I bought a Subaru Outback with plans to turn it into an adventure-mobile ready for all of the weekend trips. I also hoped to get a fully remote job and take a month to road trip out west and get tons of skiing in during 2022. That was my end goal for this build. I did a lot of CAD (Cardboard Aided Design) to make sure everything would fit. I found 20x40” bins with little roller wheels that would serve as main storage. A lot of other Subaru builds that I have seen contain elaborate custom slide out drawers and kitchens, but every layer of plywood is 3/4” less headspace I would have. So I wanted to keep this as low profile as possible and also be very modular.
The maiden voyage was a tubing and mountain biking trip to West Virginia, the above set up worked great. I can insert just the trunk platform and have a full backseat. The bins are easily removable to pack inside or take out and carry to a picnic table.
The first mod was to make a slide out cooking surface and be able to turn it into a “guest bed” that fills out the platform behind the drivers seat.
I landed a remote job during my trip to Sedona which was a huge step in getting back into my adventurous side. I knew that I may have to work inside my car when on the road so I built this desk that I can set up in the back seat.
Insulation is key for a winter-time adventure car. Reflectix is the standard material but it also screams “someone is living in here!” which is not ideal for stealth camping in ski towns. So I covered one side with black felt so it will look like my car just has darkly tinted windows. To keep the inside from looking like a space coffin, I got some pretty nature designs on fabric and glued those to the inside. I then went to my friends farm to camp in 12°F weather and see how it all worked. I stayed nice and toasty with a baselayer, my 20° sleeping bag, and the insulated windows.
I also decided that I may want access to the food stored in the bins without needing to go outside (in the event of rain or it just being really cold) so I made this trap door. It has two hinges so you can still access the bin if a cooler or something was sitting on top.
