I've ordered a Subaru Outback 3.6R. I'm interested in a rooftop tent to mount on the factory rail system. Under consideration are the Autohome Maggiolina and the Roost. Does anyone have experience with using one of these tents mounted on the OB factory rails? Can the Subie support the weight of two adults on the roof? Thanks for any tips, suggestions, pics, etc.
Rooftop Tents and 2015 Subaru Outback
- Thread starter buxwheat
- Start date
TheFutur
Adventurer
I can't speak for the subaru outbacks factory rail system, I know I had issues with my factory roof racks on my 2002 Ford Escape. My roof racks were a big narrow (1/4" to be exact) so I just build some aluminum corssrails and mounted the tent the other way. So there is always options if you don't mind doing a bit of work.
As for the weight, I don't see it being an issue, my Escape is rated for 100lbs on the racks and I currently got a 130lbs tent, two adults (300ish lbs,) and most of our gear (blankets, clothes, personal gear, etc.)
As for the weight, I don't see it being an issue, my Escape is rated for 100lbs on the racks and I currently got a 130lbs tent, two adults (300ish lbs,) and most of our gear (blankets, clothes, personal gear, etc.)
Good to know the roof can support this much (static) weight.
freshlikesushi
Free Candy
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/174042-2015-outback-yakima-crossbars.html
check out this thread
there is a method to adapt normal rails using the tie down points. I would not use the factory rails. I own a 2015 subaru outback and decided against a RTT.
check out this thread
there is a method to adapt normal rails using the tie down points. I would not use the factory rails. I own a 2015 subaru outback and decided against a RTT.
calicamper
Expedition Leader
Considering the boats Ive topped on my 2010 same rail set up. RRT would be a non worry for me. The bigger deal would be sleekish rig vs the bulky square soft topped rrt. Given the soft top Id expect a 5mpg hit to the Subaru highway mileage. Vs maybe 2-3 hit with the sleeker hard top type rrt rig. I haul a 4x6 Life Time Tent + gear fire wood water etc we run 21-26mpg withthe 2.5 pending speeds
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
You could also add the James Baroud Horizon Vision to the list. I've been using one on my Patriot for about six months. At roughly 100 pounds it's one of the lighter options on the market.
http://expeditionportal.com/field-tested-james-baroud-horizon-vision/
I use either Thule Aeroblade crossbars or my preferred bars are Yakima Whispbar crossbars. They have far greater load capacity than round or square bars.
http://expeditionportal.com/field-tested-james-baroud-horizon-vision/
I use either Thule Aeroblade crossbars or my preferred bars are Yakima Whispbar crossbars. They have far greater load capacity than round or square bars.
thegoldrun
Active member
This is my thread, and Im looking for an AirTop to put on my 2015 Outback this summer. I'll post here if I can find a used one nearby (Colorado)...
My wife and I got a Subaru XV Crosstrek in 2013 and decided to get a Roost.
I had the Roost on there for 20000 miles and camped from Florida to Tennessee and everywhere in between. My wife and I slept up there and here is how we ran it.
We used 2 of the Thule 58" square bars with the crossroad type mounts. The bars were wide enough to mount the tent and, even though I figured it would hang over, actually fit the car pretty well.
Unlike the outback, which is longer, the Roost was big on the crosstrek. I positioned it so we could still open the rear hatch, and it stayed attached just fine. I routinely had it at 75 mph and never had an issue.
I went with Roost because we live in Georgia and they are made in Macon. We drove to the factory and picked it up.
I have since moved the tent to a 97 Cherokee that I'm building up, but we remember the Subaru fondly.
The only drawback was the gas mileage. We went from 33 on the highway to around 26 with the tent on board. But with 2 of us sleeping up there, the factory roof rack was fine and we never damaged anything.
Long story short - I would throw a hard tent up on an outback today and not look back.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had the Roost on there for 20000 miles and camped from Florida to Tennessee and everywhere in between. My wife and I slept up there and here is how we ran it.
We used 2 of the Thule 58" square bars with the crossroad type mounts. The bars were wide enough to mount the tent and, even though I figured it would hang over, actually fit the car pretty well.
Unlike the outback, which is longer, the Roost was big on the crosstrek. I positioned it so we could still open the rear hatch, and it stayed attached just fine. I routinely had it at 75 mph and never had an issue.
I went with Roost because we live in Georgia and they are made in Macon. We drove to the factory and picked it up.
