Car Camping Dangerous???

I've heard there's a Prius tent that hooks up to the hatch. Does anyone have one ?

 

There are several, this one is for Gen 2 and Gen 3. Habitents Prius Tent For Hatchback Car Camping - Home

More generic and bigger Napier Outdoors Sportz Dome-To-Go Tent & Reviews | Wayfair

I have not camped in my car.

 

If you are concerned about off-gasing, make sure your air ducts are clear and connected. Get an OBD2 code reader, and run the Hybrid Assistant app that allows you to run the circulating fan manually.

 

This Napier dome tent is heavier and larger than I expected. Feels like 30-40lbs. Was a bit of work to set it up. Takes up large space in the trunk. Very sturdy. The rods are what makes up much of the weight.

Oh wait.. this works well for the v, but the regular liftback there are complaints about rain entering the tent because it's not a perfect fit. Really meant for hatchbacks than liftbacks.

 

The problem with the Napier dome tents in a dangerous situation is you can't just hop in the driver seat from the inside and jam. You'll end up dragging the tent and all the stuff in it with you. Unless you set up the tent without latching to the car but that leaves gaps open for wind, rain and critters.

 

What kind of dangerous situation are you contemplating?

I find the car very comfortable to sleep in, but tight enough around the seats that it is a bit of an operation to get myself from berthed position into driving position. So unless I knew about the dangerous situation far enough in advance, it might be a little fanciful to imagine myself "hopping" into the driver's seat and jamming, tent or no tent.

 

For those who have camped with the 'tent' attachment, what is your experience with other campers? Do you leave your attachment on when you leave for an outing, or do you pack everyone up so you can leave your car secured? Do other campers investigate the attachment to the point of feeling uncomfortable to leave the area with it on?

 

In California fire can be quite a problem.

 

We have tried both a Habitent and the Napier Dome-to-Go. The Habitent would be ideal if you just want to overnight in the car at, say, a rest area during a multi-day drive as it is small and light. Also, you have to pack up the Habitent in order to drive away, which would be a minor hassle if you were camping multiple nights in the same campground and want to take driving trips during the day.
For our trip to Alaska, however, we intended staying multiple nights at many campgrounds as we explored each area. So we wanted more space so that we would have a living/dining/dressing room in the back of the Prius that would be immediately accessible from the “bedroom” where we sleep in the back of the Prius. The Napier tent gave us that additional space, but at a cost of more bulk and weight to store, of course. One post mentioned fit difficulties for the hatchback, and if you set it up exactly as specified and then attempt to raise the hatch to its highest position, the hatch will try to pull the edge of the tent right next to the bump up into the air. My simple fix for this problem was an inverted “V”-shaped nylon line that ran from the D ring on the left lip of the hatch floor to the D ring on the right side, with a simple carabiner in the middle that snaps onto the black metal loop on the hatch that normally secures the hatch down to the bumper. You just adjust the length of that line to make the hatch rest at a slightly lower position where it just taughtly supports the section of the dome tent that is over it. When dis-attached, the Napier dome stands up just like any normal large, high dome tent, and the sleeve that attaches the tent to the car zips shut like any normal tent door. We regarded leaving it as just like leaving any tent in a campground, where you expect other campers to be scrupulously honest, but would probably take cash or valuables with you.
When sleeping in the back, we expected possibly grizzly attacks due to food smells, but using that V string I described you can quickly pull down the hatch in the event of a bear attack. You also have two escape routes: sliding out the hatch or opening the side doors and rolling out of them, i would recommend a top quilt rather than a sleeping bag to make either exit method quicker, and we did each have Canadian bear spray (legal in Canada but human pepper spray is not!) right next to our pillows.
It’s night now, but if anyone wishes pictures of these things, I can provide them.

 

I must correct you in order to guard the dignity of the American language. A thing may be vanishingly small. It cannot be vanishingly low. It may be increasingly low, But not vanishingly.

 

This thing has got it where it counts. It's the only thing that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs

 

I enter the car from the passenger side rear door after turning the car to the Ready state and the climate control set. Sit on the "bed," ratchet knees up against the chest and pivot right. Pillow is positioned behind the passenger front seat. A small stretch and lean forward and I flip the door locks to the bear-resistant position.

