Minor problems with my new KB VooDoo bed rack and other ramblings

[Radio Guy]

I have two 14ft Kayaks I need to carry on my new ish Gladiator Mojave and I bounced between the Yakima OverHaul HD system and a KB VooDoo Max Modular Alumax 22" version. I want the Kayaks to be elevated and ride slightly above the cab. At first the Yakima seemed like the best choice as I only need to carry Kayaks and occasionally some long lumber, etc.

I ran into two problems with Yakima, the first being any questions sent via their web site says it will take 3 weeks for a response. WTF??? After some time poking around I found out its totally not compatible with my factory trail rail system as its in the way of the Yakima mounting brackets. Ok, bye bye Yakima.

Now on to KB VooDooo which many on this forum have used and posted pictures of. After a little research it seems the 22" high Max Modular bed racks will clear the cab and I sent off some questions to KB VooDoo and got a prompt response every time. Bravo! That's how you make new friends and customers. KB also supplies brackets that interface to the Jeep trail rail system which was another bonus and that will make for quick install and removal of the bed rack when needed.

The goods arrived and are very well made and finished. It seems most of the parts were sent from KB VooDoo and the T slotted extrusion that holds things together were sent direct from the extrusion mfr taking about 5 days longer to arrive than the rest of the stuff. No big deal, I just get impatient for new toys.

Everything went together nicely and when it came time to put in the T nuts in the Jeeps trail rails I recalled a prior problem I had buying Toyota T nuts for another project and how they didn't work on the Jeep because the dimensions are slightly different. So I checked the dimensions of the KB VooDoo T nuts and they are Toyota dimensions when I specified the bed rack would be going in a Jeep. The problem with the T nuts is the dimension parallel to the bolt hole is too big causing the T nut to protrude beyond the trail rail and its impossible to tighten anything to the trail rail because it bottoms out on the T nut first and the T nut just wobbles around inside the trail rails. On the Toyota T nuts I bought previously I spent about 45min on my grinder taking about .1" off each nut as I don't have an end mill handy at the moment.

So I swapped out the KB VooDoo supplied T nuts with my ground down versions and find another problem where the Jeeps top bed rail plastic trim overhangs the trail rail below it causing the bed rail brackets to be pulled in at an angle with the lower part of the KB VooDoo bracket hitting only the bottom trail rail edge and the top of the KB VooDoo bracket gets angled against the top of the trucks plastic bed rail trim. This is probably why people are not complaining they can't tighten the T nuts, because there is an angled gap when your done because the brackets don't fit right.

I sent all this info off to KB VooDoo and they say they have never heard of this problem and have sold lots of things that bolt in the Jeep trail rails. So one of two things are going on here, either Jeep changed some dimensions in the trail rails and my roughly April 2021 assembled truck has a newer different part, or nobody has noticed these parts don't work right and the angle created between the top bed rail plastic trim overhang and the recessed trail rails is masking the problem of the oversized T nut and its not been noticed until now.

So I would please ask anyone with a KB VooDoo bed rack with trail rail brackets to look closely at the brackets and see if they are angled squishing into the bed rail trim on the top and angling down to the trail rails. A better test would be temporarily remove one trail rail bolt, slide the T nut into a clear part of the trail rail and put the bolt through an appropriate size fender washer and tighten it down to see if it bottoms out on the T nut and flops around or if the washer tightens down on the trail rail edges and snugs the T nut up properly. I and I'm sure KB VooDoo would be very interested to see if this is an isolated problem with my truck or a bigger problem.

Here is a video I sent to KB VooDoo showing the problem and if my descriptions above weren't clear this should make sense.

And if I haven't rambled on too much already, I would like to share an upgrade I did on my KB VooDoo bed rack. Since my primary need is hauling Kayaks, the KB VooDoo rack is not ideal for this as it tapers at the top giving less width than the bed of the truck and the options for strapping down the Kayaks is not great. I also find that even though the bed rack clears the cab its only slightly and when the Kayaks are strapped down they rub on the roof of the cab and I'm worried about the paint rubbing off over time. Oh if this bed rack only had a big wide cross bar like the Yakima.

So I made up some cross bars out of wood 2X4s and covered with black indoor/outdoor carpeting with embedded 1/4-20 stainless bolts to match the hole pattern in the top of the KB VooDoo bed rack. These lightweight and strong padded cross bars will go on and off in just a couple of minutes and will keep the two Kayaks on top from crowding each other and will give more places for the straps to attach. They also space the Kayaks just far enough above the cab where they will not rub on the roof. I still need to do some finishing on the cross bars but at least they are on the truck and functional. I really wish KB VooDoo would make a nice accessory padded cross bar as I would be the first customer to order them.