I have since moved the tent to a 97 Cherokee that I'm building up, but we remember the Subaru fondly.
The only drawback was the gas mileage. We went from 33 on the highway to around 26 with the tent on board. But with 2 of us sleeping up there, the factory roof rack was fine and we never damaged anything.
Long story short - I would throw a hard tent up on an outback today and not look back.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
James Baroud USA
Observer
James Baroud USA Offers a variety of roof top tents from hard shell to soft. Here are two styles we have on a Subaru Crosstrek. You can find more about us at www.jamesbaroudusa.com or call us at (908) 387-6701 and, be sure to follow us on facebook for the latest from James Baroud. 
Thanks, prcaston! Good to know. What part of Georgia are you from? Alpharetta here. Do you have the contact info handy for Roost? Didn't realize they were made in Macon. Any discount for factory pickup? One last question: Roost looks so similar to Autohome Columbus, any comments as to build quality?
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
daRockinRabbit
New member
On a side note I recommend Rhino-Rack cross rails. I have them on my XV (pictured below) and they fit GREAT with the factory rails. I don't know if you're into having a roof rack, but I have a Rhino-Rack Pioneer 44100 (60"x48") and it fits well too. Let me know if you have any questions.
Attachments
I have a Maggiolina on my forester and have had no troubles in over ten thousand miles with it mounted, running all sorts of speeds and roads. The roof definitely will hold it. Also, autohome sells special mounting bolts for wide bars. With that said, I am not sure how those quirky outback bars would work. I'd prefer some Yakima or Thule bars for when the tent is mounted.
Lemsteraak
Adventurer
Subarus are a great platform for a rooftop tent. Years ago did some research on mounting and a little aerodynamics. Granted, this info is over ten years old but may still have some benefit for you.
Bars - We used to go with Subaru's aftermarket bars, they were rebadged Yakima bars. Yakima had virtually the same bars but were only rated at 110 Lbs (dynamic load) while if you went to Subaru they rated the bars at 165 Lbs (dynamic load) so just for insurance, we would buy the Subaru labeled aftermarket ones. A general rule of thumb, I found Thule worked closely with European marques where Yakima played well with Japanese companies. Sometimes it is wise to listen to the vehicle manufacturer. For example, Nissan Xterra racks were only rated at 115 Lbs by Nissan, so both Yakima and Thule were both carried a 115 Lb ratings too. When I talked to one of the design engineers for JAC, who makes the rack, he was surprised, their racks are really strong. So, we took a look at an Xterra and he was surprised because Nissan uses tapping screws to mount the JAC rack to the Xterra roof. Hence, great rack, great truck, bad interface, means the rack is beefy for show only. Remount properly and it would carry a much higher strength rating. Lesson, listen to the vehicle manufacturer. Oh, and never trust the silly little bars that come with a vehicle's rack, generally most are for looks only and don't carry a strength rating.
Aerodynamics - There is a lot you can do here to help with gas mileage and even handling. A well designed roof tent will act as a wing and slice easily through the wind. This never used to be an issue as old Land Rovers, Cruisers, and Jeeps were aerodynamic bricks and 60 mph was pushing it so aerodynamics wasn't a big issue. Older roof tent designs reflected that. Nowadays with modern SUVs it is really important to look at aerodynamics. If you keep your roof tent on full time, the savings will be huge over a lifetime. Some thoughts to look for when equipping a Subaru with a roof tent are keep the size, weight and width to a minimum. Here is an example.
This is a small Airland on an older Outback. I personally like this installation. The rack is a Subaru branded aftermarket rack rated at 165 Lbs, and the Airland tent is 110 - 115 range. Yes, you could go carbon fiber and then it would be something like 80 Lbs, even better. Width is a big concern, notice how large the tent looks, it is a small tent, only 50 inches wide or so, just a two man tent. If you go wider, like a standard Roost tent, gas mileage will suffer as you get a weird end-plate effect. The tent is wider than the vehicle's roof so it has air coming from a couple direction and is inefficient, you want a smooth flow under and over the tent, remember it is like a wing
I don't have an wind tunnel but you can experiment on your own. Tape small pieces of yarn or cassette tape (telltales) to the tent and to the roof of the vehicle. Have a friend drive the vehicle at speed and watch what happens from a pursuit car. If the telltales are flat or minimally moving, that is good airflow, flapping about wildly is an indication of a stall or drag condition, bad ... bad. Anyway, that is the idea.
