I've traveled in a truck camper, truck cap, prius, semi truck, van, truck pulling a camper, and most recently my truck and motorcycle and of all these methods the prius was by far my favorite overall. I'm looking for a prius to buy again but if you have any advice or videos to share lmk. I'm sure you've learned a lot over the past 7 years, I only lived in mine for a few months.
So dude. . I have a 2007 prius. . my mother passed away in June of 2022 . . My father isn't doing so well . I'm basically gonna be in a situation where I will be living out of my car. I have some money stashed in brokerage/stocks. . What you say about needing to cook made alot of sense. That was one of the things I am most worried about. So basically I've been using an air fryer exclusively for the last 5 months. . And it got me thinking that if I put a 2000 watt inverter in there. . I can make every single meal in 8-15 minutes in an air fryer .. They have little small ones that only use 1200 watts or so. . Even a cheap harbor freight inverter can handle that. . The inverter would be hoked up to the 12volt battery. . When it get's low the car will kick the engine on to recharge it right? It's all plug n play. . . EDIT:Pork chops are cheap, potatoes are cheap, brussel sprouts are cheap, Zuchinni is cheap . . You can buy a $8 pack of chops another $12 for the veggies n potatoes and that lasts a week . . .Chops stay good for like 4 or 5 days in a fridge right? the veggies even longer .. I mean, WTF is stopping me besides myself from doing it already. . I've been dreaming about this for at least 5 or 6 years. . EDIT: I'm a drummer. Another dream I have is busking my way to Nashville . . Like I said in the comment thread from James Stone .. What do I do with my gear? My bass drum is 22 inches round. I ask myself, what can the prius tow? Should I get a trailer for my gear? Well, there goes the whole stealth thing and beaing minimalist. I deliver groceries for WM, food delivery for Doordash. I'm in the GIG economy. . I know I can "work" anywhere. I get great gas milage .. But what do I do with my gear? Sorry to have unloaded all this on you brother. . Just came across your video and it just prompted me to type all this sht out. .
Yeah allot of people put air fryers in and cook that way, I think that's a good ideal. I just don't like cooking, I'm really lazy lol. You should do it, if that's really what you want to do than go for it, plus not paying rent is awesome
look into the DASH mini type of appliances they are all around 500 watts or lower, even the Mymini stuff at Walmart are around 500 watts. Maybe a small crock pot might work and the minilogic oven can heat up most stuff given enough time.
Could you find a car top carrier big enough for your drums? Or 9ne of those carrier things that hold an electric scooter for the disabled? Might have to put it on its side and be sure that it is stored in something water tight. Hope this helps, good luck...
Though I put a 2000W inverter in my Prius Prime, I'd never run even a 1200W load from it for more than a few seconds, like starting up a saw/fridge/furnace/whatever. I recommend the 700W Instant Pot (pressure cooker) which can be grabbed on sale for $50. I also have a 375W rice cooker that can be used for cooking a lot more than just rice. I use the Instant Pot at home pretty often now, as practice for using it in the car. Redodo 1000W or 2000W pure sine inverters are excellent and a bargain. Get real cables made, and don't ever draw over 1000W from a Prius with the small 12V battery under the hatch, for more than a few seconds. For 2016-2022 Prius with the bigger 12V under the hood, you can pull more, but again, don't do it for the length of cooking a meal. The hybrid system only puts out so much 12V power like an alternator does, and the car itself draws quite a bit just to be Ready. Stick to pulling 700W or less from the car's 12V. And by 700W, I mean 700 watts drawn from the inverter, not a 700W cooking power microwave, which draws a lot more, plus does it in a bad way much worse than a heating element. If you really want more than that, like for an air fryer, get a big power station or your own LiFePO4 "house battery" setup to draw it from, and charge that from the car if needed.
Great video. I'm getting too old to be living at home now so I'm planning on moving into a vehicle soon to save on rent. I'm probably going to get a Prius. I don't quite understand how the electrics work, but unlimited AC or heating sounds really useful if I can get it without getting a flat battery. I'm probably going to get a towhook installed so I can mount my electric bicycle on the back too. And I'll probably get a top box to put my clothes in. For cooking I think I'm probably just gonna eat out more or make simple meals that don't require a lot of prep, like sandwiches or oats. Thanks for this video, again, it's inspired me!
