We are not the first to do this. And we won’t be the last.

Prius Dwelling

Apparently this is a thing. If you thought we are the only ones crazy enough to sleep in a Prius, think again. In fact, the Prius dwelling community has reached a near cult-like following. A quick internet search for Prius living yields numerous blogs, lifestylists, and YouTube videos with content on the subject. Some people just throw a mattress pad in the back and go. Others, like us, spend months preparing elaborate builds. There are forums with fridge suggestions, blogs with battery schematics, articles about air conditioning, and videos of vegetable intake. If someone has a question, the community has an answer. Check out the Prius Dwellers subreddit to find out more from these awesome people.

Fuel Economy

40 MPG.

Climate Control

There is another benefit that comes as a direct result of the hybrid system. Since the car turns off the engine when idling, we can run heat or air conditioning for extended periods without consuming gas. This means we can leave the car on all night and set the automatic climate control at 65° F. The car will only turn on the engine periodically to keep the battery charged. This was not a feature we intended to use often, as we prefer the fresh air of open windows, but it came in handy early on as the first few nights of our test run reached lows of 35° F. We slept right through the slight shaking as the car started and stopped. After doing this a few more nights, a simple calculation showed that on average we used just 0.36 gallons of gas per night of heating. With gas averaging around $4/gallon this amounts to a nightly heating bill of just $1.50, not bad!

Stealth

As if the fuel economy and climate control weren’t enough, the Prius also has stealth. That is to say that it literally looks like a normal car. No one gives it a second thought. Although we don’t plan on it, some people sleep in their converted Prius on city streets and in neighborhoods. And why not. As long as you are in a new area each day no one will think twice about a Prius parked on the street for the night. Here are some image comparisons showing off how our car looks on the outside versus the inside.