Prius hatchback tent?

I do not know, I'm partial to my ALPS Zephyr 2 man tent for 3 season camping. All mesh walls are nice when the moisture level in the air is low, great views withotu the tarp on.... Easy set-up and take-down too. Oh and a Boy Scout discount from ALPS too!

 

i think my g/f and i are going to make one. she's good with the sewing machine (clothing designer)... i was thinking of making a top for my 5x8 trailer but i'm not too sure about that yet.

i will also add a modification so i can channel the exhaust away from the tent. i'm not sure if i want to insulate it or make it into a heater of sorts with radiator fins... shrug...

unfortunately this won't happen soon. i'll definitely post when i do get around to it though.

i was talking to my g/f about making these and selling them (just now)... not sure what kind of price they would run for. they would be great quality... but i'm not sure where to start yet. i want it to be strong (high winds), well insulated if chosen, or well vented with a clear roof of sorts, if chosen. a lot of things to pick through for a design/attachments.

 

OK, need a couple more posts before the pics ... sorry about this ... BTW, we're driving/camping out to Seattle later this month via Denver, Oregon Blue Mtns going and the Palouse returning.

 

post 4 ... did you know that NPR.org has a map function for the NPR stations? You can enter your trip start-finish and a list of stations, with distances between each one appears. Very cool.

 

and post 5 - also, you probably all already know about scenicbyways.org ... and probably also know that AAA's camping sites feature only has main (read RV accessible) campsites. We go to the national/state forest sites for comprehensive lists and more obscure places.

 

OK - here are the pics of our wonderful army surplus netting which, I think, must have been expressly design for prius camping. I added comments to each. I put them on my website too: Prius Pics

 

The option of using the cargo tie-downs for the netting ties is nice - keeps the hatch from heading to the sky if you kick it in the night (if you don't have a rain fly above).

 

Re: Prius Camping - mosquito netting success!

opps, wrong thread, sorry

 

A hatchback tent sounds like a neat idea, but where do you put all the stuff? Anytime my family's gone car camping, there's no room for sleeping inside. The hatch area makes a very handy 'kitchen', especially when parked facing a picnic table. All the food and cooking paraphernalia stays clean, out of the elements, and mostly protected from critters small and large.

 

For taller car campers... if you take off the front headrests and move the front seats all the way forward, then you can recline the front seats about flush with the back seats... just needs a bit of foam to fill in.

I've done something similar using mesh over the front windows, and then putting one of those pop top covers on, guyed out at the side to improve ventilation, but would still work in the rain. It was a bit too hot earlier in the evening so i had to run the fan, which means i had the car on. I'm not worried about carbon monoxide... the duty cycle is very low, the car is outside, and these cars hardly make any. I'd be more worried about that in stop and go traffic in a regular car.

I was doing this solo, so there was room on one side of the car for gear I didn't want to get wet (my folding bicycle for instance) and the rest was outside... food in a well latched metal cooler... so the critters wouldn't get it.

 

News story on Greencar Reports today, complete with an embedded video...

Like Hybrids? Like Camping? You'll Love The Prius Tent

 

Looks great! Lets see...add a DC accessorie jack, small tv...

 

I believe there's a selection of available hatchback tents now for the prius.

 

I use a Habitent on the hatchback. But it looks like they aren't making them anymore.