Tailgate question.

I doubt you could open it all the way. The end of the tailgate is more than 16 inches higher than the roof. If the side rails are 2.5 inches high, and your cross bars are another 1.5 inches higher than that, you still have a foot of tailgate in the way. You may be able to open it partially depending on how high your cross bars are. Note that the antenna sticks up quite a bit too, but can be easily unscrewed.

I would argue not a chance. I was shocked at how tall it opens as I usually get the sharp metal edge right in the eyes on these single piece lift gates. IMO bwbike's numbers may not be spot on but are essentially correct.

Why Jay said:

Can any owner advise if it is possible to open the tailgate with a long object (canoe) fitted on roofbars? The spoiler lip at the top of the tailgate looks a long way from the hinge and is quite curved. My current jeep (cherokee/liberty) is almost made for the canoe in that the upper glass flips open so i can get in/out the back of the car with no problem. I also have a ford ranger with the bed cover and the tailgate spoiler on the bed cover hits the canoe before the tailgate is even 1/2 the way open.

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No. I got my first nice scratch/paint gouge on my spoiler trying to do just that with some lumber...

Is this a problem on other similar cars too? I've not had this problem until my current ranger and thats what made me think about the Renegade. With the Renegade has form been at the expense of function? They are promoting the idea that its a car for outdoor adventure lovers, but it would seem that its nots so practical for surf boards and canoes. Don't get me wrong, I still want one, but maybe with the new C-suv supposedly on the way Jeep will hold back on the easter eggs and fashion and put some more utility back into the car.

I would bet the designers sacrificed the "canoe" clearance for head clearance with the tailgate opened. Few will put a long canoe on their car, but most everybody will open the tailgate and not want to hit their head on the edge of it.

bwbike said:

I would bet the designers sacrificed the "canoe" clearance for head clearance with the tailgate opened. Few will put a long canoe on their car, but most everybody will open the tailgate and not want to hit their head on the edge of it.

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We have a winner. From my test drive outting, I can confirm that this kind of thing will be an issue with the renegade, CX-5, and rogue as that's what I got to play with. All had a nice high lifting one piece tailgate to clear your head.

raz-0 said:

We have a winner. From my test drive outting, I can confirm that this kind of thing will be an issue with the renegade, CX-5, and rogue as that's what I got to play with. All had a nice high lifting one piece tailgate to clear your head.

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You guys must be really tall.

I think i've seen some canoe trailers, light trailers, that people use, might be similar to whats being used for Kayaks
Even better that you can likely rent them from U-Haul

tony said:

I think i've seen some canoe trailers, light trailers, that people use, might be similar to whats being used for Kayaks
Even better that you can likely rent them from U-Haul

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It would be awesome if there was a way for the renegade to pull it...

:ReneBlueWave:

Even just a pop up glass section would be good.

aardvark said:

You guys must be really tall.

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Yes, none of them cleared my head, but at least I wasn't getting cracked int he eyes/forehead by the sheet metal lip if I misjudged space a bit.