I made a way to sleep in my C-HR. I'm 5'10". You don't need a big space, what you need is to know the places that will have the things you need. So if I need to cook, I find local parks with picnic tables and benches. If I need to work, I find a library. Gyms are a lifesaver. I started out with a sleeping bag, a pillow, my laptop, and a 12V fan or heater. There are pretty much 4 things you have to think about - sleeping, food, power, and cleaning.
Exactly, sounds like you actually have figured it out. Most people are stupid and still paying thousands of dollars for a piece of shit "van" that has no ac or heat and constantly needs to be maintained. I'm glad your enlightened 😊
Good setup and useful tips. Just subscribed. I love Prius camping because of the unlimited AC and electrical. I installed a small fridge and an inverter in my setup. Privacy shades also help!
I am looking to start van living, already own a 1998 ASTRO Van, so I will stick with it for awhile... about 15 mpg I believe, the last time I checked. I try to watch any and all no builds as I have no idea how long the van will last even though it has under 170,000 miles on it and runs quite well ATM. Thank you for the video as I have contemplated a primus for my next vehicle.
You can hook up a 1kW inverter to your Prius 12v battery (only need to connect two wires) and you’ll have enough power for a 700W microwave. So if you have gas you have power. Good luck bud 🤙.
@@aerohk Haha your right that’s confusing I should have clarified, everything is connected together so if you connect to the normal 12V battery you are also connected to the 12V rail of the hybrid battery. I have this hookup in my Prius. There is a 110 amp fuse on that 12V line from the Prius’s inverter so personally I would not draw more than 1000 watts. Also there are some really nice RU-vid Videos on this topic. Just look up Prius 1000 watt inverter.
@@rockyjewell7901if that’s true why has my 12 volt battery become dead but the hybrid battery have a full charge? If they are connected wouldn’t they both discharge together? I was told they were separate. I checked and they only work together when the car is running. If sitting in my driveway with the hatch open the 12 volt battery will become dead. It makes sense. I charged my battery today because I had been gone and my son said the hatch was open and drained the battery. I stopped to talk to a neighbor and it went dead. If I had left it running it would have been charged by the hybrid battery. Nice!
Hi. If you put a container on your front seat, be sure and put something under it, or it’ll leave a permanent impression. I’ve seen hitch carriers on a Prius and of course roof top carriers. Thanks for the video and info!
Thank you so much, and I agree, we need more people who isn't obsessed with materialism, I think it's destroying humanity especially in America. Thanks for commenting.
@@dolphinmaze I've had this dream, over n over again. . Where I am travelling and living in my prius .. Playing drums all over the country . .But the problem is in real life. . How the hell do I transport myself and my entire drum kit + gear
Side mirrors on the car ain’t bad for shaving. Just push the whole unit forward until they face out. Sometimes do this at home too just to save the clean up.
My friend bought a new van. 100,000 dollars. He retired and had a plan. I’m going to try the 2011 Prius I just bought for 13,000 that has 26,000 miles.
The closest things to that are the 2021 and up Sienna minivans, which are all hybrids like the Prius. It is available AWD and even slightly lifted. 36mpg. Or the Highlander Hybrid, 35mpg for recent years. I'll stick with my 54mpg Prius Prime. Actually I get 80mpg at 40mph, 61mpg at 61mph, and 42mpg at 84mph. It's a great car to cover some ground in, then camp out of. I fit a 50 liter freezer under my pillow.
For anyone who wants to run the heater and sleep in your Prius, get a carbon monoxide detector. You don't want a small emissions leak during the night to be the reason you never wake up.
The engine turns itself on every couple of minutes to keep the power running in the hybrid. Carbon monoxide is the real threat in this case. I certainly wouldn't take "it probably won't built up enough to kill you" as operating advice.
