Caravan Roof Rack Delete
Written on March 25, 2009. Written by Zac.
I was browsing the ecomodder forums this morning an found a good little aerodynamic mode, a roof rack delete, that someone had done there. Check it out:
I didn’t take pics of the whole process, but I can describe it pretty well…
- Move both of the cross-beams as far apart as the rack will allow, one front, one back.
- You’ll need a Torx, Star, or whatever bit they’re being called this week, not sure of the size at the moment.
- There are 6 screws on each side… remove them in any order.
- Once you have one side done, move to the other side, and repeat.
- Once all the screws are undone, while standing on a sturdy surface with the van’s roof approximately level to your chest, grab both cross beams, one in each hand.
- Lift the assembly away from the roof of the vehicle, tilting it up over your head.
- The assembly weighs approx 30 lbs, be careful.
- Once you’ve removed the rack, you’ll need to either cut the screws, get new (shorter) screws to put back, or get some chassis plugs (the annoying plastic things you can never get out w/o breaking) to fill the holes.
- Best you should put some light sealant under the caps of the plugs you use, to avoid water seepage and eventual corrosion.
Below are before/after shots, a shot of the roof rack hanging on the side of the van, showing it’s size relative to the sliding door, and and a shot of exactly what could be hiding beneath those rack ends… (Those are Japanese Beetles, for those who can’t identify them.)
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