Rage - Roof Basket Install: Part 1

I had plans to have a custom roof basket made that I could stand on, but haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet, so I decided to go with a less expensive version online. For now I just need something that goes on & off easy, can carry some camping gear.

I went with the Rage Powersports Black Widow, RB-DLX-V2 for about $110.00.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HD ... UTF8&psc=1

I went with the two peace design, so I could add the optional 24” extension. This gave me an approx. : 39”x67” basket base, which allows me to have basket size almost exactly the same as factory roof rails. I was concerned the 3 piece construction may not be as rigid or as strong as a one piece welded version, but it is plenty strong and fits together tight with locking screws. More than strong enough for hauling camping gear. The factory roof crossbars are more likely to fail before basket.





I will update this, because I need to modify it some. I need to add the optional Wind Fairing, which I already have. Because empty , the basket howls and can be heard through the roof…. ( I have actually already added the fairing and the noise and howls are gone. will add photos soon) I also need to modify the thumbscrews & mounting bracket. The U-bolts are too long, for my application, and the thumbscrews are too hard on thumbs and hard to grip. They have self-locking nuts which is good, are hard to turn... with thumbscrews. I will cut the excess U-bolt length and add standard locking nuts. I would rather use a socket & ratchet to remove U-bolts anyway. In either case, it only takes minutes to install and remove.

Here are a few shots of fit & items to modify. I also plan on painting it with bed liner. If I was going this route again.. (inexpensive quick removable), I would have looked for a lower profile version as it is just an inch more than my garage door. It is 83” high on my Pathfinder.



Basket’s locking screw can scratch rail. I will wrap with shrink tubing before I spray whole thing with rubberized bed-liner. I will also cut U-bolt length and add standard locking nuts.

Thanks for sharing, Its a shame that roof baskets this side of the pond cost around £400 ($645) with no where near as much choice as you guys have
I'm looking at making/modifying one (off my old Jeep) to suit the Pathy, keep the pictures coming, would be interested to see the fairing fitted.

It looks good, but make sure you watch it close. I picked up an inexpensive roof rack a few years back for my old Grand Cherokee, and after a few months I climbed on top to wash the car and noticed that the basket was actually leaking rust onto the top of my Jeep from the connection points. I quickly got rid of that basket.

volvite wrote:It looks good, but make sure you watch it close. I picked up an inexpensive roof rack a few years back for my old Grand Cherokee, and after a few months I climbed on top to wash the car and noticed that the basket was actually leaking rust onto the top of my Jeep from the connection points. I quickly got rid of that basket.

Good point! I'm hoping the bed liner will help weatherproof it some. I don't plan on having it installed most of the time, but I know how that works.... I get lazy. Looking at Dur-Color spay on. Not as durable as Herculiner, from what I read, but more flexible and comes in a spray.

Davidevovi wrote:Thanks for sharing, Its a shame that roof baskets this side of the pond cost around £400 ($645) with no where near as much choice as you guys have
I'm looking at making/modifying one (off my old Jeep) to suit the Pathy, keep the pictures coming, would be interested to see the fairing fitted.

I know... It's funny how "some" items are so cheap here. But quality can be hit and miss. So far, I'd rate this as pretty good.

As I said in the last post, I added the fairing and the noise and howls are gone. But I did not like the fairing’s look. It is ultra-shiny Lexan with a big white “Rage” printed on it.. I hated how it looked.

So I removed the white silkscreen print with some Acetone and painted the whole thing with some spray-on bed liner. I also riveted a piece angle onto the front to hold a set of LEDs lights I ordered.

Looking good, I like the mat finish now with the bed liner against the end caps of the roof rails.

Looks great!

Thanks! So here are a few images of the final product.

I add four 6-LED Cree Spotlights onto the rack that I picked up on Amazon for $25 ea. Since this is setup to take on & off easily, I ran the power cable along the basket rib to the back, where I can just plug it in to the cigarette plug in the cargo area. I found a 12v remote switch online for about $20 that I may add later. That will keep me from needing to permanently wire it to a toggle, and keep me from getting in and out the truck to turn on the lights. But for now, this will work.

I’ve got it to the point I can install or remove it in about 5min.

good idea with using the 12v in the back.

i have a similar roof rack, about to repaint mine as well "just because". really like that idea of the leds on top....

Good work

Love the pics!
Thumbs up on the basket and light mods!

I'm about to install a LED light bar on the stock roof rack very soon myself.
I may steal your idea, using the rear power source...you didn't patent that did you?!

before the fairing could you feel a difference in the cars handling at highway speeds?

Touchdown wrote:Love the pics! Thumbs up on the basket and light mods!
I'm about to install a LED light bar on the stock roof rack very soon myself.
I may steal your idea, using the rear power source...you didn't patent that did you?!

Haha.. No patent... I stole the idea from another member here on the Forum.

akley88 wrote:before the fairing could you feel a difference in the cars handling at highway speeds?

I did not feel any difference with the basket alone.. was just noisier. With the fairing added I still cannot feel anything and it doesn't seem to have any effect on MPG just quieter. But I did haul box that's front side stood about 5" above the fairing's top the other day, and I could bot hear and feel it.

I just got this exact same rack and love it. It's amazing how the fairing makes the rack nearly silent -- definitely a must-have if you don't want to feel like you're flying in a jumbo jet (noise). I did notice a 1.5 mpg drop in fuel economy on the highway (anything above 55). Not bad.

Nice! I need to do something like that