Installing heavy duty roof tracks and platform

[Wiz.au]

Originally Posted by KKnut

Rhino head office tell me the new RTV track profile is the same width as the RT. IMO the new profile looks smarter.

Hopefully not the same ppl that quoted 1"3/8in was 45mm!
I know, the track on my Pathfinder is much more like the RTV profile. But they were $159 too, and I can always router a curve on the top corners to make the RT look like RTV profile, but I probably wont. I have an airbrush and could easily repaint it after routering. Its the type of thing, ... will it ever bother me after the rack tray is installed and you hardly see it?

Originally Posted by KKnut

Their advice about using a pneumatic rivet gun is a must! Had to buy one specifically for this job but has been used plenty since, only cost around $60.

I 'splurged' and got the 3100lb force larger version in the 'Shogun' brand that Sydney tools sometimes sells, for $79 shipped.


Had $31 of Supercheap credit but they wanted $195 for the smaller 2300lb version! Geesh, even Total Tools 'Iron Air' branded is only $89 for the smaller 2300lb version!

I looked at a big two handle hand tool, but they were only $25 cheaper and I thought the risk of damaging the roof was higher if more force was being applied. Hopefully the hydraulic/pneumatic will be much easier to control, meaning lower risk of accident / damage.

Sometimes I still consider using rivnuts but I have to justify the air rivet gun purchase now!

[KKnut]

Originally Posted by Wiz.au

Sometimes I still consider using rivnuts but I have to justify the air rivet gun purchase now!

I don’t even know what power mine is but I know there is a bigger model up, even still it knocked my socks off at how damn powerful it is! The very first rivet caused my hands to hurt for a number of days so there simply was no other choice. We are not talking normal rivets here. Once you combine the adhesive sealant, 18 heavy duty sealed rivets and then hammer it home with this thing, I can tell you those tracks will break long before they’ll come off!

[Wiz.au]

So I called to get tracking information on my RT18 tracks, as it's been a week and nothing yet. They had a 'supervisor' call me back when they couldn't supply tracking info, and the order status showed they hadn't even received them to ship to me yet. Errg
Supervisor calls back 10mins later advising me that RT18 have been superceded with RTV188 (yup, we all knew that already). So I expected them to say I'll have to fork the difference in $$. But they have 10% off items over $100 sale & currently have the RTV188 for $139. The supervisor confirmed they are shipping me RTV188 for the $119 I paid for the RT18's.

'Kewl'.... if I ever get them!

Pneumatic riveter arrived already too! Waiting for some 360Deg air swivel joints for it and I got some more for my other air tools too.
Better start thinking about making some alloy brackets or using Prado or LC steel brackets.

UPDATE: Well I have time to sort out brackets... ETA on the RTV188's is JULY 5th!

[Wiz.au]

Yay! My tracks arrived today. I went to Bunnings to get the Sikaflex but it was all out of date. At $32 a tube, I'm not buying 2 year old expired use-by dated urethane adhesive, that only has a 12month shelf life! I ended up with the Parfix brand because the Selleys was in a plastic tube (volatiles leak out through plastic) and the Parfix was in the same metal tube as the Sika comes in. Bunnings guy said Parfix and Sika come on the same pallet from the same supplier. So we both agreed the Parfix was most likely the same stuff as the Sika, with a different label...and half the price! The Parfix also states it requires no primer?

I still haven't given up totally on using nutserts over rivets but I'll make that decision when I've got the old rails off and ready to put the new tracks on. But if I don't rivet I'm not sure how I'll explain the $70 I spent on the pneumatic rivet gun! And what's the point of removable bolts & nutserts, when the tracks are stuck down with Industrial urethane adhesive anyway?? Looks like I need to go closed end stainless steel rivet shopping.

[Wiz.au]

I think I have a problem....
The RTV188 profile doesn't sit all the way down in the roof channel.
The track is 39mm wide. Its too wide.

It's too late for me to return them. I'm going to have to use them, shim the rivet holes with washers, and pack a fair bit of urethane glue under them. I'll cut a bit of rubber or plastic to fill under the end caps.

That, or try to plane/router a bit off the side of the track, and repaint it?

[KKnut]

Mate it looks very similar to the gap I had, maybe slightly more but honestly not an issue trust me. I fitted spacer washers at each rivet and laid down plenty of adhesive (not too much). The adhesive instructions recommend ensuring a minimal thickness to avoid reducing the grip and sealant properties so it all works out quite nicely. Those pneumatic rivet guns are incredibly powerful, have no fear it will definitely jam that track down firmly into the gutter! Lastly I didn’t need to do anything with the plastic end trims other than put some adhesive on the undersides and yet they sit perfectly fine. I’ll send you a photo for reference. Triple measure drill once.

[KKnut]

Actually those tracks do appear to be a little sharper at the sides, perhaps try carefully compressing them width ways a few mm with a vice or similar (use alloy angle to protect the track).

Also please don’t attempt to use the supplied rivets or any other kind of blind rivet, it really should be a sealed rivet as described (4.8mm diameter and at least 16mm long). I got mine from the company below but you should be able to find the same locally in a metro area. Good luck.

http://www.premierfasteners.com.au