Discovery 2017

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  • Narpy
    Member Since: 30 Apr 2025
    Location: Stockport
    Posts: 164
    United Kingdom 
    2019 Discovery Td6 HSE Corris Grey

    Ditch Finisher Mod For None OE Roof Rails - How To

    If you’re interested in fitting after market or non OEM roof rails to your D5 and don’t want the extra expense of removing your current trims, ( often referred to as ditch finishers ), throwing away your original trims and replacing them with rather pricey replacements, this is the thread for you.

    Rear Trims
    The good news is, once you remove your rear trims which just pop off, the area you need to cut out can be clearly seen on the underside.







    You’ll notice, the rear trims are made from plastic and cut + drill easily.
    Get yourself one of these cutters in 35mm. And position it inside the cutout area and drill 2 large holes.





    Once you’ve drilled both ends of the cutout, remove the central piece with a saw blade and tidy up with a file. There’s two cutouts in the rear trim so repeat for the opposite side and you’ve got both panels ready to go.


    Front Trims
    For these ditch trims, there is no target showing where the cutout should go so you’ll need to remove the front trim and mark it out yourself. Don’t worry, it’s super simple to do and will save you a fortune.
    I placed my trim adjacent to the ditch and, using the rear trims as a cutout size guide, you need to mark this cut out to cover the attachment bolt zone. You don’t have to be super accurate with the marking out as there’s plenty of tolerance so as long as you remove material above the two attachment screws to reveal where they are, that will suffice. The foot on the roof rails is considerably larger and will cover a multitude of mishaps so again, you don’t need to be super accurate.
    You can see here how I decided where to cut.




    To do these cut outs, I did exactly the same as the rears, cut two big holes at either end, ( I used a slightly smaller cutter for the ditch finishers 30mm ) then remove the centre with a saw blade + tidy up with a file. You’ll notice, the front ditch finishers are made from alloy, not plastic as per the rears but take your time and remember, all will be covered and the cut out area gives you plenty of tolerance.

    Once you’ve completed the cut outs ( 2 in each rear panel and 1 in each ditch finisher ) you can successfully install your roof rails as per instructions, happy in the knowledge that you’ve just saved yourself a small fortune by not buying the replacements and you’ve retained your colour coded front ditch finishers. Laughing

    I hope this helps. Ian.
    11th Jul 2025 6:38 pm
  • Penuwchian
    Member Since: 01 Sep 2025
    Location: Wales
    Posts: 20
     

    Thanks. I'd bought a set of bars thinking they were cheap with no consideration for the trims... your post is, just what I needed
    21st Sep 2025 7:45 am
  • ajac
    Member Since: 20 Jul 2025
    Location: Shakespeare's County
    Posts: 67
    United Kingdom 
    2019 Discovery SDV6 HSE Loire Blue

    Brilliant. The ditch finisher issue was the reason i have not brought the rails.

    more expense now!!! Very Happy
    21st Sep 2025 9:26 am
  • Penuwchian
    Member Since: 01 Sep 2025
    Location: Wales
    Posts: 20
     

    Finally plucked up the courage to do this...

    Fitted them in about an hour or so, take your time and it's quite straight forward, and makes a huge difference to the appearance in my view.
    15th Feb 2026 5:20 am
  • Penuwchian
    Member Since: 01 Sep 2025
    Location: Wales
    Posts: 20
     

    I got away with using a 25mm drill bit and a jigsaw between the holes- which leaves a bit more material spare to add strength.
    15th Feb 2026 5:22 am
  • Mole HD
    Member Since: 19 Nov 2024
    Location: Orkney Islands
    Posts: 827
    Scotland 
    2017 Discovery Td6 HSE Fuji White

    Loving all this DIY going on. Thumbs Up
    15th Feb 2026 8:12 am
  • Penuwchian
    Member Since: 01 Sep 2025
    Location: Wales
    Posts: 20
     

