<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mstams:
Looks great. Tell us about the install. How was it? I tried to download the PDF on the Gobi site the other day, but it was the wrong link to the H3 rack... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks.
The installation wasn't too difficult. I laid blue painters tape down on the tonneau, to help the rack slide more easily as I adjusted it into position. That also helped when marking the holes for drilling, making them more precise and visible. Gobi provides good measurements to align the rack front to back and left to right, and I did a lot of checking and re-checking before drilling the four holes. Caution when drilling is absolutely necessary, as the tonneau cover is just a styrofoam core with a thin aluminum skin, and a drill bit will chew that skin up pretty good. I added a healthy dose of black silicone to each mounting hole after drilling, to ensure a water-tight seal.
The new shocks that Gobi supplies with the kit work pretty well. It takes more effort to get the cover to open, but once you get it moving, HOLD ON, or it'll flop open pretty violently. I suspect that too many uncontrolled openings, and you'll tear something up (namely the hinge).
The job would have been quite a bit easier if I'd had a helper, as the rack is pretty heavy and getting it on and off the truck while measuring and drilling was a chore. I'd also advise installing the new shocks BEFORE bolting the rack into place...I had to use a ratchet strap tied to my garage door to hold the cover up while I replaced the shocks.
Oh, one last little painful aspect of the installation. Gobi uses use double-sided adhesive tape on the bottom of the mounting plates, and once you remove the backing paper from it and drop the rack down into place, you better have it lined up perfectly. I didn't, and lifting the heft of the rack against some sticky 3M tape took a lot of effort. This is where it would definitely help to have a second person assisting, one holding the rack, and one guiding it down into position.
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