Have purchased this soft sided cargo carrier, along with some accessories - non-slip cover to put directly on roof and some additional straps to use for extra support. This will be used soon for my annual trip north from Florida.

Has anyone out there have any experience installing one of these soft sided cargo carriers or a similar one to the side and cross bars on a 2013 RX350? I could use some helpful suggestions.

Does it get attached to both the side and cross bars?
Since it is longer than the cross bars, do you attach it to the front cross bar and lay it across the back one?
Do you adjust the cross bars front and/or back? (they do not adjust very much)

Would appreciate any replies.

 

I don't have one for my RX, as I bought a hard box Thule, but I do have some experience with the soft totes.

Yes, you attach it to both the side rails and to the cross bars.

Note that, on the RX, you can remove the rubber stops that are in the side rails, which will allow you to spread the cross bars further apart, though if you are careful, you should not have a problem with letting the tote rest across the back bar.

My biggest word of caution about these bags is this - make sure you have no loose straps. Tie all of the loose ends/slack straps down. They come loose and flap in the wind, and will damage your paint.

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you for your response. If I remove the rubber stops, it does not allow the cross bars to move very much; it seems that the bag will still have to lay over the rear cross bar. With that fact, is it worth the effort to remove the rubber stops? (Do the rubber stops remove easily?)

 

You are so very welcome!

Removal of the rubber stops can give you an extra 4 or 5 inches as I recall. I had to do this to install my Thule box. They pull right out and are pretty easy to stick back in. I wouldn't bother with it if it doesn't buy you enough to make a difference, though. It was just a thought.

 

The force of the wind eventaully forces the soft top towards the rear, so we installed ours (after the first trip with it) with the leading edge just behind the front crossbar, and the back end ontop and protruding past the rear bar. IIRC, two straps front and rear, then one or two straps on the side. As someone else said, important to secure those straps otherwise paint damage possible, but the flapping of a loose strap for hours on end is maddening. We used zip ties for that purpose. We went with soft carrier since it stores into a compact size...not so with a hard shel. The "mat" which looks like shelf liner is a must, and it should overlap a little in front and more in the rear. Ours barely interfered with opening of the rear hatch. Good luck

 

Is there a special "trick" to loosen the ***** to remove the rubber stops? There are 8 ***** and I was not strong enough to loosen up 6 of them. Would a special tool help?

 

I struggled with them too. I finally had to cover them with a towel to protect them, then twist on them with a wrench, and that worked. Good luck!