DIY CAR CAMPER CONVERSION | FULL BUILD! | Subaru Outback 2017 | micro van life |

Join me on my adventure of converting my Subaru Outback 2017 into a micro camper van!
Also, check out my 'Must-Haves' for Car-Camping Video: • My camping gear MUST-H...
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Hi everyone, I'm Nathalie! I have been obsessing with #vanlife ever since the pandemia started, and I FINALLY built my own (micro-version)! I always thought you'd need a sprinter van or a big van to fully live out camper dreams, but turns out my car was more than enough. I could not be happier with how this build turned out! I am OFFICIALLY a vanlife weekend warrior!
So, please join me start to finish on my 3-day build adventure (sorta 2.5 days...), as I learn to use a jigsaw and a power drill, and end up with something pretty fricken special! :)
If you have any questions, please ask in the comments! I'm happy to help!
Much love!

[@wanglee21]

This has got to be the cuties Outback bed build! lol Very entertaining watching someone with no prior knowledge figure things out. Glad you were able to compromise and think around things

[@NathalieWerebe]

Thank you so much :)) it was quite the fun adventure to make!

[@unrealenginedevplus]

Your water bottle color is so attractive. You are working so smoothly and perfectionately. Still watching your video.

[@SuburbanBBQ]

Way to tackle that job! Just because you haven't done something before doesn't mean you can't do it. A little research and a little practice go a long way. Like many things in life, It's only weird the first time. :) If you lived close to Houston, I would have gladly helped out. Awesome job. Keep it going!

[@NathalieWerebe]

Thank you so much!! It was such a fun project to figure out - can’t wait to the next!

[@kalaton]

Nice. I have just bought Outback and plan to do trip to my home forest. There is just usual forest way, not bad for Outback. Noone lives there. In Finland. I will do something in Subaru to enable sleep and cooking easy. Some battery system for easy charging. I can see forest where I used to go hunting or fishing 40 years ago. Good video and nice talk from You.

[@nickhayley]

Just finished building our platform for our 2013 Outback and wanted to see how other people tackled the idea. I built ours in two sections that run lengthways with what I call 'flippers" at the head for additonal length at the head for when the front seats are pushed all the way forward. The flippers are on hinges that flip forward or back depending on whether we are driving or parked. The small space under our feet at the rear we use to store a small folding table I built that rests on the tailgate of the car with a small eyehook that has two carabiners that clip onto the tailgate latch. It has a fold away hinged leg that keeps it upright when in use. Behind the driver is our 12v fridge and behind the passenger is the 12v deep cycle battery. We have 200w of solar that we just throw in the back along with 2 bins for food, cookware and camp bits (headlamps, carabiners etc etc), clothes etc. We also have two comfy chairs we bring along. They're sadly quite large, but it all fits. Two extra things we bring: a tarp/awning for the rear of the car for inclement weather to still sit outside and eat and a 3 person tent to put all the gear in when we are sleeping. Happy days!!!

[@NathalieWerebe]

Love it! That’s a great idea and build all around :) nice idea to bring a tent for the stuff. That’s a good trick. Happy camping !!!

[@carolbenson1353]

Sounds great, I’d like to see your finished project too. Is there any problem getting into where the spare tire is hidden?

[@ibelieveinyour]

I loved your stick-to-ism and proving girls rock too!

[@NathalieWerebe]

Yes we do!! 💪

[@ExploreThe50]

I really enjoyed your video. It was interesting watching you problem solve, which will be helpful when I do my build. I hope you enjoy your car camping adventures!

[@flourishinghearts9854]

Very inspiring. I was absolutely cheering you on! Way to persevere. Very nice build.

[@NathalieWerebe]

Thank you!!! 😍😍

[@TheHIVagina]

This build is a roller coaster of emotions! Felt so much stress and joy with you. Thanks for sharing :)

[@NathalieWerebe]

Thanks for watching!! Trying to make my part 2 as soon as it’s a little warmer out. I’ll feature all my gadgets :)

[@unrealenginedevplus]

You are so perfect in your work that I imagine if may be you will be my teacher. Although, I'm a headmaster in high school. The way you work so comfortable and energetic way. ❤❤❤❤❤

[@NathalieWerebe]

thank you so much!!

[@unrealenginedevplus]

@@NathalieWerebe welcome

[@MarcelGodfrey]

Great job well done 🇬🇧

[@rickeydenler2385]

A 20 dollar jig saw from walmart and gather up some paste board to make a pattern around the outer edge and tape pasteboard together until you get a perfect fit get the pasteboard out lay it on your ply wood cut it out

[@mikedurbinphotography5000]

Great work! I build something similar for my 2015 Chevy Equinox earlier this year and it worked well until the car motor died recently. I'm looking at replacing it with a 2018 Subaru Outback. Having heard the measurements in your video, I'm fairly confident now that my current platform will work in the new car. Thank you and happy camping!

[@NathalieWerebe]

Awesome to hear!!! :) and good to know if I ever get a Chevy equinox haha 😂

[@tmacfan16]

Awesome video! Im starting my 2017 outback bed tomorrow! Using this as reference

[@NathalieWerebe]

Love to hear it! I’ll hopefully put up all the stuff I use sooooon :) been such a busy summer! Good luck with the build!

