2013 Prius 5

[michele0203]

Looking at one on line at carmax...is this year ok?  I thought I read something about after a certain year something changed?  Sorry to be so vague.

Struggling between a van and a prius.  I own a  camry currently as do many family members...they've very reliable vehicles so that peace of mind would be priceless. Love that I can have the heat or ac on during the night, too.  Could get a tent for additional daytime space.   Just thinking aloud...

 

[Oberneldon]

Michelle,

There were 4 of us at the RTR last January and we all approached Prius living differently. There are some advantages of having a Prius as your Campervan, but there are drawbacks too.

My Prius is a 2011 and I wish I had a sunroof for greater ventilation, but it is suitable for my 4 months of living in it.

I believe from my reading online that the 2015 is the 4 generation (you should check this with the dealer) and it is .8 inches closer to the ground and a bit roomier inside with better mpg.

I personally don't wish to lower my distance to the ground as I do go in places im concerned about bottoming out.

Small car living is not for everyone and a challenge if full time due to limited space. You can't beat the reliability and cost of operation though.

Since my 4 months of travels take me across country and I put on about 20K miles the Prius doesn't cost me much in fuel at 50 mpg.

If I was full time and didn't travel as much a vehicle with more room would be nice.

I would strongly suggest you experiment with your Camry Ina few weekend trips to see if you will be ok with the space.

My mode of living in my Prius is minimalistic. I come first in the Prius and have it set up with the smallest and least amount of things possible and have no roof storage or set up a tent to store during the day as I do both disbursed camping and urban dwelling.

I have worked out how to do just about everything in my Prius that I did in my class B. Below is my blog where I have written about how I have done them.

Brent

Blog: macaloney.blogspot.com

 

[michele0203]

Thanks Brent for the input! Heading over to check out your blog now!

 

[Suanne]

Hi Michele,

The 2013 that you are looking at is a 3rd generation Prius (2010-2015). So, the look and space available is very similar to Brent's.

I live out of a 2nd gen (2004) which has a little less length. I too am a part-timer and a minimalist looking to backpackers and van dwellers as my inspirations. My set up is a little different in that I haven't removed any seats or used plywood to create a living/sleeping space. Although I haven't connected an inverter to the accessary battery to power small appliances, others have taken advantage of this unique Prius technology. There's definitely more than one way to live out of a Prius!

I would second Brent's strong recommendation to take some test trips in your Camry to check out if you could live such a minimalist lifestyle. If it's a good fit, the 2013 will likely work for you.

If interested, I have some how-to articles on my blog describing my set up. They are in the right column at http://SuanneOnline.blogspot.com.

Suanne