Prinsu 200 Series Rack INSTALLED (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter jdlc1406
- Start date
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8 crossbars? Did you order extra? Looks really good.
Looks great!
What year is your truck?
What year is your truck?
- Thread starter
- #5
So, I do want to remove all of the existing nut plate things. I don't know if I can pull them out or push them in. We lost FOUR of them when we installed and had to drill out four to 1/2" and use a rubber insert.
The spacers are a little wonky and it was hard to get them to sit flush as they were tightened down. It also caused an issue with the rubber inserts. I think what I am going to do is order 1/2" x 2 1/2" Nutserts and rubber washers and refasten the entire rack to the roof. I question the waterproofness especially with the design of the recessed channel that the rack is bolted in to (see pic).
Other than that, it took a little time getting it set up correctly, but it did eventually sit right. If anyone has a better idea as to what to use to fasten this to the roof (and how to remove the factory inserts) I would greatly appreciate it. A friend who does a lot of body work says that nutserts (sort of like a rivet) is probably the way to go to fasten it down securely and ensure waterproofness.
The spacers are a little wonky and it was hard to get them to sit flush as they were tightened down. It also caused an issue with the rubber inserts. I think what I am going to do is order 1/2" x 2 1/2" Nutserts and rubber washers and refasten the entire rack to the roof. I question the waterproofness especially with the design of the recessed channel that the rack is bolted in to (see pic).
Other than that, it took a little time getting it set up correctly, but it did eventually sit right. If anyone has a better idea as to what to use to fasten this to the roof (and how to remove the factory inserts) I would greatly appreciate it. A friend who does a lot of body work says that nutserts (sort of like a rivet) is probably the way to go to fasten it down securely and ensure waterproofness.
My rack is going to be delivered today, I am planning to install it very soon. Did you follow the procedure for removing the roof rack and still lost the nut plates in the roof? I am planning to use a massive glob of RTV on each of the bolts/spacers to make the connection waterproof - similar to the Tacoma Cabrac instructions.
The rack looks great!
The rack looks great!
- Thread starter
- #7
Yes. The plates on my truck were individual plates per bolt. Doesn't make sense, but that's how it happened. You can see in the photo above the existing (yellow sheathed) nut that didn't break on the left, and the one on the right that fell in. I figure, I am not sure if I can pull them out, but maybe just push them all in and Rivnut / Nutsert it in with rubber gaskets and heaps of silicone. I don't trust it's water resistance as it sits now. There are no 200 series installation guides on Prinsu's website, but I followed the Tacoma one as best I could. He sent a TON of extra hardware, to the point it really took me a long time to figure out and make sure I wasn't missing anything.
I was able to get mine on yesterday without any issues. I'm pretty impressed with the rack, once everything is together it's very solid. I took it for a short drive only up to about 60 MPH and the wind noise is very minimal even with the sunroof open. I am running the fairing at the lowest setting. I plan to put the RTT and awning on later this week for an upcoming trip. I followed the cabrack instructions and used a huge glob of RTV to seal it to the roof - hopefully it's water tight because it would be a pain to redo!
Ignore the anti-seize on the fairing, I used it on the fasteners and made a mess. The fairing is nicely powder coated.
Ignore the anti-seize on the fairing, I used it on the fasteners and made a mess. The fairing is nicely powder coated.
- Thread starter
- #9
I was able to get mine on yesterday without any issues. I'm pretty impressed with the rack, once everything is together it's very solid. I took it for a short drive only up to about 60 MPH and the wind noise is very minimal even with the sunroof open. I am running the fairing at the lowest setting. I plan to put the RTT and awning on later this week for an upcoming trip. I followed the cabrack instructions and used a huge glob of RTV to seal it to the roof - hopefully it's water tight because it would be a pain to redo!
Ignore the anti-seize on the fairing, I used it on the fasteners and made a mess. The fairing is nicely powder coated.
Hedd, If you were to say.. Lose some of the backing plates... What would be your next route of fixing it? I do think I want to push all of them in (or pull them out, if you even can?) and fasten them with something like nutserts and rubber washers.
I am not sure..... I would personally be very hesitant to drill anything into the roof but it does look like the rivnut that the accesscab install uses could be a option. Personally, I would talk to an expert before drilling the roof.
