Car Camping in a Prius Prime

I have been wondering about the capability of Prime’s overnight camping mode with the traction battery and charger not hooked up.

It was about 95 here in TX yesterday and I was working inside the car under a tree shade for 30 minutes with auto temperature set at 76. During that time period, it consumed about 3 miles. With Prime’s 25-mile range with a fully charged battery, I guess it can only last about 4 hours more or less. After the battery depleted, I am not sure how often the ICE would kick in. Obviously this will be dependent on the ambient temperature outside and temperature setting inside the cabin.

Good video though!

 

Great stuff!
I have a question.
Can you set up climate control to every 30 mins? I think it would be much better for battery than sleeping in ON mode with ongoing climate all the time.

SM-G950F ?

 

Thanks for making this video and sharing. I have a prime and am looking to set it up for camping. This helped a lot. I like the little table you built for the seat (to level the deck for the mattress). Happy trails.

 

This is awesome! I was contemplating camping this weekend in my Prime, but the lows are going to hit 43 degrees so I was about to cancel when I saw this video and learned that, thanks to the battery, I won't freeze to death lol

 

Hi everyone!

I’m working on building a platform for my 2021 Prius Prime (4th gen) to fit over the passenger side rear folded seat. I’ve spent days searching for precise measurements, materials, and tools needed, but no luck so far. Has anyone here tackled this project and can share:
- Exact dimensions for a platform that fits snugly on the folded seat area?
- Recommended materials/tools and where to source them?

I’ve seen others use storage bins, ice chest, or even spare tires on the rear floor to support pillows or extend the sleeping space. If you’ve tried this, could you share the measurements for bins/ice chest that fit perfectly (or close) in that area?

Attached are screenshots from videos I found—unfortunately, none mention sizes. Any advice or insights would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

An under bed storage bin works fine, so you really don't need to build a platform. You will need a piece of wood to spread your weight across the top of your bins - so you don't fall through.
IMHO: foam padding is a waste of space. Use a pool float mattress or camping pad. Buy the more expensive stuff if car camping is in your future. In the mean-time; go with what you have to see if you like it. You really don't want to spend a whole bunch of money to find out you don't like sleeping in your car and motel room are only around $100.
I spent a night in mine, probably won't do it again - too tall. Had to roll-up a jacket and place my head over the center console; so I wouldn't get a crick in my neck. Used my regular camping zero degrees mummy sleeping bag; so didn't need climate control running. It just got down to the low 40sF.

Hope this helps......

 

Update! I’ve started building the platform current dimensions are 23 inches wide near the hatchback and 26.5 inches wide toward the front of the car. Now I’m stuck on two things:
1. Wheel well adjustments: How do I measure around the wheel arches? Any tips for shaping? After 16.5 inches I diagonal cut is needed to meet the 23 inches.
2. Total platform length: What’s the ideal length from the hatchback to the front seats?

For the tapering width (23" → 26.5"), should I angle the side? Also, does the platform need support over the wheel wells or can it sit flat?

If anyone’s done this before, I’d love your insights!

 

Somehow I missed this thread until now. I first car camped in my 2017 Prius Prime in July 2021, from July 4th to 31st, covering about 8000 miles.

