Gen 3 Prius Dwelling/Camping - pros/cons

i get up 5 times a night to go to the bathroom, i wouldn't worry about it.

the head gasket stuff is nonsense. clean the egr circuit, add an oil catch can, and when th gasket blows, don't blame it on camping.

btw, i have never camped in a prius, but in a tent, the bears keep me from a good nights sleep

 

Thank you for all the info very helpful. I just purchased a Prius and joined the site all within a week. I am already making plans on going camping with my kids. We Have tried a tent camping and did not like it because of being on the ground with all the critters. Also I get cold now that I am older! LOL.

 

There are a few more cons. One is the potential for CO poisoning sleeping right over the tailpipe in a car that draws air through that area to cool the battery. Two is the fact the hybrid system does not fully recharge the hv battery when it kicks on. It just raises it slightly causing more frequent cycling. The first fully charged period is of decent length but more frequent engine runtimes will occur thereafter. Especially if the ac is on, a rather heavy hv battery load. Three is the thermal cycling concern combined with the head gasket issue. Regardless of how it happens, the hg leakage is often past a warped head or block with an intact hg.. The engine does thermal cycle quite a bit in this situation. Fourth is the concern that something fails in the multiple cooling systems or somewhere in the engine and no one responds. Fifth, some dash lights will be on regardless of stealth attempts. The compressor and cooling fans also run further alerting the park police.

 

Do the park police object?

An inexpensive CO detector can be an easy way to rest easy regarding the CO concern. I favor the kind with a parts-per-million display, not just a honker. You can look at it in the morning and see how high the CO level didn't get. Plus even if you ever are in a weird airflow situation where the exhaust travels up to the windshield cowl and gets drawn in, the detector will let you know.

 

Just a reference to the recent sleeping in the vehicle drama

 

Perhaps if you are a really sound sleeper it might make sense. For me, on a recent camping trip in Florida, it was a warm afternoon and I wanted to take an hour nap. I got in the car, put it in ready mode, turned the AC on and the blower to 2 bars. With a windshield barrier for the sun and a pillow for my head, I was set for a cool snooze. Lasted about 15 minutes. The brakes locked down, the car shook slightly, the engine started with a buzz and a whir, and so much for my nap. And so on for the next 45 minutes. Off...run...off...run. Rest, maybe...nap...not really. Can't imagine 7 or 8 hours of that. Kind of tortuous I would imagine. Just my 2 cents, but you can add it to your fund of knowledge on the subject of "Prius Camping".

 

I'm surprised what I can eventually adjust to. It takes more than 45 minutes, maybe more than one night, but anything happening regularly like that....

When I first moved into this house, it had an ancient natural draft gas furnace that ignited with an epic clang-whoosh every 15 minutes or so, and by the end of the first week I was sleeping like a baby all night.

 

first of all, i don't think they are cold, because the engine comes on fairly often.

unfortunately, no one has studied the effects of low load on the engine, but driving in between camping should clean out most of the junk.
i would do an italian tune up in between camp sites

 

Even when it comes on while camping, it is generally not idling. It will be turning idle rpm, but at part throttle and producing more power than idle. (If you're listening, you can hear the difference that makes in the engine note. Right when it is about to shut off, it quits generating first, and you'll hear maybe a second of genuine idle before the engine stops.)

Not as much as the Italian tune up, but on the order of several HP.

 

They expected people who bought hybrids wanted to save gas, not burn it while they were sleeping. However I am guilty of using AC while waiting for over an hour in a South Texas steam bath. The normal purpose is to keep the hv up enough to get you going when the traffic jam clears. Then there will be more regen contribution to a full charge. Using a vehicle as a portable air conditioner was not in the manual.

 

I have camped many nights in my gen2 and gen3 prius but I simply dont get this obsession with leaving the car in ready mode to have climate control all night. It really seems unneccessary in 98% of weather. If it is cold bring a sleeping bag. If its hot maybe crack or open the windows and devise some sort of mosquito netting.

Not only does it seem like it would be annoying to have the engine running all night, YOU ARE CAMPING! Enjoy nature, enjoy the quiet, learn how to bring the right amount of blankets to keep you warm.

The Prius is a great camping car simply because it is a wagon (all wagons are great for camping), and because it gets good fuel economy which means your trip will be very affordable. Also its quite a stealthy option if you just want to pull over somewhere and sleep for the night while on a road trip. Another major advantage of sleeping inside the car vs the tent is safety. Whether that is if you are in a busy city or parking lot and you are worried about other people, or if you are in bear country you can store and eat your food inside the vehicle without having to worry about bears. When camping in a tent you have to make sure all food scents are outside the tent, and you cant lock yourself inside a tent like you can in the Prius.

 

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where'd that come from?

One thing for sure, I think
keeping in ready mode all night will sure mess with the MPG calculations in the ECU (if that is where the MPG calculations are done) as well as the history data, whereever that stuff is kept.
edit oops that 2 things for sure, I think?

 

There are the bears who have figured out door handles, and the bears who aren't particular.

 

This is a real thing, but particularly in places where bears are food conditioned (see Yosemite National Park). I've lived my entire life in bear (grizzly and black) country. Bear break-ins to cars are definitely possible, but they are rare. It is generally seen as "safe" by experts and those who live in bear country to store food within a vehicle unless you are in one of the few locations where bears have been food conditioned in the wrong ways and are known to break into vehicles, and those areas are widely known. Storing food within a tent is not seen as "safe" in the same places.

Anytime you speak about safety you have to think about probabilities. Any person or bear can break into a car, house, etc. You and your items are usually safer within a locked car or house than being exposed in the open, but you are never 100% safe, no matter wherever you are.

In the end it is all about what makes you feel safe at night and get a good sleep. It's largely psychological.

 

I recently returned from a trip starting in Los Angeles with Alaska as the destination, slept in the car all of the way there and ferry for most of the way back down to Washington.

I might be slightly addicted to what I like to call Overlanding in my Prius.

These days I try to sleep and utilize the car as much as possible not in READY mode. That's why I now have two 85AH batteries to keep things going, now if I can just figure out how to make the A/C run off batteries like my Plug-in can when charging I'll be a happy "camper" hahahahaha

After getting my Napier tent and ceramic heater, I can't wait for more snowy cold nights.

https://black.jmyntrn.com/2021/02/21/napier-tent-on-my-toyota-prius-is-a-win/

https://black.jmyntrn.com/2021/06/10/electric-heater-for-the-win-in-my-toyota-prius-camper/