Subaru Crosstrek Car Camping Setup: What Fits, What Works, and What to Skip

The Crosstrek is a better car camping rig than most people give it credit for. Fold the rear seats, put down a mattress cut for the cargo floor, crack the windows behind a pair of screens, and you have a bed that fits in a regular parking space and goes wherever the car goes.

It is also compact, so the setup has less margin for error than a full-size SUV. Get it right and you sleep well. Get it wrong and you spend the night shoving a generic air bed back into place while the cooler takes up half your legroom. This guide covers what fits, what works and what to skip, with fit taken from our product pages and the makers. Where a maker does not publish something, we say "not published" instead of guessing.

Quick pick: Crosstrek car camping gear by job

Sleep: the foundation of the whole setup

With the rear seats folded, the Crosstrek cargo floor is long enough for two adults, but only if the mattress is cut for it. A generic inflatable leaves dead space at the edges, does not account for the wheel wells, and slides on the cargo liner every time you roll over.

The Subaru Crosstrek Car Camping Mattress is Luno's Size 1, 74 by 50.75 inches and 4 inches thick, so you are not wrestling a pad cut for a longer wagon. Fold both rear seatbacks forward, open it across the cargo floor, and clip the two Head Support Bridge attachments to the front headrests to support the head end. Both versions sleep two, have dual chambers so each side sets its own firmness, and carry a 3-year Luno warranty.

• AIR Pro ($349.99). The tier most Crosstrek owners end up on. The 300D Oxford top holds up to repeated use, dog claws and gear dragged in and out. It inflates with the included 12V pump in about 2 minutes, holds 500 lb per side, and is rated R-value 1.5 for three-season trips. Packed, it is 8 by 26 inches and 13 lb.
• AIR+FOAM Pro ($499.99). Polyurethane foam inside the air chambers adds pressure relief and insulation from a cold cargo floor, rated R-value 11 for four seasons. It self-inflates to about 60% in 3 to 5 minutes, then you top it off with the AirRoll Bag. It holds 300 lb per side and packs to 29 by 11 by 18 inches.

Add a Luno Fitted Mattress Sheet ($89.99) in the Compact/Mid-Size SUV cut if you want the bed to feel like a bed.

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  Subaru Crosstrek Car Camping Mattress

  For the cargo floor. Pick AIR Pro or AIR+FOAM Pro.

  • Luno Size 1, 74 x 50.75 x 4 inch
  • Sleeps two, 500 lb (AIR Pro) or 300 lb (AIR+FOAM Pro) per side
  • R-value 1.5 (AIR Pro) or 11 (AIR+FOAM Pro)

  View Crosstrek mattress

Airflow and privacy: the detail most people overlook

Sleeping in a Crosstrek with every window up is uncomfortable even on cool nights. Body heat and moisture build up faster than you would expect in a small cabin. The fix is cracking the windows, which works until the bugs find you.

Luno Vehicle Window Screens ($69.99 for a pair) slide over the rear doors so air moves through while insects stay out, and the light darkening mesh adds privacy at a busy trailhead. They come in Medium and Large rather than a cut for one car, and they need rear doors with framed windows. Luno's size list puts the Crosstrek in Medium. Each set includes 2 screens and a storage pouch.

Pair them with the Luno Car Camping Fan ($49.99). It sticks to a window with a locking suction cup, has three speeds, adds a little white noise, and runs from a USB port or power bank. In a cabin this size, even a small fan makes a noticeable difference by midnight.

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  Luno Vehicle Window Screens

  For airflow and privacy with the windows open.

  • Medium for the Crosstrek
  • Medium: 17.5 to 20 inch tall, 27 to 38 inch wide window
  • Pair of screens plus storage pouch

  View window screens
• 

  Luno Car Camping Fan

  For moving air on still nights.

  • 5 inch fan, 3 speeds
  • Locking suction cup, articulating ball mount
  • Runs from a USB port or power bank

  View camping fan

Storage: keep the mattress surface clear

In a bigger SUV you can pile gear beside the mattress. In a Crosstrek the cargo floor fills up fast, so the trick is using the space nobody else is using: the ceiling.

The Luno Cargo Hammock ($99.99) clips to the front and rear grab handles and hangs a shelf above the bed for headlamps, phones, a water bottle and the layers you pull off in the night. Compact Mode rolls the net into its own zip pocket, low enough to leave up on daily drives. Adventure Mode opens another 8.5 square feet of mesh, and a clear media pocket holds a phone or tablet for a movie from the mattress. Luno says it needs front and rear grab handles plus trunk anchors, and it does not name the Crosstrek, so confirm with us before ordering if you are not sure your car has all of them.

For anything that does not fit overhead, the front seats are your overflow: bags on the passenger seat, shoes in the footwell. It takes a little discipline, but the Crosstrek rewards a tidy setup.

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  Luno Cargo Hammock

  For the small stuff you want within reach.

  • Compact Mode or Adventure Mode (8.5 sq ft more mesh)
  • Clear media pocket for a phone or tablet
  • Needs grab handles and trunk anchors, confirm with us before ordering

  View cargo hammock

Cooler placement, kitchen and power

Once the mattress is down there is no room for a hard cooler on the cargo floor, so plan where food rides at night. A soft cooler in the footwell or on the front seat works. The Canyon Coolers Nomad 20 ($199.99) is a 20 liter soft cooler that Canyon rates for up to 32 cans, about 18 by 10.5 by 15.5 inches and 4.5 lb empty. If you would rather skip ice, the Dometic CFX2 28 ($659.99) is the most compact CFX2: 28 liters, down to -7 F, and it runs on 12/24 volt DC or household AC. At 29.3 lb empty, give it a spot on the front seat or floor and plan how you will power it.

