calicamper
Expedition Leader
I have read lots about several folks going all the way out to Dead horse in the current version of the Subaru OB. Having lived with a 2010 OB being our primary road tripper and for the most part camping rig with two kids I would say this. I want a new modern 4dr midsized pickup only if it offers 5star passenger safety, a decently padded rear seat given I would like to put a FWC on one so I can tow a boat. Our current set up with the OB we tow a little 4x6 LifeTime Tent trailer which is great! Go anywhere weight for the 2.5L Subaru and we have plenty of comfort and gear space with the trailer and see about 21-25mpg tank averages pending how fast we drive etc. For dirt "Roads" the Subaru is king it just floats down the road and the highly active AWD system makes it nearly as good as pavement regarding handling.
If its just you and one other person and 99.99% of the time is pavement and dirt roads and you have no illusions of hauling a big RV behind you the OB is a great machine and a very hard value to pass up. No trailer trips we typically see 28-32mpg averages which have been really nice while traveling more remote places. It just eats up the pavement miles.
If you want to expand in the future to a camper or hard sided RV trailer the OB just doesn't have enough capacity in the cooling department and the rear suspension looses quite a bit of its ride height when your close to the 200lb tongue weight limit. Which is why I can see my self going 4dr midsized pickup in the future. Waiting to see what the new Nissan Frontier will be like. From all indications of the Novara news Nissan may just hit the midsized market with all the right aspects to attract people who want Subaru safety, rear seating thats a little more than just a thinly padded bench and possibly with very attractive mileage. So we shall see.
As for the OB its an awesome vehicle for one or two people packing along the kitchen sink or the family of 4 that pays close attention to smart gear choices and packing etc with no illusions of hauling a full RV trailer behind it etc.
If its just you and one other person and 99.99% of the time is pavement and dirt roads and you have no illusions of hauling a big RV behind you the OB is a great machine and a very hard value to pass up. No trailer trips we typically see 28-32mpg averages which have been really nice while traveling more remote places. It just eats up the pavement miles.
If you want to expand in the future to a camper or hard sided RV trailer the OB just doesn't have enough capacity in the cooling department and the rear suspension looses quite a bit of its ride height when your close to the 200lb tongue weight limit. Which is why I can see my self going 4dr midsized pickup in the future. Waiting to see what the new Nissan Frontier will be like. From all indications of the Novara news Nissan may just hit the midsized market with all the right aspects to attract people who want Subaru safety, rear seating thats a little more than just a thinly padded bench and possibly with very attractive mileage. So we shall see.
As for the OB its an awesome vehicle for one or two people packing along the kitchen sink or the family of 4 that pays close attention to smart gear choices and packing etc with no illusions of hauling a full RV trailer behind it etc.