Before you build
What owners wish they'd known.
Smart is the essentials at a lower cost.
Tires & Suspension
Glovebox sized inflator for topping off tires and airing back up after a trail. It clamps onto the battery, and comes with a pressure gauge, an LED work light and a brass twist-on chuck.
Recovery & Safety
Traction Boards
X-Bull Gen 3.0 Recovery Traction BoardsTire Repair
ARB Speedy Seal Series II Tire Repair KitNote: Boards and a tire repair kit handle almost anything. Skip the winch early, it's the most regretted buy.
Satellite messenger that pairs to one phone over Bluetooth for two way texting and SOS on the Iridium network. Runs over 200 hours a charge, IP68 to 1.5 m for 30 minutes, MIL-STD 810G for shock. Needs a monthly plan. 5.3 oz.
Sleep & Shade
Aluminum aero crossbars that clamp to factory raised side rails, 50 inches wide and rated 165 lbs moving. Two bars, four locking towers, a tool and keys in the kit. They do not fit flush rails or a bare roof, and they are a bar set rather than a platform, so no rooftop tent.
Memory foam mat for sleeping in the back of an Outback, 26 by 72 inches and 5 inches thick, R value 15.1. It self inflates, no pump needed. One mat sleeps one, and a set of two fills the cargo area door to door. A storage bag, two buckle straps, a 12 V pump for deflating and a patch kit are in the box. Two year warranty.
A fabric panel that pulls out from a roof rack for shade beside the vehicle, 19 by 9.8 feet. It is polyester with a blackout coating, and it clamps to crossbars using the T-slot, U-bolt, and round bar brackets in the box. 25.9 lbs.
Power
Power Station
EcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power StationNote: No wiring and no install, you can pull it out or top it off at home. The catch is capacity, run a fridge hard for a few days and you'll be chasing sun or a plug.
Food & Water
Single burner stove that runs on an 8 oz butane canister or a 16.4 oz propane bottle, 8,000 BTU. Metal body with an enamel steel drip pan and non slip rubber legs, fuel not included. 13.5 by 11.2 by 4.4 inches. 3.3 lbs.
Single zone fridge freezer, 45 liters, that cools to 0 F, rated 55 W and 0.347 kWh a day in the maker's lab test, on a Secop compressor with three stage battery protection. Runs on 12/24 V DC or 110 to 240 V AC, with a 5 year compressor warranty and 1 year on the rest.
Drinking water for camp, 5 gallons in a tall, slim HDPE can. BPA free, with a flexible pour spout that stows inside the can when not in use.
Lighting
Lantern on folding legs that runs on its 2,600 mAh rechargeable pack or three AA cells when that is flat. 250 lumens, 24 hours on high and 150 on low on the pack, 18 and 120 on alkalines. Dimmable, rated IPX4, with a USB port to charge a phone. 12.1 oz.
Looking for camping accessories?
Owner-recommended gear that rounds out your setup.
Ready to build your Subaru Outback?
Get a personalized build plan with compatibility checks, install order, and budget planning.
Custom build plan