Roof Rails replacement

giguchan

giguchan

Senior Member
All,
As the Title says... I need to replace my Roof Rails. These are the Rails that run from the front to the rear of the Vehicle. Does anyone know of any aftermarket Rails that i might use?

I had my Thule gear on the roof when i hit a low hanging limb. The thin lips of the rails ripped up. Good thing they were empty.

I can always just RE mount the Thule racks to a non damaged area, but the Manufacturer recommends specific distance apart to maintain structure integrity.

Thanks.
 
Register to hide this ad
giguchan said:
All,
As the Title says... I need to replace my Roof Rails. These are the Rails that run from the front to the rear of the Vehicle. Does anyone know of any aftermarket Rails that i might use?

I had my Thule gear on the roof when i hit a low hanging limb. The thin lips of the rails ripped up. Good thing they were empty.

I can always just RE mount the Thule racks to a non damaged area, but the Manufacturer recommends specific distance apart to maintain structure integrity.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Rhino-rack makes rtc style roof tracks channel mount in different lengths.
 
You could use unistrut and build your own. It's like 25 dollars for a 10 foot long piece.

I just built a roof rack using it, and I really like it alot. I'm about 100 dollars total into my build and it's coming together very well.

It's low profile, heavy duty, versatile, and basically an erector set for adults when it comes to putting it together.
 
Thepedigree13 said:
You could use unistrut and build your own. It's like 25 dollars for a 10 foot long piece.

I just built a roof rack using it, and I really like it alot. I'm about 100 dollars total into my build and it's coming together very well.

It's low profile, heavy duty, versatile, and basically an erector set for adults when it comes to putting it together.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply!
I'd love to see what it looks like when your project is completed.
I'm going to look into that.
 
I'll post photos when it's complete.

I threw it together one night before a river trip, just so I'd have a way of attaching a much needed awning in this TX heat.

It comes galvanized, which is cool for corrosion resistance, but sucks if you want to paint it. They make all types of fittings for them, but I also like that you can bolt anything you want to them, by virtue of the predrilled holes they have.

When the weather cools down I'm going to take it off and paint it properly.

I made 4 more cross rails that are prepped and primed, ready to paint. Waiting on the humidity to lower before painting those. There will be a total of 6 cross rails, spaced about 12 inches from each other.

The first two that are currently on there stick out 6 inches from the main rails/tracks on both sides to allow the awning to protrude out where I wanted it.

As for the other 4 cross rails that aren't installed yet.

I used 30% vinegar to clean them, then scuffed them. Then I sprayed them with a solvent based paint prep aerosol. Then primed them with acid etching primer. Took about an hour. The primer appears to have adhered pretty well.

Anyway, all in all I think I'll end up spending $150-200 total, and 6 hours or so total build. I love the prinsu racks and such, but they are pricey and this allows me to tinker a bit.
 
Thanks for the reply.!!
Can't wait to see what you have come up with. I found some OEM tracks from a junked truck. so this will be a direct replacement. I do like the idea of a little heavier duty track though.
 
So far this makes the front wiper motor and the Tracks are from a junky.
Oh well. it serves a purpose.
 
giguchan said:
I do like the idea of a little heavier duty track though.
Click to expand...

As someone who installs track on a regular basis, be mindful that
beefier track no longer becomes the "fuse" in the system and can
potentially cause the roof itself to get damaged or torn...
Much easier to simply replace cheap track!
 
That also makes pretty good sense.. I wouldn't be happy if my roof peeled up.. Nope... not happy at all.
 
GhostRing said:
As someone who installs track on a regular basis, be mindful that
beefier track no longer becomes the "fuse" in the system and can
potentially cause the roof itself to get damaged or torn...
Much easier to simply replace cheap track!
Click to expand...

Which would you use if you couldn't find a track from the junky? something from E trailer? they had solutions also.
 
I attached the unistrut to the factory tracks for this roof rack build. I used the 1 5/8" for that section and essentially used it as side rails to maintain a low profile design. The cross bars are all the 13/16" unistrut to save weight and keep it low profile.

Two things I am conscious of during this build are, the fact that the unistrut it a little heavier than the cheap dorky roof baskets people use for a roof rack, and as mentioned just because the new bars I installed can support alot more weight doesn't mean the factory tracks can.

I don't plan on putting alot of weight up there anyway. I used the unistrut for its durability, versatility, and low profile design.
 
Thanks for the reply.
All i need is Track and the Thule system will do the roof. Unistrut is pretty good stuff Nice n solid. Sounds like you have made a good decision.
 
giguchan said:
Thanks for the reply.!!
Can't wait to see what you have come up with. I found some OEM tracks from a junked truck. so this will be a direct replacement. I do like the idea of a little heavier duty track though.
Click to expand...

How much, if you don't mind me asking?
 
giguchan said:
Which would you use if you couldn't find a track from the junky? something from E trailer? they had solutions also.
Click to expand...

If not OEM, I would likely use Thule track. Yakima being a close 2nd - major difference is the finish, Thule anodizes and Yakima paints the track.
But that would mainly apply if there were no rivnuts etc. in the roof already. Re-using undamaged factory mounts is always a sound move.
 
Thanks for the added information...
I like the look of OEM. I think that the Thule are probably a little bit more robust and can take a more of a beating than OEM. I say this because -it's what they do. Anytime i see 6 bikes on a roof blowing down the highway i say that's pretty strong stuff.

I also think the channels are deeper too. The OEM Tracks have the holes exactly where they need to be to mate up to the Roof. I think because Thule aren't made for our trucks i believe the bottoms slide so that they mate up properly. I also like the idea of Thule track being Anodized.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 374 (members: 5, guests: 369)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,310
Messages
3,554,079
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top