...and the onlookers were impressed too

**TonyPSchaefer** · 09-25-2004, 04:05 PM

I'm going to build a bookshelf and needed wood. So last week, I started a thread about fitting a 4x8 sheet of particle board into a Prius. Having really taken a hard look, I realize that's not even close to possible. Additionally, my wife decided that she doesn't want particle baord, she'd rather have solid wood.

This afternoon I went to Home Depot and picked up four 1x12x72 and six 1x4x72. I happened to park next to a full-sized truck. As I was loading the wood into Priapus, the truck owner's wife leaned over and said, I've never seen a car with a removable front seat. I brought her to the front and showed that the seat simply folded all the way down. Oh man, she was impressed. Then "what kind of car is this?" (the hatch was open and the nametags overhead) I explained what I could about Prii while her husband loaded the truck. She even commented on how much more I could fit in there. I can only wonder what she was telling him on their way home.

You have to understand that one of the main reasons I bought a Prius was the hatchback and folding seats. I had no idea before I bought it that the front seats also fully recline. Additionally, I keep two blankets in the cargo bay storage bucket for just this reason.

I LOVE THIS CAR!!

daniel · 09-25-2004, 06:05 PM

That's very interesting. I never realized that the front seat folded all the way flat. I'll have to try that out. Do both front seats go flat (for sleeping)? Or just the passenger seat?

bruceha_2000 · 09-25-2004, 08:10 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel\";p=\"41665)</div>

Quote:

That's very interesting. I never realized that the front seat folded all the way flat. [/b]

You have to move it all the way forward and remove the headrest, then it just shoves down past the front of the rear seat. I don't know if the driver's seat does as well. I THINK it is meant more for Tony's use, longer items fitting inside than sleeping so maybe not.

This feature made the switch from '95 Odyssey to Prius easier. I love the abiility to put longer items, such as wood, in my vehicle and drive it home.

bruceha_2000 · 09-25-2004, 08:17 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer\";p=\"41651)</div>

Quote:

Additionally, my wife decided that she doesn't want particle baord, she'd rather have solid wood. [/b]

Smart woman :-) I won't print the words I use to describe particle board. More glue than wood, doesn't hold nails or screws as well as real wood and weighs a LOT more than pine, and probably more than hardwoods as well. I can go on but I'm sure you get the idea by now ;-)

In addition it is not really suited for horizontal loads. More than likely your shelves would be sagging unless supported vertically much more frequently than you need with real wood.

hdrygas · 09-25-2004, 08:54 PM

[quote]I'm going to build a bookshelf and needed wood. So last week, I started a thread about fitting a 4x8 sheet of particle board into a Prius. Having really taken a hard look, I realize that's not even close to possible. Additionally, my wife decided that she doesn't want particle baord, she'd rather have solid wood.

This afternoon I went to Home Depot and picked up four 1x12x72 and six 1x4x72. I happened to park next to a full-sized truck. As I was loading the wood into Priapus, the truck owner's wife leaned over and said, I've never seen a car with a removable front seat. I brought her to the front and showed that the seat simply folded all the way down. Oh man, she was impressed. Then "what kind of car is this?" (the hatch was open and the nametags overhead) I explained what I could about Prii while her husband loaded the truck. She even commented on how much more I could fit in there. I can only wonder what she was telling him on their way home.

You have to understand that one of the main reasons I bought a Prius was the hatchback and folding seats. I had no idea before I bought it that the front seats also fully recline. Additionally, I keep two blankets in the cargo bay storage bucket for just this reason.

I LOVE THIS CAR!!
All I have to say is Wow!! :multi: :clap:

artytime:

:jester: :jester: :lolup: :lolup: :multi: :multi:

artytime:
I also love this car. Again Wow .... the mind boggles. My Explorer does not do that.

bookrats · 09-25-2004, 11:50 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel\";p=\"41665)</div>

Quote:

That's very interesting. I never realized that the front seat folded all the way flat. I'll have to try that out. Do both front seats go flat (for sleeping)? Or just the passenger seat?
[/b]

I believe it's just the passenger seat.

One of Toyota's Prius Web page Flash animations is trying to fit various things into a Prius, and it shows the passenger seat going flat; I saw it repeated in teh sales brochure as well.

It appears to be one of the things the Prius marketing folks thought would be a strong point of the car.

