Adam Scepaniak 06.08.24
I am not a part of the “overlanding” community where I sleep in tents on the roof of my truck and eat MRE meals from a Jetboil while still remaining in 5G cell service. That seems like a lot of effort to be primitive at a high dollar cost. Plus, as a child I spent weeks sleeping on the ground while hunting and camping. So, my low back and spine sure love a cozy bed. What I have in common with the overlanding community though is my obsession with upgrading things. Whether it is firearms or my truck, I consider myself a handy person. So, I like to tinker, build, and be a shadetree mechanic. One upgrade for my 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road that I have been contemplating is a roof rack. Something that can give me even more storage for gear than I already have without deleting my current square footage of storage. So, in this AllOutdoor Review, we are going to take a look at the RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack to see how it performs on my 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road. Let’s dive in!
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Specifications – RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack
The Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack from RealTruck.com caught my eye because of its minimalist, low-profile (as implied in the name). The MSRP is normally set at $744.99, but it is currently on sale for 15% off so you can get one for only $744.99 $633.24. RealTruck is also offering FREE shipping – which is a hell of a bargain in my eyes – because this weighs what feels like 100 Lb (completely guessing), and that’d be terribly expensive if you, the consumer, had to pay for shipping. Some of the simple specifications you can come to expect from the Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack can be read below as presented by RealTruck.com:
- Aluminum roof rack basket
- Uses Go Rhino’s 4-CORE crossbars
- Low-profile design offers a clean, finished look
- Clamp-on assembly
- Rhino clamps included
- Easy to install on cross bars, no drilling needed
- Pre-drilled for lights (lights sold separately)
RealTruck.om attempts to give you the best price possible with their “Best Price Guaranteed.” They also have their Truck Experts on-standby if you ever have questions, issues, or concerns with your product. There is also a 30 Day Return Guarantee and they offer “Lifetime Install Support” as well. All good hallmarks for a website that retails a bevy of products relying on the consumer to install them.
- Brand: Go Rhino
- Finish: Textured Matte Black
- Warranty: 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Material: Aluminum
- Best Price Guaranteed – We will price match authorized retailers. Some exclusions apply.
- Truck Experts a Call Away – We’re experts and won’t stop until you’re happy. From purchase through installation, we’ve got you covered.
- Fastest Shipping – We ship faster than anyone with our centralized warehouse that has thousands of products in stock.
- 30 Day Return Guarantee – Most items can be returned within 30 days. Exclusions include but are not limited to custom products and items that ship via LTL freight.
- Lifetime Install Support – Product experts on the phone, world-class videos online. You’re in good hands.
Go Rhino CEROS Low Profile Roof Rack is just what you are looking in preparation for your next adventure! Made from a lightweight, corrosion resistance aluminum and possesses a black powder coated finish. The low profile design, and vehicle specific fitment means this roof rack will fit snug to the roof of your vehicle. Go Rhino has developed an exclusive 4-CORE crossbars, and an extruded track system that will work with any 1/4-20 hex bolt. Due to the 4-CORE crossbars, many options are available for the configuration of whatever it is that you want to bring with you on your journey- whether for work or play! With the dropped edge of the fairing, a single row light bar can remain flush with the top of the frame (lighting sold separately). Backed by Go Rhino five-year warranty.
Installation – RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack
The estimated time for installation – according to the Owner’s Manual/Installation Instructions – was 1 hour for the Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack. Upon inspecting all of the bits and pieces that come with this roof rack, laying them out, sorting them, and assessing the situation I was about to embark on, I decided to use all hand tools (so, no impact drills, electric drills, tools, etc). I came to that conclusion seeing all of the Phillips and Hex bit bolts. All in all, this install ended up taking me closer to 7 hours total to complete on 2 separate days. This installation wasn’t tricky or difficult, but it was simply monotonous and time-consuming.
The Phillips head bolts were very prone to slipping; thus, stripping out. So, I couldn’t use my Milwaukee drill because that would only exacerbate the issue. Some bolts required Hex bits and those, too, were prone to stripping out. I would have liked to see everything in a Torx head for this product so impact or electric drills could have been utilized. That alone, honestly, could have cut my work time in half, if not more.
