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Trooper Roof Rack Install PICTORIAL

18K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  Enemigo 
#1 ·
NOOB NOTES:

For a noob like me, visiting Planetisuzoo can sometimes be very intimidating. There are people here that have incredible skills and experience. While it's intimidating, it's also a motivation to get out there and work on my own Trooper, to get familiar with popular mods and gain the same experience. I'm hoping a simple pictorial like this will help other neophytes tackle fun mods to their own vehicles.

2nd Gen Trooper Roof Rack Bracket Install:

My motivation for putting load bars on my Troopski is to allow me to better carry a canoe on the truck. I use foam pads now, and it's not really the way to go, particularly with the vibration of off-road driving.

Step 1 of the install is to remove the 2 trim mouldings along the roof seam. The mouldings are held on by 7 or so plastics clips. To find these clips, gently peek under the strip with a small flat screwdriver. Once you find a clip, carefully push the tab on the center section to release the clip.



This view shows the same thing, but after the trim was removed, to show where the screwdriver pushes on the tab.



Push too hard and it cracks the clip. I picked up a few spares at the junkyard just in case. The clips are glued to the body with some strong adhesive.

With the trim mouldings safely removed, it exposes 3 mounting points on each side for the brackets. I had been told to expect to find tape covering threaded holes, and I was contemplating a trip to the hardware store to pick these up. However, when the holes were revealed, SCORE! EASTER EGG!! The bolts and washers were already there!



The load bars for this project are the "Bruce Anderson Specials", detailed in his build here:

http://myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson/tr ... frack.html



The factory bolts present are 8mm and install was straightforward.



Once all three bars were in place, it was time to trim the mouldings for each bracket. First, I put the trim in place (as closely as I could to its final position) and marked the cut points with the razor.



When all the marks were made, it was easy to cut the soft plastic material of the trim. When reinstalled, the trim looks very natural with the bracket sticking out.



Project done, and trim back on! Ready for the canoe, or a basket, or anything else!



SPECIAL THANKS TO BRUCE ANDERSON FOR HIS HELP ON THIS!!! That guy has mad skills and is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

:thumbup:
 
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#3 ·
Nice job! Looks good on the trooper, I guess you like white :)
I really like how basic and simple those are, and probably easy to mod as well!

How much did the racks run you, if you don't mind me asking?

Also, are there only 3 sets of holes under the rubber seal, or more?

Would you mind posting a frontal view of the racks? The glare also makes it a bit hard to see them
 
#4 ·
Let me get that front view picture for you.

The bars were a very kind gift from Mr. Anderson. I insisted he take something for his hard work, but he kindly refused. His Trooper was destroyed in a deer colision, and he wasn't keeping the bars. You can see the story on his website posted above.

There are 3 sets of holes on each side. 12 total bolts were found under the trim. Perhaps after a certain date, Isuzu stopped included the hardware, and just taped over the holes. The position of the mounting holes should be the same for all 2nd gen Troopers.
 
#6 ·
Here's a view inside the garage with no glare.





Yes, I like the white because I am going for that really "low end" or "spartan" look. My Trooper has no real options except A/C and I love it that way. The early Toyota 4x4s (and I think some Land Rovers) had plain steel wheels painted white, and I really like that look.
 
#7 ·
What's that light on your dash? :p :lol:
 
#10 ·
Farva said:
I want to thank 88 for sending me a LINK to this post And to the OP very informative!
No prob!

It's hard to view this, though, because the parts are all shiny and painted! I've hauled my canoe so many places, there's like 1/4" of dead bugs on those bars now!
 
#11 ·
lol sounds like you need some bugs be gone, Im starting to get all my little trinkets and extras just picked up a nice kayak for 75bucks and a nice roof basket for 65... going to order and install the roof rack, my new springs, shocks and finish getting it painted up! hopefully she will look like a new truck when im done!
 
#12 ·
Hi to all! I´m new in the forum, it is very nice to meet you guys. I´m seeing a lot of experience in the few posts I´ve been clicking on. Hope this forum helps me doing all by myself with my "new" Isuzu Trooper 2nd Gen 1998 3.1TDI!!!

Now, my question is the following: I´m about to install a roof rack, and I found the holes already (thanks to you, guys!) and they are taped, my question is: Which bolts do I have to buy? Are they M6 perhaps? Thank you very much!!!
 
#15 ·
Beautiful rear bumper!!! Next step on mine is installing a 270° awning, made by myself... with a friend of mine that owns a Toyo 4Runner... We are going to make 2 awnings by ourselves, using a lineguide from Overland Under Budget (check this guy out on Instagram & Youtube, he built an awesome adventure Tacoma by himself). Cheers!
 
#16 ·
I realize this is a little old, but I'm new! Anyways, nice write-up!
 
#17 ·
hector87 said:
Beautiful rear bumper!!! Next step on mine is installing a 270° awning, made by myself... with a friend of mine that owns a Toyo 4Runner... We are going to make 2 awnings by ourselves, using a lineguide from Overland Under Budget (check this guy out on Instagram & Youtube, he built an awesome adventure Tacoma by himself). Cheers!
Surprised I missed this post. I'm doing the same thing. In the middle of building the roof rack right now.
 
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