[@jackforman6385]

well done, thank you

[@ReneaDooserider]

Very nicely done enjoyed your video thanks for sharing. 💜🦋💕

[@NathalieWerebe]

Thank you!!

[@tonyhe001]

非常喜欢，很有帮助。love it，very helpful！

[@brentshelburne449]

Great job! I’m going to do the same thing to my Outback! Thanks

[@NathalieWerebe]

Glad to hear it!! Hope it’s an easy experience :)!

[@janet1744]

Good luck.

[@DenaInWyo]

Currently working on my car camping set up in my Outback. I have a six inch memory foam mattress that is super comfy as is on the seats folded down and using storage bins to support the forward bit, and curious about the advantage of all that effort being put in for a bed frame considering the very limited head space to begin with. I guess I'm just confused at why that's needed? I can kind of see it if you end up with storage space underneath, but even with none of that, I already feel cramped for headspace.

[@NathalieWerebe]

Hey there. I used just a foam pad for a bit as well. I really liked how much organization and storage this gave me. The headspace wasn’t an issue for me personally. And I could still sit on the back of the car just fine. My bed could always be made and I can easily slide out anything I need. Guess it’s just a preference thing. And I wanted to prep myself for the day I get a mini van or something bigger. Always good to keep learning :) Happy campin!

[@madonnatangiau3307]

All good

[@helenellsworth9556]

A part C would be beneficial for storage that you can lift to get

[@NovusOnyx]

I’m inspired

[@51ejr]

Great Job! Glad you shared the carabiner trick to shut off the power drain. Any tricks to get the carabiner back out? I've struggled with that!

[@NathalieWerebe]

Yes! So what I do is manually bring the trunk back down and then either use your key button and it’ll release it or hit the outside button. Since the carabiner is telling the car it is shut, the inside button won’t work. Going to find a video I found and link it below that explains it fully

[@NathalieWerebe]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJO2YoijYpuEp5Y

[@51ejr]

@@NathalieWerebe Thank You so much! After viewing the video, I tried it and it worked so easily. I have struggled in the past pressing the wrong button and it would NOT release. Thanks again. Happy Camping!

[@jbaby007]

Thank you for providing your learning experience! Super helpful. I've taken notes haha. This is something that looks doable for myself and quite sturdy. Great work. How do you find that spray adhesive to be holding up with the carpet and does it leave behind a strong odor?

[@NathalieWerebe]

Sure thing! Thanks for watching! Spray adhesive worked really well if I was patient enough to hold down the carpet. A clamp would’ve been a good idea. It left behind an odor only for a minute or two. Just make sure you’re in an airy area!

[@carsta101]

great work! thanks for the tipps :-D and: is that a "Kinging-It" sticker on your bottle???

[@NathalieWerebe]

Yes it is!!!! Love them so much 😍

[@MeMe-cd1wy]

So did you figure out that your bed platform is too high, yet? You need to account for thickness of mattress pad. I made one close to the size of your platform and when I added the 4” pad, I had about 18” between the top of pad and ceiling. I had to cut down the legs for the platform in order to sleep comfortably

[@NathalieWerebe]

It was ok for me, but yeah too high for my partner

[@prasannaprasantbashyal2615]

when yuh coming to nepal....nepal is waiting yuh

[@mendozaconsultation]

Nice. I thought since you were building a sectional bed platform it was so you Can still utilize the 2nd row seats. Since that it's not the case, why didn't you just pull the seats out to have a lot of extra storage.

[@NathalieWerebe]

Hi there! Thanks for the comment. I did in fact build it as such so that I can utilize the second row seating and still fit the build in the trunk. I want to be able to fit 4-5 people in the car and still have the option to use the bed platform when we park at a camp site. Most recently, I had the bed folded in the trunk, and put my dogs bed on top of that and had them in the trunk space with the build (they still had lots of head room). And then I was able to put all my camping gear on the 2nd row seats. It worked out very well! Then when we parked, we reassembled the bed frame and had lots of storage underneath the platform. Thanks for watching! Let me know if you have more questions :)

[@mendozaconsultation]

K.

[@MariafromthePhilippineIslands]

I was searching your trips on the road after this build. I didn't found one. 😞😞

[@NathalieWerebe]

I know!! I need to make one :( ! I will :)

[@NathalieWerebe]

I finally uploaded another video! I’ll be sure to make more :)

[@rgi7524]

perfect idea!

[@loui828]

Did Home Depot cut them to size for you? How does that work? You give them the measurements and they cut them?

[@NathalieWerebe]

So they’ll do like one or two big cuts for you. But they can’t do small cuts. And they make pretty shitty cuts it in general. I suggest buying a saw yourself and learn how to use one. It was so easy to learn a a jigsaw. Circular saws are gonna be the cleanest cut but jigsaw is cheap and easy to figure out.

[@kyfisher3662]

Can you see the stars through the sun roof when laying down or is it to far forward?

[@NathalieWerebe]

I can! Not directly above my head but definitely can see it.

[@rickeydenler2385]

Tpi 10 teeth per inch the more teeth the smother the cut

[@NathalieWerebe]

thank you! great advice

[@ibrahimkar5269]

👍👏👏❤️🌹

[@NathalieWerebe]

:) thank you!

[@franciscodaschagasdesouzas6143]

Parabéns princesa linda vc e top