2017 Expy EL roof rack removal

[njja]

Hi

I've mostly lurked and had a question so I'm posting.

My garage door height doesn't allow my 2017 EL to get in, with factory roof racks being the main impediment.

Rather than readjusting the garage door frame, I'm thinking to remove the roof racks as I don't use the truck for purpose. Barely any towing or large items hauling on the roof.

I was wondering how easy is it to remove for a novice and are there any steps to take to make sure the top doesn't get rusted or suffer leaks?

I've looked for videos but found none.

All I ask is please explain to me like you would to a high school kid who doesn't know much about cars but is beginning to enjoy DIY. Plain and simple English without technical jargons. Haha.

Thank you.

 

[AllBoostNoEco]

Maybe this can help clarify how it’s attached. Nutserts (basically nuts you push into a drilled hole) in the roof itself, with large screws hidden under the plastic trim. Pop off the plastic trim and you’ll be able to take those screws out and off it will come.
I’ve never taken mine off, so I’m not sure if the gaskets between the rails and the roof are strictly to keep it from rubbing against the body or as a means of keeping water out. Maybe someone else has done it, otherwise you’ll have to pull it off and see what you have. At the very least, I’d think you’d want to use silicone around the nutserts and thread sealant on the screws to keep water out.

 

[njja]

View attachment 23375
Maybe this can help clarify how it’s attached. Nutserts (basically nuts you push into a drilled hole) in the roof itself, with large screws hidden under the plastic trim. Pop off the plastic trim and you’ll be able to take those screws out and off it will come.
I’ve never taken mine off, so I’m not sure if the gaskets between the rails and the roof are strictly to keep it from rubbing against the body or as a means of keeping water out. Maybe someone else has done it, otherwise you’ll have to pull it off and see what you have. At the very least, I’d think you’d want to use silicone around the nutserts and thread sealant on the screws to keep water out.

Hi there. Thank you for the detailed and clear response. The diagram sure helps. Now I gotta go and see if I have the right drivers for the kind of screws they have on there.

For me this might end up with a long tail but I'll try to report back once I'm through with this.

For now, I'm now evaluating whether I should remove those things or not. Obviously for me it will depend upon a few factors, including how easy/quick it is to put it back on if needed, the damage or the look post-removal, and if I'm exposing any particular sections of the roof to rusting and leaking.

I can't imagine starting on removal and not completing it merely because I lacked the skill or a needed tool.

I really want to park it inside the garage but it is proving to be a challenge. The brick portion of the garage has enough height. The stupid installers put the tracks well below the headspace on the brick and mortar opening.

Thank you again.

 

[J Ski]

It will look hideous just like this Tahoe you will have a few holes to plug that may leak in the future as well

 

[njja]

View attachment 23378 It will look hideous just like this Tahoe you will have a few holes to plug that may leak in the future as well

Lol @ hideous.

I realise the look will not be as good but I got no other option it seems like. I have another single garage that it fits height wise but there width wise daily in and out will be a pain because I have to fold both side view mirrors coming in and out and it's not ideal.

 

[deweysmith]

You don’t have to plug the holes, there are rubber grommets that go around the screws, you just screw them back into the empty holes, that will seal it up nice.

 

[bloodhound]

I took mine off years ago on my 2009 (racks are the exact same), no issue and very easy to put back on. As stated, just thread the bolts back in and leave it.

 

[Michael McC]

I removed the racks on mine and replaced them with custom aluminum powder-coated racks. There are 3 sets of mounts. My new racks only use the front holes. I put the screws back in the back holes. No issues with leaking. I think I added some Loc-Tite or similar thread sealer.

The aluminum racks are a low-profile alternative to bolting Thule or Yakima racks on the factory racks. The truck fits in the garage even with a small 2" lift and 1" taller tires. A local shop built them for about $250, and the powder-coating was about $60. Cheaper than Thules. Very happy with the results.

 

[Plati]

Forgive me if these are non workable ideas, not having seen your garage. Can you call a garage door company and ask them to reinstall door higher? Also ... I couldn't get my Expy in my garage until I just pushed the door up a little higher. If it was garage door opener might just be adjusting stop position.

 

[deweysmith]

My garage is physically too short. It would require cutting concrete and re-framing. Not cheap.

 

[Plati]

ABNE answered the question perfectly. BH built on it. I reread the OP and he said he didn't want to readjust the garage door frame. Should be no problem taking it off and later putting back on if desired.

 

[Ranger Jim]

If you reinstall the mounting plates, I suggest adding sealant around the base of the screws.
The screw pockets collect water and causes the metal to rust under the plates and beyond.
I used seam sealer, because I had some (both around the holes under the plates and around the screw head in the plate)

 

[Flexpedition]

Here is a before and after from another forum member.

 

[J Ski]

 

[Plati]

Better gas mileage?

 

[J Ski]

Better gas mileage?

0.03 mpg gain

 

[Plati]

0.03 mpg gain

About the same as running premium gas then.

Just kidding!
Gotta have a sense of humor, please!!!

 

[njja]

So here is an update and apologies for not keeping up and responding to individual posts as I completely forgot about this forum until an email notification reminded me of it. I gotta start being a regular here - very interesting discussions.

TLDR:
Didn't remove the roof rack, didn't adjust the whole garage door frame or anything.

The long of it:
I spoke to a dealer who quoted $250 (lol) for removing the roof rack. Then I considered lowering the vehicle itself and asked for a quote but he said to bring the truck in and I said no.

Decided that it WILL look ugly without the roof rack so will NEVER remove those, unless replacing for something better.

As for the garage door brick and mortar wall opening, out of question.

Had a garage door person come in and was told about $1,100+ quote to reframe the tracks on the garage door. I don't think I will go for it.

Then I eventually tried to force park the thing into the garage and noticed it barely kisses the horizontal long trim plates on the inside of the garage door when it is lifted up. Essentially force driving it into the garage scrapes the top of the roof rack a little and pushes the horizontally hanging garage door up a little thus allowing a little more room to open up. The noise isn't pretty and it's not damaging anything so I politely and slowly continued while there was a navigator out in the garage guiding me through.

Now, the fun part. Decided the other day to mess around with the garage door a little and figured I will push the travel distance on the tracks to the max so the bottom part of the garage door goes as far up as possible. I finally gained an inch or two of more opening space when the garage door is opened up all the way.

All said and done the truck with the roof racks is barely, only barely, able to move in without fully hitting the garage door trim plates and intermittently only kisses these instead. Of course I have to drive it in very slow with all windows rolled down and the A/C and Audio turned off so I can listen in. The gap between the top of roof racks and the garage door trim plates is basically 1/8th of an inch or less but it barely makes it through.

I only ever park it rather empty and driving alone, and I am guessing the more weight I'd have in there (people, cargo) at other times it might only get better.

To be safe, I do deploy my navigator each time to sometimes manually force push the bottom part of the garage door further up with bare hands manually while I am bringing the beast in when I need to bring it in. Otherwise it stays outside.

 

[sjwelds]

But the thing is, you should be able to adjust the opener on your garage door to open the door farther, no??

 

[bloodhound]

I spoke to a dealer who quoted $250 (lol) for removing the roof rack.

$250 for what is literally 10 minutes of labor. What a joke.