...on their Patriot? I am looking at buying a Surco Safari Roof Rack for mine and wanted some ideas.

http://www.autoanything.com/roof-racks/60A1380A0A0.aspx

I have a Yakima Load Warrior. Very durable...it's carried over from my previous ride. I doubt that it helps the gas mileage but it sure is convenient to have an outside load carrier.

i like the look of the rack, but i didn't see a 'listing' for Patriot or Compass. maybe a 'universal' style? i'd put one of those on the sport bars of my Compass.

Jeep has it. Looks like this ;-)

I put the Mopar roof basket on mine. Pretty handy I'd say!1366Pic's not too great but I'm to lazy to shrink another one at the moment. Sorry.

I have one of the Mopar(Jeep) racks. I don't have it on right now as it makes a great snow basket this time of the year. Easy to install and remove and handy for mountain trips in the warm months.

I put the Mopar roof basket on mine. Pretty handy I'd say!1366Pic's not too great but I'm to lazy to shrink another one at the moment. Sorry.

Put the mopar roof basket on mine last weekend
Xmas gift from Mrs clause, :)

did find the screws were too long and dug into the roof,
what seemed like a simple install,
had me frustrated,

...on their Patriot? I am looking at buying a Surco Safari Roof Rack for mine and wanted some ideas.

http://www.autoanything.com/roof-racks/60A1380A0A0.aspx

This looks like a great rack. Costs less than the Jeep basket. Do you already have the roof rails or do you need those too?

I have the Jeep roof rails and like them alot. If you decide to get the rack post some pictures.

I have a Surco rack in the garage (took it off of the ZJ). I may have to "test fit" it on the Patriot, to see how it works out with the Jeep universal roof attachments. I'll post pics if I do this.

did find the screws were too long and dug into the roof, what seemed like a simple install, had me frustrated,

That suprised me too. Turn it upside down, then the screwes goes up in the basket instead of your roof! It works. (unless youre carrying very fragile stuff in it)

Hehe, and yes - it can contain a great deal of snow...

How are your Jeep racks containing snow? I've had no problem with mine doing that. i had the dealership install mine when I bought the car. They put it on with the screws facing up. I have wondered what the one that cost more and attaches to the stock siderails looks like and how it attaches. Does it make the rack look more stock?

10 to 24" of snow with flakes 1/2" to an inch across. They stick very well and are heavy and wet from pacific storm systems. It's kind of cool as it snows, snow balls.

I have the load warrior basket too. Looks good on my riot. I used the thule cross bars and have mounted two Hella lights on the basket (wired for two more, just need to pay off the lift and tires before i can afford two more lights). If you lift it and put a basket with lights on it it looks alot more jeep-ish and use alot more useful.

I have the load warrior basket too. Looks good on my riot. I used the thule cross bars and have mounted two Hella lights on the basket (wired for two more, just need to pay off the lift and tires before i can afford two more lights). If you lift it and put a basket with lights on it it looks alot more jeep-ish and use alot more useful.

Do you have some pics of yours? Sounds good.

I do, but I can't seem to log into the site from home. Only from my cell phone and work computer, will try and bring some in tomorrow.

At my last oil change at the dealer I asked the collision guy what the roof racks were screwed into. He said just the sheet metal no inner frame!

Here she is. There will be more coming soon. I venture to say i have the sweetest patriot out there (next to SEMA of course)

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee160/terasec/jeep/DSC01238.jpg

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee160/terasec/jeep/DSC01239.jpg

Here she is. There will be more coming soon. I venture to say i have the sweetest patriot out there (next to SEMA of course)
Gotta see that bigger. My eyes are good but not THAT good.

At my last oil change at the dealer I asked the collision guy what the roof racks were screwed into. He said just the sheet metal no inner frame!
What kind of rack were they talking about. The Mopar rack that goes on the crossbars definitely doesn't screw into the car!

[QUOTE=Terasec;47241]http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee160/terasec/jeep/DSC01238.jpg

What are the things sticking out of the sides of the rack. This must be the version that doesn't require crossbars. How does it attach. Have a pics w/out the snow? I've been wanting to see one of those.

