Evening, all.

Need to make a couple of mounts on the roof rails to carry a lightweight telescopic antenna mast & want to use the threaded inserts on the inside of the rails, 2 near the front & 3 towards the rear. Anyone know what thread is used & how to access the fixings? I'm assuming they're for attaching roof boxes & the like, can't find any mention in the manual about them.

Cheers the noo.

The threaded mounts in the roof rails are the fixing points for the roof cross bars.

You can buy the bolts from any dealer, as they can only be fitted 3 times. (most leave them in permanently).

I suspect they are either M6 or M8.

You just "screw" into them, but be warned, they are very easy to cross-thread as they are alloy, and they aren't quite parallel with the roof, but slope slightly.

I'm not sure I'd want to be bolting something into them very often.

The threaded mounts in the roof rails are the fixing points for the roof cross bars.

...they can only be fitted 3 times. (most leave them in permanently).

I suspect they are either M6 or M8.

...but be warned, they are very easy to cross-thread as they are alloy, ...

As far as I learned from a topic here, the bolts are part of the original Skoda crossbars, and serve as stoppers / place indicators for the bars fixing device, which is intended to take the load.

Almost sure they are M6, but I doubt the bolts can bear great shear forces.

About limitations of "fitting times" I don't know (is there something in the original Skoda bars manual ?).

I can't see signs of "self locking nuts" (with nylon washer) in the thread inserts. BTW, "self locking nuts" are designed for one use only ! But the bolts themselves can be fitted with a "locking tape" wrapped around the thread.

About the material of the threads in the roof bars- I can see they are some kind of insert- not sure about the material, but I suspect harder than aluminum alloy.

Take care not to use too long bolts, as they can reach the outer wall of the roof bars and damage them from inside (roof bars are hollow aluminum profiles).

Myself used them just once, fitting 2 DIY crossbars aluminum profiles, by help of 4 "corner shaped" hardware pieces. Used the crossbars to carry some long items from my carpenter to my home. A short haul and drove slowly avoiding sudden braking.

Might be best fitting something like a Thule square steel cross bar (with foot-pack) and bolting a bracket round that to fit the mast too, rather than risk damage to the roof bars themselves :wonder:

TP

Thanks for all the info. I already have a pair of Thule bars which are used for a stainless mounting plate carrying a couple of antennae & a strobe light when I am out doing radio & other marshalling duties, but need another means of carrying my antenna mast which is frequently needed in parts of Keilder & some of the far-flung Scottish forests where radio comms can be a bit dodgy at best.Carrying it inside not really an option, marks the leather & rattles & squeaks even when tied down with bungees.

I fancy I might fit some bits of stainless stud bar permanently secured with Loctite & make & fit the mountings I need for the mast, all stainless.

Keep you posted with what I come up with, maybe even a fotty or two.

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