2018 Prius Four Camper

I haven't done it since the '70s when we had a VW Microbus which I constructed a Camper Conversion which I could take in and out easily (if ½ a day is "easily"). But yes, after the first short trip we came up with a few modifications we needed for the next - and by the time we sold it, it was perfected!!!

 

Wow! I'm a 68-year-old woman about to take the plunge by spending my Golden Years living in a 2016 Prius. This has all been so helpful; I can't describe my gratitude to you all. Perhaps this is the wrong spot, but...thank you! I'm based in St. George, UT among the most beautiful scenery and geographical formations in the world and just want to spend a few years traveling the Four Corners states. Lana

 

The Gen4 Prius Eco has a 3" drop. Rather than add styrofoam or other materials that would take up space I used 6 plastic storage bins (Amazon) that are 3" high and filled them with whatever I was taking with me.
(IRIS USA Plastic Storage Bins)

The Gen 4 Prius Eco has the 3" drop. I used 3" shallow plastic containers to raise the rear so any bed could be level.

 

We took a much simpler approach with our 2018. We use two plastic storage totes in the rear passenger footwells stacked on top of each other that are just about the right height to bring the area level with the backs of the folded rear seats. When it’s time to sleep, we inflate two camping mattresses and lay them side by side. Ours has the factory spare tire, so the cargo floor is already basically flat.

We sleep two adults this way with the car in Ready mode, parking brake on, and climate control running.

For longer trips, we have a hitch and hitch-mounted cargo carrier similar to yours. We strap a large black storage tote to it with a ratchet strap for bulkier gear. Ours was bought used on Facebook Marketplace, but I believe Tractor Supply still sells essentially the same box. The appearance is slightly different, but the dimensions are the same. It's about 45" wide and fills the cargo tray nicely.

The two totes inside the car do double duty: they support the sleeping area and hold our clothes and other necessities. The nice part is that the whole setup converts back to a normal five-passenger Prius in just a couple of minutes, and the totes will fit in the cargo area when we need the rear seats.

Beyond that, we keep it pretty basic: a box for food that moves to the front seats at night, WeatherTech window shades, pillows, and 10-foot charging cables from the 12V outlet so both phones can reach us while we’re sleeping.
We’ve now slept two adults in the Prius for 70+ nights over thousands of miles using essentially this setup. It looks like you’ve put a lot of thought into yours, and I hope it’s serving you well. For us, a big part of the appeal has been seeing how little we actually need. We’ve tried to do it as cheaply and simply as possible, and we’ve found that having everything perfectly optimized matters a lot less than just getting out there and making it work. Often times we will leave with almost no planning and frequently keep camping stuff in the tires ready to go. Things like a small campaign stove. A pot. Fuel. Lighter. Some rope. Flashlight. Our sleeping pads, some towels, Etc. We just grab some clothes, some shoes, whatever gear we want or need and hit the road.

That versatility is probably our favorite thing about the Prius. It can be a normal five-passenger car one minute and a surprisingly comfortable little climate-controlled camper the next, without requiring a permanent camper conversion or much money at all. It feels like adventure is always available to us. From campsites, to trail heads, to national forest or even a cracker barrel - we have slept in them all.