Camping in the Prius

[mingoglia]

I tried sleeping in the Prius once and couldn't get to sleep. Felt a bit small. I am 6'3" though. I had the rear seats folded and a sleeping bag diagonal across the back. It was very uncomfortable. I ended up driving back into town and getting a cheap motel. If I were to do it again I'd get some sort of pad to smooth things out (that was probably part of the problem) or just bring the tent with me.

Mike

[Bob47]

Actually, we take the Prius camping all the time. It is hauled on a dolly attached to the back of our 36' Monaco Diplomat! It is as great as a towed as a daily driver.

[rfred]

Originally Posted by Bob47

Actually, we take the Prius camping all the time. It is hauled on a dolly attached to the back of our 36' Monaco Diplomat! It is as great as a towed as a daily driver.

Perhaps we need to define some terms here...

[McDonald]

Copy and pasted from my blog,
"This weekend we took ourselves and the dog in the Prius to Harold Parker State Forest in Andover, MA for a camping trip. We had reserved a huge campsite for 2 nights, Friday and Saturday. Knowing that Carlo worked till 6 on Friday, and that there was a chance of rain that night, I went out to the campground earlier and set up the tent. The campground is only 30 mins away, so no big deal!

Packed into the car other than myself driving, Carlo in the passenger seat, and Kid in his Lookout Seat, was all of our stuff. Here's the complete list! 5 person tent and rain fly, ground tarp, air mattress and pump, sheets and duvet, pillows, camp chair, food/drink cooler, dog bed, dog clothes (including life jacket) toys and supplies, bag of clothes and swimsuits, bag of cooking utensils, wood chips and kindling, 2 pool floats, bag of towels, bike pump, etc. And with a Saris Bones bike rack on the trunk!

We ended up coming into the campsite around 10 o'clock on Friday night, which was around what time "quiet hours" started. What with the Prius being so quiet, we found that sneaking in late disturbed no one. The next day we spotted another black Prius camping, with a canoe on top! "

Here's the picture.

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by mingoglia

I tried sleeping in the Prius once and couldn't get to sleep. Felt a bit small. I am 6'3" though. I had the rear seats folded and a sleeping bag diagonal across the back. It was very uncomfortable. I ended up driving back into town and getting a cheap motel. If I were to do it again I'd get some sort of pad to smooth things out (that was probably part of the problem) or just bring the tent with me.

Mike

I had the same problem initially. The key is pulling the front seats all the way forward, taking off the headrests and then they will also fold down flush with the back seat. Then there is plenty of space to sleep two! If you add an air matress I'd think it would be pretty comfy.

Rob

[miscrms]

Originally Posted by MagneticGrayIndy

actually... like older Ramblers, the front seats will lay flat enough for two beds if you push them all the way forward, remove the headrests and recline them all the way! Don't let your teenagers use the Prius for a date. sorry.. old Rambler joke

Same reason my parents never should have let me drive our Toyota Previa minivan as a teenager. Backend converted into a full double bed. Not that I ever did that sort of thing of course

Rob

[combsad7]

Originally Posted by jerodallen

Hello,

I am planning to buy a new Prius in the very near future, and wanted to know about its ability as a camping car.

Specifically:

1) How does the Prius do on those gnarly, pothole-filled dirt off-roads?
2) How many folks, gear, dogs, etc., can be comfortably taken to the campsite/trailhead?

I am planning to make some fairly long drives and then backwoods trail camping, so I'll be taking a fair amount of gear.

Thanks everyone! I'm excited to join the Prius family!

-Jerod

I have have put a 3 inch topper of dense foam for a double bed along with blankets and pillows. I did trim the foam. Made sure the car was full of gas, put it in D with emergency brake on, set the AC on 77 and slept just fine.

[hobbit]

Why did you leave it in D?? It'll maintain all those systems
just fine in P, and present much less risk of rolling away
with you.
.
I just came up with another silly camping hack today. Sometimes
the fan thing just isn't enough circulation with the rest of the
car closed up, especially when the car is still hot inside from
the day's trip. A lot of heat comes into the fan air from
under the hood and that big ol' black dash that likes to heat
up so much in the sun, and if it's already hot out that just
makes the inside more sweltering.
.
Having failed to find uncut mosquito netting at REI, I stopped by
the local fabric store and found that they had mosquito netting
but also other fine nylon mesh for much cheaper. I also realized
that I had a plentiful source of magnetic strips by cutting up
one of my old Tour de Sol placards, whose internal glue was
getting pretty degraded by now anyway.
.

.
Once the sign and the netting are appropriately cut, it's easy
to construct a full-window screen on the car:
.

.
One edge can drop under the door level to the B pillar [red arrow]
to find magnetic material, and the other door simply closes over it.
Do on two sides, and it gives plenty of ventilation. As long as it's
not raining, of course, but with this arrangement the windows can
go up to closed completely inside the screen so if rain comes,
protection is as easy as enabling the windows and rolling them
up instead of having to get out and scramble around. The Weathertech
shields would probably help.
.
This'll be great for the big campout at Hybridfest!
.
_H*

[oly_57mpg]

I guess unlike everyone else, I say that the Prius does quite well on pot hole rutted backwoods roads. I've taken my Prius on *almost* all of the same roads and trails that my friend in a Jeep has driven.

I let a lot of air pressure out of the tires to smooth the ride and pick my course accordingly. And I drive real, real, real slow.

The Prius is much better off road than any Honda I've driven...

I've taken my Prius up here a few times:
Google Maps

Had enough room for two mountain bikes (in the car), camping gear, food for two for four days, and a fully equipped kitchen with room to see over it all!
The Prius is perfectly acceptable for (car) camping. Then again, I'm biased.

[patsparks]

I guess unlike everyone else, I say that the Prius does quite well on pot hole rutted backwoods roads.

Not everyone, I was fine on a pot holed dirt road. I didn't go over tree stumps or anything but it was fine.
I figured it was a good time to wake a sleeping thread like this.