2015 Subaru Outback - Expedition Retrofit

[midlifecrisis]

you should have strapped the handles down. Now its going to be a pita to open the fridge from the passenger seat

The dog has no thumbs, so not an issue I don't think. ;-)
Like most of this stuff, it's R&D or trial and error (or error and hopefully less error) so if this doesn't work I'll adjust. I need to get some real world trial time before I start worrying about all the tiny details though. I'm not sure the lid would open if I spun the unit around for access from the inside because of the geometry with the curves in the headliner. I had always envisioned all of the access would come from outside during cooking and whatnot. Midnight snacks will need to be un-refrigerated I guess.

That having been said, if you were going to use the handles as a tie down point, I think you would want to replace them with something much more substantial. They are kinda flexy just from its own weight. I saw on the web somewhere a guy who replaced the handles with some stout metal ones.

How did you go about powering your unit by the way? I don't think I ever saw that in the thread.

 

[9krpmrx8]

we cannot. Unlike a truck in the rear, we are a coil over shock design of a traditional strut which doesn't lend itself to that.

The biggest issue is lack of aftermarket for these cars yet. We are basically blazing paths and doing our own things because the market isn't there for it yet.

Shocks don't affect sagging, only the motion of the ocean. Spring sets ride height, stiffness etc. Shock controls that spring stiffness and controls how fast or slow it bounces basically

Nice build!

I thought I would clarify on this comment. In coilover setups shocks do play a role in ride height. I am into sports cars as well and in the Mazda RX-8 for example, it is somewhat common for the factory rear shocks to completely fail with high mileage and this results in the rear wheels tucking up into the rear fenders and rubbing on the chassis. In addition, Koni Yellows and other aftermarket adjustable shocks for the RX-8 also typically make the car sit lower even when using the factory springs. This was a rather big argument when the issue started to arise and many insisted that the issue was spring related and that shocks played no role in ride height. So when I had the issue come up on my own RX-8, I had my springs tested and installed a second set of brand new springs to prove the theory and they made no difference, the car still sat on the rear tires even with my 50ln daughter in the back seat. But when new shocks were installed the issue was resolved and ride height was back to normal. This was several years ago and now many others have experienced the issue since then and so it is common knowledge now.

 

[Chazz Layne]

...net 63# increase...

Wow, impressed by the build quality and very impressed you've managed to stay that light...nicely done!

 

[midlifecrisis]

Thanks Guys!
Got a few more things sorted over the last couple of days.

First off, the water tank showed up....



So I got that lubed up and shoehorned into it's spot. I used some really high density foam under the corners and did a donut shaped piece to support the center around where the little mountain sticks up for screwing the factory spare tire down. I had originally envisioned a plywood deck in that hole, but once the tank got here and I started screwing around with it I decided it wasn't necessary and would just add weight. I was stressing about the tank not being fully supported until I remembered being under my RV some years back and the tanks were hung with two straps, one on each end. So mine is actually supported better than that. I simply spray glued the foam right to the tank so things will stay in their correct hemisphere. It all locks in nicely.



You saw the pump and hoses on the left in the previous pic.
Here is the business end of that...a QD at the rear hatch for snapping a short 25' hose into for supplying the shower setup, hosing things off, filling bottles or whatever. I also decided to install the switch for the pump in that back panel as well. Made sense to me.



One last thing I did was retrofit the left hand hatch cover to free up the little cubby hole space at the tail end of the Outback. There is a nice little wide spot there with a 12V outlet that I wanted to be able to utilize for a charging station for GPS units, etc. I plan to build a quick and simple little "deck" down in that hole to keep things from going walkabout into the nether-lands since all of the interior panels that usually keep stuff out of the basement are off the car in this build.



Next thing will be to get the batteries sorted once they show up early next week. I also have a 50W solar panel coming to support that system that I am going to fashion a mount for up on the roof rack. Lots of wiring to figure out and do right so everything stays modular and easy-in/easy-out.

I was agonizing over the water weight and the batteries when I had sort of an epiphany today. The water is ~120# and the batteries are ~140#....both of which are the weight of an under nourished teenage boy. So if this car can't handle the weight of two small passengers I'll need to trade it in for a Prius I guess.

