OEM TRDPRO roof basket useful?

You should put the kids inside

 

The Skinny Warrior is really skinny. Like 2' wide. It's designed to share half the roof surface with a cargo box, or surfboards, or the like. I think you might have been looking for the LoadWarrior or MegaWarrior to link instead.

IMO baskets shouldn't be mounted all the time. Install them when you need them. This eliminates the rust issue and the "I can't reach my roof to clean it" issue. Having a non permanent basket also means you can loan it out, swap it to different vehicles, etc. It also gives you parking clearance in a garage when not in use.

Baskets, IMO, look stupid anyway; the only rationale for having one is when you need the storage space.

Totally not the OP's request but since we're drifting off topic anyway, here's my LoadWarrior with about 200 pounds on it, on factory crossbars. Held up fine x 10k miles to Alaska. Continues to work fine on regular ol' weekend+ camping trips as seen in second pic (on a different 4R), with aftermarket crossbars.

Related, who TF puts a cooler up there? A 65q cooler loaded up probably weighs 75 + lbs. You guys must all be built like brick shithouses.

 

And then there’s those beefy guys who heave a spare wheel up on the roof.