Same. Everyone has their own ideas of what they want to get out of life, and a nomadic lifestyle is legitimately a thing. But for myself only, if I'm living in a car for any reason, things have gone horrifically badly relative to my life goals.

 

I actually never heard of that before. Camping obviously, since I did it myself, but not actually living in my Prius for days on end, using the traction battery as a power source.

But some people have done it not because they don't have money, but for some "spiritual" or "eco" or "lifestyle" choice. I assume they go back to homes after awhile and get bored. Like the guy below actually has memberships in gyms, eats out a lot, but decided to live in his Prius.


This girl travels I think....at this point, she had been living for TWO YEARS (!) in her gen 1...she even calls it her "Hotel Prius".


I assume hybrids are good for this because the combo of gas engine and traction battery gives you climate control and a source of power to cook food and use electrical appliances.


My 450h+ has an actual A/C outlet, but it looks like some people upgrade their car so they can use the battery as well.

This guy used his Prius to power his house during an outage. I've heard this done before, but he explains how he did it.

 

I’ve used the inverter in my R4P to run a 1000 watt microwave and on separate occasion I’ve used it to power a tankless water heater during an outage and also a deep freezer, fridge, multiple fans, chargers

 

Cool. I think the Rav4 Prime has the same 18.1 kwh hybrid battery as my RX (and the Prius Prime below) so that's way beyond the 1.6 kwh or so that the Prius HEV has. You can run a hotel on that

And that guy in the previous video hit it right on the head why the hybrid is perfect for this....it's basically a "generator on wheels"...and he says he spent very comfy air conditioned nights in the Prius for only a quarter of a gallon of gas!

 

This is just absurd millennial/gen z stuff like "tiny houses" lol.

In my day we called "tiny houses" trailers and they didn't cost $200,000

 

that video was 2 years ago. nikki delventhal eventually said screw that, and moved to a MUCH bigger (non hybrid) vehicle.

 

guessing all the people living in skanky priuses are single.

 

If that guy enjoys it, good for him, and I'm happy for him. I don't judge people harshly who don't hurt anyone else.

But yes, most others use it to travel long distances and camp as in the videos above. The hybrid battery with gas to back it up provides a very easy, inexpensive, and convenient power source and climate control. Your own personal traveling hotel.

The new gen 5 are probably not as good for this, as the interior space is slightly more limited. Though I would not be surprised as time passes and some people do start using them as such.

 

They don't neccessarily enjoy it, they're doing it to film content.

Most others? There are a very small number of people who do this, and if you really wanted to do it far better vehicles to do it in.

 

When I say "Most others", I mean the proportion of those who decide to use their car in this way are campers and travelers. As I said, me and my wife have done it.

As to far better vehicles, perhaps...but the older Prius have a great combination of features for this.

The ability to generate your own power from the car, and heat or cool yourself at night...a spacious interior with flat foldable rear seats that can sleep full grown men... great fuel efficiency....and a relatively cheap used car...

For example, this guy said he considered using his much bigger truck to do it first, then settled on buying a used Prius:

 

If you want to heat/cool your car while you camp, an EV would actually be better as the Prius needs to run the engine while heating or cooling the interior.

 

Use an LX/GX/Jeep/RR/Discovery/Defender etc etc etc as far better options for stuff like that lol!

 

Never in my life would I have thought a Prius thread would turn into a "camping in your vehicle" thread.

 

Why would the gas engine be running continuously?

As the guy said, he used less than a quarter gallon of gas for an entire night with heat or a/c switched on.

 

I didn't know people could live in it for years. I only slept in mine during camping trips. Much better than a tent since you can get a/c if it's hot and heat when it's cold...and I am kinda scared of bears!