Fixed-Point Roof Racks (Yakima Landing Pads, Rails, etc.)

[Snax]

Years ago, I installed Yakima Landing Pads on my Honda Element--which made rack installation and removal quick and easy.

Alas, I don't see anything in the manual about pre-drilled spots on the roof for rack hardware on the Maverick. But maybe they are there anyway? I'm tempted to pull off the gutters to look, but I figured that I see if anyone has already checked. Or maybe someone has seen a video or photos of the roof before completion? I'd love to walk down to a junkyard to take a peek at a smashed-up truck--but (fortunately) there aren't too many yet.

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[SkeeterB]

There's another thread on this. There are no predrilled holes or fasten point known for the roof. You would have to pull the headliner to find points with structure to tap.

 

[Snax]

There's another thread on this. There are no predrilled holes or fasten point known for the roof. You would have to pull the headliner to find points with structure to tap.

Yeah, that's what I figured. It would be terrific to see photos of bare metal before I start pulling things apart.

 

[bdaniel230]

This is some

Years ago, I installed Yakima Landing Pads on my Honda Element--which made rack installation and removal quick and easy.

Alas, I don't see anything in the manual about pre-drilled spots on the roof for rack hardware on the Maverick. But maybe they are there anyway? I'm tempted to pull off the gutters to look, but I figured that I see if anyone has already checked. Or maybe someone has seen a video or photos of the roof before completion? I'd love to walk down to a junkyard to take a peek at a smashed-up truck--but (fortunately) there aren't too many yet.

thing I am looking for as well. I want to see if there are any mounting points under the black trim tin. I don't think there are because rails are not an option BUT the Bronco Sport is assembled on the same line as the Maverick and many of the options for one fit the other. I need a roof rack or basket to put gear in when I take the truck camping with other people., I can fit all of the gear for four people in the bed, but if we take bicycles or I am taking my camp trailer, there isn't room for four people, gear and equipment.

 

[Snax]

This is some

thing I am looking for as well. I want to see if there are any mounting points under the black trim tin. I don't think there are because rails are not an option BUT the Bronco Sport is assembled on the same line as the Maverick and many of the options for one fit the other. I need a roof rack or basket to put gear in when I take the truck camping with other people., I can fit all of the gear for four people in the bed, but if we take bicycles or I am taking my camp trailer, there isn't room for four people, gear and equipment.

I ordered the parts, but I haven't had time to start working on it yet. From what I understand, there are no mounting points under the black trim. Yakima said to use Landing Pad #21, which includes stainless rivets. I verified with my dealer that there are no wires, etc. under the gutter--which makes drilling less stressful. I'll post more once I finish the installation, but that might be a few weeks from now--so someone may beat me to it.

 

[SkeeterB]

How many rivets in each foot. If they go just into one layer of thin sheet metal I would worry about uplift forces.

 

[Snax]

How many rivets in each foot. If they go just into one layer of thin sheet metal I would worry about uplift forces.

Three per pad.

Yakima makes good stuff, and their processes are well-researched and tested. I don't think that they will steer people wrong. And, while I don't yet know if it's true for the Maverick, gutters are where car manufactures often hide seams--so there could be two layers of metal there. But, even if it's just one layer, I trust that Yakima knows what they are doing.

 

[Delbert]

I'm facing the same dilemma. Mav is coming next week and the kayak season is beginning.

I want crossbars on the roof matched with two overhaul crossbars on the rear. It would be very versatile and carry my 16 foot boats with ease. Yakima has a custom install service and my kayak dealer is one. The only problem is the cost would come in around $3/4k for everything.

https://explore.yakima.com/custom-install

They said they could use lp22 landing pads and sky towers for the front crossbars and install rivnuts to screw it into. They have a huge riveter with 24 inch handles and bed the rivets in some 3m product so it will not leak. It is the same way they install accessories on plastic boats and do racks for custom vans.

I want to DIY it. I watched a youtube video on installing rivnuts without the riveter. Am I stupid?

 

[Snax]

I'm facing the same dilemma. Mav is coming next week and the kayak season is beginning.

I want crossbars on the roof matched with two overhaul crossbars on the rear. It would be very versatile and carry my 16 foot boats with ease. Yakima has a custom install service and my kayak dealer is one. The only problem is the cost would come in around $3/4k for everything.

https://explore.yakima.com/custom-install

They said they could use lp22 landing pads and sky towers for the front crossbars and install rivnuts to screw it into. They have a huge riveter with 24 inch handles and bed the rivets in some 3m product so it will not leak. It is the same way they install accessories on plastic boats and do racks for custom vans.

