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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jul 9, 2010 - 04:03pm PT
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So...after years of deliberation, I was thinking that the Fit would be the most affordable compactish car that permitted sleeping in the back.
I hadn't looked at the Prius, though covet it did I, because they were out of my price range. But then that whole Toyota thing happened this year, and their prices came way down.
So when my truck tranny started grinding on me again last weekend, I made the leap on a slightly used Prius. I didn't realize until I went to the dealer how much room was back there.
The sleeping area is a bit narrower b/c of the wheel wells than my Tacoma w/ a lifted platform was, but head-to-toe, the sleeping space is longer.
The seat smooshes flatter than it looks once you put your weight on it, but it can be flattened entirely w/ a folded "egg crate" foam in the trunk space.
Here's my easy and not-to-spendy mod for people who are afraid of heavy power-tool usage and lacking in the meticulous nature needed to do a fancier set up:
2 Ikea Gorm Shelves: $5 each
2 Ikea Gorm Self Sticks: $2 per pack of 2
4 Hinges/screws for Shelf Sticks
1 Full sized Ikea Sultan Tafjord Memory Foam Pillow Top. Thick enough to pass Princess on Pea test, but pliable enough to stow easily and mold to wheel wells.
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murcy
climber
sanfrancisco
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Brilliant! What is the head-to-toe length you get that way?
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 9, 2010 - 04:09pm PT
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Thanks.
We measured at the dealer. I forget the exact #, but it's over 6 feet. It's a more than half a foot longer than the full sized mattress.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Yay for comfy life on the road! Have fun in the new car.
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rock grrl
Trad climber
CA
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Hey that's pretty nice!
I've slept 2 in my Fit, just used Thermarest pads. I've even slept in it with "Refresh mode" but I'm on the shorter side.
If I ever get a Prius I'm gonna keep this in mind though.
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Norwegian
Trad climber
Placerville, California
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i've bivied in the back of our prius with my two daughters.
plenty o' room, and tinted windows.
we love our prius. even with the sky high gas prices it costs like 30 bucks to fill a dead empty tank. and then it goes forever.
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Great conversion.
And you'll love the car.
120K trouble free miles on mine so far.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Congrats Meliisa, on purchase, and ingenuity!
This could turn into a thread on unlikely stealth Campers.
My own new entry is a 2002 Saab 9-5 Wagon. With the back seat down, I have room for a deployed Fish Maxipad, plus two ridgecrest pads and a thermarest. plus all my climb/cooking crap.
The front seats don't go all the way back in this mode, but I can drive comfortably (5'.10.5", shortish legs)
I think it has the edge on the Melissa rig on Horsepower, but fall way behind on gas mileage...
Photos to follow.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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HOW AWESOME, Melissa!!!!! I've got a Civic hybrid, and it doesn't
have folding seats in the back due to the batteries. So I'm kinda
stuck sleeping in a seat.
Great pics, great ideas!!!
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Trad climber
San Francisco, Ca
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Cool, surprising amount of space in those rigs.
I climbed with someone who removed the front passenger seat of her VW rabbit and put a bunk there.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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My Matrix works quite well for sleeping in the back, but your example has some intriguing possibilities.
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JOEY.F
Social climber
sebastopol
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Cool! Pics of first road trip comming up I hope. My minivan is hardly steathy, but love the room.
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nutjob
Trad climber
Berkeley, CA
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I'm inspired to try this with my Prius!
On my own I sleep in whatever patch o' dirt, but with m'lady this would be much handier than setting up the tent.
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Congrats, Melissa! That "new car" buzz is a great feeling.
Phyl
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Daphne
Trad climber
Mill Valley, CA
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That is awesome Melissa! When I'm ready to plop down for a new car I'm going to copy you. Imitation being the greatest form of flattery and all that. Can't wait to see it in person.
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slobmonster
Trad climber
OAK (nee NH)
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Nice job, Wallress.
(I'm in the 'hood this weekend if you want to do any schwank insta-carpentry.)
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okie
Trad climber
San Leandro, Ca
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Well, I used to enjoy curling up into the fetal position in the backseat of my VW beetle. Ahh... good times...Except when some cop's maglite rapped on my windows in the middle of pleasant dreams.
For years afterward my first criteria of whether a vehicle was right for me was sleepability. Still is. People in the square world of non-homelessness, non-dirtbagging don't get this. At all.
Nice engineering, Melissa. Hope it always stops on a dime for you...
My Subaru sleeps okay and like your Toyota is made from melted down Japanese Zero fighter planes. Cool.
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yogiclimber
Social climber
NorCal
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Very kewl conversion! I'm going to check out that pillow top for my Element.
Mel
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Very cool. The backseat on a Prius is huge. It's one of the best things they did for that car, all practicality. It has more leg room than a camry or almost all full size cars.
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