Yes, You Can Sort of Camp In Your Prius

If you want to go camping with your Prius, there are options.
Written by Alex Reale
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
There’s something about camping in a rooftop tent that’s so relaxing. Instead of scrounging around on the forest floor, you can smugly climb a state-of-the-art ladder to perch atop your Subaru, comfortable and warm on a cozy mattress. 
But what if you don’t own one of those sturdy Crosstreks, and your weapon of choice is the smaller, crunchier
Prius
? Don’t resign yourself to sleeping on the ground just yet. There are options for camping in your Prius. 

A glamping option 

For the Prius owners who want to be among the creatures without sacrificing creature comforts, the Japanese company Camp Inn has a solution, reports
RV Share
. Some (highly niche) internet buzz from the early-mid ‘10s surrounded a funky appendage that would give a Prius another layer of hybrid: half car, half RV. 
Tacked lumpily on to the top and the back of the car, the camping addition looks a bit like an allergic reaction from the outside. 
But the inside immediately causes exterior aesthetic amnesia. It’s spacious and highly functional. A skylight brightens up a plush studio, where one could busy oneself making popcorn in the microwave (powered by the Prius’s battery pack), or stretching out on the double bed, which comes together easily with the folding down of the back seats. 
You could even reconfigure the layout to get a small sofa and table in the mix, perfect for enjoying a game of cards after a long day of hiking. If you’re willing to endure some staring and part with an additional $20,000, you can realize the Prius glamping dream.
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Less glampy 

MORE: Prius vs. Prius Prime
If the Prius/RV life just isn’t for you, but you still long for aerial superiority while camping, it turns out that rooftop tents are not just the domain of off-roaders. Adding a rooftop tent to any car mostly involves having the right tools and knowing your weight requirements, as several
helpful REI threads
will tell you.
The experts recommend investing first in a rack system that will compensate for your Prius’s (probable) lack of side rails. This will provide a platform for your rooftop tent. 
But you’ll have to be sure to know your car’s maximum weight capacity both while it is still and moving. You don’t want any mishaps to occur while you’re driving up to Big Sur with this thing on your roof, or when you finally get to lie down at night. The static and dynamic weights can generally be found in the manual, notes REI, but calling up Toyota is always an option. 
Once you know your load rating, you can pick out the appropriate tent. With a bit of DIY installation, you’ll be able to see the stars from the roof of your Prius—no Subaru required.

Insuring your camping Prius

Whether you choose the more overwrought RV option, or you’re happy to stick with a rooftop option, you’ll want to make sure your Prius is insured. 
If you want to save money on car insurance, the
Jerry
app is a good place to start. A licensed broker, Jerry does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies and buying new car insurance. Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy.
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