2009 Prius III Moving of HV-Battery

Hi all!

I have had my lovely Prius III from 2009 for a little over a year now and absolutely love it. My partner and I have taken it on a few cross-country trips where we have put a mattress in the car and slept in it. It is very comfy, however, the headroom is a bit limited.

So I have been looking into making some improvements to make it more like a stealth-camper. I am willing to take out the back seat to install a platform, however, this doesn't create much more headroom, as we are sleeping facing "forward", and the height at the boot lid is pretty much the same.

So I have been thinking about also taking out the spare tire stuff over there to create more height. Then the next hurdle: the HV-battery. The way I see it, if I could "just move" that battery, I'd be gaining tons of space. I was thinking of somehow fastening it in de lower section of the car, in between the driver/passenger seats and the back wheel arches. As an added difficulty I would like to make it in such a way that I can put everything back in its original place in case I ever want to sell it "in original condition" (probably to buy a newer Prius lol).

Would this be possible to do or will I open up a can of worms the size of my entire Prius? A little bit of background: I am familiar with electronics and electrical systems, as well as mechanical fabrication/modification, and I am not scared of custom-making some parts.

 

Thanks, bisco!

I was thinking the same thing: it shouldn't be impossible to do, and yet I haven't seen any posts about anyone actually doing it, which made me wonder if I was overlooking something.

But yeah, once I muster the courage and have some time I will definitely have a look into what I would have to do to make this work, and once I've got an idea I will create another post or extend this one to keep up with the progress!