I'm hoping to have a maiden voyage on the 22nd because I have 8 days off and big plans for this rig the week after that. We shall see.....

 

[WMDunkin]

looks great can't wait to see it come together

 

[midlifecrisis]

Got a few more things sorted so far this weekend, housekeeping mostly.
There's a lot of golf left to play before my trip on the 29th!

I searched around for just the right combination of little plastic drawers to suit my space without encroaching on the sleeping area. Ended up being a combination of Sterilte stuff from Target and Walmart, both stores I pretty much loathe going to, especially on a weekend, but progress demands it. This shot shows the whole enchilada more or less like it will be at sleep time. Three drawers facing rear with dishes, cooking stuff, etc. and 2 large drawers going East-West for clothes.


The tri-fold mattress gets up out of the way during the day and will tuck up behind the passenger's seat back, either flat or on end, like so.


Got the battery compartment pulled together, still waiting on some of the stuff though. Getting the batteries all sorted out and installed was weighing heavy on my mind because space is dwindling.
There are two 6V AGC batts in there for 12V and 210 amp-hours. All I'm running is the frig and water pump, so I'm hoping that is overkill, but I'd rather have too much power than not enough. I'm hoping with a small inverter running the frig while I am driving (ONLY) and the solar augmenting the charge while I'm parked I'll be golden. Remains to be seen. I've always run 12V batteries before, but I decided to go 2x6V this time as it sounds like it's a better rig. I'm tired or reading about it and trying to figure that all out online to be perfectly honest.

Ventilation holes.....remember, style points count towards your total score!
Thinking about adding a small thermostatic fan in there later on. I'll try it out, keep an eye on things and if it seems like it's getting hot push that idea more.


On to my solar panel mount.....here is my LOL solar panel mockup.

 

[vhercules]

Attention to detail and quality is impressive. Also the details that you are sharing with others, great work

 

[midlifecrisis]

I have pretty much everything in there with the exception of water in the tank, perishables and clothing/personal items and the ride is essentially level front to back. I don't really recall what the front-to-back rake is sitting stock, but I don't think level is a bad outcome. Unless something drastic happens, I don't think sagging is going to be an issue, so that's a load off (see what I did there?).

 

[midlifecrisis]

Got the clamp I've been waiting on for the solar mount this morning (gotta love the 1 month free trial of Prime from Amazon...Sunday delivery??).

So you guys decide....Best Clamp Ever or just the Best Clamp this Decade?



I have a stack of U-Bolts and other various hardware I had been accumulating to try and get a solid mount for the solar panel off of the base of the roof rack, and the plan for this thing was simply to add a support leg part way up the shaft back to a cross bar, which would certainly have been solid. However, I hooked this thing up this morning all by itself and it is SOLID. I'm pretty sure if I pulled hard enough I could move the rack on its mounts before the clamp moves.



Simple, elegant and actually pretty darn sexy if you are gear head like myself.
In the great tradition of re-purposing other crap for my specific needs, I found this in the music world. It's a piece used on big time drum set builds for clamping symbols or whatever onto the base rack setup.
Gibraltar SC-GRSMC
$23.99 at Amazon

Go onto the Gibraltar website and imagine all of the crazy stuff you could mount to your roof rack or whatever (1-1/2" is the magic number for the base rack tubes) with the options they have.

 

[freshlikesushi]

Nice build!

I thought I would clarify on this comment. In coilover setups shocks do play a role in ride height. I am into sports cars as well and in the Mazda RX-8 for example, it is somewhat common for the factory rear shocks to completely fail with high mileage and this results in the rear wheels tucking up into the rear fenders and rubbing on the chassis. In addition, Koni Yellows and other aftermarket adjustable shocks for the RX-8 also typically make the car sit lower even when using the factory springs. This was a rather big argument when the issue started to arise and many insisted that the issue was spring related and that shocks played no role in ride height. So when I had the issue come up on my own RX-8, I had my springs tested and installed a second set of brand new springs to prove the theory and they made no difference, the car still sat on the rear tires even with my 50ln daughter in the back seat. But when new shocks were installed the issue was resolved and ride height was back to normal. This was several years ago and now many others have experienced the issue since then and so it is common knowledge now.

