Rocky Road outfitter Roof Rails

[victorian]

Just got a set of Rocky Road outfitters roof rails for our 04 liberty. Looking through the instructions, it seems straight forward. Noticed that they only include some washers and nuts with the kit. Any idea if I can reuse the original bolts?
I will keep you guys posted and let you know how easy it really was :fishing1:

But before I can start I have to remove the original rails. Looks like they are pieces of plastic that are snapped together... Am I correct? Any hidden screws?

 

[victorian]

Done!

 

[victorian]

I should mention a couple of things:
1. The factory racks come off very easy. I used a chisel to pry open the two plastic halves and took out the original screws.
2. The new rails, didn't come with new bolts or any material to create a waterproof barrier between the roof and rails. I was thinking of sealing it with marine grade sikaflex but used clear silicone to be able to remove it later if I have to. Also had to go and buy new bolts and bigger washers as Rocky Road only included a handful nuts (for what? I'm not sure.). The original bolts have a too small of a head and whould have slipped through the holes in the rails.
3. The fit of the new rails is not too bad, they followed the roofline pretty well. But I'm still a bit confused about the outwards angle.... (both rails are the identical).

Anyhow, after checking other options, like a full yakima system it's still a good value and let's hope the roof top tent will not be in danger anymore of being ripped off

 

[LKWJeeper]

I have these rails on my KK. The KK has 4 bolts sticking out of the roof on each side. All I had to do was put down the new bars tighten the nuts and then add the top piece to cover the bolt.

Let me know what good rack you find. I'm considering purchasing the remainder of the rack or going something else.

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[92fox]

Nice..I'm between these and the Rock Lizard roof rail systems...

 

[tommudd]

Nice..I'm between these and the Rock Lizard roof rail systems...

No comparison between the two
RRO is just the rails so not that strong,
Rock Lizard is a full rack that is built to handle a load

 

[92fox]

Kind of what I was thinking...really liking the one they make with their "basket rack"

 

[LKWJeeper]

RRO is a bolt together rack. I believe with the Rock Lizard you need to have it welded

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[tommudd]

RRO is a bolt together rack. I believe with the Rock Lizard you need to have it welded

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For the KK yes on the welded together
Don't think we're talking about KKs though opcorn:
Plus I'll take a welded one over something that bolts together where rust can form anyday

 

[LKWJeeper]

I know you're talking about KJs. For the average person its easier to bolt together.

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[92fox]

So the Rock Lizard one doesn't come welded, ready to assemble?

 

[tommudd]

So the Rock Lizard one doesn't come welded, ready to assemble?

KKs don't
cheaper to ship in two pieces
easy enough to have someone weld it up
Have done them here at my place and you can't even tell where it was welded
very strong, ran tubes inside of the outside tubes, plug welded them in plus where the cuts were

 

[victorian]

Update: I installed the rails just a couple of days ago. It's raining on and off since yesterday. Today I found a spot where rusty water is coming out on a weld! WTF? Not impressed....

 

[LKWJeeper]

Water is coming out of the weld or you already have a rust spot? Not cool sorry to hear that.

I've scratched the powder coat and its rusted in that spot. I just cleaned it and painted over.

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[victorian]

rusty water is coming out of the weld. no scratch or other defect visible....

 

[victorian]

Painting over wouldn't help much in the long term... Taking them back off to redo paint job is not possible...

 

[Cherrie]

Looks like a small hole in weld.Why can't they be removed? Sand a little and jb weld or paintable caulk and re touch paint.

 

[victorian]

Looks like a small hole in weld.Why can't they be removed? Sand a little and jb weld or paintable caulk and re touch paint.

Problem is: I had to glue them to the roof to get a waterproof seal.... removing them is not impossible but very painful....

There is also rust coming out between the roof and roof rails... at least that spot will be difficult to touch up and prevent the rust from spreading.

 

[CactusJacked]

So far, this isn't looking like a good endorsement for the RRO roof rails!
Guess they should call them Rusty Road Roof Rails.

 

[victorian]

They are rusty but are holding up well! We drove more than 250km of rough logging roads this past weekend and the rails with a 150lb rooftop tent held up just fine.