Camping in the Prius

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...

 

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)

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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*

 

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.

 

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

Good site by the way.

 

To revive this old and dead thread:

Just spent a weekend (Fri-Sun) in the Prius. Friday night was very cold, I didn't check but I'm sure the temps dropped into the low 30's or high 20's. Had the car off that night and it was pretty cold and lots of moisture inside, so much that I found out in the morning why my feet were so cold. The short little rear hatch window had so much condensation it was running down onto the foot end of the comforter. Sat night decided to test and see what it would be like leaving the car on with heat running, dropped to mid 30's overnight. Set it to blow out the top vents only (as the floor was packed full of stuff), recirculation on, temp set to 65 degrees and the fan speed set to the 2nd lowest. The car ran until it reached operating temp and warmed up the cabin then shut off while continuing to provide a steady supply of warm air inside the cabin and it must've taken about 20 mins before the ICE kicked on again and ran for about 2 mins then repeated in 20 to 30 min cycles running for about 2 mins at a time. Still had a lot of moisture with the car running overnight but probably because it was on recirculate (although probably much more efficient). I was very impressed, it caused very minimal disturbance in sleep and the nearest neighbor in a van next to us (no more than 15-20 ft away) running his own generator said he never heard the Prius run. I was sure to set the parking brake so it wouldn't lunge when the ICE kicked on.

Traveling mode:
Driver and passenger, puppy in the back seat, dog items on the back seat floor (food/water, bowls, brushes, etc), in the rear hatch had a queen inflatable mattress with inflatable pillows below the floor with 4 D-cell pump (shares batteries with LED converted maglite)from wal-mart, sleeping bag, queen comforter, about a dozen towels, small blankets, two collapsable chairs, small cooler with some food, 2 duffel bags and a handfull of accessories that went in other various compartments.

Camping mode:
Removed all headrests, slid front seats all the way forward then leaned seat backs down flat with rear seats. Folded rear seats down. Unfolded air mattress over the large open area, it formed itself around the narrow spaces in the hatch area as it inflated. Unzipped the sleeping bag all the way and laid it out over the mattress like a sheet, put the comforter over the top and tucked it under the sides and foot end of mattress where it was inflated from the rear hatch area. Put a towel over the rear hatch glass and tucked it into the jamb as I slowly closed the hatch. Closed towels in all the windows as curtains. Cut out triangles from a cereal box to put in the rear quarter windows and put my CoverCraft sunshade up to block the windshield. Left the cooler outside because it never got above mid-50's outside the entire weekend. Duffel bags sat on drivers seat, set up some towels and blankets for the puppy on the passenger seat (although she ended up sleeping between us, kept us all warmer). Slept feet towards the narrower hatch and had plenty of room between the two back doors for shoulders/arms.

Very comfy and had good privacy. Very little headroom, a little difficult to move around or change clothes, although I'm rather tall at 6' we are pretty slim and young maneuverable people. All in all, I'd do it again and I'm very surprised at how well this setup worked out and how much we were able to fit in that car and how comfortable you can be with the car left on and how efficiently it can run, had I tested it's efficiency the first night I surely would have left it on that night too when we really needed it. I just expected it would keep kicking on every 2 mins to keep warm but really it didn't need to. I'd like a curt hitch with a cargo carrier, even though I really didn't need it on this trip. We bought a lot of our meals on site, just had snacks and drinks in the cooler.

I had done this the same time last year but it was just one night and I just used a egg crate foam pad and sleeping bag by myself and my older dog and I did not consider running the car overnight, although I did run the heater full blast just before going to sleep and then shut the car off, then ran it full blast again when I got up before getting out and about. This time with the air mattress and leaving the car on overnight was far more enjoyable. Didn't even lose a single PIP on the fuel gauge. It maintained about 5 bars on the battery display so it didn't even need to kick in the ICE to bring up the charge, the charge was sustained enough by kicking on when it needed to for heating up. Had the MFD off and all accessories (radio, lights, etc) off.

On a side note, before the trip I modded the foglights to be able to turn on with the parking lights per Darelldd's instructions on his site. I also did the always on front 12V outlet found on coastal tech's website for my duracell 175W pocket inverter (which I love!). All added enjoyment to the experience. If only my HTC Mogul was working we would have had movies to watch too, but it quit on me a few weeks ago, looking to get a new phone now. The days were so long and eventful it's doubtful I would have had time to watch movies anyway, sleep was more important!

 

IlusnForc -
Good stuff and thanks .... What's better, the suction cuped Heat Shields or bathroom Towels for side and rear windows? I am debating myself about camping in the Prius ... like for a few weeks. Really roughing it .... Just me in the Car.