BobA · 09-26-2004, 01:06 AM

Way to go, Tony... you didn't have that sports car drive up next to you and the driver yell, "Dude what you got in that thing?"did you??? like the Dodge commercial.... hahaha

thanks for the picture, Bob Andersen

gturtle · 09-26-2004, 03:00 AM

That is really cool. I want to check it out right now. I do want to be able to sleep in the car, in a pinch.

jfschultz · 09-26-2004, 09:15 PM

Four years ago I was looking at getting an Avalon. When my wife and I noticed that it only had a small opening behind the rear center arm rest, we quickly switched to getting our second Camry. But the Prius has the fold down rear seats on the Camry beat by a mile for hauling long items.

bruceha_2000 · 09-26-2004, 09:35 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bookrats\";p=\"41743)</div>

Quote:

It appears to be one of the things the Prius marketing folks thought would be a strong point of the car.[/b]

Worked on me :-) One of the things I lose going from my Odyssey to the Prius is the ability to slide 8 foot 2x10s straight up the middle and close the rear door. I can still have 4 people in the car. It's shotgun seat doesn't fold flat back so I have to remove it (4 bolts, very easy) if I want to carry a fair bit of lumber. Seeing this feature in the rental Prius makes it a lot easier to accept the change. I can still do the 2x10 thing (after covering the seats), as long as I don't have more than one passenger. I still don't have nearly the total cargo space but for funtionality, the Prius does very well.

09-25-2004, 04:05 PM	#1
TonyPSchaefer Ruler of Omicron Persei 8 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Far-North Chicagoland Posts: 8,406 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #9 Nominated 4 Times in 2 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 16	...and the onlookers were impressed too I'm going to build a bookshelf and needed wood. So last week, I started a thread about fitting a 4x8 sheet of particle board into a Prius. Having really taken a hard look, I realize that's not even close to possible. Additionally, my wife decided that she doesn't want particle baord, she'd rather have solid wood. This afternoon I went to Home Depot and picked up four 1x12x72 and six 1x4x72. I happened to park next to a full-sized truck. As I was loading the wood into Priapus, the truck owner's wife leaned over and said, I've never seen a car with a removable front seat. I brought her to the front and showed that the seat simply folded all the way down. Oh man, she was impressed. Then "what kind of car is this?" (the hatch was open and the nametags overhead) I explained what I could about Prii while her husband loaded the truck. She even commented on how much more I could fit in there. I can only wonder what she was telling him on their way home. You have to understand that one of the main reasons I bought a Prius was the hatchback and folding seats. I had no idea before I bought it that the front seats also fully recline. Additionally, I keep two blankets in the cargo bay storage bucket for just this reason. I LOVE THIS CAR!! __________________ Proud father of Priapus: the '04 Tideland BC9 with an OEM EV button and sense of self-righteousness >>Current Mileage<< Spreading information and passing gas in the Greater Chicagoland area

09-25-2004, 08:54 PM	#5
hdrygas Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Olympia Wa Posts: 3,650 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #9 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Re: ...and the onlookers were impressed too [quote]I'm going to build a bookshelf and needed wood. So last week, I started a thread about fitting a 4x8 sheet of particle board into a Prius. Having really taken a hard look, I realize that's not even close to possible. Additionally, my wife decided that she doesn't want particle baord, she'd rather have solid wood. This afternoon I went to Home Depot and picked up four 1x12x72 and six 1x4x72. I happened to park next to a full-sized truck. As I was loading the wood into Priapus, the truck owner's wife leaned over and said, I've never seen a car with a removable front seat. I brought her to the front and showed that the seat simply folded all the way down. Oh man, she was impressed. Then "what kind of car is this?" (the hatch was open and the nametags overhead) I explained what I could about Prii while her husband loaded the truck. She even commented on how much more I could fit in there. I can only wonder what she was telling him on their way home. You have to understand that one of the main reasons I bought a Prius was the hatchback and folding seats. I had no idea before I bought it that the front seats also fully recline. Additionally, I keep two blankets in the cargo bay storage bucket for just this reason. I LOVE THIS CAR!! All I have to say is Wow!! :multi: :clap: artytime: :jester: :jester: :lolup: :lolup: :multi: :multi: artytime: I also love this car. Again Wow .... the mind boggles. My Explorer does not do that. __________________ Belle, a Millennium Silver '04 BC #9 "Becoming one with my Prius, ICE on ICE off" Belle has been passed on to my daughter. I have a new silver Prius 08. No name yet we have just met but not been introduced.

09-26-2004, 01:06 AM	#7
BobA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Denver CO Posts: 728 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #9 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Re: ...and the onlookers were impressed too Way to go, Tony... you didn't have that sports car drive up next to you and the driver yell, "Dude what you got in that thing?"did you??? like the Dodge commercial.... hahaha thanks for the picture, Bob Andersen

09-26-2004, 09:15 PM	#9
jfschultz Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Germantown, TN Posts: 404 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Re: ...and the onlookers were impressed too Four years ago I was looking at getting an Avalon. When my wife and I noticed that it only had a small opening behind the rear center arm rest, we quickly switched to getting our second Camry. But the Prius has the fold down rear seats on the Camry beat by a mile for hauling long items.

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09-25-2004, 06:05 PM	#2
daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 9,147 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #6 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	That's very interesting. I never realized that the front seat folded all the way flat. I'll have to try that out. Do both front seats go flat (for sleeping)? Or just the passenger seat?

09-26-2004, 03:00 AM	#8
gturtle Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 72 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	That is really cool. I want to check it out right now. I do want to be able to sleep in the car, in a pinch.