Rhino Rack / Prinsu / Etc. Roof Rack Owners: How Much Height Added?

[Bzmustang13]

Question for anyone who has permanent/removable roof racks, with Rhino Rack Pioneer & Prinsu being of extra interest:

How much height does this add to your truck cab? I have only a few inches of space to the top of the garage door opening, so have to be careful when adding. Rhino Rack told me their removable Vortex bars add about 5.5".

Really like the Pioneer system (Of course it is $$$$), but would really suck to buy & fight a return if it is too tall. Primary motivation for this is to carry a kayak or two, plus long fishing poles etc. without compromising my tonneau cover that I already have (Bakflip MX4).

Bonus: If you have the Pioneer system, did you install it yourself or a shop? What kind of shops should I look for & fair hourly costs? Don't have all the tools for this one and would rather invest in some expertise. Thank you all.

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[JACKSMYDOG]

I finished my Prinsu install yesterday, it adds less than 2 inches to the peak.

 

[Bzmustang13]

How did the install go? Seems like guys had a hard time with it initially, curious if that has been improved.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

How did the install go? Seems like guys had a hard time with it initially, curious if that has been improved.

Yeah, it sucks to install. I have a final write up coming in the thread I started, but it's a few days away. I loaned my truck to a buddy for a few days and didn't get photos of the finished install.

Short story is, if I had a new Ranger tomorrow I would buy the Prinsu rack again, I still think it is the best rack, and with some experience (and a proper tool) the install would be much easier.

IMO a heavy duty rivet gun is well worth the investment, even if you never use it again. I paid $55 CDN, so guessing you can get it for around $35-40 USD, which is a small % of the rack cost. It can be done with their double wrench and a sleeve method, but slow, messy, and problematic.

On the first day of install I was cursing riv-nuts, plus-nuts, cross-nuts and every other term for them, but once I took a breath and re-visited the the whole thing, I think they are a great fastener. I bought the tool and big variety pack of inserts. I plan on using them for a few Ranger projects.

 

[Bzmustang13]

Thanks, great info. Definitely hesitant to do such a permanent and fairly difficult modification, but they do have a ton of practical value. I could always use a Yakima long arm for now, but extending the length of the truck while losing your backup camera and bed security (At least while the kayak is on the truck) is a major downfall.

Might run one temporarily, we will see.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Hauling canoe/kayak is so easy and so much hassle at the same time. I used a load bar for years, which works well enough, but slow, and you lose the bed for low carry, or lose the tailgate access for roof extension carry. Also load length concerns depending on local law.

Both work, I have have 10's of thousands of miles on the low carry with that 16 foot beast.

I am loving the idea of a solid mount roof rack. The versatility is exciting. I also have Thule Dock Grip, for kayak/canoe carry, which is awesome, and Thule Pulse Alpine cargo carrier.

Again, a full review is coming, but I need to finish my tonneau racks before I get to that.

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