Roof Molding Delete - Running Bare

My 09 the roof moldings are rotting so they will fly out in pieces soon.
OEM moldings are about $80+ each at online dealerships if they have them.
Right #75551-04063
Left #

$128 75552-04063 Roof Molding

75552-04063

I am thinking of just pulling my old moldings out and running without and seeing if any wind noise - shouldn't leak if I leave all the screws and the 2 plastic molding clips alone and in-place I hope. Anyone do this before? Someone on TW must have.

 

Just to confirm, the 3rd Gen moldings work on our truck as well.

 

The left side roof molding on my truck did the fully-automated 80 mph freeway delete mod about a year and a half ago. Haven't touched it since.

 

If you pull the moldings off your roof, it’s going to look like ass, I would take them off get some trim paint paint them snap them back on or if you love your truck enough just buy a new set like I did

 

i have my prinsu on with no moldings. no leaks.

 

I did this too, and I had to drill 12 holes in my roof to mount it

 

Missing roof moldings are far less noticeable on darker colored trucks as opposed to lighter colors. The moldings themselves don’t actually seal anything, they are just a cosmetic cover so if you didn’t change anything else and don’t have leaks now, you can remove them without worry. I pulled mine off within the first year of ownership (black truck) and never put them back on.

 

you can find used ones

mine are off in storage from when I put on a Hooke rack

At some point I want to wrap the roof white vinyl then put them back on

last shop quoted me $400 to wrap and claimed the clear coat is too faded; not sure if that’s true or not

sold a tool on Craigslist to a guy
Complimented the truck and looked at the paint. Said he’s a body guy.
Asked his thoughts for shits and giggles
Started quoting $3-4k for a top end respray
Pretty wild

said current fade means rust can form and spread like cancer
I digress. Might be happening to many of your guys trucks. Hopefully not.
For now just keeping it waxed.

one day down the road a whole new paint job might be cool. Either same color, white, or some off road nature (light) environment color like tan, even matte

pretty sure you can buy the rail moulding clips cheap on their own to stick them off. I had to smack mine off per instructions to mount the roof rack (sold it)

if ever getting a better rack setup in the future like Sherpa, I guess it would be wise to time white vinyl wrapping the roof first (better heat rejection, old school Yota look) before mounting the roof blocking access

might be DIYable with a roll from Amazon

 

Follow up.
Yes no problems running without the moldings on noise or water intrusion but yes wanted to confirm it did look like ass as mentioned above (even with my failing clearcoat)!
Here are a few pics for anyone wondering what is under those moldings and how they clip and stick in.
McGeorge Toyota had them to me in 3 days about $200 shipped/taxed to me for both - great service and best prices.
The front pic shows the clip and rear top has same plus you can see the rear adhesive on the new molding. The slightly raised strip about 4" in the empty roof is where a roof rack would mount punching thru the heavy painted tape and there are 3 places each side.

 

I went with fleabay roof rack cause it's about the same money as the OEM trim pieces... Different option to consider if you don't want to go bare. It's about the quality you would expect for the money.

 

Mine on my 2008 were pretty bad so I pulled them off today and painted them with the Rustoleum Bumper and Trim paint. I hit them with a few coats of 2k clear and reinstalled. They came out really well.

If you go this route, be sure to put some double sided tape on that back plastic piece and make sure the rail is secured on the tabs.

I have a pic but it’s a bit far away, sorry.

 

They may not seal anything but dont they reduce the amount of water that ends up in the channel?

Side note I put my rack on a few years ago using butly tape underneath the spacers and than running the bolt through the tape and ran no molding. Present day, I have yet to find any visual evidence of a leak but if I dont get in the truck for a few days I get a faint mildew smell. So assuming I dont have a nasty sock crammed in some nook I think its leaking. I want to redo it all but now I have butly all over the bolts and bolt holes, is there a sealant that is compatible with butly? Sure I could get new bolts but I doubt I could get it off the threaded holes in the roof in a reasonable amount of time.