So it begins...

[John E]

I've started working on my Subaru Outback, it's not gonna be in the same league as the "Superu" as posted about here but I'll do what I can using the "Superu" as my inspiration.

First steps, all new KYB struts, front and rear. Already done. Major improvement in handling and ride.

Have ordered a set of Rallitek HD rear springs and some Moog endlinks to replace the stock set.

Will be ordering a set of Rallitek frt and rr sway bars in the next couple of weeks along with a Primitive Racing rear skid plate.

Longer term plans include a set of General AT Grabber tires installed on the alloy rims.

Front skid plate, probably a Primitive racing.

A Yakima Loadwarrior rack installed on top of existing rack.

Driving and some sort of rear facing lights.

Some sort of improved cargo storage system for the rear. Still up in the air about how best to do this.

Some relatively minor engine work, mainly replacing things that I'm not sure were maintained properly by previous owner. Already had the radiator hoses and AC belt replaced for same reason.

Ham radio install, probably a Yaesu portable with the base unit mounted under the front seat and the head mounted on dash. I've already got my 2 meter antenna installed.

CB radio to be installed, already have one, couldn't hurt to put it to some sort of use.

All of this is being done on an "as cash becomes available" basis, I'm not poor, but I'm not rich either and as much as I'd love to just drop a couple of grand all at one time, I just can't do that.

That's about all for now.

John E

[Martinjmpr]

Sounds good. I loved my Outback and have always been fascinated by the "do more with less" school of design. About the only recommendation I'd make is to try and keep the outside of your Outback as "slick" as possible for less wind resistance - for example, make sure you can dismount your Yakima rack and store it inside the vehicle when you don't need it. This should add 1-2 mpg. When I had my Outback I removed the roof rack crossbars for this reason and it did give me a slight MPG increase (maybe 1 mpg) but that's better than nothing.

[Maddmatt]

Awesome. I love my Suby and often think about how I'd like to modify it. I did do the skid plate, nobody knows its there but me, but I like it. I ended up going with the Rallitek one:

http://yhst-49187380673845.stores.yahoo.net/rassiskfor00.html

I hear good things about Primitive too, but you don't often hear when a company does what they say they will, so I'll let you know that this skid plate cost what they said it would, arrived when they said it would and installed how they said it would - so I give them a thumbs up.

Also, I have the black interior, and getting all the windows tinted made a huge difference in comfort for back seat passengers - may not be a big deal in your area.
-Matt

[John E]

for the encouragement.

I haven't finalised the skid plates yet, still considering the Rallitek. I will say that their customer service so far has been exemplary. I'm really looking forward to getting the new h/d springs installed.

Tinting the windows, I went a little further than that, I made a template and then cut some Reflectix material and made some window shades that completely block out the rearmost windows. Painted the stuff black on the part that's facing outward and between that and the tint, you can no longer see into the cargo area from the side of the car and it completely blocks the sun and insulates it a bit as well. I live in SoCal and heat is definitely an issue.

I'm seriously considering adding one of the solar powered cabin vents that was used on the Superu.

As far as the rack goes, I'm still struggling with that.

I use the car for work which entails loading it up with my EMT gear, I work on locations as a Set Medic all over SoCal and have to bring a lot of gear with me. When I say a lot I'm talking about a full sized back board just to start. That's in addition to my own personal stuff as well as emergency supplies that I always carry in vehicles. It gets even worse when I'm on a multi day job where I have to bring extra uniforms, etc. I want to put some of the gear on the roof rack and also use some sort of shelf/drawer system in the cargo area. Problem being that my spare tire is of course located in a well under the cargo area. If I put in shelves I wouldn't be able to access the spare easily, if I put the spare on the roof, mileage would suffer even more. The good thing is that depending on how far I have to drive, my mileage is either paid for by the production company or deductible as an expense on my taxes. On some jobs I've actually made a profit on my mileage reimbursement but don't tell anyone...

Luckily for me I can afford to make at least a couple of mistakes before settling on the best system, I don't want to throw money away but I don't mind spending it if it's needed to make my job easier and my traveling time more enjoyable and safer.

