Feature > Manufacturer Profiles
Go Rhino
Just Like the Name Sounds
by Steve Temple
photography by the manufacturer
Go Rhino! products at www.4wheelparts.com.
Think rhinoceros. What comes to mind? A massive, steel-clad beast, impervious to the abuses of the wilderness, charging through anything in its path? The perfect model for an off-road vehicle? Now throw in a more evolved sense of styling, slim the creature down for a more appealing aesthetic, hose him off, shine him up, and you can see the inspiration for Go Rhino Products.
The company, based in Brea, California, also has evolved, starting life in 1977 as Off Road Performance (ORP), manufacturing axle trusses for the off-road market. Headed by Ron Hunt with his stepson Ron Storer, ORP was a permanent fixture on the SCORE circuit in the Southwestern desert, protecting racer differentials — especially during death-defying jumps. The ORP axle truss found its niche among the desert rats whose front differentials ran the risk of bending as they flew higher over the dunes.
Those were different times for off-roaders. “Back then,” recalls Storer, “the racers were mostly weekend guys, with the exception of a few, like Mickey Thompson. It was much more grassroots than it is today.”
As off-road racing changed, so did the company. In its second decade, the product line expanded to include brush guards that weren’t merely a fashion accessory but actually protected a 4x4’s headlights and grilles. With front-row seats at desert racing events, Hunt and Storer knew the off-road market, and the products were specifically designed to stand up to the elements.
Then, the 1990s and the off-road industry began its own evolution. “In the early ’90s, the manufacturers started incorporating independent suspensions on their light trucks,” Storer notes. “We had to shift the emphasis away from our axle trusses.” At about the same time, a light truck became the vehicle you had to drive to be cool, even if it never came any closer to the dirt than a bad patch of ground at a construction site or crossing the median strip of an Interstate. To keep up with this shift in emphasis, Off Road Performance/Go Rhino had to change with the times. The company not only changed, but also set trends.
“At the 1991 SEMA show, we had the first tube grille guard identified as Euro-styling,” says Storer. With the proliferation of Euro-this and Euro-that, you may be thinking about Al Gore and the Internet, but check back. “Of course, I had my geography messed up,” admits Storer. “The styling of full-face, wrap-around grille guards started in Australia. They called them Roo Guards there.”
Wherever the origin, Go Rhino wanted something new and unique that would be functional for off-roaders but with a different look for the non-off-road 4x4 buyer. The Euro-styling included a third tube at the top of the grille guard, for added protection to the truck hood, as well as a hole pattern in the brackets — a look that still makes Go Rhino guards readily identifiable.
The shift in products drove the company’s name change from Off Road Performance to Go Rhino Products. In 1995, the company introduced the StepGuard, a step incorporated into the grille guard for easier access to the engine compartment, especially useful on lifted 4x4s.
Today, the Go Rhino line is still built tough enough for 4x4 drivers who are actual off-roaders, but it maintains a sense of design and style that appeals to all sorts of truck owners. In other words, the company hasn’t forgotten its roots. As evidence, Storer points to the construction quality of the products, “Our grille guards are heavy duty with quarter-inch-thick uprights. The tubes that wrap around the headlights are twice as thick as other guards, and our tubing is more substantial.”
The truck accessory line now includes the 1000 Series, a one-piece guard in a black powder-coated finish, and the 3000 Series with the StepGuard in black powder coating or chrome finish. The step is compressed into the tubing rather than cut out to retain the strength and integrity of the metal. Both systems are model-specific, requiring a no-drill installation. The Rhino Charger Front Bar features a skidplate and pre-drilled auxiliary light mounts.
Go Rhino steps provide access from stem to stern. The Sumatra 4000 Series SideSteps (available for two-, three-, and four-door applications) is constructed of three- by .065-inch tubing. The step pad is compressed and recessed for greater strength. The Sumatra 6000 Series is the wheel-to-wheel variation with oversized step pads. Both include a no-drill bracket installation and are available in chrome, polished stainless, and black powder-coated finishes.
For access to the truck bed, roof rack, or the cargo space of SUVs and vans, Go Rhino offers the HitchStep and Go RhinoStep. Both units slip into a standard two-inch hitch receiver. The Go RhinoStep is a foot-long, three- by .065-inch tube with a slip-resistant step surface. The HitchStep is the uptown version, measuring a full three feet and accompanied by its own storage bag when the hitch is needed for towing.
If your rear bumper is a testament to your driving-in-reverse skills, the Sensor Step can spare you and everyone around you from damage. This variation of the HitchStep incorporates two sensors that alert the driver when the vehicle’s rear end comes within six feet of an obstacle. Go Rhino is in the process of revising and reintroducing the Step with an advanced design that sets off an alarm in the vehicle cab, eliminating any excuse for dented rear bumpers. The Sensor Step’s primary application is urban driving — parallel parking, grocery store lots, etc. — but would be invaluable for turning your 4x4 around on a narrow trail.
Like the extra-heavy-duty materials used in its steps and grille guards, Go Rhino goes one step further with its chrome finishing. According to Storer, a conventional chrome-plating system is only a three-coat process with the final chrome coating similar to a wax finish on a floor. He says that most chrome processes consist of applying a semi-bright nickel that lies flat, or horizontally, on the metal; the second, a bright nickel that lies vertically, and then a thin layer of chrome. In contrast, Go Rhino adds a fourth, extra coating of microscopic nickel that fills in the gaps left by the first two applications, providing an extra-smooth surface for the final chrome plating.
In mid-2000, Storer sold the company to an investment group and concentrated on developing the Xtreme Rack line. The investment group stumbled, and, less than four years later, Storer bought back Go Rhino and began an expansion that he describes as “stepping up to the challenge.” What started in 1977 in 14,000 square feet of manufacturing and administrative space now measures 10 times that with assembly and finishing, distribution, design and administration in facilities in Brea and Montebello and a manufacturing facility in Mexicali, Mexico.
When Storer retook the helm of Go Rhino, he brought his Xtreme Rack concept with him. The cliché about combining form and function has been done to death, which is too bad because auto writers should have saved that now overused phrase for the Xtreme Rack system. The modular system forms a frame above the truck bed, allowing for transporting everything from sports equipment to lumber on top, while the bed remains open for everything else you need to haul. Constructed of either 14- or 16-gauge formed steel, the rack components have the same hole pattern as the Go Rhino grille guards, making the rails and supporting posts lighter weight without a loss of strength.
“We started with a rack concept for contractors,” explains Storer, “something that would work at a job site but still had a sporty, modern look. The components are like Legos; you can customize the final rack a lot of different ways.” The Xtreme rack fits major domestic and imported, full and midsize truck models with either short or long beds and features a no-drill installation with stake pockets.
The Xtreme Rack system’s latest modification is the Pre-Runner rack, with the frame doubling as a light bar mounted directly behind the cab and railings slanting down to the truck bed. This system also has an optional spare tire carrier, providing the super-quick access so important in desert racing.
In typical Storer style, the rack is just the beginning. Slated for introduction later this year, accessories will include everything necessary to convert a pickup into a tailgate party. Xtreme Racks will come out with a screen awning that clips right to the rack, providing good shade. The screen mesh allows the wind to whip right through the cover without turning the whole unit into a giant sail. Other accessories include a tent-like cover that ties on to the system — an effortless way to convert a 4x4 into living quarters for the night. “The rack will serve as a frame skeleton for the new series of accessories,” says Storer.
From axle trusses to serious grille guards and durable steps, and now to cargo management systems, Go Rhino Products provides all sorts of protection for off-roaders. With a name like that, nothing less would do.
