Camping in the Prius

[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

[Bill Merchant]

Hi Jerod, welcome to PriusChat!

The Prius is a great camping car in so many ways except for one thing — GROUND CLEARANCE. It's not good on those "gnarly, pothole-filled dirt off-roads". The Prius is definitely a street car, not an off-roader. You can pack a lot of gear, people, and pets comfortably in a Prius, but plan on driving to the campsite.

I've taken my car camping, driving over some graded Forest Service gravel roads without problems, but at one point I had to drive very slowly and carefully to get around a minor washout. Once you're at your campsite, it's a great car. You can sleep in the back with the seats down and the hatch open, if there aren't bugs, or close up the car and leave it running with the AC on if it's hot and buggy. The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) will shut off and only come on every now and then to keep the High Voltage (HV) traction battery charged. A small inverter will let you bring the electrical comforts of home with you without having to constantly run a generator.

If you're going to park your Prius and hike in with your gear, the car is just about impossible to steal.

Or just keep your Prius for around town and rent a 4WD Highlander Hybrid when you want to go rugged.

[Godiva]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jaylee @ Feb 10 2007, 03:38 PM) [snapback]388126[/snapback]</div>

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?
[/b]

#1. Lousy. The Prius was NOT designed for off-roading. It has a very low clearance underneath and isn't really designed for potholes or backwoods dirt roads.

#2. More than you'd think. I've got a tailgate tent but I haven't used it yet. Others have set it up. A few have slept in the back but caution you need to crack a window so the interior doesn't fog up.



I think I bought mine through AutoAnything because of the free shipping.

Napier Dome to Go tent for Prius

[allargon]

I agree. I have a touring. I've "accidentally" taken mine off road. The suspension and tires held up fine. However, the ground clearance is not great. I just dealt with grass and weeds. I couldn't imagine running over stumps, brush, cacti and the like in that thing. I'm not sure if any special undercoating would help that.

[toad]

I was actually thinking about using the Prius for camping. It looks like the folded down seats would be great for sleeping and not need for a tent. But, I didn't even think about the air conditioner. Then again, I tend to be a cold weather camper.

[saechaka]

i went camping w/my prius and it was great. we had a small mattress that we placed on top of the seats all folded down. i only wish they had some vinyl piece that would cover the rear end so you can have the hatch open cause it does get a little cramp back there.

[jerodallen]

Excellent, thanks everyone! I am mostly expecting to drive to trailheads and then hike in for camping, or use my vehicle for car camping... I will let everyone know how it works out.

[patsparks]

Roll a swag out in the back of your Prius with a 50mm foam and 50mm self inflating mattress and sweet dreams. This is how I slept on a trip to Townsville from Adelaide and back. I drove my Prius 2700km in 36 hours including a 4.5 hour sleep and a 1 hour nap in the drivers seat, and I stopped for meals. It also included 6 hours night driving at 80 to 90km/h looking for kangaroos jumping out onto the road and I covered 160km of rough dirt road at reduced speed.

This was a solo trip which was supposed to be on a motorbike but the bike broke down, I used less fuel in the Prius than I would have on the bike by a big margin.

If you are going solo the back of a Prius is a fine place to sleep, I'd recommend a full set of sun deflectors for all windows to help maintain inside temperatures if it's very cold out. With my swag and sleeping bag it was toasty.

Another tip, remove all the headrests except the middle rear one, Put them on the rear floor. Move the front seats forward and lay them back till flush with the folded rear seat backs, this is where you put your head, you can stuff the gap between the seats with a bag of clothes and a cushion, now you have the extra length.

[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

and you might want to use a couple of cheap swimming pool floats to smooth it all out.. won't even have to unpack the cargo area!

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Bill Merchant

...Or just keep your Prius for around town and rent a 4WD Highlander Hybrid when you want to go rugged.

Hi Bill,

(I see that this is an old thread that was resurrected today)

Although HiHy has plenty of ground clearance, it is not rated for off-road driving. The 4WD system is not like traditional systems. Hence, any such driving is at the owner's risk.