The first part of this installation process is getting the main frames or crossbars all assembled together. For this, you are going to be using some of the Round Head Self-drill Screws from the Installation Instructions. I found this to be a complete chore. These Round Head Self-drill Screws screwed in hard and I could feel them chewing their way through burrs and small flecks of metal. Compound this with the fact that it is metal-on-metal with a Phillips head – that all your screwdriver wants to do is slip – and it was a tough go screwing these all together.
The day I chose to do this was about 2 weeks ago one evening, and Mother Nature decided to rear its ugly head. The temp dropped to 45F which is not horrible by itself, but then the wind picked up to 40 MPH. So, I had authentic wind chill concerns while continually trying to weigh down the Installation Instructions with a wrench so they wouldn’t blow away. As I augured more and more Round Head Self-drill Screws, my hands went numb in between slipping on Phillips heads. I got to a point where the “main body” of the roof rack was fully assembled so it felt like a phenomenal time to call it a day. My hands were already utterly numb anyways.
I stood there assessing the parts that I had remaining at this point. I quadruple-checked what I had left against what the Installation Instructions stated I would need to finish, and sure enough, I was short several bolts. Hands numb or not, it was time to take a break. I reached out to RealTruck and within a couple days they sent me exactly what I needed along with several extras, just in case. While it might be a bummer that I was initially short a few pieces in the box, RealTruck had phenomenal customer service – and in the grand scheme of things – there is an insane amount of parts needed to make this jive with your given vehicle. I can understand its difficult to have everything perfect every time.
Fast Forward 1 Week Later…
With the main frame of the roof rack assembled and all of the parts I needed in-hand, I began once again assembling the RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack on my 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road. The next big step in the process of getting this roof rack on my truck was removing some rubber strips on the roof of my truck that would reveal the bolt holes needed to secure the roof rack to the roof. This day was significantly more pleasant – no wind, 70F, and no wind chill warnings.
After easily removing the 2 rubber strips that run the length of the roof of my Tacoma, I had a small panic attack… I couldn’t find or see any bolt holes!? Once I looked closer, they were covered by a piece of protective, painted adhesive which needed to be removed. These are likely in place to ensure dirt, debris, and rust doesn’t get into these holes.
I ended up taking a flathead screwdriver and scraping this adhesive off to expose all of my necessary bolt holes. I needed to do this 6x: 3 pieces of adhesive on each side needed to be removed. Once you accomplish this, you will want to grab all of your cylindrical spacers and place them where necessary because we will be putting portions of your roof’s rubber stripping back on the roof.
With your truck’s rubber stripping lined up as closely as possible to its original position, you will want to mark where the brackets of the roof rack will be. Then, you can grab your rubber stripping and cut out chunks to cover the unused areas in that channel that run the length of your roof. This should protect that channel from any unnecessary wear or damage once the roof rack is installed.
The final step in this grand adventure was securing the Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack to the spacers on the roof. My one piece of advice is to screw in all of the necessary bolts a little bit before fully tightening down any of them. The roof rack will need to be pushed, shimmied, and wiggled back and forth repeatedly to ensure all 10 holes line up properly, simultaneously. So, you don’t want to torque one of the bolts down and then not be able to persuade the roof rack in any direction you may need.
Once you snug everything up, you are done!
Final Thoughts – RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack
So, what are my final thoughts on the RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack for my 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road?… Overall, I do like the roof rack a lot. It is secured well to the roof of my truck, it is affordable, and you have tie-down spots for all of your gear. Don’t let my comical foibles deter you. I do believe this is a great roof rack. This would be some of the bigger picture Pros and Cons for anyone who is entertaining owning one of these:
Pros
- Cross-Bars and Hex Grid pattern on the side offer lots of tie-down/securement positions
- Rock-Solid
- Aluminum is Lightweight yet Strong for this Use
- Affordable for the Quality ($633.24)
Cons
- Short on Screws (but RealTruck had great customer service)
- Didn’t like the Phillips and Hex bit screws; prone to slipping
In closing, I want to say thank you to RealTruck for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack for my 2020 Toyota Tacoma. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack is something worth spending your money on? Would you deploy one for overlanding? Look to utilize one for work? Simply add one for the extra storage and utility it affords you for everyday tasks? As always, let us know all of your thoughts about RealTruck and the RealTruck Go Rhino Ceros Low Profile Roof Rack in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
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