Camping question (hopefully not a repeat)

Hi all,

This is my first post on the forums! I tried searching for an answer to my question but couldn't find exactly what I'm looking for... but sorry in advance if this is a repeat question.

I am hoping to drive cross country in my Prius. I've done it several times before but I've always slept in hotels. This time I'm hoping to either pull into rest stops and sleep in the car or maybe rent a camp site. I'm female in my 20's, going alone except for my giant golden retriever. He's great at warning me if anyone is close to the car so I feel pretty safe going alone, but I would feel a lot better if I could figure out how to convert my front seat into a sleeping area. Ideally, if someone got close to the car, I could just sit up and drive away.

Most of the modifications I've seen for prius camping are some combination of sleeping in the trunk or passenger seat. Does anyone have any idea if there can be modifications made so I could sleep in the front seat and be able to drive away relatively quickly if anyone shady were to approach the car?

Thanks in advance.

 

Thank you all very much! I didn't really think about the fact that even if someone were stupid enough to approach my car with my dog barking wildly, his barking would give me enough time to scramble in the front seat. And you're right, a standard camp grounds would be safe enough. I've stayed in some pretty scary hotel rooms (like a hotel in a remote area of Wyoming with its "secure" door propped wide open when I checked in). I'm a little nervous and probably over-paranoid! I'll definitely pick up a few cans of spray

I've been looking at campgrounds and I think this is going to be so much better for my dog and me. In a hotel, he barks EVERY TIME someone passes in the hallway... which no matter how deserted the hotel or far away from the lobby I request our room be always ends up the worst night sleep ever. Plus he can't run around at all. I found several camp grounds with enclosed dog runs and even dog bathing stations, not to mention a camp ground is much more fun to look at than old motel art!

 

Just wanted to give a little update:

I read a bunch of articles about how to build a bed... People get very elaborate!! I don't even own a screwdriver so I kept it simple. Very simple.

I folded the rear passenger seat down and put a kick board (for swimming) at the top pushed against the front passenger seat. Then I put three couch cushions down. The weight of the cushion kept the kickboard from falling (as it is hanging unsupported about 6 inches from the top of the folded seat). Then I put one of those egg carton foam pads down and covered it with a sheet. This thing is crazy comfy, the cushions make it extremely portable -- just stack them up! -- and it took me about two minutes to assemble from items I already had laying around my house.