John E

[Maddmatt]

Your window solution sounds great!

My experience with the Outback (7 years, 80k miles) has been that what's on the roof is irrelevant for your mpg as compared to the speeds you travel. I've driven with nothing on the roof, duffel bags strapped down with bungee cords on the roof, ski racks, a cargo basket and a Thule box (at different times, obviously :) )

Last spring I had the opportunity to drive a 300+ mile trip in two directions, each time with 2 adults and 2 kids, the wayback loaded to the roof with stuff and a completely filled Thule box on the roof. One direction I took the interstate, drove at 75mph+ (all of this is over 5,000 feet, much of it much higher) and got 24mpg.

On the way home, we took the smaller highways, same amount of stuff and same distance but speeds were limited to 60-65 - 27+mpg. That extra 10mph made a big difference in my mpg.

So my opinion is to not worry too much about what's on the car, install what you need and if gas mileage suffers, slow down a bit.
-Matt

[John E]

Does not compute...does not compute...warning... warning...

Just kiddin. I drive pretty reasonably now but I think you're right.

Given the extra weight I have to bring a mile or two more per gallon just isn't worth too much worry. Having said that, it's always in the back of my mind when doing my planning.

I got the window blocking idea from a couple of websites I found dealing with living in one's vehicle. Fascinating stuff and some very practical advice to be found if one looks.

Waiting for the UPS driver to bring me my springs...

John E

[Martinjmpr]

I hear you about the spare tire. It's one of my biggest gripes about modern cars and one of the reasons I really like the idea of the full size spare carried on the back door of a wagon (an SUV feature that car enthusiasts seem to hate for some reason.)

So here's an idea ... and I'd be really surprised if nobody's thought of this already:

Since they already make pretty much everything including the kitchen sink and the toilet that attaches to a receiver hitch, why not get or make a receiver mounted spare tire carrier? Seems to me it would work just fine, especially with the relatively small/light wheel and tire that a Subaru uses.

Sure a receiver mounted spare probably wouldn't work on an F250 with a 37" tire where the tire weighs 250 lb but for a Subaru tire it should be fine.

Presumably it could have a quick-detachable pin and a hinge so you could lower it when you want to access the tailgate (like the hinges they make for bicycle carriers) and being behind the vehicle it shouldn't cause any additional drag. It will be easy to access and when you strip the vehicle down for "daily driver" use you can remove it entireley and put the donut back in the spare tire well.

If you do this, you can use the spare tire well to store extra cargo.

Best of all, it will allow you to carry an honest-to-God full size spare instead of that stupid little donut (another thing I didn't like about my Outback!)

If somebody doesn't make something like this, they should. And I can't imagine it would be too difficult to make one. Maybe you could even fabricate the spare tire bracket so it could also carry some other emergency gear like a 2 gal gas can or maybe a small shovel. Keeping it off the roof = easier access and better MPG.

Just a thought, anyway.

[BIGdaddy]

I hear you about the spare tire. It's one of my biggest gripes about modern cars and one of the reasons I really like the idea of the full size spare carried on the back door of a wagon (an SUV feature that car enthusiasts seem to hate for some reason.)

So here's an idea ... and I'd be really surprised if nobody's thought of this already:

Since they already make pretty much everything including the kitchen sink and the toilet that attaches to a receiver hitch, why not get or make a receiver mounted spare tire carrier? Seems to me it would work just fine, especially with the relatively small/light wheel and tire that a Subaru uses.

Sure a receiver mounted spare probably wouldn't work on an F250 with a 37" tire where the tire weighs 250 lb but for a Subaru tire it should be fine.

Presumably it could have a quick-detachable pin and a hinge so you could lower it when you want to access the tailgate (like the hinges they make for bicycle carriers) and being behind the vehicle it shouldn't cause any additional drag. It will be easy to access and when you strip the vehicle down for "daily driver" use you can remove it entireley and put the donut back in the spare tire well.

If you do this, you can use the spare tire well to store extra cargo.

Best of all, it will allow you to carry an honest-to-God full size spare instead of that stupid little donut (another thing I didn't like about my Outback!)

