Anyone camp in their Prius Prime?

I camped out in the back of my 08 2nd gen once, lol. I was just thinking how that wouldnt work as well in the Prime

 

You can just throw a couple of kids or the cat and dog in the back to raise the floor. Seriously, just a pile of old blankets, tarps would work fine. I camp in my Gen 4 all the time.

 

Only small people do

 

Are there that many homeless people with Primes?

 

If you own a Prius and a sleeping bag you have a home.

 

I've taken naps, the front seat folds way back.

 

Has anyone left the car on for air conditioning or heat? And how has the battery done? This is probably an example of when to use charge mode-- before you get to a rest stop for an unplanned safety nap after seeing the coffee cup annunciator light.

 

I have camped in my gen 3, locked the doors and left ignition on. ICE turns on to to make hot coolant and charge battery as needed. Camping in 40 degree weather with auto temp on 72, the ICE started 4x over 8 hours and ran for 2 minutes each time.

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Keep in mind the various models of Gen4 Prii have different rear floor levels. With seats down, the only even floor Gen4 is the version with spare tire. The Gen4 without spare the rear is about 2-3 inches lower. The Prime the rear floor is 4 or so inches higher. Some folks are using foam board to level out floor for camping. I do not think we've heard anyone yet using Prime for sleeping, but it's only been selling a few months now.

 

No. But did in my 20's

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Matter fact yes. Not thinking of what it actually would do to the 12 Volt battery. I was waiting in the parking lot of a casino in Vegas 118° for a friend whom went inside for 20 minutes or more and was pretty lucky. The work load on the car batteries with air blasting and idling could have ended my vacation fast. I wouldn't if you dont need too.

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Thanks for the reply, myPeeus-- but I was not clear in asking my question. I should have asked--

While camping or waiting, how does the Prius prime traction battery do if in EV mode and running the a/c or heat? Of course the answers will be different with different weather conditions-- I am just looking for some anecdotal replies.

 

There is a You Tube video of a man who has money but chose to make a tiny home for himself only, out of a 2005 Prius he bought used for $5000. He took out the front seat and uses a board thru half the rear for his flat bed with padding and a sub zero rated sleeping bag, He has cooking abilities, a fold up bike that stores inside, etc with his tiny home. So a Prime will have more utility especially if one could plug in for free, but less storage and sleeping room due to the 5 inches or so in that the battery raises the rear floor.

 

There was an extensive thread on this topic in the Gen 4 forum over a year ago. Although the Prime has the opposite problem as Gen 4 with no spare, some of the ideas might still apply.

Can the 4th Gen still be used as a camper or sleeper? Flat or Non Flat Cargo floor ? | PriusChat

 

Bumping this thread to see if anyone has used one of these habitents with the Prime: Habitents Prius Tent For Hatchback Car Camping - Home

I'm planning to do some camping/hiking in the next month or so and trying to decide between camping within the Prime or besides it.

 

I would just stick to the inside. No tent to set up. No bugs to fight. AC/Heat when in ready mode, stereo music. Why make it more complicated? Plus those tents don't fit the Gen 4s, and I think were pretty poor sellers as the company has not released a new one. And, if you put that on your car, the AC or heat would be gone in 60 seconds.

 

That was my initial thought, but I was having trouble figuring out a decent solution for a privacy cover with the rear, curvy window.

Also, they do seem to offer an option that covers the 2016+ models (including the Prime). Wanted to see if anyone had tried it out.

 

I've always thought the benefit of sleeping (AKA camping) in a hybrid overnight as a HUGE plus for the design but I have never done it.

A few weeks ago, we had a very severe thunderstorm that knocked out electricity for 3 days due to the widespread tree damage. Sleeping in the car with numerous ICE startup interruptions overnight was better than sleeping in the heat but just barely. The second night, half the family preferred sleeping in the quiet house with constant fans powered by the hybrid in the garage.

FWIW

 

I am 6 foot. And BIG. No problem.