Car Tent

[myway_1]

I want to be able to benefit from the good gas mileage of a Toyota Prius and have room to stand up and walk around in an attached tent. Mosquitos torment me much more than the average person or I would just go with a tarp.

I know there are attachable tents for SUV's but I'm not sure they will work in the way that I need.

I want to be able to move back and forth from the drivers seat to the tent. I want the car door to open into the tent or some intermediate passageway to keep bugs out of both the car and the tent. Just like an SUV tent only instead of attaching around the back it would need to attach to the side of the car. I would like the tent to be at least 10' by 10' with stand up height throughout, be substantial and have large screened windows that can be covered up at night or during rain.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[VJG1977]

Most tents that attach to a car do so at the rear.  Like this.



Someone on this link may be able to point you to one that attaches to the side.

prius-camping-and-road-tripping-thread

This individual took one made to attach to the rear of a SUV and fitted it to the side of a VW bus.

 

[WriterMs]

Yes, I think the solution shown with the VW van by VJG is likely as close as you can get since you evidently need the fine screens.

Or use a tent that gives you all you want and then buy a bolt of no-see-um netting and find a way to fashion a "hallway" between your car doors and the tent with one side of the netting laying partially over the roof of your car???

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

MyWay, this is smaller than what your looking for but thought I'd at least let you know about it. I was told it's good in winds because it's frame-less.
http://www.tailveil.com/


KinA

P.S. There's a rainfly available.

 

[Suanne]

I've been using a small instant dome tent for the past couple of years for storage.  When I'm camped in a single location for a while, it just makes it easier to get to other items in my Prius if most of my water and other bulky items are stored in the tent.  I've been very happy with this easy-to-use tent.  It's held up admirably to lots of rain and strong winds.

I'd never thought of connecting a tent to a side door of my Prius.  If it were me, I'd attach it to the driver-side passenger door because that's where I get in and out of my car when in camp.   These are the features I'd look for:

  - tall enough to stand up in,
  - fully enclosed to protect from dust, rain and bugs,
  - large windows/doors/top screened areas to open up in nice weather,
  - 2 doors -- one from car to tent, and one from tent to outside,
  - instant -- to easily put up and take down,
  - angled sides to be able to step directly from the car into the tent,
  - able to withstand high winds and rain,
  - a fully enclosed, waterproof "boot" to go from tent to car,
  - neutral in color to blend in with car, nature, or surroundings.

I found an instant tent that meets all but the last 2 or 3 features.  It may be able to withstand high winds, but I suspect not.  Although my current instant tent does well with high winds, its shape and short height act much less like a sail than the sides of this proposed tent.  A "boot" to the car would need to be sewn onto one of the door awnings, but that seems fairly straight forward and could be attached to the Prius' door jam with Velcro.  The blue with yellow trim is certainly not neutral, but may not be a deal breaker.

http://amzn.to/27c4ZAl

This tent would be more than large enough for me, but maybe not for you; it's 82" x 82" x 63".  Or, here's one that's 10'x10'x7.5', and neutral in color, too!

http://amzn.to/1T4E67F

When I'm in my Prius, especially at sun rise and in bad weather, I really enjoy looking out of my windows.  I would miss that if I were to be parked next to such a tall tent.  But, that's just my preference.

This is an interesting idea that got me to thinking.  Hope some of these thoughts prove useful in your implementation.

Suanne

 

[Oberneldon]

Myway_1,

When I first decided to vandwell in my Prius I looked at the habitent but I also wanted a place to stand. I wrote to them and asked if they would consider making a version off the hatch with a small area to sit, stand, privacy wash, bathroom, etc but they said no.

I decided to design my solution around not having a tent at all.

I have now stayed in most environments and I don't need the tent. What is most important to me is having a fixed bed and a fixed seat in the rear passenger area.

This design works great as in cities I stay in parking lots and street side parking and the tent wouldn't do me any good there.

I look forward to how you design your Prius solution.

Brent

 

[myway_1]

MyWay, this is smaller than what your looking for but thought I'd at least let you know about it. I was told it's good in winds because it's frame-less.
http://www.tailveil.com/


KinA

P.S. There's a rainfly available.

This would be great for vehicles where the hatch opens out. But on the Prius it wouldn't provide much shade because the hatch opens up kind of like a trunk. There is little or no overhang over the ground behind the vehicle. However you would get bug protection and with the fly, rain protection.