If somebody doesn't make something like this, they should. And I can't imagine it would be too difficult to make one. Maybe you could even fabricate the spare tire bracket so it could also carry some other emergency gear like a 2 gal gas can or maybe a small shovel. Keeping it off the roof = easier access and better MPG.

Just a thought, anyway.


thats a gr8 idea.

[John E]

I like the idea of the hitch mounted tire carrier but with some reservations.

The hitch itself, I don't have currently have one but from what I've seen they mount low enough to be a clearance issue, and I'm trying to increase the ground clearance.

For my particular needs, I need to be able to access my rear cargo area pretty often and as easily as possible, something attached to a hitch might hinder that.

In other news, I've ordered a roof rack from a place called Top of the line, it's very similiar to the Yakima Loadwarrior but 100 bucks cheaper, came recommended by a fellow Outback owner on the Outback forums.

Still waiting for my springs to arrive, got a very reasonable estimate to install them from the same place that replaced my struts so as soon as they hit the porch, I'll be off to get them installed.

Endlinks should be here anytime as well.

Still up in the air about tires, I've pretty much decided on the General Grabber AT2 but not sure how much larger than stock I can go, hoping for some input from the Outback forum members on that.

On a side note, going to sit for my HAM radio license later today, then I can get my radio install going.

Still trying to decide how best to deal with increasing the cargo capacity ie, shelves etc. It's looking like the spare tire is going to have to go on the roof.

I did have the thought of not carrying a spare while in town, using Slime or one of the other flatproofing liquids in my tires and relying on AAA if the worst happens and only carrying a spare when on longer/more arduous trips.

Anyone ever tried that? I remember reading a review of a Corvette years ago and the reviewer suggested running high quality tires and skipping the spare to give the car some carrying capacity. For strictly around town it's feasible yes?

John E.

[Jacket]

Ok - someone's gotta say it - where's the pics dood? :PROFSheriffHL: I love Subby's!

[John E]

is there a tutorial somewhere on how to post pics to the forums?

John E

[John E]

my new Rallitek HD springs arrived today...!!! They are massive.

On the negative side, I discovered that a "kit" of sway bar endlinks consists of one endlink according to the folks at Rock Auto.

I ordered what I thought was a pair of new endlinks to replace my stock ones along with a new rear sway bar only to discover that I actually only ordered one. To their credit, they are willing to give me a $5.00 shipping discount if/when I order the 2nd endlink, I'm just a bit pissed cause I was gonna have them installed tomorrow along with the new springs and save myself some labor costs.

Ah well...so it goes.

Roof rack is winging it's way to me as well, hopefully by the first of October I'll have made some serious steps along the path of expeditionising the Subaru. For reference, the Subaru's name has been chosen and it is.....

wait for it...Bob. Funny story, well I think so. We got a new pet canary who happened to be missing one it's toes, so we came up with his name, Desmond Twotoes, or Desi for short. From Desi we somehow get to Desi Arnaz and his famous rendition of "Babaloo". Somehow from that we moved to "Bobaloo the Subaru" or Bob for short.

I have no idea where this stuff comes from really...You can't write this stuff...you really can't...

John E

[John E]

there is little joy in Suby town today.

IPD/Rallitek sent me the wrong sized springs, way wrong as in about 2" in diameter wrong.

I was impressed with the initial customer service I got from them, hoping that they make good on their mistake.

Between this and the 1 endlink issue I had with Rock Auto, I'm an unhappy camper. Hope my roofrack shows up and is the right one...

John E

[John E]

on project "Bob".

The Rola roof basket/rack arrived today, UPS claimed it would be here by 1900, they made it with about 10 minutes to spare.

Looks to be pretty well made, made of powder coated steel, uses a decent clamping system to attach to my existing rack cross bars. I'll be changing the screw knobs to some stainless steel aircraft locknuts, for durability as well as for a minimum of security. If someone wants to steal it, they'll have to have a wrench and some time on their hands. Trying to think of a way to actually lock it in place.

Got it temporarily installed, fit just about perfectly.

