My Subaru Build: A Series of Compromises

[Gone_xtrkn]

I bought my 2015 Subaru Crosstrek as a Certified Pre-Owned in May of 2016. I upgraded from a Toyota Highlander that I inherited from a family member that had just barfed up its transmission. The Highlander is by no means big but it was still too much car for mostly city driving for me, my wife, and at the time one small dog.


I was not a “car guy.” I could change a tire, jump a battery, drive manual, etc. but had no interest in anything beyond that besides the fact that I thought my new car looked pretty neat and was pleasant to drive. I have always enjoyed hiking, camping, travel, and accumulating related skills.

One day I saw a coworker who drives a Hyundai Veloster looking at tuned-up cars on Instagram and thought, “ I wonder what kinds of things people do to MY car.” A quick search and I was quickly Saving money for my first rooftop tent. All of my early experiences have led me to this Overland Community and I’m really excited to keep learning.




The plan is to update this thread little by little for those who are interested. I drive this car to work every day so each item I add or modification I make is balanced against fuel economy, weight, and driver/passenger comfort (unless it’s something that I think is just too much fun to resist). Anything that I can make modular or easily removable is a huge plus. The plan is to have a small rig that can get me comfortably 25 miles to and from work every day and be kitted up for a 3-day weekend trip in less than 90 minutes with a grocery stop on the way out of town. In terms of capability it needs to safely and reliably tackle anything from a long highway drive to rutted or muddy dirt roads. The ability to get out of Dodge and self-sustain for a little while in the event of an emergency is encouraging as well. I already love this little car for what it can do and am going to keep tweaking and learning, as we all do.

 

[RoyB]

Looking forward to your journey. I'm also thinking about getting a Subaru something for when I don't need the big Ram 2500. I hear nothing but good things about these cars.

 

[Terry Pickens]

Love my Outback and it's quite capable for what in use it for. Enjoy the adventures.

 

[J.W.]

Great setup! Can’t wait to see what else you do and where you go.

 

[leeloo]

Had a forester that I loved. The only week points that the cross trek and the forester have are the weight capacity. If you keep it light, stay under GVM, it will not fail you.

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

Had a forester that I loved. The only week points that the cross trek and the forester have are the weight capacity. If you keep it light, stay under GVM, it will not fail you.

Thanks, all! One thing that I actually enjoy about the Crosstrek is that I need to be very intentional about my wants vs needs when I get on the road. Everything we bring needs to be accounted for.



The tent is a standard Tepui Ayer 2 with a 6 foot awning on the side. The awning is pretty big and heavy for this car but I like the coverage so it’s worth it. The tent is just the right size for the wife and I and our two small dogs. We have spent nights in the tent in heavy rain without a leak and in temperatures from 50 degrees up into the 90s with high humidity with very little condensation. We like to clip battery powered fans to the internal frame and hang Goal Zero solar lanterns from carabiners inside. Maybe in a few years I’ll upgrade to an iKamper mini but this one has been a great gateway drug for us so far.



The tent doesn’t stay mounted full time but the awning generally does. At 95 pounds the tent is light enough that I can lift it to the roof by myself as long as I’ve eaten my Wheaties and stretch first. I’ll generally mount it 3 or 4 days prior to leaving for a trip and it lives on its side along the wall of the garage otherwise. Recently I added the Wheel Every Weekend RTT Security Mounts and, along with making me more comfortable leaving it in the parking lot at work, they’re much sturdier than the stock mounts.

RTT Security Mounts

Replace the flimsy stock mounts that come with your rooftop tent with our patented safer design. Don't secure your RTT to your roof with cheap overseas hardware. Get the best security fasteners with a rooftop tent mount that both protects the bolt and security nut and wraps around your crossbar...

www.wheeleveryweekend.com

Before the WEW clamps I used a loooooong kayak cable lock that I ran through the hinges of the tent then wrapped around the crossbars and roof rails. It worked well but was an extra step in setup and tear-down that I don’t miss.

For crossbars I chose a set of Yakima Timberline towers and, initially, the Core aero bars. While they were nice and stout, the Core bars mounted to the towers in such a way that in order to mount the awning I had to rig up a complex system of plastic Yakima Might Mounts and a whole bag of hardware. Not only did that setup give me ulcers every time we went over 60mph, it also contacted the frame of the tent if it wasn’t done just right. I’ve since switched the bars out for the Streamlines with the T-Slot for mounting and I’ve found mounting items to the roof to be much more seamless. The only thing that bothers me about the sleek new bars is that they’re ever so slightly curved by design and I (probably irrationally) fear that if I don’t mount the tent tightly enough it will slide one way or the other. Hasn’t happened yet, though, and friends who have run the same setup for a while say that I’m just being neurotic.


