ok, so i drive a 97 OBS. I also have 2 ginourmous hellas - 8" i think. i think that putting them on the front bumper is overused and that it would be neat to put them on the front roofbar. however, this poses a problem as i also use ski racks in the winter - which means i would either have to remove the lights, or buy a second front roof bar. First, is this reasonable, second is it even possible to reove the roof bars? thanks!

Isn't it against the law to have a light above the factory headlight or somewhere around there?

Isn't it against the law to have a light above the factory headlight or somewhere around there?
Afaik that is the case in CA, unless the lights are covered while the vehicle is driven in public roads. Not sure about VT.

http://www.sidekickoffroad.com/offroadlites.htm

But to answer the original question, if the roof bar is anything like the ones used in the current (SG) foresters, the roof bars can be removed, or you can even put multiple bars on.

Yeah, I think it's similar to the 2003 and up Forester rails.

The crossbars on the old style are crappy to work with though, most likely you won't be able to remove them off the roof rails because the bolts are rusted and when you use force to turn them, they break off inside, leaving you with a free-turning stuck bolt. Only way to get them off is to pretty much drill them out, leaving them useless if you want to reattach them. If you are really set on mounting them up there, your best bet would be to get a aftermarket rack system, Thule since they have the attachments for our rails.

I know there's a thread somewhere with a pic of an OBS with lights mounted on the rack.

yeah, i think i mighta busted one of the bolts trying to take it off just so i could go without this summer. i was only playing around with the idea since i think the front bumper is a little played out. we shall see how it works out though. Thanks!

Originally posted by bemani
Isn't it against the law to have a light above the factory headlight or somewhere around there?

Not illegal in MA (or at least I didn't get pulled over for it), I ran 4 Pro Comp 6" aux lights, on the roof of my blazer for over 1 year, no problems on the road, or inspection time.

Same in VT - a friend with a wrangler has 6 on the roof. only problem is when he drives with them on in traffic....

Same in VT - a friend with a wrangler has 6 on the roof. only problem is when he drives with them on in traffic....
In that case, the easy solution would be to buy one extra roof bar and drill holes to mount the aux lights on them.

that's what i was thinking - i just wanted to know if it was feasible and easy, and kami333 answered that by saying that the screws rusted out and broke off easily.....

Originally posted by ZIZZIZ
that's what i was thinking - i just wanted to know if it was feasible and easy, and kami333 answered that by saying that the screws rusted out and broke off easily.....
I was under the impression that you wanted to:
(1) mount aux lights on the roof bar _and_ be able to place skis either by having removable bars (to swap around) _or_ put extra bars (i.e. the possibility of more than 2 bars on the roof at a given time).
(2) possibly remove the bars (to swap around).

If that is the case, and if the screws make swapping impossible, it only makes #2 out of the question. But you can still order at least 1 extra bar (they probably come in pairs though) and mount them somewhat farther back for skis or other payloads, and leave the front mounted one as the aux light mount.

Or did I misinterpret your first post?

Note: I'm not too familiar with roof bars for your model year, and I'm basing my thoughts on the my2003 forester bars, which can be slid to the front or back when the screws are loosened. I could see how easy it is to have multiple pairs of roof bars on the 2003 forester.

three roof bars wouldn't really work.... the combination of the short roof and longish skis (i'm 6'5'') makes mor skis that cover the whole roof as is.... i wish. but what i was thinking was to have to front roof bars- one with ski rack and one with lights....

Our crossbars are slightly different, they'll only attach at one position in the front and one in the back, no moving them around. It's because the way they are attached is by a bolt that bolts into the rails and not a vise-like attachment that I think the new Foresters have.

They really needed to fix the design. The nut that the bolts thread into seem to only be lightly welded onto the rails or something, they weren't bonded in like you'd expect them.