Any Jeep Patriot owners?

[toyotechwv]

Recently got my wife a '14 Patriot Latitude. She loves it and I've warmed up to it, always been a Toyota/Subie guy. Anyway, looking to make some overland mods to it. We're aware there are limitations to such a vehicle considering it's ride height and lack of low range. We would like to make some useful modifications to improve offroad prowess without sacrificing reliability. Anyone else choose one of these for mild overland travel?

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[XJINTX]

TIRES!!!!!

 

[Nuclear Redneck]

Look at what people have done to Honda CR-Vs AWD and Subaru Foresters. That should give you some ideas. I agree with XJINTX, tires should be one of your first mods. I suspect that traction aids (sand ladder, max trax, or similar) would be next.

 

[mhiscox]

Also take a look at the ExPo project Patriot. It'll make you feel good about your little truck.

http://expeditionportal.com/the-little-overlander-expo-s-long-term-patriot-project/

 

[kojackJKU]

I am a former pat owner. We loved ours. I put 85k on it in one year. They are very capable, comfortable and I love the look of them. any questions you have fire me a message. I had a bunch of work done with mine and it all worked great as a package.

Rocky Road outfitters makes great products for the patriot. They now have winch/light mount which is killer. their lift kit works great (I had it on my FDII patriot.) and their supersliders give some protection and piece of mind.

On the tire front, I would probably swap to 16" wheels to open up selection of rubber. I ran a BFG tire on mine and they were awesome. I put the little jeep through it paces both on and off road. The only negative I had was the gas tank was small. So if you are taking a trip wih distance between gas stops, factor in some provision for carrying gas. I had a roof rack on mine to do things like this. I used a sport rack basket on the factory rails.

I would love to have another FDII. I am guessing they are factoring out the pat for the new renegade, but I think there will be no way to lift the renegade for extra clearance.

Enjoy the pat and take it often on adventures!

 

[kojackJKU]

Have a looksy at this. I made me choose my patriot over any other small SUV including Subies, and ravs and others.

http://expeditionwest.com/equipment/reviews/patriot/index.htm

 

[toyotechwv]

Wow, I must say, the Patriot seems much more capable than I ever expected. I believe we will start with some 16" wheels and better suited tires. Skid plates will be an upcoming addition is well. I've been over on jeeppatriot.com, are there any other great resources or vendors for these vehicles?

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[kojackJKU]

yours is not FDII correct? then just goto the jeep dealer and order the skids from one for it. I think the RRO company is the best for the patriot. There is a true spring, but to get any extra benefit from it, you need the extra capacity spring which kills the ride, plus they only sell springs, not a full kit like RRO.

 

[jgould]

I have a 2008 FD1 that I've been researching some overland mods to. I'll be starting with the lift and super sliders. Next will be tires and skids. Looking for Yokohama geolanders in the stock 22570R17. I stopped in at the dealer and looked through the wheel book for some 16" steelers and none were listed, even for JK's.

I've been researching RTT's of late and have found offerings from CVT and Tupui that at a glance look like they will work on the stock rack. May have to rent one for a multi day event to see how well they work on the Patriot.

I will be following this thread.

 

[toyotechwv]

Ours is an FD1 so no factory skids. I will have our parts dept(I work for Toyota dealer) check with the Jeep store and see what kinda deal I can get on some factory skids. Anyone have part numbers so I can expedite the process?

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[tommudd]

yours is not FDII correct? then just goto the jeep dealer and order the skids from one for it. I think the RRO company is the best for the patriot. There is a true spring, but to get any extra benefit from it, you need the extra capacity spring which kills the ride, plus they only sell springs, not a full kit like RRO.

Just a spacer lift from RRO hardly call that a full kit plus customer service is a joke with them.

 

[kojackJKU]

I am not starting with you again about RRO. I used their "spacer" kit and it worked great. As was customer service. Just because its spacers does not mean its not complete. It is more complete than CRDstu's system. RRO has camber correction etc included plus with the FDII you get more lift as well. WIth the CRD springs, you get less lift, no other parts for geometry correction, a stiffer ride and its 3 times as expensive to boot. The Spacers have no ill effect on the ride as they bolt to the top of the strut not between the spring and mount. Again, Tommudd, you have no clue what your are spewing here. To the OP, I had the RRO kit on my Patriot and it worked flawlessly both on road and off. Don't mind tommudd. He does not know what he's talking about when it comes to the patriot.

Tommudd, Maybe you got bad CS because you got on with them like you do here. think about that!.....

 

[kojackJKU]

Ours is an FD1 so no factory skids. I will have our parts dept(I work for Toyota dealer) check with the Jeep store and see what kinda deal I can get on some factory skids. Anyone have part numbers so I can expedite the process?

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Also look into getting the FDII oil cooler, heavy duty alternator, and spring and shock combo, or springs anyways and use Monroe shocks. The only thing you would be missing then is the low crawl ratio of the CVT, Which is not a bad thing really unless you are wheeling hard. The 6 spd is much better than any CVT. I hated my trans on the pat. But I would buy another FDII because its so good for overall usage we would use and put up with the CVT. I wish they were keeping the pat and upgraded the running grear.

 

[tommudd]

I am not starting with you again about RRO. I used their "spacer" kit and it worked great. As was customer service. Just because its spacers does not mean its not complete. It is more complete than CRDstu's system. RRO has camber correction etc included plus with the FDII you get more lift as well. WIth the CRD springs, you get less lift, no other parts for geometry correction, a stiffer ride and its 3 times as expensive to boot. The Spacers have no ill effect on the ride as they bolt to the top of the strut not between the spring and mount. Again, Tommudd, you have no clue what your are spewing here. To the OP, I had the RRO kit on my Patriot and it worked flawlessly both on road and off. Don't mind tommudd. He does not know what he's talking about when it comes to the patriot.

Tommudd, Maybe you got bad CS because you got on with them like you do here. think about that!.....

So darn funny
Years of experience and have read tons of posts regarding RRO from clear back in the early 2000s
They still owe one local guy here a refund from 2003
You keep on telling what you think
I'll keep warning folks on what I know
Plus Stus kit is a full spring which is always better way to go regardless of price
By the way I loved doing Debates in College

Not sure why you say I am " spewing" All I am doing is informing what I know from being associated with various Jeep sites since the early 2000s . How is that different than what you are doing? Just because I disagree with you makes me totally wrong or what?

 

[kojackJKU]

You have not used a rro lift on a patriot. I have YEARS of experience as well. Reading tons of posts mean nothing. I have real world results...and stu's is not KIT its springs. It does nothing for geometry correction. So how would it be better than the RRO kit that comes with geometry correction parts? please, enlighten me. Yes, in this case, disagreeing with me does make you totally wrong because you have NO EXPERIENCE with the RRO kit and I do have first hand knowledge as I OWNED one. Yeah debates in college are for people who think they know it all. But never put their "knowledge" to good use like those of us who use our knowledge in the real world. take care!