I’ve been sorely tempted by full size rack systems like FrontRunner and CBI/Prinsu but just haven’t been able to justify pulling the trigger. I very nearly started with a FrontRunner slimline but, at more than twice the weight and cost of the simpler crossbars and about the same height profile I couldn’t find enough benefits to outweigh the extra pounds and complexity. I also like Yakima’s security system that allows me to core the locks on all of my mounts to the same key. I still reconsider making the change to a full rack every month or so and it may happen at some point but for now the simple crossbars get the job done and keep excess weight off of the roof.

This is all past tense as I cover what I’ve done so far. I hope someone is finding my choices/mistakes informative! Next I’ll do cargo/cabin or electrical. There’s definitely room for improvement in both areas.

 

[leeloo]

you chose well with the roof bars. I don't understand the combination roof rack + rtt. If you put an RTT there is no room left for anything else so it is just added weight and cost..
Have nice trips !

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

you chose well with the roof bars. I don't understand the combination roof rack + rtt. If you put an RTT there is no room left for anything else so it is just added weight and cost..
Have nice trips !

Thanks for the feedback!
I can see the appeal of being able to quickly remove the tent and mount a tire, fuel, boards, tools, etc. up there without needing a separate basket if I were to go drive trails without camping. That isn’t my experience, though. For me any off-pavement driving is a means to an end: a beer by the fire with a nice view.

 

[TacticalBBQ]

Been looking to trade in my Jk and get a Subaru. Nice build!

 

[WY_Tigger]

Great work!

Love my Crosstrek. Doing a ton of research before I start building mine.

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

Wow, forgot about this thread!

Since my last post I’ve spent a lot of time/money on our gear and, to be honest, it feels like things have gotten a bit overcomplicated. Too much time in the garage and not enough on the road, but I’d guess I’m not the only one in that boat these days.That said, I like everything we’ve added to the car and the $ was saved for this specific purpose so at the end of the day it’ll all be okay.

Let’s talk about lights, I guess?

Ditch lights are from now-defunct Element LED and the under-hood mounts are from Anderson Design Fabrication.



I like these lights quite a bit, they’ve been reliable for about a year and a half and put out a nice driving combo pattern that doesn’t reflect on the hood too much. The style is low profile and, IMO, matches the size of the car well. These get the most use on dark roads watching for deer and other obstacles.

I also switched the factory fog lights for the Baja Designs SAE fogs, wired to the factory fog light switch. Better visibility than stock but not so bright that I feel bad using them on the freeway on my commute.



Aux lights are controlled by a Trigger Controller 4+ which I thoroughly enjoy. It’s a very fun toy. The idea behind using that was to make it so that as much as possible on this rig can eventually be removed and drop directly into my next car when the time comes. I plan to add a few LED pods mounted inside the lower bumper next. The lights are mostly for fun/emergencies since we ideally prefer to be in a campsite and set up before it gets dark.

 

[Seabee126]

Awesome thread. Ill be tagging along as well now!

 

[Alpharaider47]

My wife got a 2017 Crosstrek last year and inspired me to get a 2018. I'm looking to use it for camping/overlanding as well!

Did you have any issues swapping out the fog lights? Mine doesn't have any so I'm looking at either getting the oem kit and swapping for yellow bulbs or trying to put together my own lighting rig

Do you feel like you get your money's worth out of the awning? I've been interested in them, but we settle for a backpacking tarp and either poles or trees at our campsite.

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

Did you have any issues swapping out the fog lights? Mine doesn't have any so I'm looking at either getting the oem kit and swapping for yellow bulbs or trying to put together my own lighting rig

Do you feel like you get your money's worth out of the awning? I've been interested in them, but we settle for a backpacking tarp and either poles or trees at our campsite.

For the fog lights I got a little kit that included aimable brackets to hold them in the position of the factory fogs and a wiring pigtail adapter. They work on the same switch that the old ones did. I’m not sure where to find the BajaDesigns version these days but Diode Dynamics sells something very similar. I’d imagine to install it on your Crosstrek you’d just pop out the plastic blank and install as normal.

