Join The Club
Your Outbound van starts out slow and cramped, but you can make some serious improvements to your ride with upgrades. You probably have most of the necessary resources stashed in your van's storage already, too.
These upgrades aren't just about horsepower, either. You'll be able to keep your van on the road longer with a souped up battery, and you can also maximize your coziness with new decorations and an expanded building area. You just need to find one little terminal before you can get started.
How to unlock the Vehicle Research Station
Before you can upgrade your camper van, you need to build a Vehicle Research Station. It's a small little device that you can place in your van to unlock new recipes for the workbench in your trunk.
You can get the Vehicle Research Station blueprint at a terminal attached to a Signal Tower. For my playthrough, it was at the locked terminal in The Community Tree POI in the northwestern part of the starting region—just across the broken bridge north of the Fire Lookout.
Outbound dishes out blueprints randomly, though, and things can change depending on the order of blueprints you've chosen so far. You may end up finding the Vehicle Research Station in a completely different part of the map. Still, it's a good idea to check out the POIs marked with a question mark on your map since they tend to have the biggest upgrades.
Once you've unlocked the blueprint, plop the Vehicle Research Station down on an empty countertop in your van. You can then start upgrading your ride as long as you've got enough materials. The game will pull resources from your van's storage as well, so there's no need to keep all that junk in your inventory.
All Outbound van upgrades
These upgrades are meant to last an entire playthrough, so don't freak out if you can't find all the necessary materials in the first region or two. The first map only has the materials to unlock the first van upgrades, for example, and you won't be able to make your ride any faster or unlock extra furniture recipes until you continue your road trip.
These are all the van upgrades you can unlock in Outbound.
Upgrade | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
Motor Upgrade I | Bolts x10 | Driving up a slope just got easier, which makes for much happier travels. |
Motor Upgrade II | Castings x6, Electronics x2 | Lets your vehicle climb with even more confidence. |
Cooling System Upgrade | Hardened Metal x2, Electronics x4, Water x10 | This upgrade lets you keep your engine chill, even in the blazing heat. |
Motor Upgrade III | Adamant Metal x20, Rose Minerals x40 | The ultimate upgrade for the steepest of slopes. |
Battery Capacity Upgrade I | Bolts x10, Scrap Metal x8 | Gives your battery a little extra juice for longer journeys. |
Battery Capacity Upgrade II | Battery Components x3, Sheet Metal x2 | For even longer adventures with fewer stops. |
Battery Capacity Upgrade III | Power Cell x4 | The final boost to let you travel further than ever before. |
Outdoor Building | Scrap Metal x4, Fiber x10 | Lets you build, craft, and relax next to your vehicle. |
Outdoor Building Space I | Scrap Metal x20, Everwood Plank x20 | Adds some extra room to your outdoor campsite. |
Outdoor Building Space II | Sea Shell x20, Raw Coffee Beans x15 | Lets you expand your outdoor kingdom even more. |
Outdoor Building Space III | Salt x10, Paint x16 | All the space you could ever dream of, right next to your vehicle. |
Weight Capacity Upgrade I | Bolts x10 | Provides your trusty vehicle with the ability to carry that extra bit of weight. |
Weight Capacity Upgrade II | Bolts x10, Onyx Minerals x10 | Lets your vehicle carry more on its roof without breaking a sweat. |
Weight Capacity Upgrade III | Clay x16, Glass x20 | Even more room for all the toys and trinkets! |
Weight Capacity Upgrade IV | Adamant Metal x20, Blossom Plank x22, Sugar x20 | The final upgrade. Your vehicle can haul a castle now! |
Wooden Roof Variety Pack | Bolts x10, Everwood Plank x20 | A variety of timber tops for your classic wooden builds. |
Glass Building | Glass x10, Amberstone x20 | Allows you to build with the glass style, perfect for sun lovers! |
Glass Roof Variety Pack | Glass x30, Amberstone x20 | A variety kit of glass roofs, the sky is the limit! |
Trellis Building | Redwood Plank x10, Beeswax x5 | Lets you bring airy trellis designs into your architecture. |
Trellis Roof Variety Pack | Redwood Plank x30, Beeswax x15 | Provides you with roof designs that breathe like a summer pergola. |
Window Walls Variety Pack | Everwood Plank x10, Silverbark Plank x10 | Provides you with a wooden windowed walls variety pack, so you can let the sunlight pour into your home. |
Bamboo Building | Bamboo x15, Blossom Plank x10, Beeswax x5 | This unlocks the secrets of tropical construction. |
Bamboo Roof Variety Pack | Bamboo x20, Blossom Plank x30 | Expand your bamboo kingdom by unlocking more bamboo rooftops. |
