We first met Carey at Overland Expo in Flagstaff, and we were immediately impressed by her friendly confidence, sense of humor, and broad, ready smile. Carey is no weekend warrior; this mother of two is a regular of the Rebelle Rally and an explorer who travels the US extensively. Carey knows the Western USA like the back of her hand, and she has driven her Subaru Outback, dubbed MtnSubi, on trails that are typically considered the reserve of lifted 4WDs. Browse through the MtnSubi Instagram account, and you will see Carey and her Scooby cruising down long dirt roads, clambering over obstacles, and enjoying a good camp at the end of a great day. Be inspired, people.
Carey grew up in southern California and tragically, her mom died in a motorsports accident when Carey was still quite young. After high school, Carey moved to northern California and raised her kids in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked for a local public works agency as a senior project planner focusing on transportation, flood control, emergency management, and public engagement. While serving the city has been her calling, exploration and adventure are Carey’s passions.
After the Rebelle 2021, her off-road and overland adventures took off with frequency and duration. She met some incredible people along the way who shared their knowledge, supported and encouraged her, and with that Carey’s confidence grew. Over the past couple of years, Carey has had the honor of mentoring women, learning trail fixes, pushing her limits and supporting others, entering and winning her first car show at SubieFest, learning to maintain and work on her car, and sharing knowledge with others. While it may be just a built vehicle to some, it led to some empowering life changes, confidence, self-reliance, community-building, and an intense curiosity for adventuring and learning how to do uncomfortable things or against typical social norms for a woman.
The Subaru was not initially modified to be an off-road adventurer; it was purchased new as a “rugged mom-car,” but as the family took on more adventures, Carey learned that she desired more security in tougher terrain and began with upgraded tires and wheels. With each adventure, Carey’s confidence grew in her driving skills and a desire to continue taking her knowledge and the vehicle to the next level. This led to combing through endless forums to glean information about what others were doing to their Subarus and their experiences with different components. The build took off after Carey completed her first Rebelle Rally and took more solo adventures; with new groups, she gained more understanding of what was available, useful, and what was required to take her further.
Each component of the design was researched and determined whether it served a purpose for what Carey envisioned the vehicle needing—the build had to be practical, functional, and high-quality. Sometimes Carey had trouble deciding on specific elements, and that modification took a back burner until she was confident in the decision or the need. A lot of time was spent combing through forums and builds to learn more; the off-road Subaru community openly shares their advice and experiences about their own builds.
The outstanding visual features of the design are the mountain decals from the MtnSubi logo, which were inspired by the two mountain ranges near Carey’s home and cabin. One is Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California, and the other are the peaks of Glacier National Park, part of the Rocky Mountains, as seen from the front porch of her cabin in Montana (Carey’s daughter is an artist and she helped to design the logo).
The build started with a small twinkle in Carey’s eye. Her bank account was not as supportive as that twinkle, so the build process has been purposeful, planned, and spread out over time. Build questions evolved but included these ponderings: Did she need this modification or upgrade (whether to tackle more challenging terrain or be more confident in returning from adventures without mishaps)? Would it serve a purpose to make adventuring easier or safer? Was it a high-quality and respected component that wouldn’t need frequent replacement or repair? Would it significantly affect fuel economy or stability while off-roading?
Wheels and tires (15-inch Method Race Wheels and 215/75/15 BF Goodrich KO2s) were the first modification, then came a platform rack mounted to the OEM crossbars, and a 2-inch LP Aventure spacer lift. That setup worked well for the occasional offroad adventure. Once Carey caught the Rebelle Rally bug and was in full training mode, she found that her seat time and training took her further than the occasional trail. Skid plates, a Prinsu low profile roof rack, Bilstein B6 shocks and King Springs (standard front and overload in the rear), a full-size spare, and inexpensive lights were added. Carey is considering a coilover system to further upgrade and fine-tune the suspension. As the build and adventuring evolved, Carey sought out specific companies to support the build for the Rebelle Rally and continued off-road adventuring. Wagan Tech, a local family-owned and operated overland technology company has been a supporter since Carey’s first Rebelle, and she still uses many of their products daily. Earlier this year, Torq-Masters, BFGoodrich, Diode Dynamics, RalliTek, and Spiked Performance partnered to support the build with their products.
Unlike semi-custom, off-road bumpers available for Crosstreks and Foresters, none exist for Outbacks. Carey worked with Nick Cimmarusti of Nickgyver Enterprises to design and build a custom high-clearance front bumper. He also installed the Torq-Locker and Ralli-Tek suspension components while teaching Carey about the basics. After seeing and hearing her struggle with the limitations from the “long nose” of the Outback (he’s also an off-road trainer with Barlow Adventures and Mechanical Director for the Rebelle Rally), he schemed up a solid design that significantly improved the front approach angles, protected the critical vehicle systems’ components, and added functionality via properly rated tow points and solid mounting points for new Diode Dynamics off-road lights. If there was an onboard camera on the Rebelle this year, you’d hear Carey call out “Thank you, Nick!” every time there was a challenging front approach obstacle or when she could bash through the dunes with abandon.
Carey didn’t specifically choose this vehicle with this result in mind. She wanted something with utility, capability for camping trips, that was reasonably priced, fun to drive, and relatively fuel-efficient compared to its purpose. The Subaru Outback fits all those needs and more, and Carey never dreamed her vehicle would be this built out or capable of tackling the type of terrain it has over the past couple of years. She loves that it is a sleeper vehicle, one that’s not expected to be seen on challenging terrain. Carey has to rely on her driving skills first to take the car successfully off-road rather than rely on the vehicle’s mechanical capabilities to compensate for driving skills or knowledge—the challenge, the puzzle of successfully navigating a tough trail, and the act of driving are the rewards
Earlier this year, a Mishimoto 19-row transmission cooler was installed to provide enhanced temperature control after the transmission began to run consistently high, especially at sustained highway speeds. The Scan Gauge II OBD reader allows the driver to monitor temperatures constantly to avoid heat damage to critical systems. The stock warning lights engage only at much higher temperatures when damage to oils or fluids has already happened. For example, the continuously variable transmission fluid (CVTF) light will come on at 270 degrees, and Carey will adjust her driving style (or pull over to cool down) if it reaches 235 degrees. With the auxiliary cooler and Spiked Performance hood louvers, overheating is no longer a concern.
