Camping in the Prius

[SyZyGy]

Bump...

If you are gonna camp in the car, maybe you want to consider getting window vents and then cover the holes with mosquito net or whatever. This is what I'm talking about...

No these are not those pointless window shades...

[ponchotempest]

Ground clearance is the least of my concerns for camping...traction in the mud can be quite poor. I havent been stuck yet, but I normally need a running start to climb muddy hills. Of course, I will go just about anywhere.
The best thing about Prius camping is that you can sleep in it with the heat on all night if necessary, or even use it as a generator.

Also, a rear mounted cargo rack is great for firewood:
http colon //i41.tinypic dot com/raby4l.jpg (sorry I need 5 posts to put up the url)

[patsparks]

I have driven my Prius on a few rough dirt roads.

By patsparks, shot with FE270,X815,C510 at 2008-12-16
This is the best bit of the road.

with my wife, son and luggage in the car.

But I have been on clay roads in wet conditions and you wouldn't take a Prius there. We were very lucky to get through in Nissan Patrols and Toyota Land Cruisers.
Sorry no pics yet but I'll get some. The right rear wheel on 2 of the 3 vehicles locked because they were so packed with mud!! Seriously not for the faint hearted. Over 100km sideways in 4 wheel drive.

[xsmatt81]

cool pics pat. One of these days I plan to ride Aus land on a motorcycle.

anyway the prius is a hatchback, low ground clearance, not an exceptional amount of power..it's a family car..not a camping car.

although a mild camping trip is doable over gravel, mild dirt roads..anything hardcore though needsa 4x4 period

[patsparks]

On a trip to Townsville earlier this year, a journey of about 2,500km I made the journey, well all but the last 200 km of it in 36 hours. I started at 6AM, drove until I was tired, that was the plan but at 1 AM I decided I needed to sleep so I wouldn't be tired in the daylight and not be able to sleep, I slept for 4.5 hours in the back of the car when I woke without an alarm, then continued to Torrens Creek a distance of about 2,300km and arrived just before 6PM.

I used my swag in the back of the car, by keeping it in the car rather than setting up on the ground I didn't need to clean the dirt off before putting it in the car and I could more easily pack up in the dark.

On that journey even though I set my GPS to use only sealed roads I covered several hundred kilometres of unsealed roads some in a dreadful state and the Prius just took me through. Don't get me wrong, it is no substitute for a 4x4 but it coped well considering it's a city car really.

[hobbit]

Time to wake the sleeping thread again. I updated my page to
include a recent rework of the fan-driver circuit into a nice
compact box that I can keep right by my mobile bedside and tweak
the airflow level without having to lean way into the front. I
also added a reference to this thread and threw in a description
of the window-screens hack.
.
Jonesing for another good roadtrip this summer, but it's unclear
if my current work gig will be completed in reasonable time to
allow for it. Hybridfest is very likely on the agenda regardless.
.
_H*

[Travis]

I have a 2008 Prius and have been camping in Florida. For information on my setup you could see my website, but since I have posted less than 5 times I am not allowed to put the link on here.

Anyway, my website starts with a www and has the dot com domain name of floridabackroadstravel. I have a page on Florida Parks and on that page there is a link to Prius camping.

My apologies if this is violating any protocol.

[Fstr911]

Travis..5 people in the Prius to Michigan! Wow.

Good site by the way.