Tiny Campgear for the Tiny Prius

Camping and living out of the Prius is an art. It’s an endless game of Tetris, where you look for the biggest block that will fit in the smallest empty space. Fortunately for me, I used to know a lot of backpackers that taught me the two key rules of the game: 1) Smaller is better, 2) Lighter is king!

To that end, I’m going to share a few items that I take with me (mostly inside the vehicle) and how I organize them. You don’t have to buy these exact items, though you should consider whether alternative versions are bigger or heavier, since those factors affect your ability to fit them in your car, and your fuel efficiency.

Yes, I carry a tent, I just don’t use it often. It’s an emergency item for fitting a second person into my travel plans, or a comfort item for relaxing outdoors when doing long term boondocking. My tent is a 3 person, very lightweight tent with aluminum poles and lots of air flow. It fits two REI camp pads with just a few inches to spare, so I wouldn’t sleep in it with more than one person, but if you had a queen size air mattress and three small people, that might also work.

I carry a lightweight, 20 degree, down sleeping bag that squishes very compact. Down sleeping bags tend to survive the most washing and are usually lighter than synthetic equivalents, but you’re welcome to follow your choice.

If the weather is warm and I want to stretch out, I use a very lightweight down comforter. It’s bulkier, but it’s not heavy and it does compress a bit. I toss it in the roof box when not in use.

For storing either your sleeping bag or comforter, I recommend using a compression sack, otherwise you’ll be fighting to store your bedding and life will be sad.

I’m not a coffee addict, I can quit anytime! But seriously, most of us love a fresh cup of coffee in the morning and there’s no reason to live off instant coffee when you’re on the road. I do drink instant coffee, Mexican Nescafe is my preference when I want a quick cup and Starbucks is far away. But if I’m hanging out with friends, I like to offer them a fresh cup of mocha or maple flavored brew. My favorite way to brew is with a French press, maybe it’s all that time I’ve spent in Paris. This tiny press makes two cups of strong coffee, and you can dilute with more hot water if you want to fill two mugs. If it’s just for you, there’s plenty.

If you don’t want to bother washing out a coffee press each time you make coffee, you can make drip coffee with this large, collapsible drip coffee maker. It’s very compact when you squish it. Just remember to carry coffee filters.

When it’s time to wash up, and I have lots of dishes, I use this collapsible sink. I heat water in my electric kettle, mix it with cold, and I’m good to go!

Especially in the time of Covid-19, I find myself needing to wash things constantly, and I don’t want to break out the “giant sink”, which normally stores my skillet, my collapsible bowl and my cleaning items. So when I want to wash my hands, a few items of cutlery, or a handful of strawberries, I use these collapsible cups. I keep one for washing food items in the side pocket of my small, insulated lunch bag. I keep another in the back seat organizer so I can brush my teeth at night, and I keep a third one in my tote bag, so I can wash my hands after using the gas pump. Maybe that feels like overkill, but I’ve been traveling 2 months and haven’t gotten sick!

Sooner or later you’re going to get dirty. You’ll need to wash yourself, or your clothes and you’re going to need a bucket of water. Yes, you can take a sturdy 5-gallon bucket, and if you’ve got the space, more power to you. But if you don’t, a collapsible bucket is very handy. I actually carry a hard 2.5 gallon bucket and this collapsible bucket as a good compromise. The hard bucket doesn’t take up too much space in my roof box, and having two containers let’s me use one for washing my hair and another for rinsing it. And if you think that’s extravagant, you haven’t known anyone with really long hair!

Why not have two collapsible buckets you ask? Because in order to heat the cold river water, I have to put a 1000w heating coil in the bucket, and the collapsible bucket would collapse! Nevermind the fact that it could also burn. So any sturdy bucket will do, but here’s mine if you want to copy me.

For carrying drinking water, I carry a small, skinny 1.25, BPA free container in my back seat, next to the cooking items. Since I drink mineral water, and there’s usually 2 six-packs of La Croix in my car, this water is only for coffee and washing up. I’m in the National Park most days, so there are often free refill stations, and if I can’t find one, the general store always has a gallon of water for that day.