Carey’s favorite driveline modification is the Torq-Masters Torq Locker, installed this past summer to lock the rear differential mechanically. This allows torque to be distributed evenly to the rear wheels to help maintain traction, rather than the reduced torque on off-kilter terrain that comes with open differentials in the stock Subarus. So far, Carey has noticed quite a difference when navigating loose terrain, off-camber obstacles, high-elevation trails, and anything that gets the axles crossed up. It upped the vehicle’s capability without any noticeable impacts on daily driving.
The Subaru is unique and everything Carey dreamed it could be, purpose-built for off-roading, daily-driven, and competing in two Rebelle rallies without a single true mechanical issue. The vehicle has made it to the podium in 2022, driven to the top of 13,000-foot Colorado passes, traversed countless 4WD-only trails, and was awarded Best Rally/Off-Road Vehicle for SubieFest 2022. The vehicle was also featured in a few four-wheel-drive magazines despite being an AWD platform. Carey says,
“I hope it will inspire other women to learn about and build their own vehicles for their needs. Go have some fun!
Because the vehicle was purpose-built as Carey’s skills and interest grew, it’s taken a couple of years to get the build to where it is now. Over the next year, Carey has plans to travel to most of the Western US again and to explore Washington state and then Montana in November. Winter is desert season, so Carey hopes to return to Death Valley, the Mojave Desert, Arizona, and other warm environments again, in addition to some fun snow wheeling in the Sierras. Late winter will yield a trip to Utah and a return to the Imperial Sand Dunes (in Glamis).
“I’d love to go to Baja, California, with a small group I’ve been trying to join for their past few trips. And then summer will include trips to Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado (more peaks and passes).”
We asked Carey, knowing what she knows now, what would she have done differently?
“The build has been a process through which I’ve learned a lot. With mistakes come learning opportunities, and without those mistakes, I wouldn’t have learned what I have. The process has been measured, and it fit just right for what I needed. I’ve met some amazing people along the way who are close friends because they shared their expertise and knowledge with me. I wouldn’t change that for the world. I’m still learning many of the basics and am always looking for the next thing to learn more about as part of this ever-evolving process. Looking back, though, I wish I hadn’t settled for smaller tires earlier in the build.”
Carey found that the original 215/75/15 tires were too small for the vehicle. She is quite happy with the larger 235/75/15 because they complement the added traction provided by the Torq Locker, are fantastic on the desert and mountain terrain Carey frequents, and provide that much-needed cushion with larger sidewalls and increased clearance.
Carey’s close friends refer to her vehicle as a Swiss Army knife. Inevitably, if something is needed while out adventuring, Carey likely has it. Need something to temporarily brace and affix a broken trailing arm? Carey has spare light bar mounts to act as a brace, bolts, baling wire, and JB Weld to fab a temporary fix to get you off the trail. Carey carries all the essentials from zip ties, plastic wrap, duct tape, a chainsaw, recovery gear, and even a spare Subaru Pendleton wool blanket. Each adventure is an opportunity to learn something new and refine her “kit” so that she can be the best adventure companion and as self-sufficient as possible.
Specifications
2014 Subaru Outback
Power
4dr Wgn H4 Auto 2.5i Premium
Wheels and Tires
BFGoodrich KO2 235/75R15 tires
Method Race Wheels, 502 VT-Spec, 15-inch
Full-size, matching spare tire, custom fit to spare well
Suspension and Drive
Torq Masters Torq Locker
King Shocks standard front and overload rear springs
Bilstein B6 shocks
LP Aventure 2-inch spacer lift
Mishimoto 19-row transmission cooler
Hawk Performance talon rotors
Akebono aftermarket ceramic brake pads
Recovery and Armor
Deadman Off-road kinetic rope and Bubba Rope soft shackles
ARB tow strap and puncture repair kit
DMOS Alpha and Delta Pro shovels and mounts
MaxTrax MKII traction boards
Big Red bottle jack
VIAIR air compressor
InDeflate two-hose unit
GlueTread sidewall repair kit
Accessories
NickGyver Enterprises custom high-clearance front bumper
Diode Dynamics SSC2 rock lights, SS3 fog lights, SS5 pods, 42-inch light bar, 6-inch rear chase bars
RalliTek Performance rear control arms, toe arms, trailing arms, end links
Spiked Performance hood louvers
Prinsu roof rack and accessories
Primitive Racing skid plates, Apex Performance Rapid Precision valve stems
Scangauge II code reader and gauges
ICO rally computer
ARB Touring awning
Dometic CFX3 35-quart refrigerator
Wagan Tech Lithium Cube 1200 portable power pack, Duo USB camp lights, Wayfinder XL lights and iOnBoost V10 jumpstarter
Voswitch UV100 programmable 8-gang switch panel
Midland GMRS radio
Instagram: @MtnSubi
Facebook: @Mtnsubi
Website: www.mtnsubi.com
LinkTree: linktr.ee/mtnsubi
Our No Compromise Clause: We carefully screen all contributors to ensure they are independent and impartial. We never have and never will accept advertorial, and we do not allow advertising to influence our product or destination reviews.
Read more: Randy Wimentas 1989 Toyota Corolla AWDROLA
