The Official Prius Camping and Road tripping Thread

Here's what I tried last night with my Prius and a hammock.

iPhone ?

 

Thanks Terrell, well done! I found my 2011 had a 140 amp fuse on battery for doing inverter install.

 

I do a lot of outdoor activities in my 2007 Prius. I recently took it on a white water rafting trip to WV (New River) with my cargo container on top and hatch area fully loaded with my commercial raft, equipment (helmets, life vests, etc.), and 3 other passengers. the Prius did well in the mountains and the rough back roads to get to our launch sites. I was able to get there, stay for 3 days, and get back to Hampton Roads on one full tank. Total round trip was 12 hours. no complaints. I have of yet to take my 2013 on a road trip, but I will soon to compare the two. unless you plan on going off roading, I believe the Prius does fine and the money saved on gas bought my kids extra goodies for the river! I keep a log for both cars and mileage for every fill up and trip. still, no complaints. averaged 46.5 miles! enjoy your summer people!

 

Glad it's helpful. Currently, I'm trying some ideas to allow air in and rain out; it's still a work in progress. And when I'm in the Rockies, I want the bears to stay out as well!

 

Window visors

 

Unfortunately poor AstroIII seen at the fountain, left was totaled by a landscaper truck. The Prius Camping Kit offered on Ebay was suspended. I now have a new GenIII affectionately know as Crash (Pearl White 2013) seen below.

The Prius Camping Conversion Kit is being offered once again and the associated accessory line will quickly expand to be all things that make a travel / tour in your GenIII Prius awesome. Just got back from Zion, Yellowstone and it was fantastic. Also safer in bear country. On the North West exit out of Yellowstone Park over the Beartooth pass, you can not sleep in tents because of bear danger.

We travel with a fast erecting tent to hold all of our gear out of the weather; as well as privacy for a cassette toilet; then use the Prius as our first class luxury cabin. Once again, I can not emphasize how nice it is to set the temperature control while sleeping.

Now called the ROGUE; you can follow this link or just search on Ebay.
ROGUE panel set; Prius Gen-III Camping Custom Fit Kit for 2010 - 2015 models | eBay

It is good to be back!
Need to look into changing my handle away from AstroIII (rest his hybrid soul)

 

Eclipse Aug 21, 2017!
Pictures below are our Prius Camp site in the mountains just East of Idaho Falls, ID. We climbed the adjacent peak which was in center path of totality and what an experience. We are not only Prikers, be we are now Eclipsers too! !

 

Just wanted to pile on info. Full size inflatable mattresses fit the Prius. No need to build a special platform. Just fill the space behind the front seats with your stuff. Super comfortable way of camping.

 

Our simple window screens— a yard+ (for 2 windows) of tulle from a fabric store and two or three office binder clips per window. Partially lower window, open door, drape tulle over top of door frame, close door, clip bottom of tulle on to top glass. Worked well for us last year— PA to AK to PA.

 

+1 on no special anything needed.

Whereas most people fold the front seat forward, I prefer to RECLINE the front seat, stack stuff on the seat bottom, then lay 4 x 8 sheet of plywood (cut in half) which provides over nine feet of flat space, from glove box to tail gate. Then again, I'm on the tall side!

 

Cut in half lengthwise would give 24” wide strip 8’ long, correct? Is it set at a slight angle to extend from glove compartment to tailgate?

We have to both sleep in the back, especially in bear country, so we opted to use the entire width of the area behind the front seats as a sleeping area and store gear underneath the sleeping platform and on the seats of the front seats, but keep the seatbacks upright.

 

Correct and it doesn't go entirely from glove compartment to tailgate. After awhile I did whip out my circular saw and cut the rear edge off so its not at an angle anymore. I use the other half of the back for three two-drawer storage units, giving me six good-sized drawers. Behind driver's seat is cooler; in front of passenger's seat is 12v portable stove (highly recommended) and water jugs.

 

Hi all,

I'm planning on taking a road trip to the PNW and will camp in my prius along the way. First time. I have sun covers for all of my windows which will, unfortunately, prevent air from getting in while I sleep - I will need to use the covers at most stops.

