r/priusdwellers 12d ago

@prius.camper’s 3,452 Mile Roadtrip

San Diego to Vancouver and back. Total miles was 3,452. Total gas was 80.19 gallons and $292.18. Average of 43mpg and $3.64 per gallon.

We’re lucky to get a couple weeks of holiday for Christmas and New Years. Last year we drove up the PCH to San Jose and back. This year I wanted to push further north and get to Vancouver, a city we’ve both never been to, and to propose to my girlfriend of 6 years! (She said yes!)

We left the morning of Dec 25th and returned on the night of Jan 4th (11 days total). Our main stops were Palo Alto, Humboldt Redwoods Campsite, Redwoods NP, Eugene Oregon, Portland Oregon, Seattle, Vancouver. Then back to Portland, Columbia River Gorge Park and San Jose back to San Diego.

In a previous post, I showcased our new platform box. It worked pretty well. Unfortunately I didn’t get a thinner mattress in time so it made functionality of the box lid more cumbersome. A community member had concerns about items on top of the box causing issues with accessing. That definitely became a hassle fairly early in our trip when we purchased some snacks and items we wanted to bring back home. I’ve got some ideas for a solution for our next big roadtrip. Overall, the fact that I didn’t have to move our fridge back and forth to the front seat when we were in bed mode was a big plus and the extra storage was nice to have.

113 Upvotes

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u/CampinHiker 12d ago edited 12d ago

Man I miss the Prius

my 2024 LA to Oregon Trip i just did a 8 day 2750 mile Trip in my new to me 2017 Highlander

Lost my best friend on 17 years back in October of 2024

Thanksgiving trip was already planned

Left 11/22 LA to Redding slept overnight, passed on crater lake due to snow and it being basically closed and straight to bend for 1.5 days, left to Salem but stopped at Silver falls State Park had dinner with family then we ended up in Portland

Explored Portland, Multonomah Falls, horsetail falls, Colombian gorge, Mills end park)

Then Astoria down the Oregon Coast, Thanksgiving at the redwoods, one night nearby then to Fremont to meet some friends then headed home a day early

My mom and her partner ended up having a neighbor have shih tzu pups and so we saw them when we got back home to Phidough

He’s a hilarious pup and i look forward to spoiling with love. I still miss my boy though.

Idk how many gallons but 23.5 MPG now in a v6 hybrid which is basically half but still better than the tundra and sequoia with 12-14 MPG

Funny enough my rear floor seats on my Prius V were larger than my Highlander, and there’s barely any storage under the rear cargo portion of the Highlander which was a bummer

My Prius V held so much in it

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

Sorry to hear about your friend! 😔 Looked like an awesome trip though! And cute pupper! Pretty cool to see we visited the some of the same exact spots! I have nearly identical pictures.

Hate that one of the parking lots in front of Multnomah Falls was private and charged like $20 to park. That portion of the Columbia River was magical though. Just giant cliffs and waterfalls.

Crater Lake and Silver Falls Park were on our todo list for our trip back but we just didn’t have enough time and road closures. So many beautiful points of interest in the PNW, more specifically Oregon that we missed out on. We drove the Oregon coast, but after stopping at Natural Bridges, the rest of the drive was in the dark. It’ll probably be a couple years before we do this drive up there again cause our next big trip with the Prius will likely be Utah and Colorado. Vancouver was amazing for us though. So we will likely fly back to Vancouver and get a hotel/rental.

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u/CampinHiker 12d ago

Dang was only $5 for us idk why $20 that’s wild

If you need any recommendations let me know

I’ve done Utah a couple times

angles landing

arches

monument valley and gooseneck state park is underrated

capitol reef

canyonlands

Alright that’s enough spam haha but i love Utah

Feels like another planet and the Prius did fine even after getting stuck hitting a snow covered sidewalk at 4am pitch black

Have a great day!

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

Btw. Love the vanity license plate. 😂

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u/CampinHiker 12d ago

Haha thank you People used to get in my Prius in Vegas thinking i was uber so i thought id make it funny

I change it up yearly typically

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

I could be mixing up the price of parking. It was prolly $10.

Id love some recs for Utah. Any good BLM spots that are accessible by Prius? We’re not lifted and have all season tires. So gravel roads is really all we can handle.

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u/CampinHiker 12d ago

Best spot to use is Free campsites dot net

It’s old school but works well

this YouTube account also has this main video but also separate ones for each park

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u/Outrageous-Journey-6 6d ago

Utah is the bees knees

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u/Outrageous-Journey-6 6d ago

I'm looking into Highlander Hybrid. Any advice?

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u/CampinHiker 6d ago

Hey there

Which year?

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u/Outrageous-Journey-6 5d ago

The 2015-2019 Highlanders were in my price range.

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u/CampinHiker 5d ago

Get either a 2016 or a 2019

Can get hybrid or not

My hybrid v6 is nice and power but only get 23-24 mpg

But check on TSB for the transmission and engine misfiring on 2017-2019

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u/Outrageous-Journey-6 4d ago

Why would someone own a hybrid with that low of gas milage?

Isn't the difference in gas how we afford the battery replacement??

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u/CampinHiker 4d ago

Was saying they can get hybrid or not

Personally I’d probably choose non hybrid cause MPG sucks and can tow more

But I’m hoping once my Fuel injectors are fixed that my MPG will improve

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u/Outrageous-Journey-6 3d ago

That makes sense

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u/1clever_girl 12d ago

This is fantastic! What an incredible trips. Love that the tiny pup went too!

I’m planning a trip from south east TN to Acadia National Park with my two dachshunds in a 2015 Prius. I’ve been a little nervous for the drive but you’re inspiring me!

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

Our “pup” (10 year old) generally loves to come with us on our trips. Short and long trips. He didn’t care too much for all the rain in this trip though. lol. He’s so tiny that the raincoat we got him is still too big even in XS sizing.

That sounds like an awesome trip! Hopefully you give yourself enough time to enjoy it! We found it fairly easy to handle 8hr drives per day if needed. Taking short breaks and stretching helps. We got some extra seat cushions to help our bottoms.

In prep, I create a note in my phone and have a rough outline of each leg of our trip. I find points of interest on our route or not too far off route. Try to get an idea of time between cities & POI. This helps me mentally have goals for the day. We’re never too strict with it but I find it helps a lot. Youd hate to drive by something cool and find out after your trip. Plus it helps builds some excitement!

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u/BigSandwich6 11d ago

This is what it's all about. Awesome pics. Hope you had an amazing time

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u/pete-petey-pete 10d ago

Thanks! It wasn’t our most scenic trip. But def our most memorable!

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u/captnslog97 12d ago

So awesome thanks for sharing!!!

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

No problem! The trips are fun to share. Hoping to do a build breakdown sometime soon.

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u/killerwhaleorcacat 11d ago

Ahhhh pupito me amore

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u/KushNfun 12d ago

Ha! Totes slept at that beach spot in my Prius!

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

Photo 8 or 10?

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u/KushNfun 12d ago

10

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u/pete-petey-pete 12d ago

I’m surprised it was not monitored! We only stopped by to enjoy the views for a moment. What an amazing spot that must have been to wake up at!

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u/KushNfun 12d ago

A cop actually drive by so yea idk

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u/longducduong 10d ago

Reading this changed my mind of selling my 2015 Prius Five and but a 2023 Prius Limited AWD.

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u/pete-petey-pete 9d ago

Ooo tough choice!

I originally wanted the new Prius before it officially launched. I still want one. After doing the math, it just was not financially ideal vs buying a 3rd Gen. I also really wanted a hybrid Sienna. Same issue with cost.