after much pondering I decided to bite the bullet and fit a set of after-market roof rails.
Shopping around on-line was a nightmare and decided I wanted to purchase close to home if possible.

After much searching and prices ranging from 119.00 + carriage to 169.00 i was becoming disappointed.
I then found a 4x4 specialist in Shaftesbury, extremely helpful and polite on the phone and no extra charge for carriage and said I could have next day for under 119.00 all in.
Thank you too 4x4 styling Shaftsbury. MRCH Ltd.

they arrived next day .

so the job began.
I would strongly recommend a trim removal tool.
Firstly remove the rear plugs in the plastic rail

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That was a really good article with nice clear pictures. I wish there were more articles like this on the forum as I am pretty useless without clear instructions. Thanks very much.

Quality guide - well done
(also a X-Typer) No Longer the owner of a 2013MY Fuji White GS

"Fiat Lux" a philosophy not a car

great guide

it makes it look quite straight forward

Are the after market ones as good a LR OEM?  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Are the after market ones as good a LR OEM?

to he honest I haven't looked at OEM close up. I was surprised at how well the ones I purchased lined up and fitted together.
No doubt the genuine would be better but value for money I have to say I cant beat what I have fitted.
The supplier was friendly and helpful, something that many were not when I phoned around.

As you can see from the photo I have to say I think they look good.
I have now fitted some crossbars and a large roof box. Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

I have just fitted a set of these, I opted for an eBay trader claiming they were sunroof compatible, the cross bar is slightly different on the underside, having a full width lip spoiler rather than three short ones on the non roof type.
The finish on the rails is superb, no complaints, the ends of the cross bar had sanding marks under the crackle finish, nothing visible when mounted so for me they will serve their purpose.
Came in a box branded AGT 4x4 and cost £129.
Easy to fit following either the supplied manual which is very good or OG's write up which is excellent.

I have also managed to get some genuine LR crossbars, ex demo from Matford LR, fitted new rubbers and now awaiting my roofbox which is being sprayed gloss black before my trip to Devon in August.



underside of crossbar on sunroof equipped cars


Poor finish on end of crossbar, otherwise everything else is very good and fits perfectly

Did the feet meet up flush with the roof? Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

There is a rubber pad between the rail and roof, as far as I could tell they sat flush, nothing untoward at all

I'm assuming it was all OK with the sunroof as the seller stated? Any chance you could provide a link to the item you bought? Thanks!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FREELANDER-2-ROO...1380772824

The seller is called easyglideltd

I used non original rails. There are sanding/ grinding marks on some inside faces.

The rear left plastic cover plate did not really want to stay fixed, so be careful that it does not fly off.

I bought the original cross bars. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Give the covers a good firm thump once in position, simply clipping them on seemed flimsy on mine, a good thump and they held firm.

oldgeezer wrote:

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Hello!
How did you remove the screw or piece that was in this spot?

I have already ordered my rail bars.
I'm waiting them to get home to install them!

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Hi
To remove the blanking plugs they need to be prised out.
The best way to remove them is too use a trim removal tool. Its like a split fork.
Otherwise I used to large flat blade screw drivers and gently prised them out.
just be very gentle with the trim and patient.
rgds OG Jaguar x-type sport gone
Jaguar x-type 2.2d sport one of my best cars ever sadly gone
Freelander 2 GS auto 2008 most unreliable ever ! gladly gone
Freelander 2 GS manual 2013 only time will tell !

Re the aftermarket rails.
I looked at a set of these but plumped for the more expensive genuine LR ones.
Main reason was that the aftermarket ones I was looking at didn't have anywhere near the same "max load" as the LR ones.
I can carry quite a few kayaks at a time and I didn't want them flying off halfway up the A1M, so plumped for the genuine article (along with the cross bars).
For me, it's better costing a bit more, and better safe than sorry.
But chances are if you're not carrying a lot (or it's merely for looks) the aftermarket ones should be fine.


My tip whilst fitting:
Trying to secure the structure cross bar between the rails is a real pain (well certainly on the OEM ones)!
I eventually removed the rails and attached the bar to the rails and then re-fitted as a complete unit, was far easier.

Good write up btw  FL2 now gone and have a couple of items left for sale:-

Brodit active iPhone holder + Brodit dash clip,
Bluetooth Music Streaming Module.