There are 5 key parts to my "no build build" for camping.
1. Something to level and support the flaps when you fold down the seats.
You might as well use it to create some under-bed storage while you're at it, so I used a
Hardigg military-case lid on each side of the car for that, but you could custom build a wooden boxes with removable lids
Go easy on using wood, there is always a better solution. Wood is heavy and takes up too much space.
I feel bad about having used one thin piece of plywood over one Hardigg lid, out of laziness.
I rationalized it by saying the plywood doubles as an emergency supply.
2. The 75x25x4 trifold bed behind the passenger seat.
Olee, gray.
3. The 50 liter freezer behind the passenger seat, under the pillow end of that.
I brought an ice cream cake from NH to AZ in July, it never melted.
Vevor clone of the Alpicool CX50LG, with luggage handle/wheels/etc removed.
LG compressor made in Korea, well worth the extra $40ish.
Availabiity varies over time by brand, currently sometimes ShineGiant, or Alpicool itself.
The CX30/CX30LG and CX40/CX40LG also have the perfect fit, just different heights.
It does not require any modification of the passenger seat tracks, if you raise it up a bit.
Raising it also helps it fit perfectly around the obstructions of the center console, belt retractor, other stuff.
The raised CX50 gives me a raised-pillow result, matching how I sleep at home.
Most people, maybe CX40 max, CX30 would allow adjusting height vs level vs storage underneath.
I used steel parts drawers from industrial shelving, to raise mine.
Awesome for storing emergency supplies you don't need in a hurry, because they are under and supporting the freezer + contents..
4. Two soft cooler bags, unequal sizes, nested. Just swap frozen water or drink bottles from the freezer into them.
Then you have a fridge with many configurations of temps/sizes for food, drinks, leftovers, meds, etc.
I love having water and PowerAde in various stages of melting in the bags, and freezing in the freezer.
5. Bestek 300W pure sine wave inverter, around $40. Only plug in up to 120W if you plug the inverter into the Prime's 12V socket.

I have expanded my electrical infrastructure welll beyond that, but suffice it to say that some people will just get a power station if they want to run a fridge or freezer with the car out of Ready Mode for hours or days. Others will get a LiFePO4 battery and one or more methods of keeping it charged, plus one or more methods of using energy from it. Others will get both. Different people have different use cases, there is no one solution that is "best" for everyone. It is smart to draw some extra power from the Prime 12V battery anytime you're in Ready Mode, to avoid needing to micromanage the 120W from the 12V socket, or to stay in Ready Mode more than you want to. Pulling even just an extra 15 to 30A from the car's 12V while driving or otherwise Ready, makes life much, much easier than just drawing 10A or less from the socket. So, even just a second 300W pure sine Bestek hooked up and fused to the car's 12V battery, will make life very easy. My own philosophy is to let my "house LiFePO4" (or a large power station if you prefer) power all serious loads, while replenishing it at a moderate pace when the car is Ready.

Pulling 200W from the battery and 100W from the socket, whenever Ready or driving, makes more sense than just using the socket and/or solar, then getting in a bind and deciding you need a 1000W inverter to charge a big power station from the car. Slow and steady wins the race. I would never hit my 12V car battery for 1000W for more then a few minutes. I'd rather abuse the non-car batteries.

When my system was just using the socket for powering the freezer/everything, I just left the car in Ready Mode the entire time, except when filling the gas tank. Twice while fueling up, I checked the oil. It used none. So, what conditions did I car camp in? Mostly over 100F, with many days in the 114-117F range, while visiting a friend in Quartzsite, AZ. Why didn't I ever leave the car? Umm, actually I did. I just wanted it to be climate controlled 24/7. It was normally where I could hear its radiator fan running, in a secure location under many watchful eyes. Even in the few exceptions to that, and even if the engine kicked on and off with the car locked, I wasn't too worried. In such a hot climate, especially in the car camping capital of the world, everyone has their vehicle windows blocked with Reflectix or limo tint anyway, whether they are in it or not. Fans kicking on/off on a parked car, doesn't get a second glance. Having all windows covered is normal, not attention-getting, whether or not someone is in the car.

Note that the locks need to be used in very specific ways if leaving the car Ready in public, and in other very specific ways if locking yourself into the car in the back. Practice practice practice. The first few times you practice, I recommend you have all the windows fully open, and a friend outside checking all locks after each thing you do.

For two days in NV, I hiked 8-12 hours/day, but the car was in a place which was extremely remote and hidden. I did the same thing there again in April 2024, cooler but still brutal, maybe 90F instead of 105. No other humans for miles, at any point over the course of the two days. If one other person per year could see the car there (other than from aircraft) that would be a lot.

So, the Prime is great for going to crazy places in crazy conditions. If offroading, is its ground clearance less than ideal? Sure, but I had oversized tires and proceeded carefully and slowly. If there was a big rock in the way, I went around it or moved it. I found that a large stainless steel frying pan makes a great shovel, and upside down makes a great rake and grader. With my frying pan, it feels like I can go anywhere, and remove most traces that I did so.