This past week, the crew at Sheepleg packed up the company Prius to try our hand at something curious we’d learned about on the Prius forums normally dedicated to discussions of how to eek out ever-more miles out of the hybrid cars. It’s not our usual lightweight backpacking fare, I guess you could even put it more into the ‘glamping’ or ‘glamour camping’ side of the equation. The hatchback cargo area is fairly roomy for this size of car, and by folding down the front seats and then the rear seats, you can accommodate a couple of inflatable mats and sleeping bags, enough room for two adults and possibly a small child, which was perfect for our mission.
So, what’s the big deal, you might be asking, I can do this in the back of my old Wagon Queen Family Truckster, right? Well, the cool thing about using a Prius (and the element of glamour it bestows) is that by leaving it powered on, with the parking brake on, the car will run the thermostat controlled AC or heat using battery power, and will start and shut the engine down automatically at intervals to keep the batteries charged. A typical night will be accomodated with less than half a gallon of gas, which is reasonable for an occasional outing. Do not try this idling your Suburban all night, please.
To provide a little privacy while camping in a glass bubble, we purchased a California King Tyvek cover, which is like a car cover that only covers the windows and top, leaving the body panels and, important for our experiment, the air vents below the front windshield, unobstructed. Most of the people on the forums suggested using plastic boxes to make a platform on the front seats to extend the cargo space for sleeping on, but we found it easier to sleep with our heads toward the aft end of the car, letting the foot end of our air mattresses hang over the front of the cargo deck slightly; this was quite comfortable, especially for backpackers used to sleeping on a torso-only mat on the cold hard ground. Taller campers might look into that plastic box thing.
We definitely prefer getting out into the backcountry in a tent or under a tarp, but if you’re looking to get some extra camping on the shoulder seasons when the electric heat will be welcome, or if you’re wanting a comfortable camping solution on a road trip (no sleep…till Brooklyn) or a fishing trip at a lake park, this is definitely a viable option.
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