We quite like the awning, though I will say that I only paid about $160 for it and now it seems similar things are going for $300+. I’d say do what works best for your budget but I like how it’s all self contained and carried on the outside of the car and not taking up space inside. I leave it mounted 24/7/365, unlike the RTT, and it’s nice to have, especially for day trips to the beach and stuff. We don’t set it up every time we’re out, especially if we’re at a campsite with picnic tables, etc. but always having the option to use it vs. having to remember to throw a canopy in the car ahead of time is nice. I’m sure if we lived closer to the desert and traveled to more places without natural shade we’d use it more.

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

I finished my rear shelf v2 for the trunk today. It’s made out of scrap plywood and hardware and some 1mm hair cell ABS panels with just a jigsaw and a drill, so it won’t win any beauty contests.

Light, simple, and strong enough to hold a few duffel bags of clothes and some dry goods. It’ll keep that stuff out of the way so we don’t have to move everything just to get into the camp crates on the cargo floor. It installs or removes in minutes without tools and is supported by the little notches for the factory option cargo cover and eye bolts around the headrest prongs. I did a little write up in the DIY section if you’re interested.

 

[wvuoutback]

How is the RTT on the Subaru? I'm wanting one for my Outback and curious how much it affects handling and MPG on our particular vehicles.

Also, there are so many Subaru builds on here! I love it!

Cheers

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

How is the RTT on the Subaru? I'm wanting one for my Outback and curious how much it affects handling and MPG on our particular vehicles.

Also, there are so many Subaru builds on here! I love it!

Cheers

It isn’t bad. You can feel the difference when driving but it doesn’t feel dangerous or anything. Just adjust your driving style as needed. I generally get 28-30mpg with just the awning and no RTT and that drops to 24-26mpg when I add the tent. I figure if I used a Gazelle tent or something similar I’d end up with gear on a roof rack or in a roof box and still see similar effects so the RTT is worth it for us.

 

[IceBear505]

nice build!

 

[IceBear505]

Speaking of A series of compromises...

One of the limitations I am finding on my 2018 Crosstrek is having much with regard to power and auxiliary outlets from the front seat back. In particular, my kids both struggle with connecting power for their devices on long trips. I end up disconnecting my smart phone direct USB connection to the head unit to get power to them in the back seats. It's not like the Crosstrek (or it's peers) are large vehicles, but the inconvenient lack of this feature, and seeing a time in the future when I might want to evolve from a ice chest user to a refrigerator user, prompted me to extend power in the back of my cargo area.

I followed an excellent VLOG by Tom the Dilettante on how to put a marine power panel in the back of the Crosstrek:

I made a couple of adjustments based on Tom's findings and the suggestions of other viewers. For one, I found with some of my other mods (like getting roof mounted LED bar to the front of my aerobars and back-up lights to the rear aerobars) already consumed much of the left side in floor duct space. Since I was heading to the right rear quadrant of the vehicle, I put my power from the in cabin fuse box down the right in-floor duct. It was much easier, just had to get across the dash area along the floor. Second, I went straight to a hole saw and hack saw for cutting the opening for the new outlet panel. I still had to make in field adjustments for the back side of the panel. Otherwise, it was a pretty easy (an affordable) mod that I think will make future trips easier... including an eventual refrigerator purchase...

Committing to the panel mod
Finding the in-floor duct path
Getting past the rear seat and door threshold
Locating the panel in the rear interior cargo space
Powering the panel and grounding to an existing location
Panel finally powered up!

 

[Gone_xtrkn]

That’s a very valid criticism of the Crosstrek; that and the lack of A/C vents in the backseat. The Outback definitely comes with a lot of bells and whistles that the Crosstrek doesn’t. Luckily for me I don’t have kids to worry about. My Jack Russell Terrier wants an iPhone but I told her she can have one when she gets thumbs. I did some minor engineering to get my devices in order in the front seat, maybe I’ll do a post about the cockpit next.

I’d like to have a 12v outlet in the rear hatch area but for now I’m content to get any power I need from my Jackery portable battery. We use an Rtic ice chest and not a powered fridge so it works out okay. SMK Fabrication makes a neat 12v outlet and switch combo that drops into the space of that useless little trunk light and can control a bigger light strip in the headliner. I’d just be very nervous about wiring.