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[Radio Guy]

I forgot to mention the fix for my truck where the bed rail overhangs the trail rail and causes the bed rack mounts to cant at an angle, etc. I had some thick neoprene rubber fender washers about .1" thick and I placed those between the trail rails and KB VooDoo mounts. Since my T nuts are ground down and fit the Jeep rails this works out really well. The Rubber is fairly hard and maybe squishes to half thickess right on the trail rail edges providing just enough clearance for the bed rack brackets to line up perfect.

A thick metal fender washer would also have worked but the rubber really locks the brackets in and they can't move anywhere. This fix worked fine for me but if KB VooDoo acknowledges the problem I would do whatever they recommend. I don't want to be responsible for an improperly attached bed rack and have it come off. This fix is good for me and if you are having similar T nut and interference problems do whatever you think is right to correct the problem.

The pictures below show the large neoprene washer I used and how it spaces the bracket out to clear the top rail plastic trim. The picture of the bracket mounted is not tightened down yet and when tightened the bracket almost touches the plastic bed rail trim and otherwise fixes the alignment problems.

 

[UTRZRDOG]

I just received my Voodoo brackets today and have the exact same problem so off to the depot tomorrow to find either a fender washer or a nylon washer. Thank you for the advice on how to fix the problem.

 

[Radio Guy]

Interesting. But more important, let KB VooDoo know so they can find out what's going on and hopefully come up with a factory solution. When was your truck made and is it factory trail rails?

I just received my Voodoo brackets today and have the exact same problem so off to the depot tomorrow to find either a fender washer or a nylon washer. Thank you for the advice on how to fix the problem.

 

[UTRZRDOG]

Oct. of 2020 and yes factory trail rails. I will give them a call in the AM.

Thank you

 

[delynn10]

"The problem with the T nuts is the dimension parallel to the bolt hole is too big causing the T nut to protrude beyond the trail rail and its impossible to tighten anything to the trail rail because it bottoms out on the T nut first and the T nut just wobbles around inside the trail rails."

I also found this to be the case with and haven't found anything with the right dimensions available off the shelf anywhere.

Still debating on voodoo crossbars versus billiebars. Have you guys been happy with the voodoo brackets?

 

[Radio Guy]

"The problem with the T nuts is the dimension parallel to the bolt hole is too big causing the T nut to protrude beyond the trail rail and its impossible to tighten anything to the trail rail because it bottoms out on the T nut first and the T nut just wobbles around inside the trail rails."

I also found this to be the case with and haven't found anything with the right dimensions available off the shelf anywhere.

Still debating on voodoo crossbars versus billiebars. Have you guys been happy with the voodoo brackets?

I have not found any T nuts that work with the Gladiator but its not that bad grinding the ones from KB Voodoo or Toyota versions off Ebay. Just scribe a line around the end that needs metal taken off with some dial calipers, stick a bolt and nut on the back side to use as a handle and get friendly with your grinder. I suggest having a small bucked of water nearby to cool the parts down while grinding.

Ideally you can find someone with an end mill and let them take some metal off but its not critical and you don't see the T nuts with the bed rack in.

 

[shrinkhead]

I have had my voodoo trail rail mounted cross bars now for 2 years and mounted everything from RTTs, bikes, ski and cargo baskets and sometimes all of the above lol. I do think I have the sample angle thingy but never though of it being an issue

 

[delynn10]

Received my voodoo cross bars this past week and just verified that the t nuts supplied are the exact same dimensions as the toyota t nuts (mentioned by original poster above) I picked up a few months back. The video very clearly demonstrates the issue, so really curious how this didn't come up more often during other installs.

I don't currently have access to an end mill or even a grinder, so I might be off to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up one.

 

[SC Doberman]

This is what KB told me to get if I got Trail Rail system. This was about 3 weeks ago or so

 

[delynn10]

Yep, bought a few of the stainless variety a while back. The 5/16" high on the table slot portion is the measurement that doesn't work with the trail rail system. It needs to be ~ 1/4" high or so to not protrude out of the rail and properly lock down.

 

[Radio Guy]

So my question now is, what is KB Voodoo going to do about this problem? If they get the correct T nut for Jeep will they send them to people who have purchased their product in the past for Jeep (like me) who received a Toyota T nut that doesn't fit?

 

[delynn10]

Doubtful but for what it is worth, I included the link to your video when I sent them a note on the issue.

I found a couple of t slots that would probably work (1 on McMaster Carr and 1 on MSC), but going to go ahead and do the grinding today and try and get the bars on while I have some time.

 

[Radio Guy]

Doubtful but for what it is worth, I included the link to your video when I sent them a note on the issue.

I found a couple of t slots that would probably work (1 on McMaster Carr and 1 on MSC), but going to go ahead and do the grinding today and try and get the bars on while I have some time.

Do you have the plastic top bed rail hang over problem that will cause the mounting brackets to cant at an angle and either squish the snot out of the plastic bed top rail or leave the mounting brackets cinching up to only one side of the trail rail and the edge of the plastic bed top rail?

 

[delynn10]

Yep sure do, had some thin fender washers that were exactly the right size so ended up using those between the brackets and the trail rails.

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