Channel covers off - cleanup complete.

[CONCH]

Took the rooftop channel covers off. All the plastic plugs popped out rather easily. Was surprised at the ammount of dirt, twigs and leaf clutter that had accumulated underneath the covers. Put the plugs partially back in the holes prior to cleaning out the channels. Will run a tap down the threads tomorrow while waiting on the hardware kit from British Atlantic. Wondering if anyone else has done this and put put some silicone down before reinstalling the front channel cover & new side rails?

 

[powershift]

Nice cleanup work. That looked like a recipe for rust. How did you pull the channel covers off?

 

[CONCH]

Nice cleanup work. That looked like a recipe for rust. How did you pull the channel covers off?

I bought a trim removal tool set on Amazon and had watched a YTube vid that showed just getting under the heads and popping them up. I had read a lot of horror stories about them snapping off, but all mine came out nicely and intact.

I watched this Ytube video, and followed what he did at around the 1:35 into the video. I'll be doing the short rails tho, not the long ones.

Used some Simple Green and small scrub brush to clean things up.

 

[powershift]

I bought a trim removal tool set on Amazon and had watched a YTube vid that showed just getting under the heads and popping them up. I had read a lot of horror stories about them snapping off, but all mine came out nicely and intact.

I watched this Ytube video, and followed what he did at around the 1:35 into the video. I'll be doing the short rails tho, not the long ones.

Used some Simple Green and small scrub brush to clean things up.

Are they designed such that you can take them on and off repeatedly? I was thinking about mounting an antenna off one of the bolt holes, but only periodically. That way it could mount a 4g/5g booster antenna to stream maps and pandora out in BFE. I haven't figured out where to mount the antenna and wondered maybe I could just stow the rail cover piece and when done remove the antenna and put the rail cover back on when in the city again.

 

[Rover Range]

Are they designed such that you can take them on and off repeatedly? I was thinking about mounting an antenna off one of the bolt holes, but only periodically. That way it could mount a 4g/5g booster antenna to stream maps and pandora out in BFE. I haven't figured out where to mount the antenna and wondered maybe I could just stow the rail cover piece and when done remove the antenna and put the rail cover back on when in the city again.

There are plastic push pins that hold the finisher on.
You can use a bolt with a stud in place of the push pin. Then attach your antenna to the stud with a wing nut.

 

[powershift]

There are plastic push pins that hold the finisher on.
You can use a bolt with a stud in place of the push pin. Then attach your antenna to the stud with a wing nut.

I tried lifting up on the cover and it tweaks up by hand so it may not need tools unless I need to be prying further down. I didn't put too much pressure without having the plastic push pins because it felt like I could break or bend something if I kept pulling up lol. But on both sides the channels need cleaning badly.

That stud looks strong and just one may hold the antenna. With that stud I'll need to adapt from that to another piece that is shaped for a roof rack mount. The antenna has a spring and all the hardware is stainless. There is a knob at the mount point and that unlocks the antenna so it can pivot down flat with the roof or at another angle.