Off-Road Ranger I
Wish Primitive had theirs out when I bought mine. LP was the only game in town then.
Subaru Owners Registry
- Thread starter Wawa Skittletits
- Start date
Member III
The paddle shifters are a pain in the ass (I don’t understand why they got rid of the +/- on the gear selecter like what was in my ‘09) but it is awesome to be able to turn off the CVT functions & go into “manual” mode. It makes a big difference when off-road or when towing. I keep my flats skiff, “The Suboataru,” on a trailer when not in use & I take it with me for weekend trips - but I also have a 24’ center console fishing boat, “The Miss Mildred,” (my grandmother taught me to fish, so I named it after her) - that I keep in a marina slip at a nearby lake. When I want to take it to a different lake I can’t access via dam locks or is further away, I usually hire a transport truck to move it for me. Not ideal, but I love the big boat and hiring a transport is cheaper than buying a truck for the purpose of towing a boat. You’ve probably seen the trucks on the highway before, they are usually HD pickups indistinguishable from privately owned trucks except they have a DOT number on the doors. W/ the storms that ripped through the southeast this weekend, I knew I needed to get it out of the water. Some privately owned floating docks on the lake had already broken loose & there are probably about 15 boats on the end of the lake where my marina is that had broken loose from privately owned homes. My slip is in the interior of the marina, but I still didn’t want to leave it in the water until they got things back under control. I pulled all the gear out of the back of my Subie, took off my roof basket, & lightened the load as much as I could. I picked up the trailer & got the boat lined up for it & then unloaded as much gear (coolers, anchors, toolbox, tackle, live well, batteries) & I used a transfer pump to drain half of the gas into the 6 jerrycans I had. The boat looked absolutely ridiculously oversized & was much wider & taller than my car. The best estimate I could come up w/ was that the boat, motor, the 30 gallons of gas still in it, & trailer probably came in between 7,000 to 7,500 lbs. I was towing it to a self-storage place about 15 miles away from the marina & it was all on surface streets. It wasn’t ideal, but I did everything I could to make it easier. I pumped the trailer tires to their max load, towed w/ the outboard in the down position, & I used a 3” drop hitch that I put the ball on upside down so I could flip it and have the ball 3” higher. I was worried, but my car actually did a really good w/ the tow job. I only managed about 8 MPG, & I had to use the manual function on my trailer brake controller, but I got it to the self-storage place w/o any issues from the car. My mirrors were useless, but other than that it was a successful job for the plucky little Subie. I had to make 2 trips - 1 for the boat & a second for all the stuff I unloaded off of it. I don’t plan on ever towing that boat with this car for any distance further than the 15 miles, but it is nice to know that it can be done in a pinch for short, low speed trips.
Traveler I
2017 outback premium. Looking forward to some upgrades from LP Adventures.
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Member III
Primitive now has skids and sliders for 2019 - at least for the Outbacks. Sliders from LP are $1,000, from Primitive they are $500.
Member III
The biggest difference outside of price are the Primitive sliders are 1¾" diameter and are MIG welded. The LP's are 1½" diameter and are TIG welded.
You won't find any debate from me about the LP set being more desirable than the Primitive set. They do have some cool looks & they are at the top of the game for putting out high quality stuff for Subaru models way before any other company. I was dead set of wanting to get some LP gear for my Outback. The question becomes, are you paying for the name - or are you paying for a higher quality product? Are you paying for form over function? I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with any of their LP gear - but I also haven't heard anyone having a problem with Primitive.
Rock sliders and rocker rails are the same thing. The bumper guards are a different story... LP is still the only company that puts out a serious guard that provides protection without losing your front bumper cover. I got a front rally light bar from Rally Innovations. It doesn't offer any protection but it does the job.
Hell, in Canada it's no better. We still get slammed with $100 freight, even if relatively close to Lachute, QC. The cost on top of cost on top of taxes for the front bumper guard is what turned me off it ultimately, though it is nicely built. Not to mention, the conversion rate for USD >CAD is not exactly in my favour. ;)
Member III
The bumper guard is literally the only thing you can’t find another company making an alternative for w/ equal capability.
Which is why I've considered fabricating my own. Nice as their bumper is, it'd also be fun to have one that's uniquely my own design. While it'd hurt the cost, it'd be nice to see LP make more of their products out of stainless steel - once that powder coat rubs through, the salt on our roads will make a rusty mess in no time.
