Hello all. Sorry this is a bit long, I need to provide some background info: I am 32 and have lived in the same 5 mile radius (Southern California) my entire life. I am really interested in preparing for a nomad lifestyle. I do have a lot of fears of traveling the unknown, which for me is basically everywhere.
I am in an uncomfortable situation currently. My savings are pretty much nothing, but I have 0 debt. My problem is after my father died I used what he left me and pooled together with some other family to purchase a house. Everything was so crazy at the time and I just wanted to feel secure so I did not argue too much on how much we spent. It resulted in us overextending in my opinion. Monthly water and power is often 500+, there are lots of other expenses as well. We do struggle to get by and I have a constant fear of what will happen when we can no longer afford the mortgage. I want to do what I can to make a livable setup to at least be able to get by during the transition period in the event we decide to sell the place and go our separate ways. I realize I would have some money after selling the house but I don't want to waste anything my dad left me and it would/will cost a good amount in the transition period. If I don't go this route, I would need to spend a lot on a temporary apartment. Out here, just renting a bedroom in a house can cost 800 a month. I want to have this prius camper setup so that I have time to think about my options and can carefully decide what to do when things get to that point. Even if I end up getting a permanent residence I want to use this car for long term trips. It just sounds so cool to me.
I want to keep this as cheap as possible for now so I started by buying a gen2 prius because they are pretty amazing little cars, I actually first got the desire to do this from watching some youtube videos from this channel. I got a decent deal, a 2006 with 120k miles in near perfect condition for about 5500 clean title (I kinda spent just about everything I had on it, but its a necessity). There is something very appealing to me about having a daily driver with amazing mpg that I can also stealth live out of (not to mention you basically have a generator on wheels). I have several modifications I have planned once I get a bit of $$, and there are 2 paths I can go. Light modification and heavy modification.
The light modification would mostly be throwing a piece of plywood in the back with a memory foam mattress on top, and purchasing a few items like a yeti battery pack, mobile solar panels, cigarette lighter power inverter, and a few other electronics for cooking and such. This might be ok for camping, and getting the feel for what it will be like to sleep in the car, but I wouldn't be prepared for much with it.
The heavier modification is the route I would like to end up with, and would involve removing the rear seats for more room, making a platform for the bed with storage underneath. This would allow room for clothing, appliances, and various other things. This plus a gym membership will provide me with basically everything I need. The main reason I signed up just now (aside from seeking general advice), was for a specific mod that I can't seem to find an easy solution for. To make things comfortable I want to have more than just a bed, I don't want to have to get out of my car (especially if I am an urban stealth setting), to move to a seat. If I remove the back seats I would have no other option than to get out of the car to sit upfront. So, I want to reverse install the front passenger seat. This would give the feeling of a bit more room and allow me to go from bed to chair fairly easily. This would also work as a laptop work space since my dominant right hand would be in the middle of the car instead of against the door and a makeshift computer desk/mouse setup could workout.
The problem with this is that you cant just turn the seat around and bolt it in. I would need some sort of metal fabrication place to do a custom job for me which seems like it might be pricey (If anyone has info on this please let me know! If I can have it bolted in backwards and get a lap belt I think it would be legal to use while driving right?). So I was hoping for some tips on some awesome/comfy chair options that would fit in the front passenger area of the prius facing backwards (not bolted in, in this case I would just remove the front passenger seat and set the replacement chair down, could do this with the passenger seat itself but if it isn't going to be bolted in I might as well see what other options there are. The downside of this plan is that the only functional seat would be the driver seat lol. I might be ok with this.
Long term I am hoping Tesla comes out with an affordable cargo van, or potentially move to a nissan nv200 if the prius size feels too restricting. That or I will move somewhere cheaper to live. I decided against a large gas powered Sprinter type van because the mpg just feels wasteful. Any advice as welcome, thanks for taking the time to read this.
I am in an uncomfortable situation currently. My savings are pretty much nothing, but I have 0 debt. My problem is after my father died I used what he left me and pooled together with some other family to purchase a house. Everything was so crazy at the time and I just wanted to feel secure so I did not argue too much on how much we spent. It resulted in us overextending in my opinion. Monthly water and power is often 500+, there are lots of other expenses as well. We do struggle to get by and I have a constant fear of what will happen when we can no longer afford the mortgage. I want to do what I can to make a livable setup to at least be able to get by during the transition period in the event we decide to sell the place and go our separate ways. I realize I would have some money after selling the house but I don't want to waste anything my dad left me and it would/will cost a good amount in the transition period. If I don't go this route, I would need to spend a lot on a temporary apartment. Out here, just renting a bedroom in a house can cost 800 a month. I want to have this prius camper setup so that I have time to think about my options and can carefully decide what to do when things get to that point. Even if I end up getting a permanent residence I want to use this car for long term trips. It just sounds so cool to me.
I want to keep this as cheap as possible for now so I started by buying a gen2 prius because they are pretty amazing little cars, I actually first got the desire to do this from watching some youtube videos from this channel. I got a decent deal, a 2006 with 120k miles in near perfect condition for about 5500 clean title (I kinda spent just about everything I had on it, but its a necessity). There is something very appealing to me about having a daily driver with amazing mpg that I can also stealth live out of (not to mention you basically have a generator on wheels). I have several modifications I have planned once I get a bit of $$, and there are 2 paths I can go. Light modification and heavy modification.
The light modification would mostly be throwing a piece of plywood in the back with a memory foam mattress on top, and purchasing a few items like a yeti battery pack, mobile solar panels, cigarette lighter power inverter, and a few other electronics for cooking and such. This might be ok for camping, and getting the feel for what it will be like to sleep in the car, but I wouldn't be prepared for much with it.
The heavier modification is the route I would like to end up with, and would involve removing the rear seats for more room, making a platform for the bed with storage underneath. This would allow room for clothing, appliances, and various other things. This plus a gym membership will provide me with basically everything I need. The main reason I signed up just now (aside from seeking general advice), was for a specific mod that I can't seem to find an easy solution for. To make things comfortable I want to have more than just a bed, I don't want to have to get out of my car (especially if I am an urban stealth setting), to move to a seat. If I remove the back seats I would have no other option than to get out of the car to sit upfront. So, I want to reverse install the front passenger seat. This would give the feeling of a bit more room and allow me to go from bed to chair fairly easily. This would also work as a laptop work space since my dominant right hand would be in the middle of the car instead of against the door and a makeshift computer desk/mouse setup could workout.
The problem with this is that you cant just turn the seat around and bolt it in. I would need some sort of metal fabrication place to do a custom job for me which seems like it might be pricey (If anyone has info on this please let me know! If I can have it bolted in backwards and get a lap belt I think it would be legal to use while driving right?). So I was hoping for some tips on some awesome/comfy chair options that would fit in the front passenger area of the prius facing backwards (not bolted in, in this case I would just remove the front passenger seat and set the replacement chair down, could do this with the passenger seat itself but if it isn't going to be bolted in I might as well see what other options there are. The downside of this plan is that the only functional seat would be the driver seat lol. I might be ok with this.
Long term I am hoping Tesla comes out with an affordable cargo van, or potentially move to a nissan nv200 if the prius size feels too restricting. That or I will move somewhere cheaper to live. I decided against a large gas powered Sprinter type van because the mpg just feels wasteful. Any advice as welcome, thanks for taking the time to read this.
