Rightline Gear Waterproof Rear Car Cargo Carrier Bag, Attaches With Or Without Roof Rack, 13 Cubic Feet, Black

We just returned from an 1,800 mile round trip to Tampa. 6 adults in a Chrysler Pacifica SUV.I opted to try this instead of a rooftop carrier because I have no rack. I was afraid of how I might attach it without a rail, but looped the straps under each corner of the rear hatch and then crossed them over the back window. The gas lift arms technically would have caught it had it slipped off the corners, but that never came close to happening. With 6 adults (3 college age, 2 girls) we had about 7 duffle bags in the thing. I didn't weigh them, but I suspect/know we pushed or exceeded the 100 pound weight recommendation.And the thing worked great! I appreciate the strength of the snaps on the two main straps. Never felt loose or in danger of giving way. We drove through Florida summer down pours much of the way but the inside was dry (though granted it was being protected by the moving vehicle much of the way).At a hotel stop we easily set the loaded bag down on a luggage cart, rolled it up to the rooms and conveniently unloaded in the rooms. Once we learned to mount it, it wasn't hard BUT we had two guys lifting it up, others guiding the straps and keeping them in place, and I found resting it on my knees as we did that made it go smoother. I'm not sure how you'd manage it if you didn't have the muscle or help nearby. Note that we preloaded the bag before lifting and attaching it. I imagine I could mount it empty and then load, but didn't do that this trip.I also didn't find a need for the straps underneath. It never moved once loaded, so I'm not sure what they would add to the stability when using it well loaded. I too took a picture of my license plate, printed it and inserted that in the plastic slot. I didn't want to risk losing my plate or needing to remount it later.So if you're still reading, a great product, worked even when mounted a little creatively, and had no issues whatever with it. A great value for the price. I suspect the saved gas from drag, and not having to hear teens complain about a rooftop bag and straps vibrating made this a great investment financially and for our mental health.

Very sturdy material. Quality product. As others have mentioned I built a frame using 3/4 inch pvc. Three 10 foot pieces is enough with minimal waste. I cut the frame so that it is about a half inch smaller in width, height and depth as described in product specifications. The elbows are also available on Amazon in a bag of 10. Cheaper than Home Depot. Make sure you flip the cover edge straight up all around before zipping lid shut.... then fold edge over zipper. Again the frame gives it shape so attaching to back of car will be easier and then we can load and unload while on the car. Using on a 2012 Mazda 5 Sport.Update. I attached the carrier to the rear of the car and it works flawlessly. Only issue I had was that the straps were about a foot too short to secure to roof rack so I had to use an additional strap on each side to attach to roof rails. I also used excess tie down to tie the two roof rack straps (tied them parallel to roof crossbars) to prevent straps from sliding down to the side of the car. Took on a loaded test run and worked flawlessly.Others have complained straps did not hold. If you don't have experience with strapping down items I would suggest getting help from others. I put it up by myself thanks to pvc frame. I used a step stool to support it while I put on first tie that wraps around the carrier just above license plate and through hatchback. The corners of the pvc frame sit on bumper for extra support.Holds a ton of stuff! I have 2 boogie boards, a beach dome tent, beach umbrella, six beach chairs, large blanket, and small tote of beach toys in this carrier. Easy load and unload. Picture shown with straps has all this gear! Great product if you build pvc frame.

I thoroughly read all the reviews and knew for certain, before I attempted anything, that 1. I was going to build a frame with p.v.c. and 2. I was going to make a photo copy of my license plate to put in the protective pouch. Both were key to success, I have no doubt. I did have an additional copy of license plate kept in glove box just in case something happen to the other one (which it did not).The initial placement on car was tricky, I think. I felt like one side would slide down and would shift things around. We only put it on once for our one week, 2000 mile trip, I didn’t want to attempt it again. In hindsight, I think the best approach is to hook it on to your roof rack or roof bars, fill it up and then finish the final latch down. I was trying to secure it all around, empty and it would just shift around-even with the frame. Having weight in there would have helped. though I was not ready to fill it up. I wanted it secured on the night before we left as we were heading out at 5 am and didn't want to have problems. But was not ready to put everything in.I have a Chevy Equinox, 4 cylinder. We had five people on this trip (never again😩), but we did it and had all our gear stowed.I looked under the car for somewhere to secure the bottom and did not see anything, I moved around the plastic bumper and there is a small hole and I was able to put two small carbinder type things latched on the frame and then strapped the bottom straps to those. I don’t think I would have had to. We did every secure option as I was not taking any chances. Had straps to the roof rails (I do not have roof rack or the short side to side rail, just the long two rails), we put the belt around the middle that gets tucked in or you close the hatch on that, and then the lower straps in the car frame through the bumper bit. The pack did not move. We started out in Wisconsin during a snow storm, drove through sleet, rain, everything. All items remained secure and dry. 1000 miles each way.We stayed over the first night somewhere that felt pretty safe so we left everything in the pack without a lock. just backed the car up close to the front of hotel in well lit area.When we arrived to Gulf Shores, we emptied the pack out and just left it attached to car. we did not drive a ton once at our destination but even with it empty, it stayed secure, no noise, just overall very nice.I am really glad we went this route. Thought about various rooftop options or getting a hitch added. Soft rooftop I was concerned about noise and flapping. I really didn’t want a hitch and all that goes with storing whatever I would have needed. We have a small garage. This is perfect. Everything disassembled tucked in a bag and on a shelf in the garage.We fit two standard size, soft sided carryon bags, a couple cube ish duffel bags, a collapsed cot that was flat packed. And then further on in the trip we shoved in our bigger jackets on the top (because we started in a snow storm!). We did not attempt to open the hatch. Everything that was in the back of the car we just accessed through the inside of the car with the seat folded down.There was no discernible noise or flapping. Gas mileage, hard to say. 4 cylinder car loaded to the gills and with 5 people included. Mostly highway driving. I really have no comparison because I drive short trips in the city, normally, without much gear or passengers.I will update my review if I can find the review someone posted with the exact pvc cuts they used to make the frame. we did exactly what they wrote for measurements and worked perfectly. I thank you! Such a time saver not having to math that out.Last thing, purchased item as an open box at a significant discount. It truly looked like only the box had been open, everything inside looked like original packaging.With some adjustments and time, I would highly recommend this item!