Early Saturday afternoon, the guys and myself made the trek down to Lake Okeechobee to meet up with a dude named Joel, the owner of this off-road prepped, 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium. This wasn’t going to be a normal feature, so I had to bring something a little more off-road capable. So why not my dad’s Honda Element SC? Not knowing what to expect, I was pretty pumped to drive the Element on some gravel roads and see how well it would do as an “off-road” camera vehicle. A few hours later, we made it to one of the parks on the edge of Lake Okeechobee as a meet up spot with Joel. If you don’t know, Lake Okeechobee is Florida’s largest freshwater lake which is why it’s also known as Florida’s Inland Sea. When looking off into the distance it looks just like about anywhere on the coast of Florida – but a little more swamp-like. I take that back, this whole area is the swamp. We talk around Joel’s lifted Outback for a little while as we ask questions about what he’s done with the car and why. Ethan gives him one of the walkie-talkies to use so communication is easier. Joel seemed pretty confident my Honda Element would make it through the terrain with no problems but if worse comes to worse, we can turn around and ride with him, in the much more capable vehicle here in this situation. The drive from the park consisted of us making our way around the massive ocean-like lake. It was hot, muggy, and a weird area to be completely honest.

We got to the beginning of the trail and CJ got all situated in the back of the Element, ready for some off-road rollers. I really enjoy driving off-road so I was having a blast. We stopped a few times for some still shots with the wild Florida background and to chat about some of the key parts that make this crazy Outback into what he has envisioned it to be. Joel explained he has an Anderson Design Fabrication 2” lift with Front King and RalliTek overload springs to get the ground clearance he needs on more advanced and technical trails. Usually you see the popular Method Race wheels on most off-road Subarus these days but he went with an OEM+ route – 2016 WRX wheels with 245/65/17 Falken Wildpeak A/T tires which give it another 1” lift as well.

The whole underbody is equipped with Primitive Racing triple armor plating which covers the front, mid, and rear differential to protect the underbody from rocks or anything he may come across on his overland adventures. As we started getting further into the trail, Joel radioed us informing of an optional water crossing. As expected, he showed off his trail-baru going through a pretty deep spot of water. He made it look effortless with it being the 2.5 flat-4 with the other variant being the more powerful 3.6L H6.

My personal favorite modification Joel has done would have to be his rack set up. Mounted to the factory Thule crossbars, he has a Yakima MegaWarrior Basket with a spare tire mount, custom fabricated attachments for his ARB 2000 Awning that not only has the awning itself, but Joel upgraded to the Deluxe Room which turns an awning into a little living space. Unfortunately it was too windy for Joel to pull it out so we could get a picture but man, are they ever cool.

8.5 miles in, we ended up making our way to a small lake with nothing but algae and lily pads on top. Apparently it’s an extremely popular alligator breeding ground and all you could hear were alligators grunting and thunder in the distance. Not to mention see a bunch of alligators cruising around in the water.

A typical afternoon thunderstorm was closing in on us and we were, as I said, 8.5 miles in on the trail. We decided it would be a good idea to start heading back to the main road since we had a front-wheel drive Honda Element that would probably get stuck in some of the lower spots if it were to downpour.

We stopped at a few more neat spots for some still shots but our stomachs were starting to growl, as were the Florida skies. Joel had one more stop in mind on Lake Okeechobee where you could see a great portion of the lake on top of a big hill. CJ quickly grabbed some shots of the Outback so he or us wouldn’t get eaten alive by the mosquitos, which are a big problem down in the Okeechobee area.

Roughly 20 minutes later, we made it to a local restaurant for some brews and burgers. Over dinner we learned Joel has had 2 other Subarus before his current Outback, one of them being a 2012 STi and the other a 2009 WRX. We were curious why he’d rather have an Outback over the more exciting and/or typical WRX or STi’s. He said, “It’s utilitarian for everyday lifestyles. You can throw anything at it, especially for my work – load it up with aircraft stuff and travel farther than a WRX/STi.”

“It’s very fuel efficient as well – another reason it’s super adaptive to any terrain once you slap a lift kit, all-terrain tires, and other modifications that are included on my build. This heavily-modified overland Subaru gets 22-24mpg on the highway, compared to a lifted Jeep Wrangler which gets 15-18mpg.” Joel and I bonded over our love for the Toyota Tacoma’s and 4Runner’s talking about how bad we both want some. Joel says he’d love to do an overland build on a Toyota 4×4 but he said it’s so hard to justify spending another $10k on something that doesn’t get as good of gas mileage and is just as capable as his Outback – he’s right. Joel has a good bit of future plans for the Outback as well.

He mentioned a new custom stainless catback exhuast, an upgraded set of bigger brakes, a dual battery setup for more power supply needs for things like a travel fridge, HAM radio, and outside surveillance lighting. After a solid day of off-road adventures and fun, I was dreading the long drive back home in the now dirty Honda Element. We had a blast of a day driving through the southern Florida terrain. It definitely makes me want to do more coverage on off-road prepped Subarus in the future. Huge thanks to Joel for meeting up with us and taking the afternoon to hang out. Check him out on Instagram at @fl4tout772 to see and learn more about his overland prepped Subaru Outback.

 

By Zach Osborne – @momentum.rs

 

 

Joel’s Full Build List:

 

Wheels/Suspension:

Anderson Design Fabrication 2” Lift Kit

2016 Subaru WRX Wheels

Falken Wildpeak All-Terrain Tires 245/65/17 – 1” Lift

Front King Overload Springs – .75” Lift

Rear RalliTEK Overload Springs – .75” Lift

 

Exterior:

SSD Rally Lightbar Bracket

Yakima MegaWarrior Roof Basket with Spare Tire Mount

ARB 2000 Awning with Deluxe Room and custom attachments

Aviation Radio Base Antenna

Round 8” LED Light Pods – 4

JDM Grill

Trailer Hitch with 1UP Super Duty Bike Rack

OPT7 LED Low Beam and Fogs

Partially Smoked Taillights

Primitive Racing Triple Armor Plating Package – underbody with SnoShield cover

5% Tint – Rear

15% Tint – Front

 

Miscellaneous:

SPT Oil Cap

Optima Redtop Battery