Question - will leaving the climate controlled air and/or AC on all night be enough ventilation? Will CO2 and/or CO buildup be an issue?

Thanks for the help!
Eric

 

If cracking a window won't work, I would make sure the A/C is not on recirculate.

 

Makes sense - thanks!

 

Priken Awesome!!
Just completed a 3K round trip that we recommend highly to all Prikers out there. (Priker - (noun) adventure folk who tour and sleep in their awesome Prius!)
Phoenix
Flagstaff
Jacobs Lake and North Rim of Grand Canyon
Quail Creek State Park reservoir, near Hurricane (night one)
I-15 Clark Canyon Reservoir by Dillon MT (night two)
Byways tour begins; Exit 278 west.
Jackson MT; stop and have a home made muffin and say hello to Maria at the Mercantile.
Wisdom MT
Little Bighorn National Monument
North on Highway 93
Hamilton MT
Bitterroot valley
Missoula MT
Polson
Flat Head Lake (night three - Big Arm Campground)
Kalispell
West Glacier (massive exploration / hiking / awesome) (night four)
Swan Valley
Swan Lake
Sealy Lake
I-90 to Bozeman, MT
Big Sky MT (night five)
Yellowstone National Park (West Entrance, Exit South)
Teton National Park
Jackson, WY
Alpine WY (night six)
I-15 South
Zion National Park (night seven)
Knab UT
Lake Powel - Glen Canyon Dam
Page, AZ
Flagstaff
Home!!!

Left MT in a snowstorm, arrived back to AZ to 100 degrees. Priken Awesome!

 

The Prius, like any car, is nowhere close to airtight. I've slept many a night in mine with no ventilation running and all the windows closed, and I'm still here to talk about it. You'll be fine!

 

Whether the car's "airtight" or not might matter, if the only thing to think about were yourself using up the O₂ and breathing out CO₂.

But it's also a car, and some campers will leave it in READY for climate-controlled comfort—I certainly do—and that means the car itself will produce (and surround itself with, depending on wind conditions etc.) both CO₂ and CO.

CO₂ is not a great concern because our bodies notice it. Should a lot of CO₂ build up, you'll think "hmm, feels kind of stuffy" and change something or go walk around.

CO is different because our bodies don't notice it. Maybe a mild headache, some drowsiness, falling peacefully asleep and not waking up.

The Prius will produce a lot less of that in READY over several hours than any normal car continuously running. However, "a lot less" is not zero. Here I've repeated about as much of earlier discussion as should be needed, but it can be followed in that thread.

The information about boats in that thread was eye-opening, considering they're generally operated on wide-open water where you'd hardly expect much of anything to accumulate.

CO detectors are cheap; it doesn't hurt anything to have one around.

 

Sorry for the double post, put it in the wrong place.
We use a battery operated First Alert Carbon Monoxide detector while overnighting in our Prius; setting it on the dash board. While inside, we do keep the car locked, but also in the on position so that the climate control regulates our cabin temperature and the fan circulates air.
Over the course of the evening, the engine will periodically cycle on and off to charge the battery or to create heat (I assume).
Have never had a detector alarm and believe that the emissions from the idling engine disperse into the out doors pretty quickly.
Also keep two front windows cracked 1/2" for fresh air.
We have over 50 nights in our Prius.
Hope that helps.
Cheers and keep on Priken!
Astro

 

We tour a great deal and camp in our Prius using our Camping Kit. (see ebay)
In addition, we use a battery operated First Alert Carbon Monoxide detector while overnighting in our Prius; setting it on the dash board. While inside, we do keep the car locked, but also in the on position so that the climate control regulates our cabin temperature and the fan circulates air.
Over the course of the evening, the engine will periodically cycle on and off to charge the battery or to create heat (I assume).
Have never had a detector alarm and believe that the emissions from the idling engine disperse into the out doors pretty quickly.
Also keep two front windows cracked 1/2" for fresh air.
We have over 50 nights in our Prius.
Hope that helps.
Cheers and keep on Priken!
Astro