I want to DIY it. I watched a youtube video on installing rivnuts without the riveter. Am I stupid?

I contacted Yakima directly, and they told me to buy Landing Pad #21, which uses stainless blind rivets. This kind of rivet is actually pretty easy to install with a riveter ($35 or so for the tool on Amazon). I'll touch up the holes with paint, and then use industrial sealant. I'm putting 4 pads on the roof for a BaseLine rack.

I also bought a "Yakima Hitch Mounted Rack Extension Long Arm and Pad Part Number: VKB3Z99286A40A" from Ford Accessories (using a 20% discount coupon).

I'm a little nervous about installing the roof rack, but I'll plan things out carefully and take my time.

 

[bdaniel230]

I ordered the parts, but I haven't had time to start working on it yet. From what I understand, there are no mounting points under the black trim. Yakima said to use Landing Pad #21, which includes stainless rivets. I verified with my dealer that there are no wires, etc. under the gutter--which makes drilling less stressful. I'll post more once I finish the installation, but that might be a few weeks from now--so someone may beat me to it.

There are ribs that run across the roof, a weak form of roll cage, and I would imagine they are spot welded to the roof. In my experience these are made up like channel so that they reinforce the roof. If you can find where those are, probably just behind the windshield and just ahead of the slope at the rear of the cab, that would give the best ability to keep from buckling the roof tin. I have been looking through as many wrecked late model ford pickups as possible to see just where the reinforcing boxes are. I would like to look at a 21 or 22 Bronco Sport as they are built much like the Maverick.

 

[Delbert]

I got the Yakima lp22 landing pads, sky towers and 60" core bars today. The local ski shop was going out of business and they were 60% off. The landing pad mounts with a single 8 mm bolt to a riv nut I have to supply and install. The door arch is structural and I am sure there is plenty of metal under the plastic trim.

The idea is to only cut out the trim where the landing pad will sit and leave the rest of the trim. The towers and crossbars are easily removable with the flip of a lever. When not in use there is only a small bump of the landing pad. Yakima even supplies a little plastic cover for when the towers are not in use. The whole system looks very elegant. Much better than the Thule system I have on my Subaru.

 

[Snax]

I got the Yakima lp22 landing pads, sky towers and 60" core bars today. The local ski shop was going out of business and they were 60% off. The landing pad mounts with a single 8 mm bolt to a riv nut I have to supply and install. The door arch is structural and I am sure there is plenty of metal under the plastic trim.

The idea is to only cut out the trim where the landing pad will sit and leave the rest of the trim. The towers and crossbars are easily removable with the flip of a lever. When not in use there is only a small bump of the landing pad. Yakima even supplies a little plastic cover for when the towers are not in use. The whole system looks very elegant. Much better than the Thule system I have on my Subaru.

I had this on my old Honda Element, and it was awesome. That’s why I want it on my Maverick! It’s so easy to pop the rack on and off.

 

[Snax]

I was trying to figure out how to remove the gutter trim, but it didn't seem to be attached like most other types. Fortunately, my local dealership kindly printed the pages from the service manual to help me out.

Looks like it'll take a little more effort than anticipated--including the lowering of the headliner. While not a tough job, it's a bit more involved than I was hoping.

 

[Delbert]

That's great. Any chance anyone knows how to lower the headliner? Any place that trim is bolted into place wound be a good place to bolt on a roof rack.
Bolts for trim are really placeholders for accessories. The trim does not need 4 quarter inch bolts to hold it in place.

 

[Snax]

That's great. Any chance anyone knows how to lower the headliner? Any place that trim is bolted into place wound be a good place to bolt on a roof rack.
Bolts for trim are really placeholders for accessories. The trim does not need 4 quarter inch bolts to hold it in place.

The service department gave that to me as well. Requires pulling the A,B, and C pillar trim, the rear seatbelts, mirror and console, sun visors, microphone, rear roof handles, etc. Not a quick job for someone who hasn’t pulled a lot of trim before.

And then there’s the question of how much adhesive Ford used. The instructions imply that there is at least some adhesive tape. Replacement rails seem to cost $330 each, so damaging one would be expensive.

The bolts are interesting. Maybe Ford originally intended to install a proper track for racks, but changed their mind at the last minute? After searching YouTube for examples of people replacing gutter trim on other vehicles, I didn’t come across anything with bolts like the Maverick. Sometimes there are little clips, but grooves and glue seem to be most common methods of retaining the trim.

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