I could give you the spiel about my love of the vanlife concept鈥擨鈥檝e wanted to do it since before Instagram was a thing, I鈥檓 a听camping nerd, I think travel is good for a healthy economy鈥攂ut I鈥檒l get straight to the point: I don鈥檛 think people should build out a vehicle for a price tag that has more than two zeros before the decimal.听

Instead, like any twentysomething听with a low-to-average paycheck, I looked at what I already had鈥攁 2008 Subaru Forester鈥攁nd thought, 鈥業 bet I could make a cheap build in the back of that.鈥� So I called up Larry Dube, my dad and a software engineer with a knack for woodworking, and hatched a plan. Here鈥檚 what we came up with.听

The Requirements: I didn鈥檛 want to remove my back seats听(what if I had to drive my friends somewhere?), needed听enough room for my 40-pound dog and I to curl up and sleep, and had to have听plenty of storage. But most of all, I wanted to experiment with a design that听virtually anyone could do regardless of their skill level, all for less than $350, which seemed to be about as cheap as I could get听for our design.

The Caveats: I had access to the tools from my dad鈥檚 workshop, which he鈥檚 been filling for decades. Having him around for the project听was a huge asset, because he has a building brain.听(It鈥檚 a thing!) And because of him, I know my way around a workshop鈥攁 very听helpful starting point.听

For anyone lacking听access to tools, fear not: depending on your location, you can rent them at places like 听and听. If you prefer to听own stuff, you can rent-to-own the necessities听at 听or get discounted used tools at Home Depot, Craigslist, and听.听For the purposes of this article, I鈥檒l be pricing out tool rentals听from Home Depot.听

If you鈥檙e new to听woodworking, there are tons of resources available to get you rolling. Check out Instagram and YouTube for pointers and basic instruction. My dad and I turned to听听and got a lot of inspiration from its designs.

The Timeline: We completed听this build over the course of about eight days, working in the time after our nine-to-fives听and on the weekends for a rough total of 40 hours.

This design听is in no way prescriptive of what you should do for your own Forester,听other Subaru models, or any other vehicle that you already have. I鈥檓 splitting it up into听parts so you can decide where you want to stop or improvise. (Don鈥檛 want a cabinet but do want drawers somewhere? Raise your sleeping听platform a few inches and utilize that space. Just interested in听a bare-bones platform? Ignore the add-ons.) There are countless creative builds out there to draw inspiration听from.听

Pro Tips and Things to Consider

• Having a plan听before听you听start, right down to the hardware and specs, will make the build-out that much easier. My dad and I went back to the drawing board multiple times, even with initial specifics nailed down.听
• We used the mud mat that came with the car to speed up the build process听by tracing its outline on our plywood. That听made it super easy to cut out the funky design we needed for the back half of the sleeping platform.听
• Measure everything,听then measure it again. While you鈥檙e doing so, be听sure to account for the width of your plywood鈥攈alf-inch or three-quarter-inch plywood adds听up听fast.听
• Cut your lines as straight as possible. Even a slight curve in the wood can make things like hinges or drawers impossible to close or lay flat. Sanding down anything curvy can help in a pinch鈥攂ut it鈥檚 also a pain in the ass.
• Make sure your car is on level ground while you鈥檙e working on it. This becomes important when you鈥檙e trying to get that听platform just right. (You鈥檒l thank me when you鈥檙e not sleeping at an angle.)
• This should go without saying, but remove all of the car tools underneath your Subaru鈥檚 floor storage. I鈥檓 pretty sure that my car鈥檚 jack is now permanently built in to my Forester.听
• We found that, in our area, Home Depot was generally cheaper than Lowe鈥檚. (No, this isn鈥檛 an ad for Home Depot or Subaru.)

Step One: Empty Out Your Car and Put in Your Base

Materials:听

• One full sheet of half-inch sanded plywood
• Jigsaw

Even without removing its听seats, Subaru Foresters (and its听sisters, the Outback, Legacy, and Crosstrek) have听a ton of secret storage; aside from the spare tire well, there are pockets on either side in the way back, tool-storage areas under panels behind the听back seats, and lots of space where passengers would normally rest their legs.听The well where your spare tire lives is perfect for a small battery or nonessential gear. For our build, we cleaned out the back, attached the spare to the roof with bungee cords, laid听the seats down, removed all of the additional car tools hiding beneath storage flaps鈥攅xcept for that aforementioned jack, oops!鈥攁nd measured everything out.听

For our design, the sleeping platform had听three sections: the base, the top, and a听removable flap that would go over the folded-down back seats. Lay your base first鈥攚e used half-inch sanded plywood, cut to fit with a jigsaw. This will serve as a sort of anchor. Some builds screw this platform into the frame of the car. We didn鈥檛, and in our testing, it has听proven听completely sturdy. If you鈥檙e听using that spare well as extra storage, don鈥檛 forget to cut a hole in the base that will allow you to access it.

