If you did it one time only, probably nothing to worry about. Its like drag racing away from a stoplight -- you do it once, no big deal; if you can't stand being second away from a light your Patriot will get old prematurely.

Overloading it once is naughty; doing it all the time is bad. Consistently overloading it will cause premature wear throughout the drivetrain and weaken the suspension parts (just read a parts list), and wa-a-ay overloading it will cause immediate problems, e.g. clutch/transmission, broken springs and blown shocks.

My guess is you probably got away with it. Slap your wrist and don't do it again.

 

Pick up an old pickup for those type of large hauling jobs. I bought a one owner '87 Dodge Ram D150 (225 ci slant 6) for $1,100. No rust, 80k miles. It can take a ton of weight a lot better than a passenger vehicle like a Patriot, plus the stuff is in the back and not dirtying up the interior.

It's a half-ton, but it has helper springs added to the rear leaf springs. I've had a ton of gravel back there and it did fine -- won't win any races with a loaded down inline 6 truck. But I think the torque is almost as much as a 318ci V8. Plus it makes a good tow vehicle. It could probably tow up to 4,000 pounds safely.

 

its hard on your suspension. my saab wagon I had to replace the springs, because I overloaded it a couple of times too many and it caused them to sag, causing the tires to cup. I would invest in a trailer to tow behind it.

 

How far did you go? And what type of road?
One time short distane shouldnt be a problem
For 1-2 years i was loading the pat about once a week with 1000-1500 lbs
For distance of 5-10 miles on secondary 40mph road
Didnt have a problem with it

 

I drove only a few miles for like 15 minutes. The suspension was really compressed in the back. It looks like everything is back to normal now though.