RR rails installed

torsoboy · **Posted:** Wed Jun 08, 2011 10:01 am

So I got my Rocky Road rails installed. I read that a lot of people have difficulty installing the product because of fit issues, but mine went on like a dream. It literally was just a bolt-on solution.

Here's what I got in the mail. Look! Instructions! Step 1: throw instructions away.

My KK has the Sky Slider roof, so it didn't have any functional roof rails on it because of "safety concerns." Understandable, but I also want to haul my kayak. I placed one of the rails behind the stock rail to show how much of a lift the rails give me. They aren't installed here, just resting in place:

Step 2: using Hulk strength, violently tear off the old "rails." Note the bolts sticking up through the roof. I read through the included instructions and found that they want you to go into the headliner to access the mounting holes. I tried that, but found that the SRS airbags presented an access problem. Careful acrobatic maneuvering with a flashlight revealed something very interesting: these bolts (at least on mine) are welded in. It's just a single little spot of welding, but I had no means to remove the stock hardware. Step 2-A: throw included mounting hardware away. The included locknuts are too large for the stock hardware; however, the stock mounting bolts fit the RR rails perfectly. So just find new locknuts.

The stock mounting bolts were painted along with the rest of the frame, and the paint filled up the threads on each bolt. So I had to strip away enough paint for the new locknuts to be able to fit on. Basically I just took a regular nut that fit the threading and wrenched it onto each of the nuts so that the paint peeled off. Then I just took the nut off, cleaned the bolts off, and installed the rails. It's not the prettiest job, but once I paint them black, the new locknuts will blend in perfectly.

Now to get cross bars and I'll be all set to haul my yak.

InfernoRedKK · **Posted:** Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:21 pm

Looks great! can't wait to see how close the cross bar will be to the slider. Or will you just not open slider with cross bars in place. I am looking for same type of bars nice write up.

John M.

Rulez · **Joined:** Wed Apr 21, 2010 10:25 am **Posts:** 37

If you want to open the roof, the cross bars need to be about 4" above the side rails.

torsoboy · **Posted:** Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:23 pm

InfernoRedKK wrote:

Looks great! can't wait to see how close the cross bar will be to the slider. Or will you just not open slider with cross bars in place. I am looking for same type of bars nice write up.

John M.

Thanks! The main reason I got these is so I'd definitely have some lift on the roof rails so that any cross bars I get won't touch the slider, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. I really don't plan on having the slider open while I have the cross bars in place anyways, because the main thing I'll be hauling up top is my kayak. Don't want a drippy kayak on top while the slider is open.

I plan on ordering my cross bars and yak hauler this week, so I'll get some photos when I install them.

InfernoRedKK · **Posted:** Mon Jun 13, 2011 8:21 am

torsoboy wrote:

InfernoRedKK wrote:

Looks great! can't wait to see how close the cross bar will be to the slider. Or will you just not open slider with cross bars in place. I am looking for same type of bars nice write up.

John M.

Thanks! The main reason I got these is so I'd definitely have some lift on the roof rails so that any cross bars I get won't touch the slider, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. I really don't plan on having the slider open while I have the cross bars in place anyways, because the main thing I'll be hauling up top is my kayak. Don't want a drippy kayak on top while the slider is open.

I plan on ordering my cross bars and yak hauler this week, so I'll get some photos when I install them.

Looking forward to the pictures. Also what are those plastic things that were under the stock rails, are they removable at all?

John M.

dubvtrouthead · **Joined:** Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:02 pm **Posts:** 3

Where did you buy these and are there any other websites that offer a similair product? I've been looking for a while and not trying to go to the dealership to have them do it. I need what you have and crossbars for my yak too! Also do you think that is strong enough to support a hammok strung to the bars?

dubvtrouthead · **Joined:** Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:02 pm **Posts:** 3

Also I would like to note......What JEEP doesnt have a roof rack already on it when you buy it!!!! It should be mandatory!!!! :dizzy:

BrendonR · **Posted:** Wed Jun 15, 2011 3:04 pm

dubvtrouthead wrote:

Where did you buy these and are there any other websites that offer a similair product? I've been looking for a while and not trying to go to the dealership to have them do it. I need what you have and crossbars for my yak too! Also do you think that is strong enough to support a hammok strung to the bars?

http://www.rocky-road.com/kjmisc.html

Similar product? I think the only one I've really seen is: http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/Liberty_gecko_accessories.htm

I'm guessing you want to tie one end of your hammock to the rail, and the other end to a tree or something else solid? Depends how heavy the hammock's load is I suppose. Don't forget that the rack's strength points are meant for holding things up, making sure they don't crash down into the roof, not for keeping them sturdy side-side.

Would it hold you? maybe. Would you be risking sheering the bolts off? yup.

dubvtrouthead wrote:

Also I would like to note......What JEEP doesnt have a roof rack already on it when you buy it!!!! It should be mandatory!!!!

Wrangler?

torsoboy · **Posted:** Fri Jun 17, 2011 8:44 am

BrendonR wrote:

dubvtrouthead wrote:

Where did you buy these and are there any other websites that offer a similair product? I've been looking for a while and not trying to go to the dealership to have them do it. I need what you have and crossbars for my yak too! Also do you think that is strong enough to support a hammok strung to the bars?

http://www.rocky-road.com/kjmisc.html

Similar product? I think the only one I've really seen is: http://www.rocklizardfabrications.com/Liberty_gecko_accessories.htm

I'm guessing you want to tie one end of your hammock to the rail, and the other end to a tree or something else solid? Depends how heavy the hammock's load is I suppose. Don't forget that the rack's strength points are meant for holding things up, making sure they don't crash down into the roof, not for keeping them sturdy side-side.

