You could remove the side rails since you stated you will never use them, However, when you do, you will have 8 or more holes in your roof and you will have to plug and deal with that issue. Bolts and silcone, Meh. Only correct way to deal is fill with lead (heavy metal) and repaint the roof section. I for one would take the cheap and enviro friendly route (ask Natalie. Living with Ed is my favorite show) and just live with the side rails. After all, what would you do with the rails after they are removed? Recycle them? Are the rails classified as "A" recycleable? (Ed Reference). just kidding. Do what you like.

I for one will probably never use the roof racks. We are avid cyclists and since we already have a yakima reese mount hitch rack on the Dakota, we will opt for a hitch on the FEH. not only easier but better drag CO. If we need to carry the 'kaks or anything of that nature we will take the Dak.

 

Hmmm.... I've got the moonroof. I'm not sure how it would be related though.

One final possiblity as to why they are frequently at the back of the slides when you get them is that they aren't attached until the dealer preps them. If you've ever removed them you'll note that to get them all the way up to the front you have to walk back and forth (because they will get crooked when they slide and stop moving) from one side of the car to the other. or you can use two people. Its probably most likely the dealer prep guy just shoves them on the back end because its the quickest.

 

Dear posters.... keep in mind the roof racks for 2005 & 2006 are the same.
The rack for 2007 ( and 2008? ) is totally different.
-John

 

I believe they (the dealer/mfg) push them all the way back is for noise reduction. Jeep made the same recommendation to Grand Cherokee owners who experienced alot of wind noise from the rack.

 

No worries I did not take anything personally, I just added the anger face for effect.....

 

If it's like other "factory racks", there are fairly large diameter holes in the roof that are filled by rubber plugs that expand when the attaching bolt is tightened. If that's the case, you could remove the strips, then put the bolts back in and they would seal up and be very low profile.

But to very little advantage, as they say.

 

I'm not sure everyone is aware that Ford changed the luggage rack design. On my '05 FEH the "tracks" that run front to back are actually flush with the roof. The forward and aft crossbars can easily be removed -- loosen the ***** to allow the bars to slide in the tracks. There are tabs at the front and back of the tracks -- which pressed in the cross-bars will slide completely out of the track.

The new '07s have a different system -- instead of a flush-mounted track, they have rails ath stick up a few inches -- but since they run front-to-back they are more aerodynamic.

The main reason you see some people slide the cross-bars to the very back (or remove them completely) isn't actually for fuel-economy... it's for noise. The cross-bars create wind noise at *some* speeds. Sliding both cross-bars to the back of the track eliminates the wind-noise issue.

Ford's factory roof-rack is fairly aerodynamic -- you'll notice the cross-bars aren't round or square tubs -- but rather flattened and shaped almost like a wing. I don't know how much they reduce fuel economy (obviously it's not zero -- but is it enough to worry about.) ALL weight on the vehicle reduces fuel economy, as does anything that disturbes aerodynamic flow, as does everything in the car that uses electricity (radio, heater fan, headlights, etc.) Last time I checked the energy to run all this stuff *has* to come from somewhere.

Aftermarket roof-rack systems (e.g. Thule systems & Yakima systems) use square or round tubes -- combined with the accessories that mount to these tubes. At the FEH "Onwers Experience" they told us their studies showed that merely having one of these systems on top of the car (with nothing on it -- just the rack system) would significantly reduce yoru fuel economy at freeway speeds (I think it was at least 10% -- and it might have been closer to 15%). Throw some stuff ont he roof rack (e.g. a pair of bicycles or some luggage, etc.) and you're looking at a 25% reduction in fuel economy at freeway speed. Their recommendation was to avoid putting anything on the roof -- if you want to haul bicycles get the type of rack that mounts on the back of the car (I had a receiver hitch installed NOT for towing -- but for mounting my bike rack).

 

That's is true for the Escapes, but the Mariners have been using that style for years. So, just for '07 (and possibly '08), Ford has both Escape and Mariners using the same style. BTW, the Tribute uses even yet a different style than those, but might use the same cross bars as the Mariners.

 

I have an '07 and have completely removed the roof racks. After the racks came off, I screwed in the same bolts that came with the rack and they go down almost flush. They don't poke in the headliner, either. It took me a few days to get used to the look, but now I like it! I figure if I need the rack later, I can screw it on again.
I was also amazed at how much dirt the rack traps underneath it. It can't be good for those who drive on salty roads.
While we're on this topic, it looks like the '08 MMH has a nicer rack with some metal trim-does anyone know if it will fit the '07 without modification?

 

Now were talkin, did you put rubber washers under the bolts or do they not need it?
Clif