Now if Rallitek comes thru with the correct springs, I'll be back on track, no pun intended.

John E.

[HanzoSteel]

Tire carrier for hitch.

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/dt/6715.jpg


http://www.etrailer.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=E&Product_Code=6715&Category_Code=FMH

[Martinjmpr]

Tire carrier for hitch.

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/dt/6715.jpg


http://www.etrailer.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=E&Product_Code=6715&Category_Code=FMH

Interesting but it doesn't have the hinge or the drop-down feature which means that if you want to access the tailgate you have to remove it. Of course, with a Subaru you're talking about a wheel/tire combo that weighs maybe 25 pounds max so it wouldn't be that bad.

[02TahoeMD]

is there a tutorial somewhere on how to post pics to the forums?

John E

Just go to this link (http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2376). I use Photobucket as my web image hosting site. It is free, and they set the images up with links at the bottom of each photo so it is super easy to cut and paste the pics over.

Now.....post up some pics! Look forward to seeing your project

[HanzoSteel]

Interesting but it doesn't have the hinge or the drop-down feature which means that if you want to access the tailgate you have to remove it. Of course, with a Subaru you're talking about a wheel/tire combo that weighs maybe 25 pounds max so it wouldn't be that bad.

Ya some type of hinge would be ideal. I remembered seeing this one awile back and just searched for a hinge type but with no luck, may have to be custom made which should be pretty easy.

[Best4x4xfar]

Hey John,

Well, you didn’t say what year your Outback is, but I’d be interested to hear so we know what model you are building. My wife’s everyday driver is a 2005 Outback 2.5i 5-speed. It has proven a nice reliable platform, with pretty decent mileage returns, and lots of feel good about my wife and daughter being in it (AWD primarily responsible for that, but they crash test pretty well too). If you aren’t already familiar with these boards, check them regularly for insight and products as well…

http://offroadsubarus.com


http://subaruoutback.org


http://www.legacygt.com


If you have a 2005-up body style, I would have suggested Megan Racing Coil Over’s (http://www.meganracing.com/products/product_detail.asp?prodid=664&catid=93&input.x=5&input.y=14)instead of the KYB struts, but I don’t know what body style you have…

[John E]

Just a minor one, as I posted in the camping equipment forum, I'm assembling the parts to make a VERY low budget roof rack attachable awning. Got everything I need except for some tent poles.

Have my rear differential skid plate on order from Primitive Racing. They're a Subaru aftermarket parts supplier that also do rally racing. I'm getting their 3/16" HD plate for the rear, not sure which way to go for the front yet.

Woke up this morning to find a flat tire on the right rear wheel. Can't decide if the existing tires are old and worn enough to replace them all right now. If the flat is repairable I'll probably just do that and put a few more miles on the stock tires before replacing them with the General Grabber AT's that I've got my eye on.

Just to update further, "Bob" is a 1996 Subaru Outback AWD. Mods so far are pretty minimal. Rola roof rack, rear windows blocked with reflectix material, HAM and cellular phone antenna's installed. HAM radio coming later this week with any luck and if the mailman delivers a particular envelope with a particular check in it...

Mods to come:

General Grabber AT tires
Yaesu 2m/440 HAM radio install
IPD/Rallitek springs
S.S. brake lines, frt and rear
Hawk brake pads, frt and rear
Rear facing work/backup light
Front skid plate
Some sort of homemade storage box system to better utilise the cargo space
Solar powered roof vent, thanks to Mr. Superu for the idea
Roof rack mount for spare tire and extra fuel tank idea

[Superu]

Hi John,

I've been toying with the idea of that etrailer spare carrier for a while now. A full sized spare does weigh in at a bit more than the 25 lbs. estimated in an earlier post, but it's manageable. There's a place that makes a swing away style, but it's way expensive for my tastes. IIRC, it was $500 - $600. Very nice and looked solid, but more than I was willing to part with. I'm thinking of looking for a deal on a used Thule fold down bike carrier and having the etrailer unit and the Thule merged to give me the functionality at less than half the cost of the other.