Fabric tents - The only thing you can do here is to go with a small frontal area and have a very tight fitting cover. There isn't much you can do with aerodynamics here, they are soft bricks, bad ..... bad. A couple thought for improvement would be to go with a low frontal area tent like an OverCamp, long and thin. Also if you can get the cover to fit tight and not flap, that is a big improvement. I don't know what it is with flapping but on a sailboat sail (wing) it adds a lot of drag and kills power. One thought that I've always wanted to test is to try a fairing, not the silly ones that you can buy from Thule or Yakima that sit under the tent but one for the front of the hood. I noticed that if you add one of those silly bug deflectors like you see on pick em up trucks they keep the bugs from spattering on the tents. They change the airflow over the vehicle but I've never tested it personally. I've heard anecdotally that it helps, well it may save a few bugs lives.
Let me know if this helps
Dr Science
Bars - We used to go with Subaru's aftermarket bars, they were rebadged Yakima bars. Yakima had virtually the same bars but were only rated at 110 Lbs (dynamic load) while if you went to Subaru they rated the bars at 165 Lbs (dynamic load) so just for insurance, we would buy the Subaru labeled aftermarket ones. A general rule of thumb, I found Thule worked closely with European marques where Yakima played well with Japanese companies. Sometimes it is wise to listen to the vehicle manufacturer. For example, Nissan Xterra racks were only rated at 115 Lbs by Nissan, so both Yakima and Thule were both carried a 115 Lb ratings too. When I talked to one of the design engineers for JAC, who makes the rack, he was surprised, their racks are really strong. So, we took a look at an Xterra and he was surprised because Nissan uses tapping screws to mount the JAC rack to the Xterra roof. Hence, great rack, great truck, bad interface, means the rack is beefy for show only. Remount properly and it would carry a much higher strength rating. Lesson, listen to the vehicle manufacturer. Oh, and never trust the silly little bars that come with a vehicle's rack, generally most are for looks only and don't carry a strength rating.
Aerodynamics - There is a lot you can do here to help with gas mileage and even handling. A well designed roof tent will act as a wing and slice easily through the wind. This never used to be an issue as old Land Rovers, Cruisers, and Jeeps were aerodynamic bricks and 60 mph was pushing it so aerodynamics wasn't a big issue. Older roof tent designs reflected that. Nowadays with modern SUVs it is really important to look at aerodynamics. If you keep your roof tent on full time, the savings will be huge over a lifetime. Some thoughts to look for when equipping a Subaru with a roof tent are keep the size, weight and width to a minimum. Here is an example.
This is a small Airland on an older Outback. I personally like this installation. The rack is a Subaru branded aftermarket rack rated at 165 Lbs, and the Airland tent is 110 - 115 range. Yes, you could go carbon fiber and then it would be something like 80 Lbs, even better. Width is a big concern, notice how large the tent looks, it is a small tent, only 50 inches wide or so, just a two man tent. If you go wider, like a standard Roost tent, gas mileage will suffer as you get a weird end-plate effect. The tent is wider than the vehicle's roof so it has air coming from a couple direction and is inefficient, you want a smooth flow under and over the tent, remember it is like a wing
I don't have an wind tunnel but you can experiment on your own. Tape small pieces of yarn or cassette tape (telltales) to the tent and to the roof of the vehicle. Have a friend drive the vehicle at speed and watch what happens from a pursuit car. If the telltales are flat or minimally moving, that is good airflow, flapping about wildly is an indication of a stall or drag condition, bad ... bad. Anyway, that is the idea.
Fabric tents - The only thing you can do here is to go with a small frontal area and have a very tight fitting cover. There isn't much you can do with aerodynamics here, they are soft bricks, bad ..... bad. A couple thought for improvement would be to go with a low frontal area tent like an OverCamp, long and thin. Also if you can get the cover to fit tight and not flap, that is a big improvement. I don't know what it is with flapping but on a sailboat sail (wing) it adds a lot of drag and kills power. One thought that I've always wanted to test is to try a fairing, not the silly ones that you can buy from Thule or Yakima that sit under the tent but one for the front of the hood. I noticed that if you add one of those silly bug deflectors like you see on pick em up trucks they keep the bugs from spattering on the tents. They change the airflow over the vehicle but I've never tested it personally. I've heard anecdotally that it helps, well it may save a few bugs lives.
Let me know if this helps
Dr Science