Pro Tip:听If you have no mud mat, lay down parchment paper or cardboard where the mud mat would have been, and trace its permeter. For beginners, this is an easier way to get a really tight fit, rather than measuring all of those odd听angles. You鈥檒l want to use this strategy again, in step two,听to trace the top of the platform.听

Step Two: Raise Your Sleeping Platform

Materials:听

• One full sheet of听three-quarter-inch sanded plywood
• One eight-foot-long two-by-four
• One eight-foot-long two-by-six听
• Two chest latches听
• Three 36-inch piano hinges听
• Package of one-and-five-eighths wood screws
• One 12-inch piano hinge (optional)
• Jigsaw
• Circular saw听
• Electric drill

Repeating the same process described in step one, retrace that mud mat on a sheet of three-quarter-inch plywood鈥攖his will result in the top of the platform. Don鈥檛 forget to cut a panel听so you can reach your lower storage听from听this top section as well (we let our panel rest on pieces of wood and just lifted it out, but you can add a hinge here based on your preference鈥攕ee photos above).听To support听the听platform, we used a two-by-six听sectioned into three parts and shaved down as needed with a table saw (a jigsaw and some good sanding can also do the trick here)听to make sure the entire platform would be level. Perpendicular to those two-by-sixes, we inserted听a two-by-four at the base of my car鈥檚听back seats to hold up the front end听of the top platform. This听two-by-four is key: you鈥檙e going to want to cut the top panel so it rests at just about the halfway point of it, because the removable panel that will go over your seats needs to rest here, too.听

We also used the three-quarter-inch plywood to create the removable panel that would go over the seats. We got slightly overexcited about the design here without thinking about how clunky it might be to take out, so definitely riff on our idea. The platform we came up with consists听of four parts: two rectangles in the middle and two flaps on either side to accommodate for the space near the doors. We attached these parts听together with piano hinges, so the听entire piece folds up like an accordion for removal and storage听(see the听above photos). When flat, the panel听lays on the lip of that aforementioned two-by-four, and once it was all听fastened in, we attached the two halves of the sleeping platform together with a couple of chest latches.听

Once everything is听said and done, you鈥檒l find听that the听two-by-fours beneath your platform create some pretty nice storage in the corners of your car. This wasn鈥檛 in the plan, but I also cut a section out of my sleeping platform, popped a piano hinge on it, and created another accessible storage area. In addition, we听popped in a simple pull-out table on one side; it鈥檚听made from听scraps of听plywood, with听two-by-sixes for the legs, and is attached by . Modify at will!

Pro Tip: A circular saw will help you cut straighter lines than a jigsaw. Use it anywhere where hinges are involved.听

OK, before we move on to step three, which is totally optional, take a look at your car鈥攜ou now have pretty much everything you need to car camp! From here, you can decide to make the sleeping platform a few inches higher and put in some drawers, or you can take out your back seats entirely and add听a ton of extra storage. We opted to insert听cabinets because we liked staying up until 2 A.M. working on modifications. But most people are normal.听

Step Three: Incorporate Cabinets and Drawers

Materials:

• One full sheet of听quarter-inch plywood underlayment
• A second full sheet of听half-inch sanded plywood
• Wood glue
• Package of one-inch wood screws
• One 24-inch drawer slide set
• One 12-inch drawer slide set
• Six cabinet hinges
• One folding hinge
• Three L brackets
• Circular saw

The talk of the town in the LaPlante-Dube听household during the build process听was this cabinet unit, which is sweet but relatively complicated for beginners. It was really helpful to have my dad around to make this design a reality. (This is the guy who听used to saw apart his sisters鈥� bikes to听create a 鈥淗arley鈥� of their combined pieces.)

We built the cabinet unit outside of the car, measuring for height as well as the thickness of the boards we would be using, and fastening听it onto the back half of the platform with L brackets. Disclaimer: we put it on the passenger side of the car, but I鈥檇 recommend putting it on the driver鈥檚 side鈥攖hat makes it easier to see what鈥檚 going on in the passenger听blind spot. Second disclaimer:听with the addition of this cabinet, your sleeping platform is only good for only听one person and a dog.听

The cabinet unit is made of three parts: a听drawer as the base and,听on top of it, one cabinet in the front and one in the back. To accommodate the seats coming up,听the front cabinet is hinged to fold into the sleeping area (my dad added a little table platform on the back of this cabinet as a fun extra; check out the photos above). We fashioned it so the front cabinet could also pull out like a drawer鈥攐ne modification possibility听for people who are interested.听

