Looking to buy/modify Subie for all terrain adventure.

[Bushy]

Hi all,

I'm a long time subie driver looking to buy a new (used) Subaru for travel. 
All signs so far point to 2003-2004 Outback, potentially H6 with a manual transmission. Also looking into a lift of 1-2 inches for extra clearance, all terrain tires, and potential skid plates.
I'm looking for a Subaru that can:
-Navigate roads and logging roads in the rockies (Revelstoke, BC)
-Haul surfing gear, fishing gear, camping gear, and potentially a Canoe/ Kayak through the Mexican Baja and the Pacific Northwest.
-Ability to sleep in the back
-Drive through beach sand, snow, some manageable mud, and rocky roads.

Looking for any and all info, forester vs outback vs truck comparisons, preferred years, models, and modifications, stories and experience, and whatever other off-road travel information you may have.
Cheers and explore more,
Ben

Driven:
2001 Subaru Legacy GT
2002 Subaru Outback
1999 Subaru Legacy Wagon
2005 Subaru Legacy Wagon (current)

[Uberoo]

Any subaru can do what is on your list.What is so special about the 03-04 outback?

[Mechanical_misfit]

I dont think the H6 was available with a manual trans.

[ferox]

I saw a few MT/H6's when I was in the market, but I don't know how common they are...  I believe they were all LL Beans since the VDC system probably doesn't play very well with a manual.  Many if not most of the MT/H6's had rear LSDs too, so that's a plus for the OPs intended purpose.

[AdventureSubaru]

H6 is fantastic for power and acceleration. Much smoother going up hills without having to downshift. Trade off is that gas mileage is lower - my wife gets about 23mpg in hers and maintenance is more difficult in some places and parts are not as plentiful for them.

 

The 2000-2004 generation has about the lowest ground clearance of any stock outback. However, a couple inches of lift would quickly solve that. Stock struts will clear up to a 28 inch tire and tires as big as 30 have been installed if 1 inch wheel spacers are put on.

 

When I think off road and road trip type vehicles I want cheap and reliable. A great way to get into something like that is to find a 96-99 outback with headgasket issues and swap an EJ22 into it. (Far more reliable motor - needs no modification) By investing some sweat equity you'll save $$$ and end up with something more reliable than a good running original outback with that DOHC motor.

 

The EJ25 SOHC put in the 2000-2004 outbacks is far better than the earlier DOHC motor but still not as reliable as an EJ22.

 

Foresters will give you equal off road capability but they are shorter and have less cargo space than an outback. The amount of gear you can carry and your comfort level if you sleep in the car would be less in the forester.

 

Another thought is that you can swap the suspension of an outback into the legacy base models to achieve the same height as an outback. This is great for the 1990-1998 models since they came with the more reliable motor. In 2000-2004 they shared the same motor as the outbacks but are often found at lower prices.

 

Trucks/SUVs will likely come stock with higher ground clearance and a true 4WD option but you will often sacrifice reliability of a subaru for one and certainly be paying higher fuel costs to drive one. The truck/SUV I consider to be an equal in dependability to the subaru is the Toyota Pickup/4Runner with the 22R or 22RE motor. Those old trucks are near impossible to kill. I used to have an old 87 pickup that took me everywhere and did everything I wanted it to. The downside is that you get V8 gas mileage out of a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder motor. I still got 30 mpg highway on my lifted Impreza. I'd expect just a tad less for a lifted outback in good shape since it's a bigger, heavier car.

[Sapper 157]

Ive actually taken my stock EA81 1984 wagon mudding before.   These things are so light they skip right over the mud. I have also done rutted logging roads (that was a little sketchy with stock clearance.) and slept in the back. Although I had to sleep diagonally to stretch out all the way, I was still comfy and slept the best out of anyone on the camping trip.