Rhino Rack Pioneer Platform Guard Rails Whistling (Loud)

[conFUcius]

I have the RhinoRack Pioneer Platform (on Maximus-3 2dr mounts, and side ladder) and no whistling at all.

With the roof-top tent on, suddenly a loud whistle when past 55mph. One layer of duct tape over the 1.5” gap between r-t tent and platform and the whistling stopped.

considered their wind deflector but nice black gaffer/duct tape is easier, cheaper, and looks better.

Could you post a pic of the duct tape/black gaffer fix? Pretty sure the noise from my MTs drowns out the wind noise but I’m not opposed to trying a cheap fix.

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[STW]

Could you post a pic of the duct tape/black gaffer fix? Pretty sure the noise from my MTs drowns out the wind noise but I’m not opposed to trying a cheap fix.

There is my tape job done out on the highway to test if it eliminated the whistling. Zero whistling after I taped over that gap between the RhinoRack Pioneer platform and the RTT floor.

At first I tried taping over the mounting tubes the RTT sits on but that didn't fix it.

Later I got some 3" wide tape so it's easy. My rack is 54" wide so I do a 28-30" length for each side. Overlaps a bit at the middle.


Did this fist in the first miles on the way north to an overlanding trip in the Canadian Rockies last June. It was a relief.
High-pitched wind whistles can be intense and you don't want to try to tolerate one on a road trip. Your MTs will not drown it out, haha. My girlfriend tended to believe I overthink this stuff so when we started the trip I thought she might be fine with the whistle. She hadn't been in the Jeep yet with the new RTT mounted. Once up to speed with that whistle it took her 30 seconds to say, "uh, no." That's when I pulled over to try the tape.

Looking at this photo now, I wonder if I could put something else between there like a piece of foam insulation tubing. Maybe it would stay in place, be re-usable, and still stop the whistle.

 

[conFUcius]

There is my tape job done out on the highway to test if it eliminated the whistling. Zero whistling after I taped over that gap between the RhinoRack Pioneer platform and the RTT floor.

At first I tried taping over the mounting tubes the RTT sits on but that didn't fix it.

Later I got some 3" wide tape so it's easy. My rack is 54" wide so I do a 28-30" length for each side. Overlaps a bit at the middle.


Did this fist in the first miles on the way north to an overlanding trip in the Canadian Rockies last June. It was a relief.
High-pitched wind whistles can be intense and you don't want to try to tolerate one on a road trip. Your MTs will not drown it out, haha. My girlfriend tended to believe I overthink this stuff so when we started the trip I thought she might be fine with the whistle. She hadn't been in the Jeep yet with the new RTT mounted. Once up to speed with that whistle it took her 30 seconds to say, "uh, no." That's when I pulled over to try the tape.

Looking at this photo now, I wonder if I could put something else between there like a piece of foam insulation tubing. Maybe it would stay in place, be re-usable, and still stop the whistle.

Thanks! I have their luggage box and maybe because it’s more aerodynamic, there wasn’t any whistling this last trip with the dogs?

I’ll be curious to see how bad the whistling is if I add a batwing awning or ladder on the side.

 

[Cougar8000]

I have the RhinoRack Pioneer Platform (on Maximus-3 2dr mounts, and side ladder) and no whistling at all.

With the roof-top tent on, suddenly a loud whistle when past 55mph. One layer of duct tape over the 1.5” gap between r-t tent and platform and the whistling stopped.

considered their wind deflector but nice black gaffer/duct tape is easier, cheaper, and looks better.

I have the same set up on a 4dr JLU and installed Ironman RTT and OMG. wind noise is miserable at just 20 mph. Going to try the tape method. How did it hold on the hwy?

 

[STW]

I have the same set up on a 4dr JLU and installed Ironman RTT and OMG. wind noise is miserable at just 20 mph. Going to try the tape method. How did it hold on the hwy?

The tape was fine one the highway at 80+. When I ripped it off after the trip, the tape was still secure throughout. That's with lots of rain and mud, many days of using the RTT, plus a couple thousand freeway miles to the Canadian rockies and back.

