NEW D-MAX /MUX /COLORADO FORUM

G'day all,
First post
I am looking at fitting some heavy duty pro racks to my 2016 dmax dual cab LSM
There are two variations to fit .
1 drill and insert nut serts or drill and tap and seal.

2 screw to the supplied screwed fittings under the strips on the roof.

Now how do I tell if my vehicle has the supplied threaded fittings in the strips as drilling into and sealing up the roof I'm not overly keen on?
The strips are glued on and I'll need to cut some strip out to see the threaded fittings .
But are they there ???

Some help would appreciated .

Jason

If nobody else replies with more reliable info, here's what I remember from the thread about it a few years ago. Maybe you could find that. google site:http://www.newd-max.net roof rack

I wanted to put roof racks on my SX and found that every other model (but not mine) has built-in threaded holes easily accessible under the rubber strips. My SX only option was clipons.

If I was you, I'd wait & hope somebody else answers to confirm the above, &/or pull a rubber strip off and look. Shouldn't be hard to glue back.

_________________
If it ain't broke, fix it til it is.

G'day Jason
I don't own a 2016, only a 2011 which has NO threaded ports in the roof.
If, IF, your model has the threaded holes under the roof strips, they are in the strongest section of the roof and can bear weight as designed.

I cannot tell you where they are, ie distance from ends, but if you go that way you have to remove sufficient strip to allow the channel, T channel I presume, to be screwed to the roof grooves.


Mine required 7 per side drill holes and therefore I used Sikaflex to both seal, support and glue the channel to the roof grooves. I had to drill and seal and fit strip and POP rivet, before the Sikaflex became too hard to allow bedding.

On yours,
Once you know how much strip has to be removed, the holes should be reasonably easy to find.
Trouble with drill holes method is two fold, You have to drill in a position where there is sufficient thickness of base material to be able to tap the holes for a proper amount of thread, where is that? Also getting the swarf out may be a problem. Vacuum cleaner and small plastic hose does work.
You alo have to ensure you use a drill with a tube over the drill bit, ie, depth limiter, so sudden breakthrough doesn't allow the drill bit to make a hole in roof lining which varies in it's distance from the roof underside.
Whatever screws are used also have to be coated in sealant/Sikaflex so they cannot allow water to leak into the roof lining and all parts are sealed to the paint surface for sealing integrity.

When settling the strip at installation, make sure the top of the channel is level. Because of roof metal variations and some OE sealant, when finally fixing it down, the channel may become slightly twisted and not flat orientation for all it's length, mine did twist slightly, so a screw system with a prefit to check all is a good idea before the final sealant and finish.
One of the blokes who has fitted theirs may be able to tell you where the actual screw threaded sections are. Also a body repair/panel beater may have the info in the body views on their repair data.
Good luck with it all.

Yep pull the strip off was the next move .
Cheers for the reply

Cheers for the heads up thanks for some great info .

I have a lsm 2013 & it has the bracket. The rhino bars I got gave the measurements to cut the weather strips back & the brackets were there

Cheers will attack it this weekend .