OEM Crossbars too high?

Jmuns

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My wife and I are planning a cross country road trip. I have a Thule Canyon XT basket that I’m going to use. The OEM bars are fine with the basket close by. I haven’t had it loaded for long trips. Does anyone feel that the OEM crossbars are just too tall for platforms/racks/baskets? I’m not concerned about the MPG and drag, but to me it just looks like that weight sitting up an additional couple inches versus using some lower mounted crossbars (Thule or Yakima) could affect the roll and pitch of the BS. Anyone have any thoughts? Or anyone load up a basket or platform with the OEM crossbars and travel extended distances?
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Meanderthal

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I think the stock cross bars are as tall as they are because of the sunroof option. It seems to be a close fit with a lot of aftermarket cross bars with a basket.
 
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Jmuns

Jmuns

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I think the stock cross bars are as tall as they are because of the sunroof option. It seems to be a close fit with a lot of aftermarket cross bars with a basket.
Yea that’s most likely the reason. I like the way they look, but they aren’t the most functional. I just can’t decide if I want to spend money on some Thule crossbars to lower it a couple inches and also gain some additional room for an awning. I’ll most likely just keep using a tarp anyway as opposed to buying an awning. Accessories are just a rabbit hole once you start adding them on.
 

Mexray

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My wife and I are planning a cross country road trip. I have a Thule Canyon XT basket that I’m going to use. The OEM bars are fine with the basket close by. I haven’t had it loaded for long trips. Does anyone feel that the OEM crossbars are just too tall for platforms/racks/baskets? I’m not concerned about the MPG and drag, but to me it just looks like that weight sitting up an additional couple inches versus using some lower mounted crossbars (Thule or Yakima) could affect the roll and pitch of the BS. Anyone have any thoughts? Or anyone load up a basket or platform with the OEM crossbars and travel extended distances?
A couple inches lower would make very little difference.

What would help more would be lowering the amount of weight as much as possible.
 


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My roof box has aluminum conduit bolted to it. Four U-bolts attach it to the rails. It knocked my gas mileage down by about 4mpg at freeway speeds. I put the light weight bulky stuff on the roof, like foam pads, lawn chairs, aluminum table. If you're worried about roll-over, you're driving like a teenage, or taking trails a lot rougher than I do.
 
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Jmuns

Jmuns

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My roof box has aluminum conduit bolted to it. Four U-bolts attach it to the rails. It knocked my gas mileage down by about 4mpg at freeway speeds. I put the light weight bulky stuff on the roof, like foam pads, lawn chairs, aluminum table. If you're worried about roll-over, you're driving like a teenage, or taking trails a lot rougher than I do.
Thank you for the response. I’m just overthinking it some.
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