Roof Top Tent on my Prius

When tent camping Im always placing my tent where it will avoid the wind. The top of a car seems the worst place to put the tent. I usually put it on the wind blocked side of the car or truck.

 

Hi Mike, welcome to PriusChat! :welcome:
I can see why you want to keep using your rooftop tent, but the Prius sure isn't designed for extreme off-road conditions with its low ground clearance. Do a search here on PC for camping and you'll see lots of information. Hobbit has a page on how to rig the vent fan if you want to sleep in the back, but several people just leave the car on and enjoy the air conditioning (including dehumidification).

Maybe sell the Maggiolina along with the Yukon and get a Napier Dome-to-Go tent?

 

Can this Napier Dome-to-Go tent be put together by one person, or does it require two to assemble? Anyone have this one?

 

I have it. Yes, it can be set up by one person. I haven't camped with it but I did set it up to see how big and how hard it was to set up and take down.

It's fine for nice weather. Don't rely on it for wind, rain or extreme cold or heat.

And what Bill said about the Prius not being suitable for off-roading. I think of mine as more of a great Cabaña for the beach than practical camping. I would think a *real* camper would get one of those small one or two person tents and have the sleeping bag, clothes and other gear. Then they wouldn't be camping with a Prius.

 

I'm not sure the Prius could hold the weight of the rack, the tent and a person.

 

See it in action with my Prius here:
EV page

 

Three of us, with two dogs, traveled from Wisconsin to Oregon, British Columbia, Montana, and back last summer. One Yakima rocket box on top, and my son's bike. It took us 5-6 minutes to set up camp each night with the tent, pads, and sleeping bags we carried. A trailer or a rooftop tent are definitely luxuries, and I don't see the advantage in ease of use, comfort, or mpg. Am I missing something?

 

I'm new and only have my 08 white prius for 2 weeks. Moving from a pontiac Aztek to get better gas mileage, but did give up quite a bit of room and interior cargo space since I was able to carry 3 people and 3 bikes inside for overnight trips. I did keep the tent from the aztek and fit it on the prius the other day. it seems to fit fairly nice...now I just need an air mattress.