Member III
I have people in my company that can do that kind of thing. We are a small process engineering firm with a strong population of motor heads. We have one guy who is a European car aficionado with a pretty awesome collection with brands like Lotus, Porsche, Alfa Romeo and even an 80's model Volvo sedan with an LS3 swapped in and a positrack rear end (ultimate sleeper). We also have another guy that has taken his hobby of building a custom Chevy C10 pickup (LS1, 4 on the floor, custom interior, air bagged fleetside) and has now turned it into a side business doing custom fabrication work. I'm still trying to talk him into trying his hand at a K10 off-road rig. The only problem with trying to get him to figure it out would be trying to get the applicable measurements for how the LP guard is installed and bolted on. The rest is just having the steel bending rollers and a good welder. He has those things, I would just need to have the connection information, supply the material, and follow his instructions on the labor.
OverlandN00b
Rank 0
Traveler I
That is a thing of beauty!! It's what I always envisioned for my Subaru. They did great work.
I've been meaning to get those LP guard measurements for a while, just haven't had the time. I'll keep ya posted. What are your thoughts on just removing the bumper beam and bolting something in place of that? Some US manufacturer (Primitive?) sells a winch bumper like that.
Member III
That is a fairly easy task. I installed one of these from Rally Innovations. I bought just the bar and then installed a set of Hella 500 lights on it.
I like the Primitive winch mount because the winch can be hidden behind the bumper cover. The main reason I like the LP bumper guard is because it provides protection but it doesn't mean that you have to remove or cut up the bumper cover. My car is a 2019 model, I really don't want to mess with cutting up body panels or anything. I'm sure you can understand with a 2018 Forester.
Enthusiast III
Took a trip to the Olympic peninsula in Washington and Crescent City ca. Also feeling inspired to go fishing more. Made a rod carrier for the rack. Carrier was under $30 and took all of 15 minutes to buy, make, and install. I've seen others that make the tube big enough to fit rod and reel, but i would have clearance issues. Works great! Fits three rods, my tents window springs, and a level. 4 foot x 3 inch.
Member III
From an Overland Bound group ride on Old NC 105 on June 29.
Member III
I need recommendations!
I need a full-size spare tire mount for the rear. Preferably hitch mount because I don’t want to cut up the bumpers. The Wilco swing away is too expensive. So I am considering 1 of the folding ones so I’ll be able to still open the hatch, but a lot of the ones I’ve seen are pretty short. I’d like 1 tall enough to put the spare at rear glass height. Any suggestions for 1 w/o breaking the bank?
I need a full-size spare tire mount for the rear. Preferably hitch mount because I don’t want to cut up the bumpers. The Wilco swing away is too expensive. So I am considering 1 of the folding ones so I’ll be able to still open the hatch, but a lot of the ones I’ve seen are pretty short. I’d like 1 tall enough to put the spare at rear glass height. Any suggestions for 1 w/o breaking the bank?
If you're in need of some ideas, this is what I'm working on now:
Those two plates at either end will fit through holes in the bumper, and then the swing-out will be mounted in double shear, with the plates you currently see resting at the bottom.
Enthusiast III
Hi all,
Decided to pull the trigger on some underbody protection, trans fluid pan looks extremely vulnerable. Ended up getting the get-Primitive skid plate set, looks good and doesn't actually reduce clearance by that much, it tucks in there nicely and is not very heavy, according to FedEx the entire package of the front, mid and rear diff plates was 40lbs. I'll get some more flattering photos later off the ramps and better lighting.
Decided to pull the trigger on some underbody protection, trans fluid pan looks extremely vulnerable. Ended up getting the get-Primitive skid plate set, looks good and doesn't actually reduce clearance by that much, it tucks in there nicely and is not very heavy, according to FedEx the entire package of the front, mid and rear diff plates was 40lbs. I'll get some more flattering photos later off the ramps and better lighting.
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Member III
I did the engine, transmission, and rear differential plates (the snow plate didn't seem like anything I needed here in the deep south). The biggest surprise I had, was a 2-3 MPG increase with the Primitive plates.
Enthusiast III
I just installed mine yesterday so can't say for sure but milage did seem higher than usual on my commute and I had bad traffic so at highway speed I should probably notice an even bigger increase.
Member III
Yup, it had never occurred to me the amount of wind resistance created by wind flowing underneath and up into the chassis. I always thought that things like the "active grille shutter system" in my Gen5 OB were just gimmicks to sell more cars. Turns out, they actually do know what they were doing. Now if only I could get a full on diff locker and a quick release for the rear swaybar I'd be cooking with gas!
