found a fix. Those bars & mounts are long gone.

 

[wanderer]

Hey, yeah I can totally see. You had the same problem that I’m having because it looks like the lip of the clamp barely catches the roof gutter let alone going all the way under to the roof where I think it should be seems to me we could bend a Heavier, steel clamp that had a longer foot on it so that it when it’s clamped down, it goes all the way into the edge of the roof
I have a sky one top
Which further complicates things because the racks are limited, what was your final solution? What did you do once you got rid of those?

 

[Centurion07]

Hey, yeah I can totally see. You had the same problem that I’m having because it looks like the lip of the clamp barely catches the roof gutter let alone going all the way under to the roof where I think it should be seems to me we could bend a Heavier, steel clamp that had a longer foot on it so that it when it’s clamped down, it goes all the way into the edge of the roof
I have a sky one top
Which further complicates things because the racks are limited, what was your final solution? What did you do once you got rid of those?

I have a standard hardtop. I went with a Maximus-3 rack that bolts through and supports hundreds of pounds.

 

[cactusflier]

Just came across this. I had the same problem and was very irritating. I cut enough of the foot that drops into the gutter so that the rubber cover slides up as far as it can go, don't remember how much, maybe half an inch. Use the rubber cover to determine how much to cut off. I used a Dremel and cutoff wheel. It lowered the foot deeper into the gutter and changed the pivot point on the clamp enough that it pulled inward more than just pulling down. Made all the difference, sucks tight against the underside and no longer slipping outward.

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