I thought you said you were OCD..... how can you tolerate that? :doh:
Gobi Rack Install Questions
- Thread starter tamerunner
- Start date
I thought you said you were OCD..... how can you tolerate that? :doh:
Here is a pic. I went ahead and put some silicone in the small gaps between roof and hardware. Sorry for the not so clean look but it should do its purpose. What you guys think? OVERKILL!
Under that cover (and thus also under the metal bracket) runs the rain channel for the roof. Water will be under there regardless of how you cover the gap. If you blocked the rain channel by squirting in too much silicone, you may have water build up that gets into the cabin or creates other rust/degradation issues.
Okki
OregonTrailRunner
New member
Gobi Rack Install & Customer Service
OK, here's a couple tips I've learned from installing two Gobi Racks...
Sealing the threads. I used marine silicone around the mounting bolts, under the mounts, between each layer of rubber and steel. Not so much as to squish out and look funky, but close enough to the bolts to seal the threads.
Placing the rack solo. Yup, done this twice and I'm old. Clean and wax the roof, then stack old bath towels on both sides of the satellite antenna so the rack will clear it. More towels on the rear spoiler (and ladder on second install) to prevent scratching the paint. Man up and lift the front of the rack onto the towels, tip it up and slide it forward. When in place, remove the towels. Make sure not to push it off the towels. No, I didn't. No accidents. No scratches.
Of course, you could always have someone help you. I find that if I want it done right....besides, I love a challenge.
The front wind deflector will screw up your paint if you don't add some body protection under it. They left that out of my first one and made no reference to it in the instructions, but hooked me up with number two (more on that in a minute.) While I'm sure some of your are talented enough to place that stuff and have it look good, evidently I'm not. I'll be having pros redo that part. It looks ok at 50ft/50mph so I'll wait till summer and have it detailed.
Overall the install is simple and I love the rack for carrying extra stuff. My first one suffered a cracked weld on the light/deflector mounting plate after two months. I noticed rust on the roof washing the runner and discovered the issue. I removed the deflector and emailed Gobi a photograph of the weld. Looks like the flat bar was tweaked thus causing extra strain on the weld. Gobi sent a new rack to replace it. No issues, no hassles. It took about the same time as the original order, but so what? I just rocked the no deflector look for a couple months. Nice people to deal with, but perhaps overworked. Communication isn't their strong suit, but when you do catch them they are helpful. They do make a nice product, just wish they made it out of aluminum...
OK, here's a couple tips I've learned from installing two Gobi Racks...
Sealing the threads. I used marine silicone around the mounting bolts, under the mounts, between each layer of rubber and steel. Not so much as to squish out and look funky, but close enough to the bolts to seal the threads.
Placing the rack solo. Yup, done this twice and I'm old. Clean and wax the roof, then stack old bath towels on both sides of the satellite antenna so the rack will clear it. More towels on the rear spoiler (and ladder on second install) to prevent scratching the paint. Man up and lift the front of the rack onto the towels, tip it up and slide it forward. When in place, remove the towels. Make sure not to push it off the towels. No, I didn't. No accidents. No scratches.
Of course, you could always have someone help you. I find that if I want it done right....besides, I love a challenge.
The front wind deflector will screw up your paint if you don't add some body protection under it. They left that out of my first one and made no reference to it in the instructions, but hooked me up with number two (more on that in a minute.) While I'm sure some of your are talented enough to place that stuff and have it look good, evidently I'm not. I'll be having pros redo that part. It looks ok at 50ft/50mph so I'll wait till summer and have it detailed.
Overall the install is simple and I love the rack for carrying extra stuff. My first one suffered a cracked weld on the light/deflector mounting plate after two months. I noticed rust on the roof washing the runner and discovered the issue. I removed the deflector and emailed Gobi a photograph of the weld. Looks like the flat bar was tweaked thus causing extra strain on the weld. Gobi sent a new rack to replace it. No issues, no hassles. It took about the same time as the original order, but so what? I just rocked the no deflector look for a couple months. Nice people to deal with, but perhaps overworked. Communication isn't their strong suit, but when you do catch them they are helpful. They do make a nice product, just wish they made it out of aluminum...
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How did this end up working out for you? I just purchased a used one myself and went ahead and installed it to transfer it back but the rubber gaskets and pads where the factory rails go are pretty worn. I'm thinking I should be on the safe side and order the Gobi Transfer Kit but at $135, I'm wondering if anyone is aware of any alternatives? Appreciate the help
