05 Wagon, hand measurements
A: 39" wide lower gate opening
B: 43" wide mid-gate opening
C: 48" wide top of wheel wells
D: 42.25" wide between wheel wells
E: 33.50 " height opening at gate
F: 29-31" interior height depending on where you measure
G: 43" length with seat folded up
H: 73" length with seat folded flat

2005 Outback- Subaru Outback Research site (scroll to the middle of the page)

 

SilverOnyx, thank you. Is measurement H with the passenger seat all the way back?

 

Hi I sold my 2005 some time ago and the measurements are from the website I linked to above.

If you're 72" long then I think the top of your head may brush the back of the passenger seat unless you scrunch it forward, and your feet would be flat against the tailgate - so you'll barely fit unless you sleep with your knees bent.

Have you considered the Subaru Tribeca?

 

Subaru B9 Tribeca Research Site: price, colors, options and more

First year 2006 Subaru tribeca specifications and details, photos, links and more.

www.cars101.com

A 40" wide at bottom of gate, 44" at center
B 16.5"
C 44" to top of 3rd row headrests.
D 67-78" the middle row slides app 8" so it's a range
E 32" floor to roof
F 21.5"
G 43"
H 18.5"
I 13"
J 18.5"
K 56"

 

It sounds like it might work, but it will be close. It's an overland vehicle not the Four Seasons after all. Guess I need to climb into a 3rd Gen somewhere and find out for sure. Thanks again for the good info.

 

If you're going to be going it alone you could remove the front passenger seat and turn it into a three passenger vehicle.

 

I'll be removing and storing the rear seats to create space and flatten the sleeping area, but keeping it a two seater. I do a lot of solo exploring, but sometimes have company. It's also nice to be able to dark tint the rear windows and separate the rear section with a black curtain... good for stealth camping.

 

...separate the rear section with a black curtain... good for stealth camping.

Or something else...💑

 

You can move the front seat all the way forward, pull the headrest, then recline it almost flat. That's how I haul 8 ft lumber inside.

 

If I were a Toyota man trying to halfway live in a car and drive offroad... I'd open my search up for a decent 4-Runner.

 

I was thinking along the same lines. If I were looking to live in my vehicle and go deep into the woods, an OB would not be my first choice of vehicle.

 

Yes, I had read that about the Gen 3. But the folded flat rear seats occupy a lot of volume that can be used for storing gear and supplies, freeing up valuable space elsewhere in the cargo area. I don't want to use a roof carrier. I'm a minimalist. I also don't want to give up the mpg with the extra weight and drag on the roof. Probably will install an awning though, with a modified housing to reduce aerodynamic drag (rounded conical front and rear end).

 

Not looking to live in the vehicle, it's for multi-day road trips with dispersed camping and light overland trips. Softroading, not offroading. The Outback seems like a good match for that, more comfortable for extended on road driving, and much better fuel economy than 4Runner. I appreciate all the responses.

 

As for comfort and fuel mileage...

Subaru sacrifices a LOT of fuel mileage for the 'PZEV' rating. (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) To do this, they alter the tuning parameters of the engine, which kills fuel mileage... but much of their customer base is fine with the sacrifice, even though they are using more natural resources to achieve it. Personally, I think it's ridiculous. You burn more carbon based fuel, you put more carbon in the air. You just trim the 'other' emissions (which aren't that high to start with) in order to be able to display the sticker. lol

The 3rd Gen. Subaru Outback is rated at 18/24 mpg. The equivalent 4Runner is rated at 18/22. There is not a drastic fuel mileage difference. They are almost the same. These cars are NOT all that fuel efficient, and downright horrible compared to a similar sized Honda/Toyota car. My wife's 2007 Accord can get 34 mpg on highway trips. Subaru won't come close.

The 4Runner is not going to be less comfortable than the Subaru, but might have a more 'truck like' ride. That pays dividends when you actually go off road, as it's a MUCH more durable chassis... and has Toyota reliability.

Good Luck

 

The measurements below are close but not precise because the rear seat back does NOT fold completely flat so the steel measuring tape went from the bottom of the tailgate over the lump on the back of the rear seat but mostly straight to the center section of the seat back just above the netting. I can't get truly precise measurements without removing the rear seats completely. The picture is with the passenger seat all the way back. The rear seats can be folded down without the front seats being moved forward but the headrest on the rear seat passenger side may need to be lowered from its ideal height.

