Adding roof rails to SUV?

[edcantu9]

I can't seem to find any information on this. I am willing to do universal roof rails or OEM roof rails. I've looked on Google and all I find is information on the cross bars but not the actual rails.

The vehicle is a 2017 Dodge Journey.

Is it a possibility to buy a kit and install them yourself?

I find it all that I can't find any information on it. Any advice would be appreciated thank you all!

 

[joe_padavano]

I guess you need to take remedial Google. Took me about two minutes...

For vehicles WITHOUT production siderails

 

[edcantu9]

I guess you need to take remedial Google. Took me about two minutes...

For vehicles WITHOUT production siderails

Wow I need to work on my Google skills!

Is there a way I can find how these particular rails install?

Thank you for taking the time to post, it really helped me out!

 

[LB-1911]

Is there a way I can find how these particular rails install?

Cut from link provided -

View installation instructions: here.

Good Luck

 

[edcantu9]

Seems simple enough. Anybody have any experience installing this kit or anything similar?

Any tips advice?

 

[Jazz1]

I rented a Rivnut gun($5 for the day” and installed Jeep roof racks on my 4Runner years ago. Cheap and easy, I think I paid $20 for racks at pick a part

 

[bwringer]

Here's what all the bicycle and kayak people use:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/fit-my-car?c=roof+racks&q=S2XYqmTzC

 

[jb3]

Seems simple enough. Anybody have any experience installing this kit or anything similar?

Any tips advice?

Super easy, i installed an aftermarket rack on my vehicle using nutserts. Lots of youtube vids on nutsert installation, basically a threaded rivet.

The hardest part wont be screwing down the rack, it will be getting comfortable with drilling into a clean roof, and being very careful not to come through the headliner.

 

[STClurker]

Super easy, i installed an aftermarket rack on my vehicle using nutserts. Lots of youtube vids on nutsert installation, basically a threaded rivet.

The hardest part wont be screwing down the rack, it will be getting comfortable with drilling into a clean roof, and being very careful not to come through the headliner.

Actually, not drilling through the headliner is easy. Put a tube around your drill bit leaving only the depth that you want to drill exposed.

 

[jb3]

Actually, not drilling through the headliner is easy. Put a tube around your drill bit leaving only the depth that you want to drill exposed.

Yup, i did the tape variant. Not saying its truly diffiicult, only that putting holes in a virgin roof and not going to far are the only parts that take a little care. I guess that and accurately measuring where to drill the holes in the first place!

 

[jmarkwolf]

I saw a Youtube video where a bunch of 4W-drive vehicles (maybe Range Rover or Land Rover) lit out across the Australian outback. They all had seriously loaded roof racks, spare wheels, etc. Eventually one vehicle had the roof rack rivets tear out, leaving gaping holes in the sheet metal of the roof, rendering the rack useless in the middle of the outback. They had to distribute their load among the remaining vehicles.

Don't know if I'd trust rivnuts after seeing that.

 

[lilredex]

Put a rack on my Caravan and Volare using Rivnuts, same as the factory install. All those Volare wagons used them too. Racks all came from the junkyard.

 

[joe_padavano]

View installation instructions: here.

Am I the only one who really, REALLY hates the "Wordless Workshop" instructions? Unfortunately this seems to be the trend today (as opposed to printing them in four or five different languages). They always seem to lack some critical information.

 

[rayra]

I saw a Youtube video where a bunch of 4W-drive vehicles (maybe Range Rover or Land Rover) lit out across the Australian outback. They all had seriously loaded roof racks, spare wheels, etc. Eventually one vehicle had the roof rack rivets tear out, leaving gaping holes in the sheet metal of the roof, rendering the rack useless in the middle of the outback. They had to distribute their load among the remaining vehicles.

Don't know if I'd trust rivnuts after seeing that.

That's mroe an issue of too few mounting locations and poor 'feet' where the rack contacts the roof. The weight load has to be spread and kept secure. Too much of a point load or a crappy install and it will indeed work loose and damage the sheet metal.

To the OP, visit some auto scrapyards and find a factory rack for your vehicle. Something that fits your roof curves properly. Rivnuts are fairly easy to work with. Worst case, you can loosen your headliner and just use standard nuts/bolts.
And got to the 'Storage' subsection of expeditionportal.com, there's lots of folks there that have done what you want to do, plenty of reference material.

 

[edcantu9]

That's mroe an issue of too few mounting locations and poor 'feet' where the rack contacts the roof. The weight load has to be spread and kept secure. Too much of a point load or a crappy install and it will indeed work loose and damage the sheet metal.

To the OP, visit some auto scrapyards and find a factory rack for your vehicle. Something that fits your roof curves properly. Rivnuts are fairly easy to work with. Worst case, you can loosen your headliner and just use standard nuts/bolts.
And got to the 'Storage' subsection of expeditionportal.com, there's lots of folks there that have done what you want to do, plenty of reference material.

Lets say I buy this set of rails.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2009-2017-...569146?hash=item1ef0c6a53a:g:wlAAAOSwsQJcFCgm

When I receive it what will I need to install them? I already have the basics, a drill and a step. But I am thinking I will needs rivets of some sort and a special tool to install them? Also the bolts that hold the rail to the rivet.