Here's mine.
1384

Was driving in front of a Riot with a roof rack last night. Looked like possibly a Yakima rack. In Roanoke. Was that anyone here?

i have the surco urban roof rack. check it, its my favorite rack made. ill try to get pictures up tonight.

Well, here is some better pictures


Let me know what you all think. Im working on my Shackle inserts for the Trailer hitch like things you see sticking out the front Bumper, im also building a bull bar/tubular bumper that will pin into those two 2" pieces of tube.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg153/quiff69/HPIM8459.jpg
BEFORE LIFT AND TIRES
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg153/quiff69/HPIM8507.jpg
AFTER LIFT, BEFORE TIRES
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg153/quiff69/HPIM8511.jpg
AFTER LIFT AND TIRES

This last one is how she sits right now. Bull bar w/ 2 lights, fog lights and two round roof lights to come yet. Also thinking of adding a back up light to the basket when i wire in for the trailer hitch.

She's coming along nicely! I love everything you've done. The XL rack is awesome as are the tires with that lift. Can you attach a snowplow to your bullbars? I might consider that instead of adding tow hooks. In fact I like your rack so much I may have to get one of those and replace my mopar rack. It looks like you can carry alot more. How much was it if you dont mind me asking?

The Thule Cross bars were 250, the basket I got used for 250 (normally about 400) and the extension for the basket was 200. I made the light mounts out of some aluminum flat bar and redi-rod. The shovel bracket is about 90 bucks up here, but I got it from www.moosejaw.com for alot less (racks are cheaper there too, but shipping to Canada kills you). The last thing is the snowboard rack, its Thule, about 130 or 140 here I think (got mine used off Ebay). The cross bars weren't wide enough to have the basket and the snowboard rack so I took some 1" Square Tubing and fabbed some extensions that are bolted on with Square U-bolts I made from Redi-Rod.

You can carry quite a bit up there. I have a Sportrack roob box for it too, but i prefer the basket. Got a big Sportrack bag to go in the basket and strap down all the climbing gear in. With the bag in there it still leaves about 2 feet for a cooler or whatever else you have to put up there.

You could put a plow on the front i suppose. you would have to build it yourself though. There is a thread i started with a rough sketch of what my front hitches look like. I basically bolted a 2" piece of 1/4" wall tube to the bottom of the bumper and to some 1" x 1/4" flatbar that goes thru to bottom of the bumper and bolts to the frame. It attaches to all the same bolt points as the stock tow hook so it should be fairly solid.

Got my Mopar basket yesterday
Bought the production cross bars last week so I could get the "normal" looking basket without the goofy side pieces sticking out as in the snowbound picture seen above
As far as these mysterious screws that others have sticking into your roofs ???
Are you folks sure you read the directions as I've got no screws even close to what is described in this post, the thing simply attaches to the production cross bars with clamps.
Perhaps it's the one without the production crossbars that has these screws, if so, buy the damn bars from the dealer and then buy the basket that attaches to them - snap !

well i just ordered one of the Rola roof baskets. I'll post a photo when it comes in.

I'm also adding a roof basket and I found a great deal at Proline. They have a safari style roof basket for only $129. The extension is only $65 and you can add a solid black wind deflector for $30. The nice thing too is you don't have to advertise anyone's product name across the deflector, it's solid black. With the extension kit the entire basket is 64" long X 39" wide and a 5" deep basket. It attaches to the stock Patriot cross bars. The whole setup is half the cost of a Yakima plus I think it has a cleaner look.

goya, do you mind posting the link to Proline where you saw the ad? Thanks

I think I found it...
http://www.prolineracks.com/car-rack-special.html

Glad you found it. I had just stepped away, sorry i didn't get to it sooner. I'm curious about what you think about the Proline setup? I already ordered all the items including the extension. I measured my Patriot and I think it will look great. I was at the dealership and they were nice enough to unpack and assemble a Jeep Mopar roof basket and set on top of my riot. It looked REALLY small to me. The parts guy and I moved the basket forward to the measured length of the Proline basket w/extension to see how that would look and we both agreed it made the Patriot taller and beefier looking. I can't wait until it arrives!

it looked like several of the other ones, but my issue is I am stationed in germany and can't find a company to ship me a roof rack/basket... not having any luck. The one I really want is the black widow... it can be found here and is on sale for 99 bucks.

