Hey there - the first thing I did when I bought my 2006 Prius a week ago was immediately take it on a 2000 mile road trip. It performed very well. Someone spent good money on the backup camera, too - I could park that thing in an ammo can! So, I slept in the Prius and I had a few questions: 1. Firstly, I dislike hot weather. I'm fine with freezing temperatures, but I hate the heat. I slept with the AC on and it didn't seem to even burn a gallon of gas, but I'd like the specifications for the AC so I could actually do the math and calculate exactly how much gas one wastes with the AC on. 2. Man, that thing is wide open. I'm pretty sure everyone who walked by my campsite saw my junk hanging out in the morning. Does anybody make real privacy curtains for the Prius? I'm not talking about a tint. I want real blackout curtains. If not, where can I find the dimensions for the windows, so I can cut some fabric for myself? I was thinking of sewing magnets into the curtains and then pulling up the plastic covering the pillars and gluing magnets to the inside - so the curtains would stick to the pillars when I replaced the plastic cover. 3. The center console is too damn high. Unfortunately, it's kind of cool. Any way I can make it slightly shorter? The front seats fold flat (sort of). If I fold them flat, I can probably get a damn large bed out of it, except for that center console. 4. What would you recommend for a pad for sleeping? Air mattresses are too big. Some sort of foam mat, perhaps? 5. For those of you who like firearms, how do you elect to carry your rifle in your car? There isn't anything like a real gun rack for a Prius that I've seen. 6. Kind of a silly question, but I'm good with modifications in general. What's stopping me from literally just getting another set of batteries for my car, putting them in parallel with the old ones, putting together a charging system for them, and turning my car into a plugin hybrid in such a way? Has anyone else done a homebrew PHEV conversion? 7. I love hacks/modifications. What are some I must do/have? The Prius is slow and it handles like a barge, but it's a damn cool car. I hit 64MPG average on my way home!
Check this: Prius camping You can also find a lot of inspiration for possible Prius hacks at hobbit's pages.
Unfortunately this is a pretty difficult question to answer. The AC compressor is electric, so it will run off of the HV battery until it gets low, then it will start the engine to charge the battery and run it until the battery has a bit of a charge. However, the Prius also uses a variable speed compressor, so it will draw quite a lot of power (as much as 10A) when you first start the car after it's been sitting out in the sun for a while. Once the cabin has cooled down (particularly at night when the sun isn't beating down on it) it will draw much less power (only an amp or two) and will even cycle on and off if you're not calling for much cooling. So, the amount of gas you need will vary based mostly on the outside temp as you sleep. That said, the only way I can come up with to measure it is with a scangauge. There is an XGauge available that will show the amount of fuel in the tank. You could check that gauge in the evening before you sleep and in the morning when you wake up and see how much gas was used overnight. Alternately, fill the tank up on the way to your camp site, then fill it again in the morning and see how much gas it took. It wouldn't be quite as accurate as you'd use some gas getting to and from the camp site, but it would give you a ballpark number.
I've found that the Coleman inflatable twin-sized mattress worked best as a sleeping pad. This is because the mattress covers the entire area AND it is stout enough to bridge the gap between where the back seat ends and the front seat starts. This gives you an extra 1ft.+ of room to stretch out. If you are short then this doesn't matter but at 6'3" I need that extra room. The other benefit is that the mattress deflates and can easily be stored with the pump under the rear hatch storage compartment. You may also consider storing two small jackstands just to level out the car if you happen to be on a tiny slope. This is especially true if you are using a small sleeping pad and sleeping bag. You tend to slide downhill throughout the night otherwise.....
To figure gas used, seems easiest just to reset the Consumption screen before leaving to drive to the camping destination. When you get there, just record miles driven and mpgs from the display. After a night of sleeping the mpg figure will be much lower (but ideally, unless you parked in neutral on a cliff, miles the same!). Use a little division to find gallons used for the drive and overall gallons used with the overnight, and a little subtraction to find the difference
You could get the front, side, and rear sunshades: PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius HeatShield Sunshade - Front - $30.00 PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius HeatShield Sunshade - Front Side Windows - $30.00 PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius HeatShield Sunshade - Rear Side Windows - $30.00 PriusChat Shop : Toyota Prius HeatShield Sunshade - Rear - $30.00
Yes, see http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...e-mod-under-way-bristol-uk-33.html#post887261 For a much better, but more expensive/complex PHEV, see http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-plug-in-hybrid-electric-vehicle-project.html
For curtains when I've slept in the Prius I've used a pop top car cover... goes over the windows and roof.. got it from the Sigma web site. I also put mosquito netting over the a couple of open windows and guyed out the sides of the pop top to let in some air. I still gave up one hot night and turned on the ac.
if you’re a DIY kinda person try this How to Build Blackout Curtains - Camper Privacy Curtains - Curtain Divider - RV Curtains - RV Window Shades
If you're camping in the summertime, how do you get cool air from the dash behind the blackout curtain to keep you cool while you're sleeping?
I havent camped in the summer yet. But theres a gap between the curtain rod and the roof. If I direct all air vents upward then a good amount of cool air makes it to the back. I think i will also probably be buying a small (possibly battery powered fan) to help with circulation when the car is off. I live in Texas though, so Im not sure that'll be enough.