 

[edcantu9]

Super easy, i installed an aftermarket rack on my vehicle using nutserts. Lots of youtube vids on nutsert installation, basically a threaded rivet.

The hardest part wont be screwing down the rack, it will be getting comfortable with drilling into a clean roof, and being very careful not to come through the headliner.

By chance if I get the oem rack mentioned earlier made for my Journey, will I still need to drill?

I notice at the top of the vehicle there is a strip on both sides. I think it is called a gutter guard? I've done some light research and it seems may I can remove it, and there should be some holes already there?

I might be totally wrong though, but I thought I would mention that at least.

 

[joe_padavano]

I might be totally wrong though, but I thought I would mention that at least.

I'm sorry, but did you look at those instructions for the factory kit? Did you look at the photos from the ebay ad? the factory roof rails mount on the solid metal INBOARD of those plastic strips. The strips simply cover the factory weld joint where the side panels of the body are welded to the roof panel. And you'll likely spend more money buying the missing parts to use those ebay rails than the cost of the factory kit. I mean, come on. The complete factory kit is $239. The ebay rails are $165, and you don't know exactly what you get for that. How do you plan to do the water sealing once you drill those holes, by the way? With the factory kit, the sealer should be included. It might be integral with the riv-nuts.

 

[edcantu9]

I'm sorry, but did you look at those instructions for the factory kit? Did you look at the photos from the ebay ad? the factory roof rails mount on the solid metal INBOARD of those plastic strips. The strips simply cover the factory weld joint where the side panels of the body are welded to the roof panel. And you'll likely spend more money buying the missing parts to use those ebay rails than the cost of the factory kit. I mean, come on. The complete factory kit is $239. The ebay rails are $165, and you don't know exactly what you get for that. How do you plan to do the water sealing once you drill those holes, by the way? With the factory kit, the sealer should be included. It might be integral with the riv-nuts.

You're right. I did look at the instructions. And I thought maybe I could save $100 by buying the eBay ones. But I also did think there was probably going to be a few things missing.

 

[kbs2244]

Can someone show when the OEMs went from through the roof fasteners to glue?
I know that glue was common for roof racks 10 to 15 years ago.
(They had been gluing F-16s together long before)

 

[joe_padavano]

You're right. I did look at the instructions. And I thought maybe I could save $100 by buying the eBay ones. But I also did think there was probably going to be a few things missing.

I'm a big fan of saving money with used parts, but this is probably one place where I'd err on the side of using the factory kit. Unless you remove the rack from the parts car yourself, you don't know what you won't get. And you certainly won't get the riv-nuts. I've had too many factory-installed racks cause leaks and damage to the interior. I'd be even more worried if I had to use generic riv-nuts instead of the factory ones. They may be exactly the same, but I don't know that. I don't know if you can even buy those individual parts separately from the dealer, or only in the kit. Trust me that I've made this mistake on more than one occasion, and ended up spending more to piece something together than it would have cost to buy the whole thing at once.

 

[jb3]

I saw a Youtube video where a bunch of 4W-drive vehicles (maybe Range Rover or Land Rover) lit out across the Australian outback. They all had seriously loaded roof racks, spare wheels, etc. Eventually one vehicle had the roof rack rivets tear out, leaving gaping holes in the sheet metal of the roof, rendering the rack useless in the middle of the outback. They had to distribute their load among the remaining vehicles.

Don't know if I'd trust rivnuts after seeing that.

I would not have trusted that application to a light duty factory roof rack personally. Mine is only rated for 150lbs. If i had a pile of high centered heavy **** up there and were expecting severe road conditions an alternate HD rack would have made much more sense.

 

[chilow]

I used nutserts and marine grade silicone when I did mine. It's been about 2 years and no leaks. Just make sure you go heavy on the silicone and try to park it indoors for at least a day.

 

[edcantu9]

I used nutserts and marine grade silicone when I did mine. It's been about 2 years and no leaks. Just make sure you go heavy on the silicone and try to park it indoors for at least a day.

Thanks that is a very useful tip!

 

[jb3]

By chance if I get the oem rack mentioned earlier made for my Journey, will I still need to drill?

I notice at the top of the vehicle there is a strip on both sides. I think it is called a gutter guard? I've done some light research and it seems may I can remove it, and there should be some holes already there?

I might be totally wrong though, but I thought I would mention that at least.

I think you will need to drill. My current vehicle needs a roof rack, has the pinch weld seam rubber strips, and nothing else. The stock rack bolts up a few inches in from the strips.

 

[edcantu9]

I'm sorry, but did you look at those instructions for the factory kit? Did you look at the photos from the ebay ad? the factory roof rails mount on the solid metal INBOARD of those plastic strips. The strips simply cover the factory weld joint where the side panels of the body are welded to the roof panel. And you'll likely spend more money buying the missing parts to use those ebay rails than the cost of the factory kit. I mean, come on. The complete factory kit is $239. The ebay rails are $165, and you don't know exactly what you get for that. How do you plan to do the water sealing once you drill those holes, by the way? With the factory kit, the sealer should be included. It might be integral with the riv-nuts.

I got a really good deal on the factory kit. It did not come with sealant. What kind do you recommend?