Malone MPG201 SteelTop Roof Rack for 2018 Subaru Forester with Moon Roof

Updated 09/25/2020 | Published 09/24/2020

Question:

Hi. I have a 2018 Subaru Forester Premium and factory roof rack raised side roof rails with cross bars. The cross bars are the less expensive Subaru ones that dont overlap so I am interested in the Malone MPG201 50inch steel crossbars so I can use both my kayak carrier and paddleboard carrier side by side like on my Legacy. My friend has a 2018 Forester and we do too. When I watched the install video you didnt use the grey rubber spacer blocks but he had to. Did he install it incorrectly? Also, his Forester doesnt have a moon roof but mine does. In the video you mention your sunroof might not be usable with carriers on this rack. Can you confirm if Thule J cradle kayak carriers, Thule flat top ski carrier and Yakima Supdawg would cause me not to be able to safely use my moon roof ? Thanks!

asked by: Jason

Expert Reply:

Let me begin with the moonroof issue. The roof rack manufacturers make a blanket statement saying that you shouldn't use a sun/moonroof with a roof rack installed. This is because it's usually not the roof rack that's the problem but the accessories mounted upon it. The bracketry that the accessories use to attach to the roof rack usually hangs down below the crossbars which can interfere with the roof operation. Because of the myriad of different choices of roof rack accessories available, it's just not feasible to state which options work and which won't allow use of the moonroof.

Given the replacement cost of the roof glass, it's probably best to heed that warning and just avoid using the moonroof when accessories are in place. Or, you can take some measurements. The underside of the Malone # MPG201 crossbars will sit about 1/2 an inch above the top of the roof rails. If your current crossbars sit at about that height and your current accessories haven't presented a problem then they should work fine with the roof once installed on the Malone crossbars.

As far as the gray spacer goes, use of the spacer is not mandatory as long as the roof rack feet get a good grip on the vehicle's roof rails. In our installer's opinion, the feet fit well enough to the roof rails that the spacers weren't necessary.

expert reply by: Mike L