On those rare occasions that I plan to be at a campsite several days without going to the national park (this has only happened once on a 2 month trip), I use a 3 gallon water jug with a water dispenser, so I don’t have to tip the big jug over. There isn’t much room in the car for a 3 gallon jug, so I usually leave it outside. Since I only use this when sharing camp with other folks, stealth or someone walking away with it isn’t an issue. When I’m ready to leave camp, I give the water to my friends and put the jug in the roof box.

For cooking, I recommend a lightweight kit of small cooking utensils. Although I now keep them in a plastic shoe box, along with more spices and a mini jar of instant coffee, I still use the utensils from this little kit. I’ve added one high temperature spatula and a full size chef knife to my kitchen kit. My folding kettle also fits in the shoe box, but if I’m using it daily, I don’t bother putting it away.

I bought this spice jar years ago at Walmart and it has served me well, but the tabs don’t close completely sometimes and it’s not refillable. I may go with something else in the future.

Behind my driver seat, I have one of these seat organizers. This is where I place my phone, keys and washing cup at night, so I can brush my teeth. I also leave soap and my toothbrush in the pockets so I  never have to dig for them. The lower pockets are a great place to put tissues and trash bags. And when I’m watching videos on my phone at night, all I have to do is lay on my pillow and turn the phone towards me. The car is usually on all night, and connected via Bluetooth, so the sound is coming from the car stereo, which is pretty cool!

My second organizer is a small cup organizer that’s held between the passenger seat and the console. Although I have two cup holders up front, they’re always full because one always has mineral water and the other has hand sanitizer that I use every time I enter my car after being in public. Adding the organizer gives me a dedicated space for my water, thermal mug, air purifier, and hand sanitizer.

For clothes, I wanted an uncomplicated system. I previously kept my clothes in a soft side Eagle Creek bag, which is an awesome piece of luggage, but was absolutely inconvenient when I had to lift it out to get to tools or kitchen supplies. I also tried putting my clothes in a box, under the tools and kitchen supplies, but then I found myself being too lazy to change my clothes because I had to move things to get to them. Eventually, I hit on the idea of putting an open box in the foot area behind the passenger seat, and stuffing my clothes into little sacks that fit inside it.

The beauty of the packing cube is in the mesh top. I fit all my clothes into three of these cubes and all three cubes into the wooden cubby. My clothes are lightweight, easy to dry items that can be rolled and don’t wrinkle much. The mesh top let’s me see what’s inside, so I don’t have to rummage through a big bag to get what I want. You can dedicate one to shirts, another to pants, another to socks, etc. Or you can organize by outfit combinations.

My kitchen items like spices, kettle, utensils, fit inside a small plastic shoe box. These can generally be found at Walmart or Target. A second shoe box contains tools like electrical wire, cutters, and batteries. I don’t need them often, but I want them handy. Both boxes sit on top of the wood cubby and fill up that space perfectly so that my mattress is completely level, with my pillow on top of the mattress at this end.

Although not necessary, I decided to buy a tiny vacuum for my car. Yes, I could use a tiny whisk broom and dust pan, but after finding my car dock full of tiny rocks, I really didn’t feel like sweeping them out by hand. I often end up with things falling between the seat and the console which is a very tight space, and the tools of this tiny vacuum make it much easier to clean those spots. This little guy is charged by USB, so you can use it even if you don’t have electricity. All you need is a phone cord and USB cigarette plug. It fits under your passenger seat when not in use!

My last tiny item is a mini air purifier. It’s USB powered and fits in a cup holder. It won’t clean a room, but it works well for a car, and since it tells you the level of pollution with an indicator light, it’s a good warning system when there are fires nearby and you’re not sure if the air is of a quality you want to sleep in.  It was a godsend on this last trip where most of the west coast was sadly on fire. I’ll never travel again in summer without it!

The last item on the list is the smallest, and it’s meant for critters that are even smaller sometimes. I move my car daily, and I don’t usually park next to places where critters might be living, but everyone tells me mice are out there somewhere, and people live in dreadful fear that a little mouse will turn the tiny Prius into his tiny mouse house. So I plug this little gizmo into my power station at night. It serves as a little night light and I’ve I hear they work amazingly well scaring away both mice and creepy crawlers. They work for about a year, so be sure you change them out.

Well, if you’ve gotten this far, I hope you’ve found at least a few items that will be useful to you. As always, I wish you happy and safe travels!

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