stay_tuned
New member
This is what I used
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
not seeing anything listing as silicon on amazon are my searching skills diminishing?
Non Drill roof rack (no silicone)
- Thread starter mustangr2
- Start date
not seeing anything listing as silicon on amazon are my searching skills diminishing?
rayofsi
New member
mcmaster-carr has it's own website. they don't sell on amazon
stay_tuned
New member
ahh thanks for that sorry for the ignorance... i see them now just ordered a set myself as well thanks
the_fornicator
New member
I've been thinking the same thing also.
The only explanations I can surmise are:
1) Resale. If you pull your rack and notice corrosion, it might affect the person's ability to sell his rack (undesirable product) so people just kinda stay quiet about it and chalk it up to a learning lesson. Could also relate to resale of their own vehicle.
2) They simply don't know. They can throw the roof rack on top and leave it there until the cows come home and never check it. These people will either never know or won't know until it's too late.
If there's a leak, there's no guarantee that you'll ever notice it. Someone mentioned here that water started leaking down their seat belt. IMO, that's the best possible scenario because there's a big ol **** you telling you something is wrong. Otherwise, if you get a slow drip, it'll be enough to constantly keep the metal wet and slowly rust but never enough to tell you something is wrong. Those cylindrical spacers that companies use as a mount are brutal IMO -if you gunk up enough silicone at the bottom, you could seal that seam nicely but then that turns the cylinders into cups that hold water. The only way the cup empties is if it evaporates or completely drips into your vehicle.
The victory rack bracket is great in that if you put butyl rubber down and then a silicone washer down, the bracket squishes the washer down with even force.
If you have a prinsu, it would unevenly apply pressure to the silicone washer -the solution to this is to add an aluminum washer on top of the silicone washer to help distribute the pressure from the cylindrical spacer. I didn't and the spacer cut right through the washers because of the pressure -where the washer didn't cut, it squirted out as if you tried to squeeze a wet bar of soap as hard as you could with your hands.
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Quoted for truth.
onaquest
New member
gratitude
While I don't have anything valuable to add to this discussion, I want to thank everyone in here for sharing their experiences around making the roof rack mounting location watertight.
As this conversation continues (through this thread, and other previous threads), it becomes very apparent just how lacking the included mounting solutions are from popular vendors.
It's great to see proven solutions being referenced in this thread, along with new testing initiatives.
While I don't have anything valuable to add to this discussion, I want to thank everyone in here for sharing their experiences around making the roof rack mounting location watertight.
As this conversation continues (through this thread, and other previous threads), it becomes very apparent just how lacking the included mounting solutions are from popular vendors.
It's great to see proven solutions being referenced in this thread, along with new testing initiatives.
rageandlove
Member
I contacted a number of forum members that have a Sherpa and they all report no problems with leaks. I like their solution because they use the same approach as Toyota for mounting w/o need for extra sealant, silicone or otherwise.
UpTOPOverland is a no-drill rack and only recommends the RTV on the bolt itself (I would do this for any roof rack as a comfort factor). Not sure if this is what you're looking for, or a true no-sealant with just gaskets.
Link is to their install directions: Bravo Rack Install
Link is to their install directions: Bravo Rack Install
This is what I used
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
So you just put those down and then placed the spacer on top with no silicone or anything?
BlueEyedDevil
New member
The area the rust is likely to occur on isn’t immediately real visible. By the time it is noticeable, the leak has been going on for some time.
I’d guess lots of people have insufficient/degraded seals that are in fact leaking or will and are unaware.
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I still used the silicone....I followed the instructions from the original post.
david05111
New member
It's amazing to me that these issues still persist after decades of roof-rack design.
How the hell is there not a better way by now?
How the hell is there not a better way by now?
stay_tuned
New member
So you used the washers and the silicone or the butyl rubber?
I have the same washers now and my victory rack is coming tomorrow so I was trying to determine if i should go get RTV or the Butyl Rubber with it.
Teamoatmealpie
New member
Well we had a super hard rain yesterday and went out to investigate this Am. Pulled seat belts all the way out as far as they would go and yep the bottom is wet on all 4.
Understatement to say I'm pissed AF, as I followed the supplied directions from Eazi-awn & Equipt (USA importer). Just looked at them right now to confirm for the 5th time. THERE is NO mention of using sealant AT ALL.
I would have never known except for the poster above who said Equipt used his rig for a youtube install video.
Pulling rack tomorrow and the will see what I can do about the pulling the headliner.
Can only imagine as Oregon is rainy AF for half the year and this has been on for 3 years. Can you say Negligence - the airbags are below the rear mounts wonder what water does to those. What a FKin crock of shit.
