Any gearbasket mods so can use sunroof and not look stupid?

Taking off the gearbasket and using the sunroof does not look very good. The resulting space above the roofline without the gearbasket makes the roof look like a stair step. I was just wondering if anyone had a similar opinion and if so, any potential parts/modifications to make the situation look better. I noticed that almost all Xterra owners keep the gearbasket on. It would be nice to use the sunroof and have the vehicle look half way decent. Any ideas?

Here is one option.

http://www.xterra4x4.com/mods/Owners/Thors/seethrough.html

Couldn't you just cut out the floor of the gear basket at the back edge of the sunroof? Then you'd have the same look from the sides but the sunroof would open.

BTW, I *think* part of the reason most of the Xterras you see have the gear basket still on is because more XE's are sold than SE's, so many people have nothing to gain from removing it. If I didn't have the sunroof I would never take it out, it's a great place for wet tow straps and the like.

(Anybody know if I'm right re: sales of XE vs. SE? Around here it certainly seems like their are more XE's...)

Ditch the gear basket for a week. Within days the look without the gear basket will grow on you and then it won't matter. Better yet, sell your gear basket on e-bay and make some money. There are tons and tons of cool looking Xterra's that don't use the gear basket:
Brian’s Toolbox, for instance…
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=270535&a=13080460&p=49382646&Sequence=0&res=high

I haven't seen or heard of a decent/functional looking modification for the gear basket for us SE owners. There are lots of SE's here in Southern California and many of them retire the gear basket to their garages.

I'm still working on this. Well, I haven't started, but I've been "brainstorming" for the last 4 or 5 months. Just gotta find the time to work on it. I like the functionality of the basket, but I like the functionality of the sunroof more, so it's been off since I brought it home.

What I plan on doing, is cutting the basket floor, and doing one of two things. 1) Cut it so that the basket floor can be taken out when not needed, and replaced when needed. 2) Use some sort of a hinge, so that the floor will raise when the sunroof is opened and nothing is in the basket. And when the sunroof is closed, the basket floor will sit down level so that the basket may be used.

Maybe if I get some time in the next week or two, I can get it done.

http://home.us.net/~stimpy/xterra/misc/basket.jpg


:eek:
Brent

I saw that guy driving on 28 in front of Carmax once...I just DON'T understand...what's the point?

Originally posted by spike
I'm still working on this. Well, I haven't started, but I've been "brainstorming" for the last 4 or 5 months. Just gotta find the time to work on it. I like the functionality of the basket, but I like the functionality of the sunroof more, so it's been off since I brought it home.

What I plan on doing, is cutting the basket floor, and doing one of two things. 1) Cut it so that the basket floor can be taken out when not needed, and replaced when needed. 2) Use some sort of a hinge, so that the floor will raise when the sunroof is opened and nothing is in the basket. And when the sunroof is closed, the basket floor will sit down level so that the basket may be used.

Maybe if I get some time in the next week or two, I can get it done.
I don't have a sunroof so I don't know if the basket & sunroof line up right for this to work but here's my idea: cut a (roughly) 1' by 2' hole in the basket floor and replace with clear plexi, acrylic, or whatever works best. Of course you can't carry as much in the basket but you could still carry some stuff when you need to. I think this would be a cool set-up especiallly if you also do the thor see-through wind deflector mod....