More Silver Subie mods

After the June trip, I had a couple more mods that I wanted to add to the Silver Subie outfitting. It needed more ventilation, shade, and a spot to sit while logging geocaches or doing research for upcoming trip waypoints. A shelf assembly could help while reducing the amount of slope on the bed.

While I was making stuff in the shop, I fabricated some magnetic strips. My first attempt with screens for the windows had used flexible magnet strips but they didn't work well at all. This time I made them from 1/4" plywood with rare earth magnets epoxied in place and covered with a layer of fiberglass.

The shelf assembly was designed so that it could stay in place even when the back seat is up in the "normal" (at least for most people) position. It still has 10 inches remaining when you get to the black stripe. It works well to hold the computer and I can sit in a folding chair without banging my knees against the always dirty bumper.

The next trick was some shade. I consulted with the smart one in the family about building a shade / netting structure for the back of the Subie but by the time we were done penciling it out, the material, zippers, and other accoutrements were approaching the cost of a ready-built option.

It's MUCH bigger (8x8 would be a better match) than I would prefer and the height makes it a bit challenging to put the rainfly on by myself, but it does provide much improved ventilation. It also vastly improves the glare on the computer screen. A side benefit is that it can stay in place to reserve the spot if I'm basing from one location for more than one day.

There's one more significant addition in progress, but I just discovered a couple torn CV boots that put the additions on hold while the Subie get a pair of spanking new axles.

Meanwhile, I finally got permission to place the last of a set of five field puzzle caches that I built a couple months ago. Not to worry, there's a newer one in the shop that's also waiting for property owner permission.