Pro Tip: Since this is an optional part of the build, I won鈥檛 get too deep into the details here. But building drawers for the first time can be听tricky; they require drawer boxes and tight frames, super straight lines, and patience with extremely small screws, all of which tested me. There are a 听on YouTube that can help you go over the simple mechanics of it.听

The Build in Real Life

The scariest part about this process听isn鈥檛 the sharp tools or the tiny screws or the moths flying around your late-night construction听scene鈥攊t鈥檚 making sure it all actually works.听Since I built out my car in July, I鈥檝e taken it on a handful of off-road trips here in New Mexico, and I鈥檓 happy to report that even on the bumpiest of roads, the cabinet faces stay shut, the unit hasn鈥檛 shifted, and once I鈥檓听parked, it鈥檚 provided听plenty of room for my five-foot-two-inch frame and dog.听Still, there are some things I would change: as previously mentioned, I would shift the cabinet unit to the other side of the vehicle, and I would definitely paint the entire build听in polyurethane up front: plywood stains easily and absorbs water, and having even a little protection from a muddy dog or spilled听camping beer would be better than nothing.听

Tool and Hardware Index

Wood:听

• Two full sheets of ($74听total)
• One full sheet of听 ($41)
• One full sheet of underlayment ($16)
• One听听($4)
• One ($8)

Wood Total: $143

Hardware:听

• Two packs of wood screws
  • ($2.50 for 40)
  • ($9.21 for 75)听
• ($4)
• Two ($8 total)
• Three ($12 each)听
• Two ($7 each)
• Three ($3.19 each)
• Six ($1 each)
• Three ($2.75 each)
• One ($30 for two pairs)
• One ($13.49)

Hardware Total: $141.02

Tools:听

• Jigsaw (rental: )
• Electric drill (rental: )听
• Circular saw (rental:听)
• ($4 and up)
• ($4.29)

Tool Total: $69.29

Grand Total: $353.31

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Janji Transit Tech ($38)

With its roomy unstructured crown, DWR finish, and poly-spandex bill, the Transit Tech is great on long runs. The built-in elastic sweatband makes for a snug fit without squeezing. Plus, the company donates 2 percent of proceeds to clean-water initiatives.

Headsweats Life Is Better with a Dog ($26)

This classic trucker design has mesh in the back for ventilation, a heavy-duty bill for sturdy protection from the elements, and a snap-back clasp for quick adjustment. Dog people will love it for the logo.

The North Face Logo Futurelight ($40)

The Futurelight breathes like mesh, feels soft to the touch, and is the only fully waterproof cap on these pages. The stretchy polyester fabric and classic shape fits in at the coffee shop and on the trail.

Buff Trek ($26)

This ball cap looks strictly casual, with its sporty silhouette, hard bill, and metal back closure. But with breathable polyester and ventilation holes above the temples, it鈥檚 ready for the sweatiest hikes. The elastic band sucks up moisture.

Nathan RunCool Ice Run ($25)

This clever lid has a soft, flat brim, built-in -sweatband, and stretchy pull-to-tighten clasp in back. But the clincher is the pockets on either side for stashing ice on unbearably hot days. It feels (and looks) even cooler than we expected.

Patagonia Airshed ($39)

The bill on this bad boy is made entirely of old fishing nets from ocean-plastics recycling company Bureo鈥攁n industry first. Add in the breathable honeycomb-mesh crown and quick-drying recycled-polyester fabric, and you鈥檝e got 2.1 feathery ounces of perfection.

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Halloween is almost here, and you鈥檙e feeling uninspired.听You鈥檝e been a cat, a witch, a devil, whatever your girlfriend wanted you to be in her couples-costume scheme.听But this year鈥攖his year will be different. At least, it was going to be different. Except now it鈥檚 the week before Halloween, and you鈥檝e still got nothing.听

Lucky for you, we came up with some wacky outdoor-themed getups that possibly听only readers of this magazine will understand. It鈥檚 the list you didn鈥檛 ask for听but the list you all deserve. (Just be ready for questions from the non-outdoorsy folks in your life.)

Holly, the Fattest Fat Bear

Our queen, our inspiration, our body-positive icon. Halloween-goers who want to dress up as the reigning champ of Katmai听National Park, the main hub for bears during Alaska鈥檚 legendary Fat Bear Week, can do so in two ways: take off all your clothes and hunt for salmon in the nearest river or, like, grab bear ears from Party City.

Do It Yourself

• Buy some听.听
• Grab a听.听
• Pop on a crown.
• Gather a听 (or five) to stuff under your sweatshirt.
• Be willing to explain Fat Bear Week to the layperson.
• Bonus points: carry lox around all night.

