Day 81 - When You Take On A Passenger

(Passenger seat with bed behind it - small leg space)

When I designed my Prius Camper I utilized my height of 5'11" to determine the bed length of 6'2". This is the distance from the inside rear hatch to the back of the front passenger seat fully erect.  

(Seat with bed platform down)

In order to get this distance I needed to move the passenger seat considerably forward, thus making the passenger front seat generally too small for a normal size passenger.

(Now with bedding & mattress in place)

I also used the floor area of the passenger front seat for items that do not fit in the back/elsewhere.  Items like my hiking boots, a couple jugs of water, sandals, water heater and thermos.

(Passenger seating - seat back for space)

When I picked up Denise at the airport last Tuesday I needed to fold my bed & mattress and then fold the bed platform back to slide the seat back an additional 6".

The front passenger foot area items were moved to the seating area behind the driver's seat.

(Space behind in passenger mode)

It all worked well as this is the second time I did it on the trip.

It is a design consideration for those interested in solo Prius travel as a campervan.  In fact the design is great for one person living in and out of the Prius.

(Area behind driver's seat - all these items reside on the floor of the passenger seat with the Bed is in place leaving this area clear for a seat.

My design will work for two people living out of the Prius but no in.  What I mean is they can sleep in the Prius but, not much else.  In fact I did design the Prius so two could sleep in the rear but then there is no room for a seating area.  

If two were to travel sleeping in their Prius I would say a roof storage unit is the way to go to store the extra items so the beds could remain made and just flipped back for driving. The fridge would have to go to the passenger front seat at night.

If two were to camp out of the Prius and sleep in a tent there is enough room in the Prius to store and access everything without the roof storage.

For me being able to live in the Prius at times means I have room to wash up, shave, change clothing, heat hot water for quick food, access the fridge to eat or make something simple, all while sitting in the back seat with both front seats moved up to the point where my knees just hit the dash when I'm sitting.

I have some design ideas to better utilize space if I want to travel in the Prius again.  I will cover these ideas in a future blog.

Brent

macaloney@hotmail.com