1. With the front passenger seat all the way back and in moderately upright position, the measurement to the tailgate is 71" +/-.
2. With the front passenger seat all the way forward and in moderately upright position, the measurement to the tailgate is 81" +/-.
3. The measurement to the back of the console is approximately 73" (by eyeball).
4. With the driver's seat all the way back and in moderately upright position, the measurement to the tailgate was 74 1/2" +/-.

It seems to me that you should consider sleeping on the passenger side of the car and removing the rear seats completely to provide a lot more space and flexibility. It's not that big a job.

I agree with your comment on the absurdity of "PZEV". Also, my gas mileage is with a 4-speed AT, not an MT and I probably should have said hilly rather than mountainous, as even small elevation changes substantially affect mpg.

 

The measurements below are close [...]
1. With the front passenger seat all the way back [...] to the tailgate is 71" +/-.
2. With the front passenger seat all the way forward [...] to the tailgate is 81" +/-.
3. The measurement to the back of the console is approximately 73" (by eyeball).
4. With the driver's seat all the way back [...] to the tailgate was 74 1/2" +/-.

Thank you lxrotb, I really appreciate your going to the trouble to get these measurements, they are exactly what I was looking for . I think I can make this work with a Gen 3.

One question for clarification though: I would have expected the measurement behind each of the front seats to the tailgate to be the same, but the driver's side seems to have 3 1/2" more room. Does the driver's seat not move back as far as the front passenger seat on Outbacks, or am I missing something?

It seems to me that you should consider sleeping on the passenger side of the car and removing the rear seats completely to provide a lot more space and flexibility. It's not that big a job.

I agree, unless there really is more space behind the driver's seat? (see above). The 71" will let me leave the bed set up all the time (key to making this work as a drive until tired then just crawl in the back and sleep camper). I need 73-74" for sleep, and can get the additional 2-3" by tilting the front seat forward a little or moving it forward a notch or two when I park for the night, no problem there. Pillows and memory foam are compressible and the front seat back can push into them during the day. It's so much better than having to move stuff around and set up the sleeping area every night... been there, done that.

 

I did check to make sure the drivers seat was all the way back. However, I have sometimes "felt" that the seat goes back more so it's possible that my seat is in some way intermittently jammed. I have checked the tracks in the past and not found anything but I have wondered how taller drivers could be comfortable. So your suspicion is probably correct, that the backs of both front seats should be equidistant to the tailgate.

 

OK, so I'll go with the 71" measurement from the front passenger seat.

BTW, I had a similar problem with my Toyota microcamper conversion a couple of years ago... it turned out that a coin had long ago fallen into and jammed the driver seat rail so it wouldn't go all the way back... it also caused enough damage to the seat rail roller that the rail itself eventually fractured and broke in half, and the driver's seat collapsed to the floor... I had to find a good used one and install it to make the car driveable... it might be a good idea to check that rail.

Thank you again lxrotb, and everyone else who responded to this thread. I am now in the market for a nice 2005-2007 Gen 3 OB 2.5i NA 5MT, preferably in white with the warm ivory interior. I was originally looking for something newer (timing chain, head gaskets) but I have settled on the Gen 3 because of the better handling vs the Gen 4, and with the money I save buying an older OB I can freshen up or rebuild the engine and replace anything else that needs it.

 

I'll keep reading this thread as I might be interested in a simillar project.

------‐-----------------------------

I have a 2008 Outback, base model 5MT, bought new at Saint-J in Vermont.
Stupid me I selected the PZEV... But never flashed the sofware (recalls) afterward. So it's not so bad for gas consumption.

Eric

 

Hi Eric. That's interesting that the software reflashes on yours would make the fuel economy worse... crazy world where in the interest of lowering emissions they make you burn more gas to get from A to B, thereby possibly increasing overall emissions from A to B because more fuel used means more exhaust emitted. Not surprising that PZEV started as a California thing, this state is run by lunatics. What is "Partial Zero" anyway? I have an engineering degree, and in the many math classes I had to take part of zero was always still zero. Is it like partially pregnant?

I drove a used 2007 OB 2.5i 5MT a couple of days ago, nice car, but it was 1000 miles short of its first timing belt replacement interval and it hadn't been done, neither had the head gaskets. Nice car, but the seller (a used car broker posing as a private seller on Craigslist) was asking too much for it and didn't seem to understand that whoever buys it would be stuck with the TB job cost right away.