    Just to add- the one's i bought had a set of self adhesive templates to stick to show the areas which needed cutting out-

    https://www.4x4predator.co.uk/storage/land...oof-rails/

    It's also nerve wracking, as the clips holding the plastic trim almost certainly will break no matter how careful you (I) were. It's immaterial though as you'll be bolting them back down with the bars
    15th Feb 2026 9:07 am
  • Mole HD
    Member Since: 19 Nov 2024
    Location: Orkney Islands
    Posts: 827
    Scotland 
    2017 Discovery Td6 HSE Fuji White

    Replacement clips and panel pins are easily found online and can be bought in smart looking variety boxes for the spares shelf in the garage or loose in packets of a dozen or so from eBay, Etsy or Temu for pennies. I have a few boxes of a variety of metal and plastic trim panel pins and clips commonly used on the Discovery (and other cars)...since it's guaranteed at least a couple of them will break when you're taking the interior trim panels or things like the ditch finishers off.

    Especially those 2 part Xmas tree fasteners. They're a proper pain for breaking off if you don't have a set of panel pin tools. Wink


    15th Feb 2026 9:12 am
  • Narpy
    Member Since: 30 Apr 2025
    Location: Stockport
    Posts: 164
    United Kingdom 
    2019 Discovery Td6 HSE Corris Grey

    Sadly the trim clips used on the forward roof rail trims ( ditch finishers ) are very odd. They are spider like with a couple “legs” at either end. I’ve not seen them used anywhere else on the car, in fact, I think they’re specific to the job in hand.
    As Penuwchian pointed out, once the rails are on, they should hold the ditch finishers down so the clips are no longer essential.
    15th Feb 2026 5:06 pm
  • Wolfpack
    Member Since: 25 May 2019
    Location: Norfolk, UK
    Posts: 555
    United Kingdom 
    2017 Discovery Si6 HSE Corris Grey

    Not sure that’s necessarily enough. Unless the replaced ditch filler and trim follow the roof contour faithfully.

    Both sides on mine (existing trim) have a dollop of “mastic” on the front edge, which stops the front edge lifting out of the clip 6” in from the front. Wonderful JLR.
    15th Feb 2026 6:12 pm
  • Penuwchian
    Member Since: 01 Sep 2025
    Location: Wales
    Posts: 20
     

    The roof bars end an inch or so from the end of the ditch finisher, and bolt down to the roof through it. There's no way they can move, unless the bolts work loose
    17th Feb 2026 11:38 pm
  • Russell
    Member Since: 26 Jun 2016
    Location: Lydd
    Posts: 1116
    United Kingdom 
    2017 Discovery Td6 First Edition Namib Orange

    I did my sons with the ditch finishers in place on the car
    Namib Orange 1st Edition with black roof and wheels.
    Privacy, tow bar, drive pack, surround camera, heated front & rear seats, auto dim door mirrors, side steps, remote Pro, RSE, arm rest fridge dash cam front and rear.
    28th Feb 2026 10:34 pm
  • swansty
    Member Since: 22 Apr 2026
    Location: Northern Ireland
    Posts: 14
    United Kingdom 
    2022 Discovery Td6 HSE Carpathian Grey

    Has anyone fitted aftermarket gloss black roof rails?
    5th May 2026 2:06 pm
  • Narpy
    Member Since: 30 Apr 2025
    Location: Stockport
    Posts: 164
    United Kingdom 
    2019 Discovery Td6 HSE Corris Grey

    Yeah I did.
    To be honest, the colour of the rails is irrelevant, if you fit after market rails, you’ll still need this How To to ensure you can fit them without splashing out a small fortune on replacement parts and trims.

    Follow the guide, take your time, you’ll get the job done. Thumbs Up
    14th May 2026 4:28 pm
  • swansty
    Member Since: 22 Apr 2026
    Location: Northern Ireland
    Posts: 14
    United Kingdom 
    2022 Discovery Td6 HSE Carpathian Grey

    Cheers. Took me a while to find gloss ones but have them ordered from LRparts. Due tomorrow. Going to check what size hole saws I have now..
    14th May 2026 7:54 pm
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