Installed the Proline roof basket and it looks great! I went ahead and got the extension which makes the basket 64" X 39" and the wind deflector. The deflector is solid black which is perfect, no free advertisements. I did have to alter the rubber mounting blocks for the front since the stock roof rails were too short to reach the optimal mounting point on the basket. No biggie really, I simply mounting them under the cross bars instead of on top which actually looks better anyway because now the basket is flush with the cross bars and not sitting on top of them. I'll try and get some photos up.

that would be great because one of the baskets I am looking at is the same length (probably made by the same original manufacturer and relabeled) but wasn't sure how it would fit.

Do you think its safe to put anything in front of the Patriots roof rails? is it strong enough with the extension being longer than the roof rails? Or is it just going to be a cosmetic thing?

I think it's completely safe as long as the weight stays within the Jeep recommended load. The basket lines up perfectly with the end of the rear rails and extends over the front by only 8 inches even though it looks less. The way I mounted the basket flush against the stock cross bars and rails gives it added support. I've really tugged on it and pulled myself up with feet on the door sills and it's firm! Definitely not just for looks.

ok... sounds great. Now where's the photos?

I need to re-shoot some. I didn't realize my camera was set at max resolution so my jpeg files were too big to post. When I get my Patriot back from my wife I'll take some more. She prefers driving my 5spd manual Patriot over her Porsche Boxster, now that says a lot about the Patriot's driveability and comfort!

Put a Coleman rack on it earlier this week:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/tlowe02/DSCN0641.jpg

I think it's completely safe as long as the weight stays within the Jeep recommended load. The basket lines up perfectly with the end of the rear rails and extends over the front by only 8 inches even though it looks less. The way I mounted the basket flush against the stock cross bars and rails gives it added support. I've really tugged on it and pulled myself up with feet on the door sills and it's firm! Definitely not just for looks.

I'm just wondering about the Sirius antenna in the back on the roof? I guess it's optional and maybe many don't have it but you probably wouldn't want a basket directly above it.

There is also the optional sun roof (which retracts inside the roof) but you're not going to want a basket above it.

I'm just wondering about the Sirius antenna in the back on the roof? I guess it's optional and maybe many don't have it but you probably wouldn't want a basket directly above it.

There is also the optional sun roof (which retracts inside the roof) but you're not going to want a basket above it.

The roof rack is well forward of the antanae and well rear of where the sunroof would go. It would be unwise to have a basket that over hung /was unsupported that far anyway.

I bought a roof pod while on holiday. Had plenty of room traveling 1400km there , but xmas really tested my packing skills and I had to buy the pod for the trip home.

The Pats come with the cross bars stock here in Australia, so its just a matter of turning some quick release knob on the inside to take it on and off.

http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1623&d=1204322665

I've been looking into getting a roof box. So far I have found that the Thule Aero roof bars are cheeper than the Jeep/Mopar version. I am not sure yet what the best size roofbox is, however Thule have come up with this which looks very handy.

http://www.thule.com/pabloimages/Original/90/27590.jpg

Thule Ranger 90
The roof box you can roll up and stick under your arm.
Thule Ranger is the perfect box if you have lack of space but still want a box with the best functionality. It has all the advantages of the roof box, but without needing the storage space that traditional boxes require. The soft box is easy to mount, easy to remove, roll up and stow away in a practical storage bag.

I like the idea of packing it up and stowing it in the boot/trunk when it's not needed.

