Sunroof questions for ‘04 DC… sorry if I sound dumb

Soooo… roof skins… once taken off, can the same one be used again? Or is it that no matter how careful and how patient you are that it simply cannot be taken off in a manner that allows it to be re-used?

If it’s not already obvious, I am NOT knowledgeable in body work stuffs, so please keep that in mind. I’m already quite aware of how little I know and understand about vehicles

The meat of the post is this… could I get the roof section of a factory sunroof equipped ‘04-‘06 DC and swap the roof skin, the headliner and all the guts in between from the donor to my current truck and be good to go?

Again, not trying to sound like an idiot, just looking to get some clarification on why that wouldn’t/couldn’t work… or what it would be involved in getting that specific approach to somehow work

my thought is that ~IF~ the roof skin can be reused that, on paper, it shouldn’t be impossibly difficult to accomplish this, just rather time consuming

I’m not against an aftermarket sunroof at all, but I really REALLY want to be able to use the factory controls of the overhead console as they are and from what I’m hearing that isn’t (likely) an option with aftermarket sunroofs for whatever reason… that I couldn’t have the wiring run to the factory switches

Now with that said, if there are any aftermarket sunroofs that WOULD allow me to use the factory controls and maintain the OEM look on the inside, then that changes everything and I’d gladly go that route, provided that they are of good quality of course

maybe I should’ve asked that question instead…

“Are there any aftermarket sunroofs that allow you to still use the factory overhead console controls/switches?”

 

Had it typed out various ways and decided to simply ask. Since you pay to get alot of these additions done, have you considered cleaning yours up to sale. You could then hunt for an 04-06 DC Limited with all the bells and whistles.

 

I mean, that would be the smart thing to do, hahaha, but he’s also far from his ideal resale value

He’s got some battle scars from fights with other vehicles and although he walked away, he’s less of a Rob Lowe looking truck now and more of a Rob Schneider

Unfortunately for me I’m also one of those people that gets attached to certain things

My Grampa facilitated my getting this truck a looooong time ago so there’s that.

Another reason is that this truck and I have been through a lot together and he’s never let me down

But the more reasonable reason is that even though he’s entering his “ow, my everything” part of his life, I know exactly what has and hasn’t been done and what is looming around the corner

but yeah, that would 100% be the smart thing to do

 

It’s pretty likely that unless there is an aftermarket sunroof that would still allow me to use the factory controls of a donor console, that I’ll either:

1) get the fancy bells and whistles console anyway for the cleanest look, and own up to living a lie with no sunroof

or

2) The same as 1), but years from now dump the price of a truck to make a then 22 year old truck unnecessarily posh

 

So I’m currently looking into a middle ground solution… I’m trying to look up if there were ~ever~ any aftermarket assemblies that could be run to the factory controls, and then hope that there are any stores that still have them in stock

it’s a huge “if” but if I’m able to find an option, then I could have a sunroof and the factory controls and do so for a much lower price tag

… if…

 

I would look into Webasto aftermarket sunroof and then wire it up to the factory switches. Ultimately, all youre doing is giving power to a motor, so it should be feasible...

 

that’s one of the two brands that I was told about from a sunroof shop a couple hours north of me, but he was saying that he had doubts that it could be operated by the factory switches… for the lack of remembering the specifics, it was something to the effect of “the aftermarket assemblies having a narrow range of power that they operate and that too little power and they just won’t work and too much power could fry them…

another shop alluded that nobody actively makes aftermarket assemblies as of early last year because the main maker only deals with factory now, and that finding ones in stock will be more difficult soon…

so I’m not sure what either place was really going on about… but I also don’t know much of anything about electrical, so I dunno

 

Bummer man. I imagine it’d be pretty difficult then. Hot rod shop probably your best bet but I’m sure it won’t be cheap or quick!

 

I’ve had a traditional auto body shop and hot rod shop give me the $5k-$6k range if they were to take the entire roof of a donor and put it on mine, so it’s definitely possible, but yeah, major dollars because of all the labor involved and the paint work (I always forget about the paint work, even if I find a black roof donor)

it was always a “last thing on the list” thing though, so it’s not like I’ll never be happy without it, lol

Oh, I ordered an audio control wheel from NY, and an audio control unit’s airbag from a yard a bit north of me here in WA

I’ll be looking up that leather kit for the wheel that you posted later today, only in brown if they have that option in stock still. How’s that holding up by the way?

 

Wow, that sunroof seems like it's probably just not worth it :\ but I guess that's for you to decide.

Looking forward to your steering wheel upgrades. I'm happy to help if I can when you start tearing into it.

BTW, the steering wheel wrap is holding up brilliantly! It really changes the feel of the whole truck since I'm constantly holding it and frequently looking at it. Highly recommended!

 

Never would I even consider it.

Aftermarket or sell and get a VVTI and 5-Speed 05-06

 

It looks like the Dark Brown with Perforations is the one for my interior

I really like that the kit you got also covers those 4 extensions towards the airbag. Looks so darn clean

I still need to take those better pics of the wiring that goes to my radio (the one I posted earlier in that thread is a terrible angle for the wires themselves) but I suspect I’ll still need that wiring you linked to

on the ~outer~ wheel itself, does that need to have been one that originally came with audio controls?

or can I keep my ~outer~ wheel and change my airbag for the guts and bag from the donor truck? I’ll have the stuff for either, but I’m planning on keeping my outer wheel since I don’t want to have an over wrap on the donor wheel, and I don’t want to go through the mild hassle of unstitching the donor wheels cover off either

I can send pics to clarify when I have everything

 

I’m one of those fools that got WAY too attached to his truck, so selling him is never going to be an option for me.

with all the stuff I’ve lined up for him recently, it’ll be at least a year before I can even think of adding a sunroof, even aftermarket.

Which is actually a good thing since that’s a long time to do more research on running the controls to the factory switches, because if that’s something that I can figure out a solution to, then I can be happy with that middle ground (aftermarket)

 

Outer wheel is the same. Airbag packed within I *think* is the same. Airbag COVER (riveted in place, just get new airbag with cover) is different shape to allow the audio switches to be added.

 

Cool, that’s what I was pretty darn sure of myself. So much so that I have a wheel (for the controls) coming from NY and an airbag w/cover for that wheel option coming from Spokane

I’ll order that wrap later today and will likely add it to my current outer wheel

 

Really anything is possible, No idea if the roof skin is still available but I'm sure a body shop will have the expertise in applying one to your truck. Now I was just doing some research on my own 2004 and it appears you will need the sunroof ECU and everything from a 2004 to install it. Really, it may be worth it to purchase a crashed limited w/ a sunroof and use that as a donor for your project. But regardless, it appears to be just a matter of some spot welds, seam sealer and some elbow grease to make yours a sunroof model.