Just bought a 2012 v three. Selling my Sienna which has a cloth strap on the inside of the hatch to pull down the door to close it. The Prius doesn't have this. Since I plan to camp/sleep in my v I want to be able to close the hatch from the inside. Any ideas? Thanks.
In a previous life, I lived in the UK, and drove a Bond Bug (see picture) When I lived in the UK, I drove a Bond Bug (see pic) and the handle for the canopy being almost out of reach for little, short me when sitting in the driver's seat, and being an avid Campanologist, I got Peter Minchin (bell-rope maker) to make me a miniature bell-rope which I attached to the handle to assist in closing the canopy. I no longer have the car, but still have the bell rope!
does it have recessed hand holds on either side like the lift back? they are built into the plastic interior on either corner.
ChuggyPig has a recessed hand-hold in the rear-door! Perhaps you might devise a wedge/expanding thingie?? - Wil (BTW Welcome to PC!)
Well of course you also can't open it from the inside. Gotta love the power hatch on the new Rav4. You can attach a strap almost anywhere as long as it doesn't interfere with the hatch closing and seal. That is to say you don't want the strap hanging down and getting in the way of normal closing of the hatch. How about attaching a cabinet handle (like on your kitchen cabinets) to the bottom area on the hatch. If need be when you go camping you could just slip a rope through that to pull it down. A less invasive option would be some industrial strength Velcro. Put a strip on the bottom of the hatch door, and you can just stick your strap to it when you need it. Be aware that those things use adhesive that's like super glue, once it's on its never coming off.
Yes it does have a recessed handle. However when the door is closed it's in inaccessible so anything attached to it to pull the door closed would not work. Anyway I realize that once the door shut I can't open it from the inside, so I won't be using that to enter and exit my Camp mobile. Thanks.
I can't figure out how to search in the forums, so I apologize if this is covered somewhere else. I plan to go camping and sleep in my Prius v. Just one person. I'm trying to figure out everything I need to make it comfortable mini camper. I already have screens for the rear windows that allow the windows to be rolled down with the doors closed. I'm going to use bungee cords and fabric to make curtains across behind the front seats and along the side windows. I will use paper cut to the size of the small back windows and attach with Velcro strips. That's what I did in my sienna. I would appreciate any tips or anecdotes if you have used your Prius V as a sleeping solution. I know I'm going to find it challenging to bring the things I need for cooking since I had so much more room in the sienna. Thanks!
I can provide a couple of tips: 1) Did you know that you can combo the front passenger seat with the seat behind it to create a comfortable lounging recliner bed? Slide front passenger seat forward. Remove headrest. Push seat back all the way back. You may have to slide the rear passenger seat back. Now recline the rear seat back and the two seats create a decent bed. 2) Get a 1000 watt inverter for 110v ac power. This will clip onto the battery terminals in the trunk and will provide you with enough power to cook using a small microwave or induction cooktop. With camping, if you have solutions for sleeping and cooking, life is pretty good. Have fun.
If you buy a generic cargo mat (stiffer is better) and lay it backwards over the back seats it hides the gaps in tbe load floor
I bought a sunscreen/shade from the PriusChat shop and have been using out to great effect for the pat few sunny days. It fits great and is very effective in keeping the car cool. I also have window deflectors (they came with the car) - Wil DROID4 ?
Use Google search, and put priuschat.com as one of the search parameters: Most of this thread is about the liftback, but most still applicable to the v. The Official Prius Camping and Road tripping Thread | PriusChat SCH-I535
Correction: you can open the hatch (trunk) from the inside! In fact, it's the safety design when people work on the V and has to disconnect the 12V battery which happens to be in the back. For example, when I changed my steering wheel to the white carbon one, I had to disconnect the 12V battery so that I can disconnect the airbag harness without any surprised POP , but if I accidently close the trunk, the only way to open it is to climb over the rear seat and open the panel to access to the "manual" lever to open it from the inside!