I'll keep this thread updated if anything develops. Right now I'm leaning toward an OB with the EZ30 or EZ30D H6 engine, mostly to get away from the head gasket issue and because I strongly prefer timing chains to timing belts. Gen 2 or Gen 3. The loss of fuel economy doesn't seem to be all that significant if it's driven without a lead foot. I can buy a complete JDM EZ30 for $850 or JDM EZ30D for $1100 with 40-60k miles ready to drop in if it needs one, that engine should easily go to 200k if taken care of. Not sure if I can come to terms with giving up the MT to get the EZ30 H6 though. Opinions on that welcomed.

 

The dealer is just looking for someone who isn't aware of the Subaru head gasket issue, or the fact they need timing belts replaced.

As for the timing belt... It's not that big of a deal to replace. If you're intelligent enough to have an engineering degree, you should be able to figure it out with an online tutorial or two. I remove the radiator for more room. Do this, change the coolant and add a $6 bottle of Subaru's coolant additive, and call it 'good'. That's what Subaru did. If the head gaskets are already leaking really bad, you may need to budget the time for those, but if they're fairly clean I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Good Luck

 

I have a Gen 3 OBXT and sleep in it regularly. I'll often camp for a night or two at a trailhead before a backpacking trip. I've also done several softroading trips that sound similar to OP's use case. I think it's a great car for this. I sleep on the passenger side with the passenger seat moved and tilted all the way forward. I then place a storage container in the rear passenger foot well and put some blankets/towels on top of it to level it out. It extends the usable sleeping length by probably close to a foot. Same idea works on the driver side too, and I've slept with my son in the back multiple times as well on quick car camping trips. It's ok for that but gets pretty tight with 2 people. I used a 78" inflatable mattress and still had a little clearance. I'll take some measurements later today.

As far as swapping in an EZ30 and keeping the manual transmission, it can be done but it's pretty involved. I've read about a few swaps and have yet to see one that actually worked with all OEM components. I'm sure it's possible, you'll just need a lot of stuff from a JDM donor. Some 818 folks run EZ30D's and 6MT's from JDM Legacy 3.0R Spec.B's, with aftermarket ECU's for example.

Devil's advocate: auto trans is arguably better off-road, depending on conditions...but just not as FUN, of course!

 

Devil's advocate: auto trans is arguably better off-road, depending on conditions.

I'm curious why this would be the case?

 

Enough room to sleep much more then previous gen as now front seats folds together with rear becomes even better for trunk bed. For me very comfy sleep for 2 people. Just put some foam matress

 

On a 2nd-gen Outback, I think swapping 4EAT to MT is much easier than on the 3rd-gen. The EZ30 uses the same bottom-end between 2nd and 3rd, but 3rd-gen engine management gets more technical: AVCS on intake, throttle-by-wire, and some more advanced security. Switching transmisisons on the 3rd-gen might involve fooling the computers, or switching to a JDM ECU.
OTOH, the 3rd-gen's EZ30"R" is programmed to deal with running on regular octane, though it is said you'll lose some performance and some knock reduction headroom.

 

On a 2nd-gen Outback, I think swapping 4EAT to MT is much easier than on the 3rd-gen. [...]

"Maybe the 4EAT can be replaced by a 5EAT without too much difficulty? I haven't researched this yet. If it's feasible I would probably do that if the 4EAT died."

 

Haven't heard of that done anywhere, but I haven't read all the forums🙃

]> Sorry, I apparently read what you had said to myself, said to myself I hadn't seen it before, thought to myself "but a manual might be easier", and replied with my own musings.

A lot of the powertrain questions on this generation may be addressed over at legacygt.com; they grew big on support for the BL/BP (3rd-gen Outback, 4th-gen Legacy), especially turbocharged ones, and a scattering of others.
One piece of info I can say for certain is it no factory models of the BE/BH bodies were delivered with the 5EAT, in the US or elsewhere. So there might be some fabrication necessary for just the physical fit.

 

My opinion is that you are WAY overthinking this... You were happy with a 400k mile ride that you had to work on... on a regular basis. Just buy something that you can fit in, and drive the thing. You're spending FAR more time perplexing yourself than is healthy. lol. Even considering swapping a 4EAT for a 5EAT or a stick is insane for what you're wanting to do with the car. Find a nice ride that hasn't been beat to death... then go out and enjoy life!

 

My opinion is that you are WAY overthinking this... You were happy with a 400k mile ride that you had to work on... [...] Just buy something that you can fit in, and drive the thing. You're spending FAR more time perplexing yourself [...].

Excellent points. Agree 100%.

Find a nice ride that hasn't been beat to death... then go out and enjoy life!

Working on it... the right one will show up any day now... homework done, and I'm ready to buy