The space freed up in the wheel well is a great spot to emergency / recovery equipment.

I'm running Geolandar A/T S tires on my Subie and have been very pleased with them.

Btw, removal of the roof rack makes about a 3-5 mpg difference for me at 65 - 70 mph.

Get some pics up soon. Let's see that Subie! :)

[John E]

for the encouragement.

Latest update, the roof rack mounted awning is now in it's 2nd stage ready for more beta testing. I went too small on the support piece on the original one, picked up some 3" ID abs pipe to try. Should give it the rigidity it needs.

I tried it out on a film location job last week and the basic idea worked, not that it's a real technical achievement to suspend a tarp but still...;^)

Nice fringe benefit of using the larger abs pipe, I will have a sealed, 3"x 8' storage space, I usually bring a makeshift wind sock and flagpole with me to remote locations and it will fit in the pipe almost perfectly. A fishing pole fits it pretty well too...;^)

In other Subie news, took it to the local dealer for some maintenance work and to get a feel for their work ethic. I'm somewhat hampered when it comes to working on "Bob" myself, not having a lift or a whole lot of room at home. I had the dealer service the differentials and while they were under there, had them install my new Primitive Racing rear skid plate. They informed me that my water pump is leaking and they recommended replacement. To their credit, they asked me about the timing belt as replacing it would also include a new water pump, to their discredit, they told me I needed all new belts installed on the car when I had one of them replaced less than a month ago. Back on the plus side, they came in under their initial estimate and when I asked about the belt, they rechecked with the technician and he admitted that he was making more of a general recommendation due to the age of the car, mileage, etc. He also conceded that the belt that I had done was in fact ok but recommended replacing the other one.

So as today, I am more skid capable, have newly serviced differentials, rotated tires, freshly scanned engine, a new awning to finish, and brakes have been inspected and are within limits. On the downside, still no Rallitek springs, they've kept my money for almost a month now. I did get a phone call late in the day yesterday, but couldn't return the call until after their closing time so I'm a little disappointed about that.

Bill, if you wouldn't mind sharing where you got your King Springs on the Superu, I'd appreciate it.

I've been taking a few snaps along the way, will get something posted soon.

Almost forgot, I splurged and picked up a Yaesu 7800R 2m/440 radio last week, hope to get it installed tomorrow and on the air.

Hoping to make it over to the OffRoad expo in Pomona CA tomorrow.

[John E]

has been made in making "Bob" more expedition worthy.

Given the sort of vehicles that most of you folks drive, I know that I'm being a bit facetious calling my little Outback an expedition vehicle but we work with what we have.

So today, didn't make it to the Offroad Expo, probably a good thing for the bank account, but I did make some pretty good progress on installing my comms systems.

I bought a Cobra CB radio months ago with the idea that I'd mount it somewhere in the cockpit of "Bob', in the interim I decided to go ahead and get my HAM license and install a 2m/440 mobile in there as well. I picked up a Yaesu FT 7800R last week, nice rig, small but decent power and great reviews. I originally planned on mounting it under my passenger seat and using the remote head mounting kit. I still might do that but in the meantime I found a nice spot for it on the side of my shifter console.

Even with the HAM setup I still wanted to put the CB in "Bob" and I happened to find a thread on the Outback owners forum where a guy put his same model radio in the dash of his Outback. I decided to do the same thing. It was also a good reason to go ahead and remove my non-functioning CD player.

With a little bit of work, mainly some stock removal with my Dremel tool, I now have an indash mounted CB, nice thing about this particular model is that the microphone as well as the speaker are both in the front of the radio. It's almost the exact size of a DIN type head unit so with just a bit of work I was able to use the existing AM/FM head unit with it's mounting bracket and attach the CB under it.

I wasn't able to finish putting in the HAM unit but will later this week.

Now all I need to do is get a better CB antenna and run the coax up to and under the dash. Still have a bit of buttoning up to do but all in all, I was quite pleased with how it all came together. Once I get all the 2 way radios up and running, it'll be time to replace the existing AM/FM head unit with something a little more current with an ipod jack and some better speakers.

Pics to follow.