Hey All, I am not a Prius owner but I am renting a 3rd gen III Prius this incoming weekend for Christmas trip. I love the car and have always wanted one. I am worried though that my dog crate will not fit. The crate folds up but it is 42" long and 28" tall but when folded it is only 3" wide. With the seats folded down will that length and height fit front to back? I know this is a pain to ask but I looked up measurements everywhere but I can not find actual measurements in inch only cu ft. If someone could go out there and check I would really appreciate it. Once again I know it is a pain but if it doesn't fit I can not buy the car either. Thanks everyone for their help! John
I assume you will need the crate upright with your dog in it, and thus will be 28" tall. If so, it will not fit in regular Prius because from deck to top with hatch open, it is only 25" high. If you're only speaking of carrying the crate folded up at 3" high and lay it on its side, it will easily fit. But I think you're wondering if Prius is 28" high in hatch area and sorry, but it's not. I'm not sure if the Prius v is even that high. This where the small SUV have a slight advantage - they have tall openings. Crate would likely go in a Rav4.
At CycleDrum: Our dog is old enough that she just sits on the back seat and will lay down and sleep. The crate will be folded up. I am not sure if I explained it very well so let me try again. If you think of a rectangle that is 42" long and 28" tall. I know the width will fit just fine. I am just worried that the length will come back to the hatch slope and not fit when you try to close hatch lid. I am putting the the one half of the seats down so its length will go from back of driver seat to hatch. Hope this is better to understand. At Pintogirl: lol arent you in the wrong place talking about a fit? Are those fightin words
I just measured, and the opening from the floor to the top of the hatch opening is only 25in. so I don't see how it will fit.
If you put the norrower backseat down so the dog can have the larger rear seat, your cage should fit. You won't be able to lay it flat at 28" wide, but if you tilt it up, it will fit. If you put the wider rear seat down, the 60% one, the flat pass through area is only 23" and it's less side to side with the narrower back seat. If you tilt up cage, push close to driver's seat back, it should fit.
I still don't think most people have understood the problem - you're trying to fit a 3" x 42" x 28" thing in the back of the Prius, so the 3" is the vertical measurement. This will fit with no problems, if both sides of the back seat are folded down; the front-to-back distance is at least 60", or more if your seats aren't all the way back. However, if you want one of the seats folded up (for either dog or passenger), it may not fit as well. Even the wide part of the seat is only 23" wide, so it'll have to tilt. It should still fit, but it will be a much tighter fit, as a 28" diagonal thing won't fit in at least the rear foot of the hatch area (due to the downward slope of the rear window). I think it'll probably still fit, however if you have other luggage, it might be a pain to stow it around a diagonally-placed dog crate. However, I don't think you'll have any problems with both sides of the back seat down, and let the dog find a comfortable spot in the back 2/3 of the car.
We understand what he wants to do - carry the dog so one or the other backseat needs to be up. And in true nerd fashion, I measured, and it appears the folded up 42x28x3 cage will fit, tilted against a seatback.