Any advice?

 

I don't have any of the suction cup heat shileds, I just used what I had which was bathroom towels, and the triangles cut out of a cereal box for the small side windows in the hatch. There isn't a lot of vertical room for standing up to change clothes so that might be a little tricky, not much space at all. Mostly best just for sleeping in. I'm sure you'll be fine for a few weeks. Although I'm not sure how much gear you're bringing for a few weeks excursion but it would probably be nice to have a hitch with a cargo rack.

 

I have spent many nights in my Prius and can probably count on one hand the number of times the rear seats have been put up. Early spring and once the fall cools off it is easy, way to hot in the later spring and summer months here in the mid-Atlantic/ north east. I pretty much take off on a fishing trip most weekends and have most of my gear to one side and set up to sleep on the other. I have a large rubbermade bin that I put behind the passenger seat and slide the seat all the way forward. A bag of clothing acts as a pillow and I am good to go.

My issue is with wet conditions. it is a pain to change inside the car with wet clothing and keeping wet stuff in the car brings up the humidity level quickly. I recently picked up a recommended Hitch and a cargo rack, but the combo has now ground clearance empty so it may all be going back.

Not an off-road car at all. I cringe in some areas, but so far so good.

 

Gret review of your trip! Thanks for sharing!

 

Great review of your trip!

 

Just slept in the back of my 2008 Prius 3 nights! Used a Coleman SUV air mattress. Was very comfortable! Getting ready for another trip. Going to buy some screening for the windows.

 

WOW !!!!!! Can't wait to show this pic to my wife ! SHE's the 1 wanting 2 go camping!! I'm fed up w/paying for over-priced crapholes or paying a LOT for hotels w/ one central entrance which makes me have to 'hide' our puppy !! btw--where do i go to make a new thread or announcement ??? thanks DJ

 

GREAT, GREAT story & good ideas. can't wait to share w/ my wife who loves camping. Our trip home from Ct to Fl...cost too much in hotels. Then again, we both took ill so we needed 'to rest & enjoy a low maintenance crash-stite" DJ

Here's the picture.
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***Breaking News***I bought it-58.9k w/ package 6- It drives like a dream ! For $14,900 +tx &
title ONLY. All the extras are just CREAM...or maybe crem/dela-cepe<?>
I can't spell But i know it IS CLEAN in & out. I've only gone 166mi @2 clicks-the car also ran while parked w/ my wife waiting for me to run errands, setup the bluetooth etc.--so i know that hurt the mileage. yet, I'm (WE) ARE Happy.
I WANT TO THANK THOSE of YOU who took the time to respond--I have
more questions-I'll search 1st b-4 i ask if the 35psi(fr) 33psi(rear) is recommended for BEST mileage? (i thought i'd sneek that ? in here). I'm going to keep THEM @ 40PSI all around ok w yous ???

Have a good weekend, Sincerely, DJ-now ocding w/ my NEW 2 0 0 7 PRIUS.

 

I have really appreciated all these posts. One challenge I have yet to solve... I was fantasizing pulling a Little Guy Joey or Rascal (teardrop trailers) across country from the West Coast to Michigan where I'm needed to care for an ailing parent. I have driven my 2005 Prius alone this route before with my cat. After driving all day, I needed to sleep nights, but she wailed all night in each motel and ripped her way into the box springs to hide before she ever settled down by 5 AM or so. (The only way I could retrieve her was by leaving the leash attached to her harness and pulling on it.)

So I thought the Joey would be a good solution -- contained space with familar stuff and smells (after practice nights at home), etc. Except I'm not finding much in the way of confidence expressed on Prius forums about towing it a long distance like that. Even a wee tiny one meant to be towed by a motorcycle (up to 600 lbs curb weight plus up to 90lbs tongue).

Is that truly not a good idea? Going over the Rockies? And across the wide stretches of Wyoming and Nebraska (where in Prius alone I was once almost blown off the highway--seriously-- by a sudden storm)?

If it's not advisable, my concern about the Napier Dome and the Habitents is that after a day cooped up in a moving vehicle, kitty would find a way out in a millisecond. And tent screens notwithstanding, I suspect mosquitoes, which are smaller even than kitty, can find their way in... (love Hobbit's magnetic-strip screens idea: brilliant solution).

Has anyone driven a long trip (5 days) with feline company and cracked the code of peace and containment whilst camped in a Prius?

All suggestions welcome.

 

Towing anything in the Rockies sounds like a bad idea. The Prius has enough stress just getting itself and some stuff over the mountains. It is not made for towing.