I would try and see if it's possible to fish the other side of the nut plate back in to the roof hole. Looking at your picture above, could you thread a nut into the yellow side and then try and spin the other side back? It's possible that you spun the nut plate in the roof and one side is missing, see the picture at the link below. If you removed the bolts one at a time there is a good chance that the plate spun due to the locktite on the threads.
Removing the Roof Rails
Worst case you could take the headliner out and replace the nutplates. It doesn't look that hard technically but looks like it would take a huge amount of time... See below.
GSIC - Global Service Information Center
I would try and see if it's possible to fish the other side of the nut plate back in to the roof hole. Looking at your picture above, could you thread a nut into the yellow side and then try and spin the other side back? It's possible that you spun the nut plate in the roof and one side is missing, see the picture at the link below. If you removed the bolts one at a time there is a good chance that the plate spun due to the locktite on the threads.
Removing the Roof Rails
Worst case you could take the headliner out and replace the nutplates. It doesn't look that hard technically but looks like it would take a huge amount of time... See below.
GSIC - Global Service Information Center
I would highly recommend against replacing the plates with nutserts. First, the plates are infinitely stronger than nutserts.
Having removed the front roof rack bolts and lost one of the plates into the abyss, I have a theory; the plates probably break loose if you completely remove one bolt and then try to remove the second without the first still there to prevent the plate from spinning internally. When I get around to installing my rack, I'll use threaded studs (small sections of all thread as placeholders and handles in the event that any plates do fall in.
I would also recommend against leaving plates that have fallen in that channel. They could end up rattling around, driving you crazy, or worse yet, they could become a projectile in the event the side curtain airbags ever deploy. When I lost the forward most plate, it was actually sitting on a section of the airbag FWIR. If not, I could definitely see the airbag through the peep holes.
Retrieving the plate was very frustrating, but I'm glad I did. I ended up using pick tools, a skinny magnet and a flashlight. I put a little piece of double stick tape on the plate through the hole and pulled it up tight to the roof metal to hold it in place while I re-threaded the roof rack bolts...
I'd recommend a good dose of RTV. There are many different brands but, they're all generally the same silicone sealant.
I am afraid you will have to pull all the bolts and reseal them. It stinks to have to do all the work again. Beware that new silicone doesn't stick to dried stuff. Not sure how you need to clean it first. Good luck!
- Thread starter
- #16
Update. I ended up taking the truck to Overbuilt Customs here in Jax and had them pull it all back off. We lost a ton more of the inserts, so we pushed them all in and re-did it with all oversized nutserts. At that point I was really out of options, and they felt it was a solid option.
It also doesn't leak anymore.
Should I really be concerned that it's fastened with nutserts?
It also doesn't leak anymore.
Should I really be concerned that it's fastened with nutserts?
Will those that pushed through rattle? Or do they? Maybe you'll get lucky
- Thread starter
- #18
Nope no rattle at all
Update. I ended up taking the truck to Overbuilt Customs here in Jax and had them pull it all back off. We lost a ton more of the inserts, so we pushed them all in and re-did it with all oversized nutserts. At that point I was really out of options, and they felt it was a solid option.
It also doesn't leak anymore.
Should I really be concerned that it's fastened with nutserts?
It depends on the size but if you used 8-32 nutserts then they probably have >1000 lbs of holding force. Larger ones might have 2-3x that. Nutsert® Threaded Insert. I might question their strength if you go head on into a wall at 60 mph, but with a dozen of those holding your rack I would worry more about your weight distribution with an RTT up there than their holding power
My big concern with loose bolts in there is the air bag wiring. I've read that spinning the nut plates can damage the wires, which are in close proximity, and if there are loose nuts rubbing against the wires I would be concerned about future issues.
When you initially removed the bolts did you remove them one at a time, or did you untorque them evenly (alternating one turn per bolt back and forth?) I'll +1 @619TOY's theory about why the nut plates break loose - I was paranoid when I did my rack but very evenly loosening the bolts didn't knock anything loose.
Personally I shot a good dose of RTV clear around the outside of the holes as well as on the new bolt threads, and so far no evidence of leaks (and we had some insane storms last weekend). I disappoints me that none of the aftermarket manufacturers provide rubber grommets and washers to help seal the bolt holes up.
How much taller is this than the stock rack? Does it fit in your garage? What is height from ground to top of rack?