Sure. Overall length, Spring perch height, play a role in height. But not in actual height in relation to spring. Your experience is anecdotal at best

shock itself is only there to dampen the motion of the spring. The spring determines static ride height, and location of perch on the shock/length of shock under perch. even at this point shock length means nothing since its not at full droop.

 

[freshlikesushi]

The dog has no thumbs, so not an issue I don't think. ;-)
Like most of this stuff, it's R&D or trial and error (or error and hopefully less error) so if this doesn't work I'll adjust. I need to get some real world trial time before I start worrying about all the tiny details though. I'm not sure the lid would open if I spun the unit around for access from the inside because of the geometry with the curves in the headliner. I had always envisioned all of the access would come from outside during cooking and whatnot. Midnight snacks will need to be un-refrigerated I guess.

That having been said, if you were going to use the handles as a tie down point, I think you would want to replace them with something much more substantial. They are kinda flexy just from its own weight. I saw on the web somewhere a guy who replaced the handles with some stout metal ones.

How did you go about powering your unit by the way? I don't think I ever saw that in the thread.

use a plate behind hte handles out of steel with a hook for mounting. there is a thread in camping gear section with mods for these things

right now 12v plug in the back. i have a fuse block that just got here and ill hard wire it

 

[midlifecrisis]

Got a few more things taken care of today and had one king size screw up.

Fashioned a nice little stainless J hook for lagging my spare down to the cargo rack when it suits me.
View attachment 299749

Customized my plastic drawers with some crap retention straps to keep my crap retentioned. 3/4" straps with a snap on top.
View attachment 299750

Remodeled the water setup at the back end as I wasn't happy with it the way it was. Added a push button on/off and hard-piped it up out of the under belly so I could attach it to the fascia back there.
Now it can twist out about 30 degrees when I need it and swing back to the folded position when I don't.
View attachment 299752

I have a 25 foot hose stashed away for feeding the hot water heater/shower, but I picked up this little 4' jumper hose for filling water bottles, pans, etc. I didn't want to have 25 feet of hose full of water that I would either waster or have to mess with to get back into the tank every time I wanted to fill a water bottle. The QD will come in handy.
View attachment 299754

Safety first area, and the solar panel controller modulemathingy. FA kit is Velcro'ed to the wall so you can just rip the whole kit right off.
View attachment 299756

So then it was late in the day, I was tired, I was hungry......and I was arranging things in the cargo rack, trying to get just the right place for everything. I was struggling to find the "right" spot for the propoane tank, when I had a brilliant idea for a spot. So I built a groovy little rack with straps and everything...it's really nice!


Looking GOOD.....


Only problem is, the door won't close!! You gotta be kidding me.....head in backside.
I should have walked away and dealt with it later instead of trying to push through it and get it done. Everything REALLY stupid I've ever done in my life I've done when I was in a hurry.
I actually thought about taking the door panel off as a solution.......then I came back to reality and realized tomorrow would be a good time to solve that storage problem.
I wanted to put a book/map rack right there anyway.

Oh well, first world problems.

 

[freshlikesushi]

dude. that is genius for a tank mount. is that MDF you used for the wedges? Im going to copy that, its awesome

 

[CurtStyler]

Hey I just found this build and love it. I'm pricing around a new Outback for a similar use. Being able to sleep in the Outback is a huge bonus for me. I'm planning a long road trip around North America and the Outback looks like it will be perfect.

I'm actually pleasantly surprised there is enough room for both a mattress and storage. I was counting on being able to make a sleeping platform but didn't think it could be as comfortable you've made it look. Great build and can't wait to get my own Outback!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[midlifecrisis]

dude. that is genius for a tank mount. is that MDF you used for the wedges? Im going to copy that, its awesome

That was actually just some 1x~2 pine stock I had laying around. Didn't seem like it needed to be anything outlandish since the wedges are just there to keep it from rolling forward or aft. I might have found out that they fractured over time because of the tug from behind by the straps though, since that's how I pinned them down. Maybe something with a little more guts would be a good idea. It was really solid though, I was pretty pleased with it. :/