Blair Braverman and Her Sled Dogs

国产吃瓜黑料 readers will know Braverman as our resident Iditarod expert and Tough Love columnist.听But real fans recognize her as听 and the goddess of all things good and dog.听

Do It Yourself

• Wear and have a positive attitude.
• Gather as many dogs as you can听and also a winter sled (those in regions without听snow听can sub in a wagon or a skateboard), and听have them pull you around to the best of their abilities.
• Only have one dog? Rename it听 or 听for the听night.
• No dogs at all? Just give out love advice and insert quips about the Iditarod.

Literally Just Vaporflys

In borderline-ridiculous news, both the men鈥檚 and the women鈥檚 marathon world-record times were absolutely听destroyed in mid-October鈥擡liud Kipchoge set the fastest (unofficial) marathon record known to man (1:59:40), and Brigid Kosgei beat the women鈥檚 record by over a minute (Kosgei鈥檚听time: 2:14:04). But the real star of the show was on their feet: Nike鈥檚 Vaporfly, which we encourage you to make听into a costume. They鈥檙e thick. They鈥檙e mysterious. Athletes who can鈥檛 run a consistent four-and-a-half-minute听pace for 26.2 miles听say they鈥檙e unfair. We say: if you can鈥檛 beat 鈥檈m, be 鈥檈m.听

Do It Yourself

• Don听head-to-toe . Draw a Nike swoosh听on yourself.
• Sprint away at random points throughout the night.
• Be $250.

Alex Honnold at the Oscars

Honnold at the Oscars was the good in this evil world. He wore a custom tux from the North Face. His hair was mussed. His hands were his听hands. He had his trusty green spatula. We love Alex. We loved him first. Now he鈥檚 famous. We鈥檙e happy for him. We are.

Do It Yourself

• Get a (or from Walmart).
• Secure your Oscar. A childhood soccer participation trophy will do.听
• Buy Honnold鈥檚 spatula. ()
• .
• Don鈥檛 even think about bringing ropes.

#Vanlife Influencer

鈥淚 just really want to inspire people through my Instagram, you know? It鈥檚 just, like, so much better to live off the grid. You鈥檙e literally living in nature. Last night we did yoga on the top of our van at sunrise in Joshua Tree鈥攜ou know Joshua Tree, right?鈥攁nd I was just like, 鈥榃ow, if everyone would just detach themselves from the corporate rat race, I鈥檓 pretty sure there would be no more war.鈥櫶齋orry, what was the question?鈥�

Do It Yourself

• Grab a听. (Carry it everywhere.)
• Women: flaunt your long hair or don听a wig.
• Men: if you have long facial hair, great; if not, offset this with a man bun (not optional).听
• Both: wear a .
• Slip on a pair of听. (Add socks if it feels like听winter.)
• Make your own Instagram filters,听using听 and a , because analog is cool.
• Stand on top of every car you see, and ask someone to take a picture of you looking off into the distance.听

Obscure Mount Everest Record Holder

You鈥檙e the first woman from Boston or first dentist or first left-handed Australian to climb the world鈥檚 tallest peak!听You hold a record so obscure that no one else even has the desire to break it. You are an individual.听

Do It Yourself

• Be you鈥攂ut with all of your winter gear on.
• Cultivate a听glacier-glasses sunburn.
• Make a summit sign declaring your obscure record.

Lazy Parasite

As you may know, our most controversial 2019 moment听here at 国产吃瓜黑料 was when we published the opinion piece听鈥�Trail Runners Are Lazy Parasites.鈥� But maybe we鈥檙e at the point where we can laugh about it? Don鈥檛 hurt me.听

Do It Yourself

• Dress like an 国产吃瓜黑料 employee volunteering for local trail-maintenance groups to make up for our writer鈥檚 sins,听because this one鈥檚 our bad, and trail runners are actually great.

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For many, falling on a powder day is par for the course. But听falling ? Less so. For one skier at Australia鈥檚听 Resort, that unexpected scenario became reality on Monday.听

According to a statement released by Thredbo, a 鈥渇reak gust of wind鈥� along the Gunbarrel Chairlift dislodged one chair, skier and all, and sent both plummeting 30 feet听to the ground below. The unidentified skier fell into powder and听sustained minor bruising. His chair, the only one affected by the wind, landed a few feet away.听

The resort reported the incident鈥攚hich mirrors in which an (empty) chair was also blown off the Gunbarrel Chairlift at Thredbo鈥攖o , a workplace safety agency in New South Wales. According to a SafeWork spokesperson, the lift was shut down to determine whether it or the wind, which topped out at almost 70 miles per hour on Monday, was to blame.听

鈥淭he chairlift has been inspected by SafeWork inspectors, supported by their engineer and an independent engineer,鈥� the spokesperson said. 鈥淐ontrol has been returned to听Thredbo. SafeWork will continue to work on improvements with site operators and third-party engineers.鈥�

According to SafeWork, the investigation is still ongoing. As for the lift, it was cleared to run again on Wednesday.

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