Tried to remove the cross rails the other day, but was so cold and the screws turned so hard that I had to quit due to frozen fingers. Then had to listen to stuff rattle on the roof the next day while giving my boss a ride to pick up his Jeep.

These things look like the ones I removed from my Rav4 and traded with a guy in Bermuda (for $100 and returned parts). On the Rav I had to remove the back covers and slide the rails off the back. These have a clip so much easier once you know the secret.

My question: there's covers on the inside of the front end caps, but nothing on the rear insides. Did they forget to snap them on when installing the cross-rails?

In order to remove the entire roof rack on the Rav, you had to have shorter bolts, washers and covers, about $70 in parts. What's it take to completely remove the monster from my roof?

 

Why would you want to remove the entire rack? Without the cross rails it has a very minimal effect on drag.

 

A little less drag and I like the smooth look better.

 

In my opinion the "looks" reason is OK, but for the amount of drag reduced, pulling the rails (you'd have to remove the connection to the roof, which would open the situation to corrosion concerns, etc.) isn't worth the TINY drag reduction.

The cross rails are a different matter, that is one of the first things I did for my 2008.

 

I've never removed my cross bars on my '05 and will never remove my cross bars on my '09. In addition I don't ever remove weight from my FEH to increase mileage. Even during the MPG Challenge I had extra weight and a passenger. Just a little more air in my tires does the trick for me and if I need to strap something on the roof unexpectedly, I can. This is one reason I drive the most fuel efficient SUV on the Planet.

GaryG

 

My cross rails are in the back, so I can put them on in a couple of minutes.

 

Mine are in the garage, where they'll be until I move or sell my vehicle.