Later, when I must reaffirm my maleness with a peeing for distance and volume exhibition, I manually unlock the rear passenger door, step sufficiently away from my habitat and let 'er rip. I have only done this in remote areas, but I assume it is acceptable (possibly encouraged) in San Francisco, Austin, Seattle, Portland and other "forward thinking" municipalities. In Portland, in particular, I would assume I would receive audible applause for my performance as I exited, stage left, back into the Prius.

 

There are also what use'ta be called WAG Bags (and maybe still are in the right circles, but now have a different name for retail sale). For several years now, there has been a small stash of 'em in my car at all times. Haven't needed to use one yet, but it was after a very tense experience in Virginia ten years ago that I resolved to keep some on hand.

 

It depends on whether or not witnesses like what they see.

If they don't, it is possible that you may be required to register as a sex offender.

 

You can poop on the sidewalks in San Francisco no one would stop you. Happens in downtown Sacramento a lot too.

 

If a bear wanted in your car a door would not stop them. The black bears at Yosemite peel doors off cars all the time for food.

 

A smoke detector will not have a CO detector in it 99.9% of the time. So you need a special CO detector. The cheap ones are not very sensitive and may not detect low levels. And CO can kill in small amounts especially when children or animals are involved. My experience with long term AC use in Ready is the car will discharge the HV battery slowly the first hour but will only partially recharge each subsequent time, which then causes the engine to cycle much more frequently, sometimes every ten or fifteen minutes. Plus the starts cause a shutter and may awaken you.

 

It isn't hard to find a CO detector with a numeric display.



The ones that only honk will typically start honking only over a couple hundred ppm (or after a longer period at lower levels), but one with a display will show you even much lower ppm levels, right on the display.

The one I have was able to detect the levels that appeared in my house, with all windows closed, when the house across the street was having their carpets cleaned (big vac truck running outside). Also picked up when a friend's oven had the air shutter misadjusted on the burner.

I don't think I've seen it show a reading in my Prius, but it would be an easy, and sensible, thing to bring along for any person feeling at all concerned.

Kidde has a table of CO levels and typical symptoms.

 

While true when I first bought a CO detector, I believe that statement is now quite outdated. Home Depot's website alone has 73 hits for combination smoke & CO detectors.

Yosemite's bears are not at all representative of blackbears elsewhere.

Yosemite is Yogi's premier school for snatching picnic baskets. While there are plenty of smart and hungry bears elsewhere too, no other place in North America has a similar degree of ursine teaching and training and skill sharing in this particular art.

 

Let me clarify - finding a combination unit that picks up low levels of CO is difficult and the downside is even pointed out by Kidde:

You should take extra precautions [ beyond UL rated como detectors] to protect high risk persons from CO exposure because they may experience ill effects from carbon monoxide at levels that would not ordinarily affect a healthy adult. Are there any infants or small children in the home? Be sure to check them for signs of possible CO poisoning because they might have trouble explaining their symptoms. Infants and children are more susceptible to CO poisoning than a healthy adult.

Pregnant women should be aware that their unborn fetus could be harmed by exposure to carbon monoxide, even when the mother suffers no ill effect herself. Any pregnant woman who suspects she may have been exposed to carbon monoxide should immediately contact her physician.

Is there anyone in the household who is elderly, or who has anemia, heart disease or respiratory problems, emphysema or chronic bronchitis? These individuals are at higher risk for CO poisoning and for health problems from exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide.

UL 2034
“1.3 Carbon monoxide alarms covered by this standard are not intended to alarm when exposed to long-term, low-level carbon monoxide exposures or slightly higher short-term transient carbon monoxide exposures, possibly caused by air pollution and/or properly installed/maintained fuel-fired appliances and fireplaces. See Table 41.1, Part B, False alarm resistance specifications.”

Don't Compromise — Get a Low-Level Carbon Monoxide Monitor

Here is an example low level detector used by hvac contractors in their work
Defender LL6070 Low Level Carbon Monoxide Monitor

And Professional-Grade Low-Level Carbon Monoxide Monitor NSI 3000 - Home Comfort & Safety