Would it hold you? maybe. Would you be risking sheering the bolts off? yup.

Yeah I got them from www.rocky-road.com. Order time took approximately 2 weeks. They fabricate them after you've placed the order, so expect to wait a little while. They seem to be tweaking their fabrication process with each order. A few people here have had installation issues with parts not fitting right, or otherwise causing them to do some fine-tuning on their end to get the parts to fit right, but like I said, mine went on as if they were stock parts themselves.

After installing mine, I did the whole wiggle test thing - grab one of the bars and start shaking like a madman. I can sure make my girlfriend car sick, but the bars are super tight on there and don't budge. Would I hang a hammock from them? Maybe once or twice, here and there, but not consistently. Like BendonR said, they're designed to provide support from below, not from the side. When something is placed on top, the weight is distributed onto the roof and frame of the vehicle; when something is hung off the side, the weight is only on the bolts holding the roof rails on.

Picked up some cross bars the other day, so we'll see how they fit once they arrive.

dubvtrouthead · **Joined:** Wed Jun 15, 2011 2:02 pm **Posts:** 3

Cool thanks for all the replys! I'm actually about to order the ones from rocky road so Ill see how they fit and let yall know.

SETexasLibby · **Posted:** Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:10 pm

did you have to use any shims?

rah8907 · **Joined:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:10 am **Posts:** 1

Hi David - Thanks for the post on RR side rails. I'm in the same boat (sorry, I mean Jeep) with a KK Skyslider and want to haul some things up top. Sure I could use a trailer instead, but it'd be a whole lot more convenient sometimes to just pop stuff up top and secure.

Thanks especially for the pictures of the install. I've got a couple questions, if you have time to answer. How high above the existing roofline do the RR rails go up? Wondering about how tall the KK will be with the RR rails installed. Along the same lines, with the Skyslider open, how much does the Skyslider stick up above the RR rails?

Also, after the RR rails are installed, do they stick straight up? The roof line looks like it has a little curve to it, so I'm wondering if the rails are perpendicular to the curve or if they are angled a bit to go straight up.

And I'm wondering about the paint and "channel" under the old rails (the cap things that come with the Skyslider). Does it clean up to shiny paint like the rest of the roof? Does it look ok, or would it look better with a little strip of rubber molding in the channel between the front and rear of the RR side rails.

Any luck finding a good set of cross rails? Would love to hear your thoughts/experience on cross rails and what not.

Ok, sorry, that's more than a couple questions. I never was good at counting.

Have a great day - Roger

sgsmith · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:09 pm

rah8907 wrote:

And I'm wondering about the paint and "channel" under the old rails (the cap things that come with the Skyslider). Does it clean up to shiny paint like the rest of the roof? Does it look ok, or would it look better with a little strip of rubber molding in the channel between the front and rear of the RR side rails.

I'm wondering the same thing myself. From the picture, it looks like it's fairly 'un-finished' in the channel. I'm in the same boat, don't have the skyslider, but have the mock-rails/black plastic that come on the models that do.

Torsoboy, how'd the oem plastic look after you pulled it off? Possibly clean enough that it could be cut to be re-used as a filler between the mounting points on the rails?

edit --

ah ha! It looks like oem parts 57010238AC and 57010239AC should be all that's needed. It's the molding that goes under the traditional factory rails. From looking at the picture on the Rocky-Road site, it looks like a good fit between the mount points on the one they did. -

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:28 pm

that's kinda what we do with the KJ roof racks, when the stock rails are removed, depending on the shape of the back feet on the rail, have to trim off the rear heel plastic on the old stock rails and 3m it back on to fill the channel

just make sure whatevers under the feet has a decent weather seal so theres no chance, even tho it's a limited chance, that water can sit there and seep through a hole or whatever

again, another issue 3m weatherstrip adhesive tape can resolve if necessary

sgsmith · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:35 pm

makes sense. Looking through the parts catalog even more, I found this part # 57010108AA which could also be what's in use in the image above. Almost wondering if it might actually be, since it's a single part vs the ones I posted above being a separate part for LH and RH.

OG_Toucan · **Joined:** Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:16 pm **Posts:** 100

The roof is painted under the black rails. However the factory used a LOT of tape. Extensive use of Goo Gone is recommended. I removed mine and started the clean up but it's too freaking hot hear in Phoenix at the moment. Also be careful up top the paint chips easily.

Got some pictures of the mounts under the black rails too, if anyone was curious.

sgsmith · **Posted:** Fri Aug 19, 2011 10:03 pm

Ahh, so do you plan to cut the old strips and glue down or do something else on yours?

OG_Toucan · **Joined:** Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:16 pm **Posts:** 100

Not sure. I may do just like Torsoboy and mount the racks right on. Really haven't given it much thought yet. To be honest I was curious as to what it looked like underneath so I removed one of the black covers. It snapped as soon as I lifted it up. So..... I was stuck and had to remove them both for uniformity. I was planning on doing roof rails just not so soon. Lol!

JeepinJarhead03 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 21, 2011 3:37 am

lol yikes tou

that's just the KK asking for a mod.. that's all

sometimes they don't ask nicely

GoodPrepper · **Joined:** Wed Dec 07, 2011 4:29 am **Posts:** 64

My install wasn't quite as smooth but the Safari rack looks great!

Write up here:
viewtopic.php?f=88&t=66676

RR rails installed

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