Prius V first time out

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Neal

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I drove my Prius from Ohio to Parker to meet up with the caravan.. Gas costs around $180.00. All of my camping gear was less than $200.00. I'm dry camping. I'm using trash bags for curtains. I have the temp set to 70 degrees .I'm charging my USB devices thru 2 12 volt sockets in my car. I will say when the engine starts to charge the battery it scares the crap our of me! I'll get use to it I hope.
 
I car camped for a while in my Prius.  It only took me a couple of nights to get so I would stay asleep when the engine started up.
 
I believe some are using a inverter and a small ceramic heater that keeps the gasoline engine from coming on so often to provide heat once it is turned down a little. That way it only comes on to charge the battery which is way less often I believe.
 
I'm going to shut the engine off when I go to sleep. I don't really need it running it's nice out. I have a 300 watt inverter I'll see if I can run anything off of it without having to add a battery.
 
I believe you can run up to 2000 watt inverter off the exsisting system (it has a 100 amp fuse in the older gens) but I would check the fourms just to make sure. I believe they attach directly to the 12 volt battery. Don't use the lighter plugs for anything much more than a few amps.
 
The best solutions for heat that I've seen is a 12v electric blanket / mattress pad and / or 12v ceramic heater. It's more efficient to use 12v than an inverter and 120ac. The car will start less often using electric and if you engage the emergency brake, the car will move less when it starts. As far as inverters go, the limit is the breaker and not all modes have the same amp breaker (I don't think) So you can go to 2000 amps, but you will be limited by the amp draw of what you plug in. I just installed a 1000 watt inverter with and inline 100 amp fuse. Also remember you are limited to 120 watt with the cigarette lighter plug, mine is attached to the battery in the back of the car.
 
I believe the Bestek has an 80 amp fuse built in. The 12 volt in the car is a 100 amp. I ended up having to use the heater in the car after all. I'm going to have to check my options for more amps and wattage. I'm on a strict budget
 
If it is not all that cold where you are then one of the small "personal" ceramic heater might be enough for comfort. Go to Walmart of a similar store and look for one of these small "personal" ceramic heaters. Many of these types of personal heaters don't have a cord on them, them plug directly into a wall socket or in your case an inverter. Be sure your setup is very stable so the heater will stay in an upright position with no possibility of it falling over. On the heaters that plug directly into a wall outlet there is not going to be a safety tip over feature. But there are some very small personal ceramic heaters that run at 200 watts that have a cord on them. The personal sized ceramic heaters range in size from 200 watts up to about 600 watts. They are not meant for heating larger rooms, only small areas.

Make sure the inverter you use is rated for more watts than the heater.

I have one that is 350 watts. It is enough to keep my small, insulated, travel trailer nice and comfy in cooler but not freezing temperatures. It says it will heat 150 square foot room, but it would certainly not raise the temperature up to 60 degrees inside if it was freezing or below outside. In an RV we have cold all around us on every side. That is different than in a house where you have other rooms buffering you from the outside chill factors.

Look for one with a digital thermostat that can set to maintain the temperature you want for the space. Also look for one that includes a timer on it. These personal heaters have a small computer type fan in them to distribute the heat, it is a very quiet fan, it won't keep you awake. Because it very quiet you might forget it is on which is why the timer is a good backup just in case you forget to turn the heater off.

The 350 watt heater I own is small enough in power consumption to run off of my 1000i Honda Generator and still have power left over for other things such as topping off my battery or using the computer.
 
I used the car heater last night and with the engine starting up and turning off didn't bother me. I set it to 65 and threw a couple comforters over me and slept great. I had a couple of burros come by last night one of them let me pet her.
 
please be very careful with wild and feral animals. IMO you should have zero contact with them they are not domesticated animals. I cringe with all the ones at Oatman and people feeding and petting them like they are pets. highdesertranger
 
Here's an update. I camped in Parker for a few days and left to visit family. I made some changes when I arrived here in Quartzsite. I had used a Coleman Peak stove that was pretty much useless in the wind so I ended up buying A Coleman two burner stove that works fantastic. I also bought reflextix and I could feel the difference. Immediately. And finally I bought a privacy tent with 12 inch steel spikes. I used a mini sledge hammer to drive them in. If you bring a tent with regular tent stakes you'll lose your tent. There were high winds yesterday and my shower tent was swaying in the he wind but held up fine. I have Verizon and have a steady two bars. I've been streaming Netflix every night.. I'm dry camping on BLM land on Plomosa Road . Great road for my Prius with plenty of Land to camp on.
 
I'm going to follow you, Neal. We have a 2017 V5, and I want to start out camping in it for a week at a time before I decide whether to buy a separate vehicle. The Vs are really nice; we love ours.
 
I also love my V. I'll be leaving next week to go full time. I've done a lot of modifications since my original trip out west. If I can figure out how to post pictures I can show you my build. Dennis Swanson is a member on here and he does the car group seminar every year at the RTR. He has a Prius Camping page on Facebook. I've camped in temperatures as low as 22 degrees and set the temperature in my V at 70 and slept like a baby! The gas to run it over night was probably 50 cents. It's a good idea to take those small trips and it will really help you to modify your Prius as you go along.
 
The life of the air compressor may be shortened by running it at night?
 
RVTravel said:
The life of the air compressor may be shortened by running it at night?

There is no air compressor. The Prius has the main battery and a 12 volt car battery. I can set the temperature to stay on all night if I choose. The car will start and run for 15-30 secods when the battery gets low. I did it in AZ for 35 days with no problems.
 
I believe they were talking about the AC compressor. but even then I found the post confusing. highdesertranger
 
highdesertranger said:
I believe they were talking about the AC compressor.  but even then I found the post confusing.  highdesertranger

Same here.
 
Getting a Prius is my goal, thank you guys for your thoughts n experience.
 
I'm getting ready for my first camping trip in our 2017 V5. I slept in the car in the garage the last two nights to get my bed sorted. I have a lot of arthritis and was worried about not being comfortable. After I elevated the foot of my mattress a bit to keep me from sliding down, it worked out really great. I'm heading to Dinosaur in a few weeks and can't wait for my first real experience camping in the car. Happy to hear it's worked out so well for you, Neal. The V5 is our only car (we're both retired), and my hubby isn't interested in camping. So I'm going to look for an older, used Prius to use for my trips. I hope I like whatever I end up with as much as I like the V5.
 
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