Best set-up for Subaru

Hey all, lately I have started to ditch my tent on recent climbing trips and start to sleep in the back of my car. Its a subaru outback. I am kind of new to sleeping in a smaller car. I used to have a full size van (back when gas was sub $2) and had a nice set up in the back of that but I was wondering how everyone else sets up their cars. Not trucks

I sleep plenty of times in the front seat of my VW GTI with a pack under my feet, so being able to lay in the back of an Outback, even in a semi fetal position if you are tall, seems pretty luxurious to me.

My set up if it is raining and by my self: gear and bicycle or crash pad crammed in the back with one rear seat folded flat..various sundries in the remaining space of the front and passenger seats, me twisted up in the steering wheel and stick shift.

This is a great set up if you want to insure an alpine start, even if you just pulled in at 2AM. If you have a Suburu you will have to fill it with more gear though, or a dog.

How do you do windos during rainy night?

in the van it was easy because of the push-out windows allowed ventilation and no rain to come in.

Window visors ftw

Cut a piece of ACX to about 2'x6', and lay it in the back. Prop the low end with 2-3 gas cartridges. A flat sleeping platform makes a difference. I spend about 100 nights a year on this sort of rig. It worked well in a 96 outback.

I have an outback sport and If I take out the backseat (easy just unbolt it). I can fit a full size blow up pad and my dog. Its pretty damn comfy.

I think I remember a thread on here a while ago that showed a platform that someone had built for their Subaru wagon... On my I phone so i'm not going to search for it, but I am sure that you could find it if you look. Good Luck!

NC Rock Climber wrote:I think I remember a thread on here a while ago that showed a platform that someone had built for their Subaru wagon... On my I phone so i'm not going to search for it, but I am sure that you could find it if you look. Good Luck!

I tried, I know the exact one you are talking about and cant find it for the life of me.

I've modified several cars (all smaller than an Outback), but since I'm over 6 feet I pretty much have to remove the front passenger seat and build some kind of platform in that space to stretch out fully. If I want that seat during my trip it gets some kind of quick release setup, like wingnuts/bolts. I've also removed just the passenger seatback and gotten about the right height for a bridge setup between the front and rear seats- depends on the car. It's not as nice as sleeping in the back, but the radio(s) are close by... sorry I don't have any photos.

I think the Subaru bed you mentioned is here: mountainproject.com/v/car-c…

Jeremy Hand wrote:Window visors ftw

I don't think they work in Subis because there is no frame around the window.

i have a 2003 outback and am 6'3. i spend 4-6 months out of the year on the road climbing and i have boiled it down to this:
I took out the back seats/bench and put in a flip wood panel that is in line with the floor of the rear space of the car. not only did i buy myself storage where the seats went, but i also can slide the passenger seat forward and have about 7' of space to lay down in. i also got a roofbox for less used items/extra storage. there are 3 bins lining one side of the improved backseat/trunk area and an asana crashpad on the other side that is about 6'5 long unfolded (i believe a "sir-lands-alot" model)
thus i always have a bed built, and i can get to all my gear easily under the wood panel, food/camping gear/clothes are in the bins....its effin' schweeeeeet!

I have a Ford Focus Wagon and I can remove the bench seat which gives me a little extra room when the seats are folded flat. Maybe you can do the same in the Outback?

We recently bought an inflatable twin mattress from Walmart. It has 8 inches of loft and is really comfy. The air pump plugs into a cigaret lighter and fills the thing in a few minutes. When you wake up you just unscrew the cap, the bed deflates and you have all your storage space back.

dog in Prius on mattress

I am hoping to leave the seats in the car because often I will offer rides in order to split gas. The current set up in the outback is to just fold down one of the back seats and put my sleeping pad down. Since i am a shorter guy this works out well but I was hoping to figure out a better option so that i dont have to keep moving stuff around to put move the seat up and down. Unfortuanately it seems like im just gonna have to permanently have the seat down if i dont want to remove it entirely

I'm sure you can pickup a coffin (one of those roof pods) or CL pretty cheap. Stash all your gear in there and you wont have to shuffle it around.

We use a Mattress after getting up we unscrew the cap and we will be left with all space as usual.

Marc H wrote: Window visors ftw I don't think they work in Subis because there is no frame around the window.

Newer models of the Outback (2010 and up) have framed windows. 

Window visors help a ton! Makes it so you don't end up with frost or condensation on the inside of windows. 

I sleep in the back of my gen 4 Outback. The seats fold flat enough and I stuff things near the backseat headrest and the back of the front seat so I get that space as well. I barely fit at 6'3". It's pretty easy to fold the seats up if you want to drive people around that day. I only camp in mine for 5 days at a time, so I don't know how this setup would be if you're full-timing it. 

I really think the car-sleeping thing is all about making it work with what you've got. Not a Subie, But I've slept many nights in my beloved 03 Honda Civic Coupe.  The back seats lay down, and there is a large 3x4 hole into the trunk. The set-up involves stuffing the gap between the front and back seats, and parking with the back end slightly up hill to compensate for the seats not laying completely flat. I'ts got a sunroof, so you can literally look up at the stars while you sleep. (can't find any pics of the inside at the moment)

I built some simple wood dividers that go in the trunk and allow storage next to your feet when you sleep. The dividers come out and lay on top of the bike rack on the trunk which gives a nice platform for cooking, bartending, or watching tv. I know its all about #vanlife these days, but I'm pretty happy living the #sedanlife

  

This link only works on my iphone, not on my computer, but i followed these plans with measurements from my forester and it stores, converts, and sleeps well. I used thinner plywood and supports and it worked fine.

https://www.larszeekaf.com/my-stories-1/how-i-built-a-bed-in-my-car-in-3-simple-steps-video

 I folded my backseats down and built this platform. The back has four screws so I can still remove it and access the spare tire. There’s a little bit of room underneath to shove some minimal things like sleeping bags and other compressible items. I put the hinge on the front so that I can raise it up to store things behind the seats without having to move the seats forward and backwards  repeatedly since it’s all mechanical and I didn’t want to wear it down. The posts holding up the hinged area are removable in order to be able to clear the backseats when raising it. My wife and I and our 70 pound dog sleep in it with plenty of room.  Obviously you can get more room if you remove the backseats but if you did that you’d also have to remove the spare tire and I didn’t want to mount it on the back of the car so I sacrificed some headroom in order to I have a spare tire in the car still. Also there is extra storage underneath That I can put things that I don’t use as often.

 

Adam Fleming wrote:

Newer models of the Outback (2010 and up) have framed windows. 

Window visors help a ton! Makes it so you don't end up with frost or condensation on the inside of windows. 

I sleep in the back of my gen 4 Outback. The seats fold flat enough and I stuff things near the backseat headrest and the back of the front seat so I get that space as well. I barely fit at 6'3". It's pretty easy to fold the seats up if you want to drive people around that day. I only camp in mine for 5 days at a time, so I don't know how this setup would be if you're full-timing it. 

Yep, I run the same setup for my '15 Crosstrek. Except with two people in the back and a roof trunk. If I have a cooler, I just put that in the front passenger seat keeping the driver's seat free if I have to move the car. Both the girlfriend and I are under 6 ft though.