Instuctions
The straps
slide under the 4 strap guides at the top of your Explorer. Do not attach anything
to the guides, and do not try to lift the carrier from them. The guides are not
designed to hold any weight or tension.
Place the carrier
on a clean roof and on a protective mat with the side without zipper facing forward.
As a reference, the logo is printed on the side of the carrier that should face
the back of the car. Fill the carrier while on top of the car instead of on the
ground -- it may get too heavy to lift once it’s full. To minimize wind noise
and improve gas mileage, place the carrier as far back as possible, place more items
toward the rear to preserve its wedge shape, and fill it so that the carrier surface
is as smooth as possible. Cushion hard or sharp objects to avoid fabric damage.
Close the zipper so the 2 zipper pullers meet at the back. Leave no open gap between
the pullers.
Open the car’s
front doors and look for a ½”-high x ½”-thick hard ridge
or lip sticking down from the top of the door frame. The ridge may be covered with
an easy-to-dislodge plastic molding or rubber seal. Place the door hook with the
short strap on the hard ridge. The hook should stay put when pulling upward on the
strap. Close the door. The strap should exit between the door and the frame, but
the hook should stay between the door and the frame, invisible from the outside.
Similarly, attach the door hook with the long strap to the opposite frame.
Thread the buckle
of the long strap under the 2 front guides at the top of the carrier. Insert the
free end of the short strap through the center slot of the buckle in a direction
away from the carrier, and then through the slot near the end of the buckle, toward
the carrier. Pull the short end to tighten. The strap should slide in the buckle
when you pull the strap’s end but not when you pull the main section.
Repeat with the
rear straps. Whether the car has 2 or 4 doors, the straps should run square to the
door frame and be separated by at least 20”. Secure the free end of the strap
with the black end keeper attached to the strap, or by tucking it under the strap,
to avoid strap flapping. Secure loose portions of the carrier fabric under straps
to avoid fabric flapping. Flapping causes noise, lowers gas mileage and may damage
(delaminate) the fabric. Flapping fabric delamination is not covered by the warranty.
Please observe
the following precautions:
- Do not attach door hooks to the car’s rain gutters or to any ridge or corner
outside the door.
- Use Long Straps instead of Straps with Door Hooks for: cars with no hard ridge
on the door frame, cars with no frame above the window, or vans with sliding side
doors.
- Avoid overloading the carrier.
- Check the attachment during travel and re-tighten straps if necessary.
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