How to run the A/C overnight?

If anyone has any other tips to avoid the vibration/shudder from when the ICE starts, please post. It doesn't wake me up every time, but often.

Pro tip if you don't want to run the heat/AC all night: I have remote start. Before going to bed, I'll turn the heat on HIGH. If I wake from being too cold, I'll remote start the car and go back to sleep. The remote start runs the car for five minutes, then quits. Long enough to bring the ambient temperature up.

 

Not much help for you but I think the Gen 4 starts up smoother. Perhaps camping in a Prime is not a bad idea.

 

Put radiant barrier ($5 from camping store) or reflectix ($15 - $40 from Home Depot or Lowes) on top of your roof or windows and 90% of radiant heat will be reflected away. LightIen load for your AC and ICE will run less. Use less fuel and battery.
I put relectix on inside of windows for:
(search on youtube for details)
1 reduced heat gain
2 security - people can not see in to break into your car
3 R22 insulation (keep you warmer in winter, cooler in summer
4 reduce outside road noise for restful sleep
5 enhances light at night when you are using a flashlight
6 allows for stealth camping , sleeping, and parking
7 save you money, fuel, ICE cycling
8 (if you put relectix under your sleeping bag in winter, it will keep you warmer)

Reflectix has many camping aplications - making cozies for cooking (search on youtube for details)

barrier can be attached on outside of car with magnets (cover with tape to protect paint finish) or blue painters tape

Refectix can cut to form and inserted on inside of window and holds in place with tight fit. Stores easy when not in use.

I am unable to post links on all the above bcz I am a new member
2011 Prius 3 with sunroof and solar panel

 

Never had a need to run A/C at night when camping in my Prius. I have sun shades that cover all the windows so if I pull over at a rest stop late at night, even if it's still 90' out I put the curtains up, front seats all the way forward, headrests off, recline them down flush w/back seats and long ago replaced center console with big pillow. Way moremcomfortable than sleeping in back of car. As for a really hot nights, I just get naked and sleep. The car heating up in the morning is my alarm clock!

 

I'm trying to picture your setup -- both front seats reclined to flush with back seat and pillow where console used to be. Are you sleeping side to side or front to back? Where are your feet?

It seems like most Prius campers push the front seat backs forward, rather than recline them flush with the back seats. That surprised me. While I am one who sleeps in the back (which you apparently don't do), doing the set up you describe yields well over nine feet of length to sleep. I have a sheet of plywood I put down (under my comfy mattress) so its all perfectly flat. Not sure why most don't configure the front seat has you have described.

 

When I first got the car I removed the back seats entirely and was able to fit a futon mattress (size: Full) and it pretty much fit perfectly, but I needed to configure some custom sculpted foam for under the mattress so the mattress would sit perfectly flat. I used to build camper vans so I knew the process to go about doing that but it sucks telling friends you don't have room in your car because you removed that back seat and the amount of times I needed to use a full size bed wasn't often enough, so never finished that one. But at some point when I have more than one Prius or other hybrid I'll for sure set it up...

 

It has been quite a challenge for me to find an answer to my question. I read the threads about sleeping in the car overnight, but mine shuts off every 59 minutes. It is a pain to crawl back to the front to press the brake and restart the engine and get back to sleep EVERY HOUR! So any advice on this would help. Thank you.

 

From Page 247 of the PDF https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM47E09U/pdf/OM47E09U.pdf

Auto power off function If the vehicle is left in ACCESSORY mode for more than 20 minutes or ON mode (the hybrid system is not operating) for more than an hour with the shift position in P, the power switch will automatically turn off. However, this function cannot entirely prevent the 12-volt battery discharge. Do not leave the vehicle with the power switch in ACCESSORY or ON mode for long periods of time when the hybrid system is not operating

If you left the vehicle in D and used large chocks, it sounds as if it would not turn off.

www.amazon.com/MTC-20207-Heavy-Wheel-Chocks/dp/B017RW8G54
These nest so all 4 (you need chocks for both drive wheels) can store in a small space,,

 

Can you please clarify is this problem is when car is turned on in ready mode? OR only a problem when car is in accessory mode?

 

Zaranman has a 2021. The late models have added a safety feature and will actually power off from READY mode if parked for a certain time.

Someone has posted from the owners' manual the way to deactivate the auto power off if you are staying inside the car. I think it had something to do with working the door lock. (I don't remember the details, but they should be in the owners' manual, I remember that.)

 

All you need is the owner's manual:

 

So how is it that during a power outage people can hook their prius up to their house via an inverter and the car stays in ready mode indefinitely without shutting off every hour? Is that because the engine starts up within the hour to recharge the hybrid battery? Or is it because the car is not locked? So confusing?

 

READ
This was a change for 2021 apparently
If locked with the physical key the timeout is bypassed.

 

There are 4 generations of Prius. You have Gen 2 and the question is about Gen 4, confusingly asked in a Gen 3 forum.

For the Gen4, you need tricks to keep it running unattended, jerrymildred and I posted some tricks.
For Gen 1 through Gen 3, no such tricks are needed, the car runs until it is out of gas.

 

Manuals are just another mans suggestion, who would want to read that

 

In this case it's not about what the manual says, but which generation of Prius you have and what forum to ask the question in...

 

It seems to me there are some things I call tricks.

But when it's a question of "I want to do X, how do I do that?" and the owners' manual has a section in it that goes "when you want to do X, here's what to do" and you do that, it doesn't seem so much like a trick to me.

 

It is if you don’t read. But then why are you here wasting our time?