I have a Yakima Load Warrior (think I posted about that already) and it works great. But, no weather / dust protection for cargo and no locking, so it's not ideal if you want to park and not worry about the cargo. So I recently bought a Yakima Space Cadet cargo box that fits like it was made for the Pat. It sits aft of the sunroof, and holds 15 cubic feet. Nice.

http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?Number=8007154

I put a black -widow basket on mine. Happy with it.

http://www.discountramps.com/roof-rack-basket.htm

I have the Black Widow Basket. I've written a review below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Spencer.Hutchins/RoofRack/photo?authkey=aKQgV2_leGM#5178402516289680290

I do have factory installed cross bars

It is very light weight. Two pieces join together by means of a simple screw. If it's going to fail, that is the weak part. Installation took about 15 minutes with my 16yr old son helping. It's a pain to remove though if you want to take your car through a car wash. And getting under the basket to wash the car manually is a pain as well. But I guess that's expected with a roof basket...so that's not a valid gripe.

I bought the 20" extension a couple of weeks ago, and although I like the look of the larger basket, the mounting brackets won't align with the factory cross bars properly (cross bars just can't spread far enough apart), so the front part of the rack is under supported.


If you are serious about off-roading, I don't think this rack would be for you...at least not with the 20" extension on the Patriot. However, I do have access to people who can weld some supporting straps on it to make it more rugged. But I think it's just fine for the minor off roading and camping that I do.

But, I didn't want to spend $400 bucks on a roof basket, so I guess I got what I paid for.

So..no buyers remorse. I think I got basically what I expected, and it serves the need that I have and it looks great.

Hope this helps

Speezy
Seattle

It's a pain to remove though if you want to take your car through a car wash.

Do you have to take it off at the car wash?
Because it's too weak..? .....or?
what about a touchless car wash?

i really like the basket idea....

thanx

Patriot 22 -

I suppose you wouldn't "have-to" take it off to go through a car wash..just that I would. I even take off my car antenna when I go through a car wash.

My guess it that the basket would most definitely stand up to the auto-wash, I just wouldn't want something to snag or catch and cause other issues.

Thanks for the update Speezy.

The mounting on factory bars was my biggest concern, not any reviews out there about this basket, so your feeback is very useful.

I am going to order mine this week. Gonna put a good coat of wax on the roof before installing the basket. I wouldn't have thought about that if you wouldn't have mentioned it.

I don't neet the extension although it does look better on the pat then the shorter basic basket. Just a need a little extra hauling room for lightweight stuff like a tent and inflatable canoe.

Ordered my black widow rack this morning!

No extension, no flaring and no plans to add either unless I get a lot of wind noise or mileage goes down when in use.

Lightweight was a key factor as the factory roof rack is only rated for 150lbs so the less the rack takes up of that the better.

Got the Compass shift knob, rack is on the way, synthetic oil in the engine, and I think the door sill plates are next. Gotta work somemore first to replenish the accessory fund.

So those of you who purchased the Black Widow, how was the install and after using them would you recommend them to others? I am looking at this one to purchase.
oh yeah, with or without extension? Which would you choose for installation ease?

Ordered my black widow rack this morning!

No extension, no flaring and no plans to add either unless I get a lot of wind noise or mileage goes down when in use.

Lightweight was a key factor as the factory roof rack is only rated for 150lbs so the less the rack takes up of that the better.

Got the Compass shift knob, rack is on the way, synthetic oil in the engine, and I think the door sill plates are next. Gotta work somemore first to replenish the accessory fund.

UPKEV: I've got the sill plates. You should be aware that they're smaller than they appear in ad photos. The front ones are about a foot long, and the rear ones are only about 6 inches... useless. I wish I'd saved my money. Molded mud guards are a better use for your hard-earned accessory bucks.

UPKEV: I've got the sill plates. You should be aware that they're smaller than they appear in ad photos. The front ones are about a foot long, and the rear ones are only about 6 inches... useless. I wish I'd saved my money. Molded mud guards are a better use for your hard-earned accessory bucks.

Thanks for the info. I think I might skip them. 6 inches in the back is useless, the whole idea was to protect the sills from my kids hoping in and out. Next is a good wax job if winter ever goes away. Once I get it waxed, I'll have to post some pics, but might be awhile.

I am afraid the mud flaps would limit my ground clearnance or get ripped off my something.