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Making due with less "cubby" space

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Lee Jay, May 5, 2017.

  1. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    One of the big reasons I bought my 2004 was all the little (and big) places to store things.

    G4 got rid of most of them. This is actually the reason I didn't buy a 2016 Prius, as was my original plan. It so annoyed me that I even drew up plans to get some of it back though building my own to replace the idiotic foam in the back under the floor.

    Prime has just a tiny bit more than G4 (rear seat console, right-rear cubby, rear slot, left-rear goo storage area), but there is still way less in the way of "cubby space".

    Here's how I made due.

    My 2004 glove box pair included the manuals and a large trash bag in the bottom, a tire pressure gauge and some miscellaneous stuff in the top. My 2004 front console tray (which neither the G3 nor the G4 has) stored spare Kleenex packs (you can't have too many of these when you have little kids). The little area under the radio stored my badge, one open Kleenex pack and usually some Tic-Tacs. The left-cubby in the cargo area stored my jumper cables. The big under-floor storage stored a medium-sized toolbox, an emergency blanket and a large towel which I used to protect the back of the car from dirty cargo or as a ground cover when I needed one in a pinch. This is that last stuff, which occupied half of the under-floor storage:

    E500_16449.jpg
    So, what about the Prime?

    Well, let's go in reverse order. That tool box isn't going to fit anywhere (it's cheap junk anyway), but I used the right-side cargo area cubby (I think designed for the AC power module in Japan) to store a greatly sized-reduced version but with similar, or even superior capabilities. Since the new version has seven sets of pliers rather than just two (including the diagonal cutters) the overflow went into the tool pouch that came with the car and went back into the rear slot (the stuff not on the yellow cloth):

    E500_16447.jpg
    This fits in that right cubby area and the cloth keeps it from rattling:

    E500_16435.jpg

    Moving on, that little green thing on the right in the picture above is actually a pocket ground cover, which I'll use to replace the large blue towel.

    The jumper cables that were in the left-rear cubby are now safely tucked under the passenger seat in such a way as they won't slide around easily:

    E500_16455.jpg
    Moving up front, the owners manuals have been removed from the glove box and pdfs are on my phone. The large tire pressure gauge has been replaced with a small one:

    E500_16460.jpg
    The miscellaneous stuff has been removed for the most part, except for insurance information which is now in an envelope.

    Additional new things include a tire plug kit and micro compressor to add to the goo kit Toyota provided. This gives me two ways to fix a flat tire. Another new thing is a medium sized first-aid kit, which includes an emergency Mylar thermal blanket (replacing the fleece one) and many other emergency items I didn't have before. This all fits in the glove box (the tire pressure gauge is on the right and the envelope is on the bottom):

    E500_16462.jpg

    Okay that leaves the trash bag and a place for my badge, in-use Kleenex pouch and Tic-Tacs. I bought some seat side pocket caddys for that stuff, trash on the right, little stuff on the left. They're black on a black background and so hard to see, but they're between the seats and the console on both sides.

    E500_16464.jpg

    The large front console on the 2004 contained a bunch of stuff, which is now split between the smaller front console and the rear console. This split allowed me to use the bottom of the front console for the stuff that used to be in the front console drawer in the 2004.

    This works for me. I actually have more capability than before, some of it in slightly inconvenient ways like a Mylar blanket instead of a cozy fleece one and a pin-socket instead of a socket set, but that's overall a good thing (ball drivers, ratcheting screw driver, more pliers, and the first aid kit).

    I miss all that great Prius G2 storage, but this is how I made due with what they gave me in the Prime so I could have this phenomenal car.
     
  2. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    Down sizing. It is a trend.
     
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  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Looks good! I miss the storage from Gen 2, also. Gen 3 looks like it has more than G4, but I still took a hit, especially with losing the spare tire and so on to the big battery in the PiP. One of these days, I need to find time to get as organized as you.
     
  4. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Based on my kids' clothes, upsizing is also a trend.
     
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  5. Prius from Dad

    Prius from Dad Senior Member

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    I feel your pain. I went from a 2012 v to the Prime. I am happy to live with it and make due, because the benefits far outweigh the negatives.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i never used the cubby under the radio, drawer under the console, upper glove box or hatch floor sub storage for anything but junk. so, none of that really bothers me. and pip is even worse than gen 3. but we all have our trouble spots with gen4 and prime. if you like the rest of the car enough, you'll put up with it.
     
  7. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    I had stored a lot of stuff in my 2011 Prius. When I traded and cleaned it out I was amazed at all the stuff I had that I had completely forgotten about having.
     
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  8. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Kinda like cleaning out a toolbox or a closet. :D
     
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  9. heiwa

    heiwa Active Member

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    Lee Jay, are all the tools you now store in the right-side cargo area cubby for your work or for emergency on the road? I prefer to take things off the car for the sake of fuel economy though I am not as dedicated as taking unused seats off. Of course, loosing 50 pounds off me would be a better way to do it as my son often reminds me. I like your idea of having a second set of tire repair kit. Mine for now is a cheep hand bicycle air pump which works fine with slow leaks.
     
  10. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    This is for emergencies on the road and needs where I might end up when I don't have tools at home.

    Saving weight isn't as big a deal as you might think. This entire tool kit weighs less than 10 pounds. Compared to the 3,600 pounds the car weighs with one passenger and half a tank of gas, that's less than 0.3%. If 2/3 of your losses are rolling friction and acceleration (mass-related losses), that will cost you less than 0.2% of mileage. To put that in perspective, over 100,000 miles of Ev driving at 5 miles/kWh that's less than 40kWh, which is about $5 over the probable life of the car (assuming half-and-half Ev/Hv and 200,000 miles total life). Paying an extra $5 so I can have tools with me when I need them for 15 years doesn't seem like much - $0.33 a year or less than 3 cents a month.
     
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  11. heiwa

    heiwa Active Member

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    This is why I read this forum! Being engineer must be very rewarding as viewing life in such tangible ways. I'll tell my son that I can keep my extra 50 pounds because it only costs us $1.65 a year! How come engineers on the forum do not speak of it in terms of how much green house gas emission saved? I discovered recently that environmental discussions are separated in Priuschat. Is there a rule that I missed?
     
  12. Prius from Dad

    Prius from Dad Senior Member

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    Different perspectives? To me they go hand in hand. Maximizing EV miles and getting the most from the HV battery not only save $ but are less damaging to the environment. I started hypermiling in '06 for both of those reasons.
     
  13. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    CO2 goes with energy, so the same 0.2% of total applies.

    Of course, I'm in wind energy, so CO2 is close to zero using that source.
     
  14. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    Updating this, the location I picked for the jumper cables didn't work out. They kept sliding around. Putting them under the driver's seat fixed that problem (there happens to be a much more secure location under that seat) and that left room for my large fleece blanket under the passenger seat. It hasn't slid around.