rack install help

[landy103]

hello
I'm about to try installing a baja-rack on my 2012 LR4 and was wondering if anyone out there had any tips to share - in particular I was trying to get the plastic plugs out with a putty knife but they don't seem to want to budge .. scared I might shear off the cap top and leave the rest of the plug in the hole ... (see attached pic)
Are they threaded? What's the trick?

TIA

 

[samcarloso]

I believe they sell a tool that wraps around the plug. Keep me posted on install. Looking at the same rack without rails.

 

[GoLoaf]

I used a trim puller and some finesse. The trim puller came from an auto parts store. Looks like a two-tined forked (but the tines are wide and flat). Worked pretty good for popping out the plugs without ruining them.

 

[cperez]

Have you watched this video? At about 1:16 he shows how to use a couple of tools to apply leverage and safely pop those plugs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV7AMmIrxA8

PS: A putty knife is not recommended because it will put some lateral force on the plug as well as not giving that wraparound lifting effect of a forked tool...a recipe for snappage.

 

[andyboy]

i'm not sure if those plugs are the same as the RRS, but I had to unscrew those plugs. mine are screw type plugs.

 

[landy103]

rack done

thanks everybody for your responses - much appreciated. I ended up using the metal putty knife as a base, then I cut a long narrow 'V' in a plastic putty knife and used that to get under the cap and around the pin on both sides - then finally twist a screwdriver between the two to lift the plug up and out.

the rack is very sturdy and I have already tested it out this weekend in Tahoe

cheers
A

 

[Surfrider77]

Love the setup! Got a picture of the tent stowed away?

 

[landy103]

thanks! here are some pics of the tent stowed away ... it basically folds up into a rectangle with the ladder on top, then there's a PVC cover that goes over it and zips up around the bottoms edges..
(it's a 'Howling Moon Stargazer' tent .. sierraexpeditions dot com)