Remove Roof Track Trim - RRS/D3

[101RRS]

I need to remove the black roof track trims on my RRS to put on some Rhino Roof Rails.

I have sussed how to twist the trims to unclip them but the little trims that cover the mount holes in the roof have me stumped.

I have tried prising them out but will just end up wrecking them - so how do you get them out without damage.

Here is a poor pic of the little sucker.

Thanks

Garry

[discotwinturbo]

My old man previously fit rhino racks.
He just put a wide blade screw driver underneath, and a fairly flat piece of plastic and then levered of the plastic (anything that would protect the paint would work). No damage at all. It's just like some interior clips.....it has a thread but not the screw in type....just push in and lock type.
Brett....

[Celtoid]

Hey Garry,

I had the exact problem when I went to re-fit the Oval Alloy Tradesman rack that I have for my D4. I called the guys that did the original fit. They have a fork like tool that they manufactured specifically for this job.

I got an old, heavy fork (four tang) and splayed it through the middle. I gently levered the plastic cap up with a small common screwdriver and then inserted the fork. I used a small hammer and gently tapped the fork in, until it was all the way to the core of the tangs.

Each plug/trim/cap was different to remove....some easy, some hard. I ended up using a combo of quick flicks and slow leverage.

In the end I bent a few but they straightened pretty easily. There is no doubt that they will have a short life if you did this often. They are a bad design and should have an actual thread and a slot on top, so that you can use a common screwdriver. I gave the holes a squirt of WD40 afterwards, as I found some evidence of rust, which must have occurred after the original roof rack fit.

Hope this helps,

Kev.

[scarry]

Got mine out recently,i levered them up with a small screwdriver then used sidecutters under them & they came without damage.The jaws of the sidecutters lifted both sides together,if you know what i mean.

[101RRS]

Thanks for that - guess I need to be a little less girlie and just get stuck into them:). Once they are out they are not used as the black trim is cut for the Rhino Tracks whereas according the the OEM track instructions the OEM tracks just bolt over the top of the trim.

Thanks

Garry

[jonesy63]

Garry - after you fit the Rhino Racks - there is no going back! I just whacked a small screwdriver into the top of those plugs and then screwed them out! ;):D

Did it on D3 and now on D4 - and survived to tell the tale. :cool:

[101RRS]

Garry - after you fit the Rhino Racks - there is no going back!

I know - scary stuff[bigsad]

:D

Garry

[Glynhouse]

Jonesy has the best idea, mine were an absolute pita to remove.
I ended up levering one side up enough to get hold of the flat edge with a good pair of multigrips and just using then as a rolling lever and ripped them out did not destroy one ! but they dont look too good - but not used again so what ?

DD

[brad72]

I gripped the outside edge of mine with a pair of needle nose pliers and rotated the cap anticlockwise till there was enough to unscrew them by hand. came off without any damage and ready to be re-used if needed.

[i_s]

ok so a little off topic, but what about the next step. The rihno rack instructions say that you need to cut away some drip-check (which I assume is some sort of mastic or caulking) from the rear of the exposed channel and paint the area with cold-gal.

Are people finding that this is necessary?

[scarry]

ok so a little off topic, but what about the next step. The rihno rack instructions say that you need to cut away some drip-check (which I assume is some sort of mastic or caulking) from the rear of the exposed channel and paint the area with cold-gal.

Are people finding that this is necessary?

Easy to do,had to do it to mine or the rails will not seat down correctly,the rivet is easy as well.

Good luck

[101RRS]

Must be a D3/4 thing as it is not in the RRS instructions.

[101RRS]

Those little covers were glued in on my vehicle so all got damaged on removal.

However the Rhino Tracks went on relatively easily. The rear pieces of the original roof trim are not actually held with any clips so there is nothing to hold them on when the tracks are on except a little bit of pressure from the tracks so I glued them on with some silastic - strong enough to hold them in place but easier enough to remove if required later.

This is how the tracks look - very low profile
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/Forum%20Posts%20Album/P5260071.jpg

Then i had to put the Rhino feet on. No major issues but they do not work quite as indicated in the instructions. There are brass fittings that slide inside the track that the feet bolt too. The instructions on the tracks say to discard the brass fittings provided with the feet and use the ones with the tracks - however the ones with the feet are heavier and work just as well so I used those. There are also spacer wedges that go between the feet and the tracks but when installed as instructed the feet are at the wrong angle - (yes I had then the right way around) - if not used at all then the feet sit just right - while the tracks are RRS specific I think the feet are generic.

I put the feet on OK and installed the cross aerobars - as I previously had Thule bars I used these cross bars as they will bolt up to the Rhino ones OK.

This is how they look
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e334/gazzz21/Forum%20Posts%20Album/P5260072.jpg

I have had these cross bars on a D1 and my Freelander and they have always hummed and the RRS is no different - they start to hum at 80kph but thankfully do not get noisier the faster you go.

I have yet to decide whether to bolt my Tigrez D4 roof rack to the cross bars or take the bars off and mount the Tigrez roof rack direct to the feet.

Cheers

Garry

[~Rich~]

Good one Gary,
I see what you mean by "very low profile" compared to the OEM ones.
I was thinking you could trim the Tigerz11 feet down in height but looking at your photo's it may be too much.

Let us know what you find as best.

[101RRS]

I was thinking you could trim the Tigerz11 feet down in height but looking at your photo's it may be too much.

Let us know what you find as best.

That is still an option (grinder will cut them down) but the Rhino feet will bolt up to the Tigerez roof rack with a bit of aluminium strip to fill the slot in the feet. I also have a set of industrial load rails that will also bolt up but they are a bit heavy and made out of galvanised steel so will damage paintwork when fitting is not careful.

I just don't know why landrover did not put on longitudinal roof rails like just about every other 4wd including the previous Discoveries and Freelanders. Cross rails just clamp on and off and taking a couple of seconds.

Cheers

Garry