 

[STW]

Thanks! I have their luggage box and maybe because it’s more aerodynamic, there wasn’t any whistling this last trip with the dogs?

I’ll be curious to see how bad the whistling is if I add a batwing awning or ladder on the side.

looks good.
That box has aero advantages no doubt, but the reason it doesn't whistle may be that there is no space between the box and the rack platform. That box you're using is well-designed to sit right at the rack level not letting air between rack and box.

My screaming whistle was from the 1-1.5" gap between rack and RTT, and it stopped when I blocked that gap with tape.

You will appreciate a ladder on the side for access to that box on top. I've found ideally that a foot-step on the side is useful. My sliders form a 3" step that is perfect for standing up there when I'm strapping skis and snowboard down to the rack, or other stuff up there. It's easy to stand on the back wheel when you're messing with the back end of the rack. In that case, the slider step gives you a good step up to the rear tire. My slider step is at about 22" hight vs. ~35" height of rear tire. Even on my shorter 2door M-3/Rhinorack that is only 52" long, you can't reach the front of the rack standing on the rear tire. One foot on the slider, other foot on the rear tire gives good access to the front of the rack. With your four door, you could use one of those door-hinge mounted fold down steps for a perfect spot to access the front of the rack.

The footstep is more useful than the ladder. I only have a ladder on one side and I use it for support when I'm working on that side. But the other side without a ladder is easy to work on too, as long as I have the extra foot-step to stand on.

I wonder about an awning on the side too, for whistling. I've carried my 23Zero 180 awning on the back, but I'd like to try it on the side.

 

[Cougar8000]

OK. did a ghetto set up using what ever little "Gorilla Tape" I had and blue paint tape for the rest and no more whistling noise upto 50 mph. COuld not go faster on my street now.

Trip to hardware store to get more tape

Thank you

 

[Cougar8000]

I wonder about an awning on the side too, for whistling. I've carried my 23Zero 180 awning on the back, but I'd like to try it on the side.

I have Ironman DeltaWing 270 and this test upto 50 MPH I did not hear any noise.

What ever noise I had earlier was 100% from RTT addition as I was driving for about 2 weeks with just Pioneer platform and it gave zero noise by itself

 

[conFUcius]

looks good.
That box has aero advantages no doubt, but the reason it doesn't whistle may be that there is no space between the box and the rack platform. That box you're using is well-designed to sit right at the rack level not letting air between rack and box.

My screaming whistle was from the 1-1.5" gap between rack and RTT, and it stopped when I blocked that gap with tape.

You will appreciate a ladder on the side for access to that box on top. I've found ideally that a foot-step on the side is useful. My sliders form a 3" step that is perfect for standing up there when I'm strapping skis and snowboard down to the rack, or other stuff up there. It's easy to stand on the back wheel when you're messing with the back end of the rack. In that case, the slider step gives you a good step up to the rear tire. My slider step is at about 22" hight vs. ~35" height of rear tire. Even on my shorter 2door M-3/Rhinorack that is only 52" long, you can't reach the front of the rack standing on the rear tire. One foot on the slider, other foot on the rear tire gives good access to the front of the rack. With your four door, you could use one of those door-hinge mounted fold down steps for a perfect spot to access the front of the rack.

The footstep is more useful than the ladder. I only have a ladder on one side and I use it for support when I'm working on that side. But the other side without a ladder is easy to work on too, as long as I have the extra foot-step to stand on.

I wonder about an awning on the side too, for whistling. I've carried my 23Zero 180 awning on the back, but I'd like to try it on the side.

I’m running the Mopar performance rock rails which have that additional lip for me to stand on, but it’s not really all that wide. Definitely do what you suggest about standing on the rear tire (sometimes the inside seats as well). After reviewing the ladder options, I might look into the hinge steps, though I have some reservations about replacing the OEM hinge bolts with aftermarket and I have these Amazon hinge covers that I really like the pop it gives to the hinges.

For now, I bought a separate awning just because I didn’t want to be restricted to using an awning when my Jeep is next to where I wanted to deploy it. TBD if I end up getting a 270 one or not.

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