Thread: Roof Bars - D3

Originally Posted by l00kin4

Hi Jeepster,

I should have asked exactly what you wanted to do. The important thing is that the front legs are the longer 80mm(?) high ones - RLT506. I think notionally they are a track mount leg but seems they will work with the same feet as the other rear legs and a single longer screw through to the nutsert in the roof.

Those are not in that parts list I posted (to clarify the parts required to mount the legs to the tracks, which come with the legs).

The (shorter) RLCP legs in that list are for the rear 2 sets mounted to the track.

Hope that helps.

David

I hope to attack this on the weekend. The 2 feet I got for the front are certainly higher than the ones I have for the rear rails, but they might still need a spacer to lift the bar a few cm.
Will see what I discover during the process.

Ooh, it looks like most of the pictures have been restored in the original thread! Well done moderators!

Originally Posted by eddomak

Ooh, it looks like most of the pictures have been restored in the original thread! Well done moderators!

That will certainly make things easier!

Today was time to do something useful after 6 weeks of being careful how/where I walked. I figured it would all involve doing stuff standing up, rather than crawling around under the Disco.
As I said earlier, I scored 2 Vortex bars off Gumtree, and last weekend I went to Autobahns 25% off sale and got another bar, and 2 mounts.
First job was to remove the covers for the rails from the roof, and shorten them.
Fairly easy job with a trim removal tool, although one plug decided to break. If this happens, get something to grip it, and just unscrew it out of the captive nut

roof plug.jpg.roof plugs.jpgplug stuck 2.jpgplug stuck no more.jpg
When the track comes out, expect a heap of crap under it - mine had a fair bit of Sydney in the tracks under the covers.
crud 2.jpgcrud.jpg
It was mostly dry, so I scraped it out, and used a brush to clean it up
cleaning 2.jpg
Once cleaned out, it was time to cut the tracks so the front section could be replaced back onto the roof. Remember measure, measure, measure, and then cut! You end up cutting 153cm from the back end of the track cover. It is light aluminum and a hacksaw is just fine.
IMG_5086.jpg
Now it's time to fit the rails.
There are plastic end caps marked front and rear, left and right. Push them into the ends of the rail, and when you put it over the tracks in the roof, make sure it is flat on the outside and the inside. Mine took a little jiggling, but it was soon sorted. I had to buy the fixings as they didn't come with my rails. There are 3 security allen screws on each side, and according to Rhino, you are supposed to drill a hole at the back and put a rivet in. That did not happen!!! I'll see how it goes, but I won't be carrying any major weight on my racks, so I don't see it as being necessary.
rail ends.jpgrail bolts.jpg

More to come soon

rail fitted.jpg
Both rails are the same to fit. There was nothing fiddly about this part at all.

centre close up.jpg
These are the center and rear fittings with the racks fitted
This is the front leg that I used. Each one needs an M6x50mm bolt - which is 10mm longer than the one supplied, and it just screws straight into the captive nut that had one of the plastic plugs in it.

front leg.jpgfront leg fitted.jpg

alas, it does not line up first time! The difference was 40mm too low.

front gap 2.jpg

Which was solved by adding some spacers - 4 in fact, to bring it up to the right height

front close up.jpgfront gap with spacers.jpg

And now the completed job.
completed 2.jpgcompleted.jpgcompleted 3.jpg

Am now going to do a wind test to the butcher while I get some steak for a BBQ - will post the appropriate part details after dinner tonite.
Hope this helps answer some of the questions about what works, what doesn't, and how it looks.

Did a wind /noise test today, and there is a new sound between 60 and 80kpm, but it is not annoying. Over 80kph, it goes away.
I'll call it a success.

As has been mentioned by others, there are various part numbers for this combination.
The bits I used were:
RTS502 Rhino Tracks
RLT500 Track legs on the front.
RTLF Track legs on the rear.
I used 4 x 10mm spacers to lift the front bar, and you will need about an M6x75 bolt to go through them all - sorry I forgot to measure this.
Lots of instructions on the Rhino rack website but here are the rail instructions
rail fitting instructions.pdf

With all the other posts, this might all help to make someones job easier.

Hi Guys.

I am thinking of Vortex bars with the RCL legs. Does anybody use locking straps to hold Oztent securely? I believe their are accessories that fit in the channel.

Originally Posted by Aussie Jeepster

Did a wind /noise test today, and there is a new sound between 60 and 80kpm, but it is not annoying. Over 80kph, it goes away.
I'll call it a success.

As has been mentioned by others, there are various part numbers for this combination.
The bits I used were:
RTS502 Rhino Tracks
RLT500 Track legs on the front.
RTLF Track legs on the rear.
I used 4 x 10mm spacers to lift the front bar, and you will need about an M6x75 bolt to go through them all - sorry I forgot to measure this.
Lots of instructions on the Rhino rack website but here are the rail instructions
rail fitting instructions.pdf

With all the other posts, this might all help to make someones job easier.

Good write up Jeepster. Just one thing to add to this - if you use a taller version of the RLT leg (RLT506, the 80mm version Rhino RLT506 Track Mount Legs 80mm (pr) - Roof Rack World) on the front, you'll need less spacers...

David