eman20
Active Member
Thanks for the detailed post. I’m wondering why your tent is not centered on your rack. Was this by choice or because of how the FR mount lined up with the Rhino rack channels ? Which meant you you had to offset to make it work.Sorry for the delay...
TL;DR - It does work, with minimal modification and few additional parts.
Here's what comes in the box...
As you can see in the above pic, there is a lock, but it's 'key' is just a generic security-type torx bit. Personally I prefer this because if I lose it, I don't have to back through FR to get a new one. But they also send you four of the things, so...
Right out of the box I had an issue with the delivered assembly. One of the little machine screws bolting the latch to the bracket was all messed up. Nut cross-threaded, bolt head stripped out, not tightened down.
So, after a call an email to FR to file a warranty claim, and an hour trying to get the thing out of there due to limited space for access, I ran to the local hardware store to pick up a new one.
On to the stuff you all care about... Here's how the brackets line up on the Pioneer Platform. No bueno going from one slat to the next, side to side. As previously mentioned, the FR slat spacing is shorter than the RR slat spacing.
I didn't like the idea of drilling through the Pioneer Platform. In my case the rails on my RTT lined up almost perfectly with the side-to-side spacing on the platform rails, so I decided to run the brackets in line with the rails. Unlike the FR rack, the pioneer platform has side-to-side supports underneath the front-to-back rails, so I was able to place the brackets inline with the rails, and over the side-to-side supports, which allows for more even weight distribution.
However, the hardware that comes with the FR kit won't work since the rail channels are designed differently than FR. So, I found some capture nuts like Rhino Rack uses at McMaster-Carr (https://www.mcmaster.com/3259T614). This specific part number is the same thread pitch as the FR bolts. But the FR bolts that come with the kit are too long to use with the Pioneer Platform. So you've either gotta cut the bolts, or get shorter ones. Luckily I had some shorter FR bolts leftover from when I had the FR rack on my JK. Here's some additional pics of the hardware (in metric since the RR and FR stuff is in metric). NOTE: I was unable to find these locally at any parts place, despite them being really commonly used in construction. This is because the FR bolts are metric, thus requiring metric thread pitch channel nuts. The american construction industry obviously uses SAE stuff. So, if you scrapped all the FR hardware that comes with the kit, and used SAE stuff instead, you can find all this stuff at your local Lowes, Home Depot, Locke Supply, Grainger Supply, Fastenal, etc, etc.
Here's the brackets on the rack...
As for the RTT rails, this was pretty straightforward. The FR kit comes with 3 different size mounting plates for the tent-side feet. You test fit and pick whichever size best fits your tent rails. Each size is notched to help keep track of them and keep the sizes together.
I've got a CVT tent, and I ended up using the middle sized set.
I measured and positioned my tent feet precisely evenly spaced on the tent rails, then measured and positioned the rack brackets as close as I could get them. Then, once the tent was on the rack and the feet were in the brackets, I fiddled with the bracket positions (using a dead-blow) to get proper tension on all four latches.
I've been driving on paved and graded dirt road with the tent up there for about 5 days now, and have had no rattles or movement on brackets. They're solid. I do get a little whistle while driving, but I can only hear it if it's otherwise dead quiet in the cab. No significant change to handling (was really surprised about this). Gas mileage dropped about 1 mpg.
Sponsored