Not a bad idea, and it's cheap insurance. But honestly I've slept hundreds of nights in a minivan, a Prius, and a Prius Prime with zero qualms about not having a CO detector. Obviously you want an exhaust system with zero leaks, a working catalytic converter, the car passes a pollution test, and you don't want to be somewhere enclosed. I think a detector might make people think they're OK with a poorly maintained car from a state with no pollution testing, or in a semi-enclosed space. I'll take a perfectly maintained/tested car over a detector any day. I follow the vanlife community and don't know of even one CO poisoning from someone running the engine in the great outdoors. 34 years ago, I noticed a suicide attempt with a pool hose going from an exhaust pipe in through a hatchback, on a long driveway off our private road. The car was locked, but the hatch wasn't, to let the hose in. It was a small 1980s Toyota Starlet, with an unconscious 19yo girl in the driver's seat. I climbed in the hatch, unlocked her door, went around, and dragged her out. Wife had driven to a neighbor's house to call for help (this was 1990, before even corporate folks had cell phones) while I dragged the girl out. Soon, it was bedlam with cop cars and firemen and ambulance volunteers clogging the private road. She was breathing but unconscious, even when they took her away. So, I don't take CO poisoning lightly, but really, you have to try really hard to kill yourself with CO in a properly running Toyota. You'll normally die from lack of oxygen first, and a good engine puts out so little CO (mostly just lots of CO2 and H2O). I was pretty worried about her, her face/skin was rather gray. But a year later, I pulled up to a stoplight in the nearest city, and there she was at the light next to me, in the same car, singing along with the radio. It's hard to believe she'd be 53 today, or how old I am. I hope she's OK still. In my Prius Prime, in normal weather, it can go 6 to 16 hours running heat or AC before the engine comes on. In a regular Prius, it can be 2 minutes, 20 minutes, or anything between, depending upon how hard the AC is working, how good your battery is, etc. Even my Prime, once it's down to where it is cycling on/off, cycles through a pretty narrow range of battery state, so might have the engine on half the time in super hot weather like when I was in AZ when it was 119F. In normal weather, it's not on half the time.
Awesome. Yes for sure a van is better but you have to compromise certain things, with a van you don't have climate control unless you install a system which could cost 10k or more, prius has that stock so its about what is more important to you
You might want to watch out for blood clots in the legs if you sleep reclined in the front seat with your feet on the floor. (raise me up if you can). You've probably ran across rusty78609 video's of his prius adventures and he had a Microwave running in his prius. So you could just use electric appliances , some of the Dash mini stuff , a water kettle etc just play it safe and keep stuff stable and level when you are cooking..
I've got a Toyota Tarago hybrid (Estima) can import and it's fricken awesome. Gas milage is amazing and the space and practicality is great. I just bought an inverter so all I do is connect to the 12v and I've got the best generator you can buy. Power anything and everything from it and the hybrid system works it all out. AWESOME 👍
Do these Prius need to be recharged so that your limited in driving range before a charge? So could you just get in a Prius and drive several hundred miles like a gas vehicle?
You can't plug in a Prius even if you wanted to. It runs on gas, and charges up its own hybrid battery from either regenerative braking or running the engine. A Prius Prime, you can plug in, and get the equivalent of 1/2 gallon from the outlet. Perfect for people plugging it in at home every night. But the bigger battery takes up more space. I've taken huge road trips in both. I never plug in on a trip. Just put in 10 gallons, and drive 11-12 hours at 55mph, or 7 hours at 70mph, or 5 hours at 84mph. Normal car, just gets great mpg and has great climate control that I've used to sleep in the car with ease.
I’ve been planning to move to Colorado in my 2008 Honda Civic for the ski season, for a few months now. And the day to leave is coming up in 3 days. 😬😬😬. Time to start packing.
0:49 I like the practicality. Some people bring out the leveller with the Bible to get perfect flatness. I always thought...can you *really* feel 1-2 degrees of incline? 😅 Sounding like the princess and the pea lol
Paying 5x as much for gas, puts some other people off. People crossing the country every year chasing good weather and visiting home, get tired of paying $1000 gas each way. Also, maintenance costs on a van are in a different league than a bulletproof Prius.
You don't have to, you can also go off the 12 volt battery like a regular car, but it will drain the 12 volt battery really fast just like a normal car, that's why ready mode is so amazing it will only start the car when it needs to depending on power usage
It's fine to turn off the car completely, just don't be drawing any power from it when it's off. Like any other car, you can easily drain the 12V battery if you run stuff with the car off. It only charges the 12V battery when Ready (including when driving, sleeping, or anything else.) Ready means ready to drive, just like any other car with the ignition on. The car is on, you can put it in gear and go, whether or not the engine is on. Whether sitting there or driving, you don't decide when the engine comes on, the car does. My Prius Prime (which you can plug in to charge the battery equivalent to 1/2 gallon of gas) does let me choose when the engine is on or off, though it makes some exceptions where it does what it has to, to protect the battery in winter, etc.
We’re all just gunna pretend this man didn’t pull out a mirror and say that there is no mirrors around meanwhile having two outdoor mirrors built into this RV
Yes, though transmission percentage required, varies by state of registration. Roll down the windows if a cop pulls you over, and play dumb. I don't do limo tint on even the rear windows, because my state does annual inspections for it. Window covers are one key to Prius camping.
