Live in a trailer and using Prius as power soure?

Personally, I wouldn't connect anything directly to the traction battery, especially if you don't know exactly what you are doing. And the 12-volt battery isn't sufficient by itself; you would have to leave the car running. All in all, it doesn't seem like a great way to go.

I'm sure you have researched this, but I'm intrigued by your statement that you need 200-400 watts. That seems like a lot, and I'm wondering what you are using that requires that much power. It's especially a lot of constant power. You ought not, for example, to need anything like that when you are sleeping.

So the first thing I would try is to see if you can reduce your power consumption to a level that can be handled via alternate means such as solar power.

What you need to figure out is not only the maximum instantaneous power in watts you might need, but also the total power in watt-hours. That will help you determine the system you would need. For example, a 500-watt, 540-watt-hour system might be enough to fill your needs overnight. Then an 80- to 100-watt solar panel could recharge the system during the day. If you need to supplement the solar, you could run the Prime for a short period to help recharge the solar system battery. That would be better than relying on the Prime's batteries, I think.

 

HOME | PlugOut Power, Generator for hybrid vehicles | United States You'll need an electrician for part of the job though and it's not exactly small. But it works and you can probably sell the kit afterwards. Also, you'll need to account for the wear on the engine while doing it this way, so adjust your oil changes accordingly.

 

Is part of the plan buying a trailer with refrigerator and heat?

The car electrical power comes from gasoline consumption which would cost more than utility power. Solar or high voltage inverters and accessories will cost more than they are worth. Enough solar in the Bay area with its overcast clouds all the time would require a giant array. Thousands of dollars up front.

But the worst thing is you are wearing out the engine by running it in Ready mode 24x7. Seems there are plenty of jobs these days. Why not get one that does not require you to drive?

 

Solar power is actually pretty cheap, the labor for install though isn't. The prius motor is actually pretty efficient, and it won't be running 24/7. It will only run as long as it needs to in order to charge up the battery. I can't really imagine it requiring more than 1-2 gallons a night in this type of scenario depending on how much power you need. If you are basically using it to power your small RV fridge, some lights and a TV you should be fine. Heck, if you could charge up the 5.5kw battery before pulling into parking you probably wouldn't start the motor once all night unless you start running the air conditioning for some length of time. If you want to run this off 12v directly tied to the battery however. The most I'd could see that inverter handling would be around 1500w though and the generator is good for maybe 1200w. So I would probably install a few extra batteries on the camper and use the prius to charge them to create a ballast of sorts if you are going down the 12v route.

 

As a former full time RVer, I can tell you that you are being “penny wise and pound foolish” as the old saying goes. We had 380 watts of solar power on our 34’ Avion, 4 220 amp hour deep cycle batteries, and a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter. That setup cost us less than $4000 with our labor, and could handle everything but the a/c BUT the refrigerator ran on lp (the batteries COULD run it but only on a limited basis).
Regardless of what some people say, the Prius is NOT a rolling generator. You will destroy the car, and come no where near providing your power needs in the real world. Please believe me, you will live to regret even trying it. Sorry.
You could try heading over to Quartzside, AZ and find some good deals on solar equipment and lots of solid advice.

 

I'm pretty sure this is something being parked in San Francisco or similar, and not exactly requiring a lot of power nor having a lot of solar access as the city and the peninsula never really exceed 75 degrees during the day and most paid for spots are in a parking garage just big enough for a small trailer + prius. I doubt he would ever exceed 500w draw on the setup.

Also, I'd love to go solar myself, but my 40ft Bighorn uses nearly 2,000 Kwhr's a month in Central valley CA during the summer and 400-600kw during winter. I got the sun for it, but I'd need at least 3kw to make a dent in my power usage. Last quote I got was 13k for only 1.5kw system and that was something that would grid connect as it needed to but use the batteries otherwise.

 

We have stayed in several RV parks in the Bay Area and they all had more than enough sun exposure. 2000 KWh a month! Our Avion had less insulation than your 5ver I’m sure and even in Casa Grande while in a RV park we didn’t use anywhere near that with daytime temperatures of 116 degrees Fahrenheit!! First rule of thumb in going solar is conservation (which the OP would REALLY need to do using the Prime as a power source).

 

Solar is worth, especially in area where the electricity is costly. I have 4.5kw one on my rental property in Bay Area (Union City). After Fed tax deduction, I get all my investment back in 5 years.
Only SF is overcast, other cities are sunny perfectly for solar system.

 

Recently, I've added a reflectix cover to the roof on each of the slides, and it's made a world of difference on keeping the rig cool, apparently the slides really lack a lot for roof insulation. It's like suddenly our 2 14k a/c units can keep up with the cooling job. We installed R30 in the underbelly last year and that helped a lot with heating. Hopefully, the roof covers will help with the cooling bill.

 

Have you thought of buying a small gas generator from harbor freight tools? I seems to me you're overthinking this a bit.