Extended roof rail debacle

[Kwakazaki]

This is as much a warning as anything, to avoid the situation I’m in.

Didn’t want to spend the $7-800 on genuine LR roof rails, so tried aftermarket supplier. Was cautious and bought from a place selling a lot of other stuff and with a track record on eBay, but still got caught.

What was delivered simply does not fit, bolt holes drilled incorrectly or rail shape incorrect. Plastic to aluminum slotted parts don’t fit.. by a long way. I believe there should be spacers and none supplied... no instructions... etc.

Wondering whether others have similar experiences and/or anyone selling extended roof rails... as the one I bought will likely be heading to trash.

Sometimes it seems you need to just spend the money.

 

[PaulLR3]

A few people here experienced the exact same thing a couple of years ago with aftermarket LR4 roof rails. Also be careful not to crack the glass roof when installing roof rails. That has been done a few times as well even when using OEM roof rails.

My 10 year old OEM cross bars are rusted and fatigued. I saw a set of LR4 cross bars made in China by "VEVOR" on ebay for $89. Seemed too good to be true so I ordered a set of OEM cross bars (they are made by Thule for LR) from Atlantic British for $400. I figured any money I saved on the aftermarket cross bars would be lost when the $900 roof box and thousands of dollars of ski equipment flies off the roof.

 

[Kwakazaki]

Yes, thanks Paul, it is helpful to hear thdyat I'm not going completely nuts... not for a few years yet anyway!

I can absolutely see how you might break the roof glass, the weather stripping overlaps the glass by way too much, so its impossible to clamp it down. The only way to get the rail extrusion past the glass is by removing the entire weather strip on that side, but obviously that is not acceptable. Then, there were no spacers supplied, as I have seen in install videos, and no instructions either.

Other problems are that the rubber to plastic parts don't match/fit properly, and plastic to aluminum parts likewise. I have tried to see if there is injection moulding excess material or similar preventing the parts from mating, but sadly it just seems like plain bad engineering and quality. Example - one part has a bump in it that corresponds to a change in height of the body line (top of roof), only they are 3/8" out of line with each other... no way to get them to meet without bending stuff!

I believe the Vevor company has the same originating address in California - if its too good to be true, it probably is.

Others please take note by my misfortune, don't send these companies money.

 

[SantaAna7]

I thought PayPal had buyer protection? Won't help if you hurt your roof but can with product return and refund. There's an adage often used in another community that applies here, "Buy once, cry once."

Fwiw I've seen a couple of British and US known LR parts sellers offering some OEM roof rail kits lower than dealer pricing. More than a hundred bucks off sometimes.

 

[PaulLR3]

I think you have to question the quality of the aftermarket roof rails as well. Is the metal the same thickness/guage/strength as OEM roof rails?

This could really become a problem if paired with the Thule LR4 fit kit. This fit kit was a compromise to fit both LR3 and Hummer roof rails. As a result, just 2 corners of the small metal tabs grab the inside of the roof rails. Usually Thule products are designed better than this.

 

[PaulLR3]

Fwiw I've seen a couple of British and US known LR parts sellers offering some OEM roof rail kits lower than dealer pricing. More than a hundred bucks off sometimes.

Atlantic British sells the rails & hardware for $380:

https://www.roverparts.com/Parts/RRK

Not sure if these are the shorter roof rails or the longer ones that extend to the sides of the sunroof.

 

[SantaAna7]

Atlantic British sells the rails & hardware for $380:

https://www.roverparts.com/Parts/RRK

Not sure if these are the shorter roof rails or the longer ones that extend to the sides of the sunroof.

Yeah I those are the shorter but that's a great price. I think they normally go for $500 and the full $600 and change. Then more for the cross rails lol

I'd probably only buy the roof rails if I selected a roof rack that relied on the OEM rack as a mount base.