#JimThePrius Overland Conversion in the making.

Those of you with keen eyes may have noticed the wheels and tyres had changed in that last photo.

I took the opportunity while the rear end was apart to swap to my Subaru wheels with 215/70/16 Toyo Open Country AT2 tyres on them, they fit very snugly once I'd removed the mudflaps, plastic wheel arch liners and little air deflector thingos.

Tonight I got a chance to go and give them a test run, much more grip than before, it will be interesting to see the mileage difference.

 

The electric power steering is quite effective so it doesn't feel much different as far as heaviness goes but it's definitely a lot more planted around corners with the extra grip.

I am waiting for a 40mm lift kit to arrive from Russia, then I will choose springs and shocks to suit the load and height I desire.

 

Thats the plan , not sure about live streaming because the internet isn't very good but there will definitely be videos.

The glowing thing is my Thinkware F770 dash cam.

There's one in the mail but it hasn't arrived yet.

 

Unfortunately soon after I bought the car the engine light came on, as I'm still waiting for my OBD2 reader I hadn't had a chance to find out why until last week. Travelling along the highway the engine shuddered and stalled, and the red triangle of death and circle with exclamation turned on, the car kept driving till the main battery got too low and then we had to pull over. After turning it off and on again the petrol motor started back up, the battery recharged and everything went back to normal.

A couple of days later I took it to my local Toyota dealer who gave this diagnosis:


2 days later the engine light came back on, I've since put new fuel in but because it takes so long to get through a tank I'm not sure if this will fix the issue. I don't really want to go spend the $77 diagnosis fee at Toyota again so il live with it till my OBD2 reader arrives and I can do more testing.

 

I might chuck a bottle of injector cleaner in the next tank, and use the "premium" fuel to see if that makes any difference, but apart from that 1 stalling problem it still drives normally every day so hopefully it's not a major issue.

 

Onto more exciting things, I finally got around to starting the solar install the other day. I was tossing up many different mounting options and roof rack systems and all sorts for the last few weeks.

Eventually I decided to just keep it simple and glue them directly to the roof, this will provide the best aerodynamics but may reduce the power the solar panels produce in summer if they get too hot, il keep an eye on it but we are only just starting winter in Australia so that's a long way away.



I removed the AM/FM radio antenna and ran the solar wiring through the resulting hole in the roof, the antenna itself I just tucked under the roof lining so it still works but doesn't have quite the same signal range it did before. I usually connect my phone for music so that's not an issue.



I used an Anderson plug to connect the panel to the wire going into the car so that if I park in the shade I can unplug the rooftop panels and plug in an extension cord to some portable panels which I can sit away from the car in the sun.



A second panel will be added to the front half of the roof when it stops raining every day, bringing the total to 220w of solar.

Moving into the boot, I will be making a board to replace the factory tray that fits above the spare tyre which my car was missing when I bought it, on that board il mount the solar controller as well as a 240v mains charger for the 12v system and a 600w inverter, I may also fit my 2000w inverter later down the track along with some extra batteries and an external 240v input/output plug/socket so I can use the Prius as a UPS for my house.



The next stage will be to upgrade the 12v battery, I'm not sure whether to go for a larger capacity AGM or if the factory DC-DC charger is capable of charging a lithium battery.

 

I will be sealing up the side gutters once the solar is finished, but I havnt noticed any water inside yet. The electronics will sit in the top half of the spare tyre well where the plastic cubby usually goes so even if there is a bit of water it should fall to the bottom of the tyre well and miss all of the important bits.

 

Preparing to return home from my interstate trip to my partners house I discovered that the Prius fits an unbelievable amount of stuff in it.


Unfortunately that also means a lot of weight, and the suspension sagged quite a lot causing the rear tyres to hit a small bit of the inner guards where the plastic liners used to attach, nothing an angle grinder and hammer cant fix.


There is still a slight rub on big bumps when the suspension compresses but the lift kit should fix that (if it ever arrives) and I don't plan on packing the car this tightly on a regular basis.


I also fitted the spare tyre holder that I made for my Subaru, it will need to be modified to fit the Prius better as I don't need to lean the tyre back to clear the hatch and I would like to add a jerry can and/or toolbox for a jack/shovel/recovery gear etc


Last but not least I gave the headlights a quick polish, they're far from perfect and still have a lot of yellowing on the inside and the rear plastics are broken in multiple places so new ones will come eventually.
(after on left, before on right)


All of this weight and big wheels and accessories added up to 37mpg over a tank with a mix of 80% highway and 20% city traffic, a little over double the Subaru (saving me nearly $40 on this trip) but plenty of room for improvement.