For power, the Dometic PLB15 Portable Battery ($299.99) is a 15 Ah lithium iron phosphate battery that Dometic rates at up to 192 Wh at 12 V, with 12 V, USB-C and USB-A outputs and an IP44 rating. It charges phones, runs the fan, and Dometic lists electric coolers among the 12 V devices it can run. Dometic does not publish a run time with a specific cooler, so treat it as a top-up rather than a weekend of fridge power.

For cooking, the Chuck Box Camp Kitchen ($389) keeps the stove, dishes and dry goods in one box, 19 by 24.5 by 18 inches and 19 lb, and its top lifts off as a wash bin. Cook outside, never in the car. At night the kitchen box rides on the front seat or stays under the hatch with the cooler. Our camp kitchen checklist covers what goes inside.

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  Canyon Coolers Nomad 20

  For ice, in the footwell or on a seat.

  • 20 liter, up to 32 cans
  • 18 x 10.5 x 15.5 inch, 4.5 lb

  View Nomad 20
• 

  Dometic CFX2 28

  For a fridge and freezer on power.

  • 28 L, up to 36 cans, down to -7 F
  • 12/24 V DC or 100 to 240 V AC, 29.3 lb

  View CFX2 28
• 

  Dometic PLB15 Portable Battery

  For the fan, phones and small 12 V gear.

  • 15 Ah LiFePO4, up to 192 Wh at 12 V
  • 12 V, USB-C and USB-A outputs, IP44

  View PLB15
• 

  Chuck Box Camp Kitchen

  For a kitchen that packs in one box.

  • 19 x 24.5 x 18 inch, 19 lb empty
  • Top lifts off as a wash bin

  View Chuck Box

The 5-minute setup walkthrough

1. Fold both rear seats forward and clear the cargo area.
2. Lay the Luno mattress in the cargo space. It unfolds to fit the floor.
3. Inflate it. AIR Pro fills with its included 12V pump in about 2 minutes. AIR+FOAM Pro self-inflates most of the way, then you top it off with the AirRoll Bag.
4. Clip the Head Support Bridge attachments to the front headrests.
5. Slide the window screens over the rear doors you will leave cracked, and stick the fan to a window.
6. Clip the cargo hammock to the grab handles, and move the cooler to the footwell or front seat.

Breakdown in the morning is the same steps in reverse. The mattress deflates quickly, rolls into its carrying case, and rides in the cargo area with the rest of your gear, no roof box needed. Do one practice run in the driveway before the first trip.

Cold-weather note

On shoulder-season nights, most of the cold comes up through the floor, which is where the AIR+FOAM Pro and its R-value 11 earn their price. Keep one or two windows cracked behind the screens even when it is cold. It feels backward, but it cuts the condensation that otherwise soaks your bedding by morning. A windshield cover helps hold heat in the cabin.

Recovery and first aid for the drive in

The best Crosstrek campsites are often at the end of a dirt road, and a soft spot or a snowy pullout is not the place to find out you have nothing to dig with. The ActionTrax Recovery Boards ($299) come as a pair, 44.5 by 12.88 inches each, and slide in along the cargo floor before the mattress goes down. Add a real first aid kit: the MyFAK First Aid Kit is $169.95 for the Standard or $324.95 for the Pro, 11 by 8 by 6 inches.

If the dirt roads keep getting longer, our Subaru Crosstrek off-road build guide covers lift, rock sliders and a winch bumper by generation, and our off-road recovery kit guide goes deeper on what to carry.

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  ActionTrax Recovery Boards

  For sand, mud and snow.

  • Sold as a pair
  • 44.5 x 12.88 inch

  View ActionTrax
• 

  MyFAK First Aid Kit

  For the glovebox or door pocket.

  • Standard or Pro
  • 11 x 8 x 6 inch

  View MyFAK

Crosstrek car camping build order by budget

Start with sleep, since a good night is the whole point. Add a cooler and a kitchen next, then power and recovery gear for longer, colder trips. Totals are today's prices on our site, before tax. Shop more in our Subaru Crosstrek collection and our sleep and camp collection.

The $569.96 sleep kit is the core of the setup. Swap in the AIR+FOAM Pro and the same kit comes to $719.96.

What to skip in a Crosstrek

• A full-size cooler on the cargo floor. There is no room once the mattress is down. Use a soft cooler in the footwell or on the front seat, or a compact powered cooler up front.
• A rooftop tent. We do not carry a roof rack for the Crosstrek right now, and a cargo floor bed is quicker to set up, quieter on the highway and costs far less. If you still want to go that way, ask us first.
• Generic air mattresses. If it was not cut for the Crosstrek, it will not fit like it was. The wheel wells and the seatback ledge are where generic inflatables give out in this car.
• Cooking inside the car. Cook outside on a table or the Chuck Box, then bring the kitchen back in once it has cooled.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Subaru Crosstrek off-road build guide
• Subaru Forester car camping setup
• Subaru Outback car camping setup
• Car camping setup guide
• Camp kitchen checklist for car camping