Tips for camping/sleeping in Prius during Midwest summertime?

I would get your side windows tinted to the maximum allowed.

 

Prius hitchhiking for those looking for the nearest Cracker Barrel or Walmart parking lot.

 

Too many people think they can just flip the back seat backs down and put a pad on it and call it done. That's the most uncomfortable place to sleep in a Prius...

Instead, replace the center console with a pillow or upholstery, then slide the front seats all the way forward, remove the headrests and recline the front seats flush with the bottom part of backseat. Build your bed on top of those legit cushions instead... It also means you have storage space in back of the car that you don't have to mess with to sleep. And if you remove the rear seat backs entirely you can fit a full size futon mattress in the car but lots of fabrication work to get it lay perfectly flat...

Here's what a Gen3 looks like when you get rid of center console and its connection to the dash:

 

Tint or privacy curtains are a good idea. There are a few being made by smalltimers out there, and you can make your own.

READY mode is good defense against the heat and bugs that aren't here yet. Otherwise you might look at screens for the windows if you think it'll be cool enough up there.

 

@Prius Camper, isn't that steering wheel on the wrong side of the car?

You should get aero window visors (to keep the glass down a bit) and window socks to prevent bugs from getting in.

One of these would be nice: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Simzlife-12-Volt-Refrigerator-19QT-18L-Portable-Car-4-50-12-24V-DC-110-240V-AC-Mini-Fridge-Camping-Travel-Truck-Home-Black/5323034796?athbdg=null%26athbdg%3DL1900_L1900
but you'll also need a power supply when your off-line; but if your city camping no biggie.

 

Probably doesn't apply in summer, but one thing that people overlook is that if the temperature is OK then you can sleep in your car with it off and all the windows completely rolled up and you'll be fine. There's plenty of airflow. I've done it multiple times. I also just made cardboard cutouts covered in black duct tape for window blockers and a curtain that a hangs directly behind the front seats (I put little velcro mounts up) for full privacy. It was a bit of a project, but they are nice to have.

I use a camping pad and a random rectangular wood box I have to put in the back seat foot well that supports my pillow/head.

A little fan goes a long way if it's not too hot and you don't want to leave the car on.

 

If you'll be sleeping in back, as many do, I recommend bringing a small fan. Just a small ordinary electric fan.

The car's climate control can make very nice cool air for you. But that air is concentrated in the front of the cabin. (There are small ducts under the front seats to give back-seat passengers a little heat in cold weather, but they don't carry much air and they're not used when the face vents are selected for A/C.)

You can either: aim the face vents up toward the headliner, and run the car's blower way higher and louder than you'd like, to try to throw that air back at you where you sleep ... or run it low, nice and quiet, and put your own little fan by the front seatbacks to move the cool air back to you.

 

It's actually on the right side of the car, not the left...

Not too sure about what you mean when you say "wrong" side? That doesn't make any sense?

 

It’s shown on the wrong side for US and most of the world except places like the UK. Eg on the passenger side (Right Side) vs normal drivers side (Left Side).

 

which side is more comfortable for sleeping?

 

My 06 seats are angled up when seats are folded down aka not flat. It was not comfortable when I put a twin mattress and slept overnight for a few nights in it during a camping trip. I think I’ve seen that you have to take out the seat cushions to make it flat but I wouldn’t recommend that for just one trip

 

Why do people from Texas think their way is the only way and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist?

Ever heard of using Google to make sure you aren't telling everyone on line that you have not the slightest clue if what your claiming is true?

For example:

"163 countries and territories have right-hand drive traffic while vehicles use the left-side in 76 countries" https://www.statista.com/chart/9261/which-side-of-the-road-do-you-drive-on

 

Someday I'm gonna remove a gen3 center console and redesign the area where it meets the dash... Tall people will be so grateful at the possibility of having more leg room it will become a specialty that earns me good money!

 

Some people from Texas have been all over the world and know most places drive on the Right Side except for UK and a few others.

From your link: