Roof rack/cargo box on Forester.

[Jpontheroad]

Hey fellow Forest River owners!

We full time in our ‘17 2501TS Forester and I’m looking to mount Thule cross bars and rooftop cargo carrier on the roof so we can carry our snowboard/Skis. I already have a Thule crossbar system that mounts to rain gutters, and I bought some of the artificial rain gutters that allow mounting to a roof/truck bed for connecting the crossbars since the forester doesn’t really have rain gutters.

Couple questions for those of you more experienced than I with modifying an RV:
1. Is this a bad idea and/or would it void my warranty to mount something on the roof? (if it is, I guess I’m already screwed thanks to my solar install) :/ I’ve seen class C’s with roof racks and cargo boxes, so obviously it can be done, but not sure about the Forester roof. I believe the fiberglass roof is pretty stout, so it seems to me it shouldn’t be an issue as long as it’s done right and we don’t overload the cargo box with too much weight. Has anybody done something similar or do you know if this could be an issue?

2. Lots of people avoid drilling into the roof, but obviously there’s plenty of holes up there from the factory, so assuming it’s done right, I don’t see why it would be such a big deal to drill into the roof. I could be wrong though, thoughts on roof penetrations?

We currently have 300 watts of solar mounted with VHB tape and I had to drill a hole for the cables, which are in a waterproof box that’s mounted with VHB tape and sealed up with dicor and so far we’ve had no issues. I would plan on using Dicor and eternabond on these penetrations as well. Is that sufficient or do I need to consider anything else?

Also, since I haven’t actually screwed anything into the roof yet, does anyone have suggestions on the best type of screws for mounting something like this? I was thinking of using some VHB tape just like with the solar panels, but also using some self tapping screws as well. Then would seal with Dicor and finish with some eternabond.