Understatement to say I'm pissed AF, as I followed the supplied directions from Eazi-awn & Equipt (USA importer). Just looked at them right now to confirm for the 5th time. THERE is NO mention of using sealant AT ALL.
I would have never known except for the poster above who said Equipt used his rig for a youtube install video.
Pulling rack tomorrow and the will see what I can do about the pulling the headliner.
Can only imagine as Oregon is rainy AF for half the year and this has been on for 3 years. Can you say Negligence - the airbags are below the rear mounts wonder what water does to those. What a FKin crock of shit.
sn_85
Senior Member
Sorry to hear about that and glad you checked. If nothing else, at least this thread brought up a good conversation for those running aftermarket roof racks. Better to assess the damage now than when its too late.
My experience was similar to yours, had one big down pour and felt water running down my seat belt and that's even with using silicone. Fortunately only one of my seat belts had the leak. My guess is that it must never rain in South Africa and thus they don't suggest adding silicone during the install.
the_fornicator
New member
Watching this vid, how I'd improve on this: YouTube
I didn't notice a gasket on my 4runner when I pulled the OEM rack. Perhaps it was stuck to something. In the event that there is a gasket, this is what i'd do.
1) I'm anal so I'd use butyl rubber as described earlier in the thread around the OEM spacers
2) I'd also lay down several thin strips of butyl underneath the rubber gasket (directly on top of the paint) as well as around the edges of where the gasket would sit when laid on the roof.
3) Do the same as step 2 but on the top of the gasket (this is where the bottom of the mount will mate with the top of the gasket)
4) Install the mount on top of the gasket (it'll stick right on to the the butyl)
5) Cake on blue loctite like a MF around every single thread of the mounting bolt
6) Screw in the bolt as they suggest.
7) for shits and giggles, I would lay more butyl around the edges of the bolt you just screwed in just like you did with the OEM spacer to ensure as well as the rubber washer. Anywhere you think water can enter the system, cover up with butyl.
re: #7, keep in mind butyl will be exposed to the air so it'll get dirty. I was thinking if I put butyl on top like that, I'd strategically cut super thin strips of black garbage bag to cleanly mate to the exposed butyl. That'll cover it up and prevent shit from sticking on to it.
Now you have a perfectly sealed system.
Edit1: Some will argue that the gasket is enough, but I ask those people what the ROI is on cheaping out / being lazy with something so simple yet critical? For an extra few bucks and a handful of minutes, you could have a mounting bracket that you'll never have to worry about.
Edit2: If that OEM gasket from the video is rubber, I would buy a sheet of high temp orange/red silicone from amazon and cut one to size. Rubber dries out really fast in super hot and super cold weather. So, your gasket will fail sooner than later.
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the_fornicator
New member
I have a pretty solid solution to build a water-tight system for your rack. I've been thinking about how to build a spacer for a rack that uses spacers ever since I bought a prinsu rack (I have since pulled and sold it). I hope the following is useful to you.
1) measure the height the spacer they use and buy a small sheet of plexiglass or nylon reinforced abs or something (some sort of material that will last a long, long time) of the same thickness. e.g if the spacer is 3/4" tall, buy a 3/4" thick bit of plexiglass.
2) I'm going to assume you used plexiglass since it lasts forever, is readily available at home depots, and is easy to cut and drill. Cut the plexiglass to make a rectangular spacer. This spacer will be a single piece for both holes.
3) Drill holes to fit around (not on top) the OEM spacers.
4) Buy high temp silicone sheet like this Amazon.com: Rubber Silicone Sheet Roll High Temp, Red 8x8", 1/8" Thickness: Industrial & Scientific
5) Cut a strip of the silicone out that matches the bottom side/dimension of the spacers you created. You will have just made a solid gasket for your spacer. It's also pretty dense stuff so won't squish too much and will protect your paint from the spacer.
Then follow my instructions in the post above to seal everything.
Plexiglass can be cut with a jigsaw so you don't need special tools to cut or drill it. I just used plexiglass as an example -it might be a poor example, but you get the deal -find a hard plastic that won't melt under super hot temps if you leave the car out under the sun on a summer day, won't shatter, etc., etc.
Edit: Or, check out my previous post about RA Motorsports located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They have that 3D printed spacer with built-in gaskets. It might be a touch tall for your application, but give things a measure. It might be an easy solution for you. I know they sell and ship them separately. If you need a link or whatever, lemme know. I'm picking up my rack from RA Motorsports tomorrow so I'll take pictures and measurements of the spacer.
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