[ai4kk]

I'll probably start on the boattail after I get out to Washington next month, will have my Subaru to drive while I work on the Prius since I left it out there last Fall when I came back to FL. In the meantime, putting my pizza pans er I mean wheel discs on this weekend. I may even find time to build some rear wheelskirts before the trip but not worried about the front wheelwells
The construction plan is to support a lightweight steel full-sized bedframe immediately behind the car and slightly lower than the bottom of the rear hatch opening (about 4" lower so the mattress is even with the floor) at 3 places....one support going to the 2" receiver and 1 on each side from the sides of the receiver to the two rear corners of the bedframe. This should give me a triangulated frame that should support two larger people while the car is at rest and not bumping down the road. If I decide to carry cargo back there while driving, I can always add ratchet straps from near the hatch hinges to the rear corners of the bed on either side to help support it in tension. There will be a steel hoop (I think angle-iron would be heavy enough for this, maybe even aluminum) at the rear of the bedframe like a footboard that will give a solid mounting surface for the upper half door latches, taillights etc as well as set the shape for the rear of the boattail and ensure room for my feet.
For skinning it, I'll probably use a lightweight PVC or Poor Man's Fiberglass (PMF)-encapsulated wooden frame covered with foam and PMF (or perhaps something even lighter since it won't be under a load) unless someone can convince me that real fiberglass has enough advantages to be worth the cost. of course adding the foam would make it better-insulated and cut back on my engine cycling if I'm using the climate control in standby mode. The bottom part will be mounted to the metal framework mentioned before and faired into the lower body and the top part will be mounted to the top half of the hatch after I cut the bottom half off and will use the factory hinges, weather-sealing, and hydraulic struts which I can upgrade if necessary...or perhaps even replace with actuators. I plan to build and fair the entire tail unit first before cutting the split so that the top and bottom half match and then working on sealing the gap when it closes. I may add rear and side windows later on but skipping them for now...I can always put extra cameras back there and if I add windows I'll also have to figure out how to cover them up when sleeping.
I'm thinking rather than trying to keep the original taillights exposed (which would add a lot of complexity and possibly some drag) just cover them up (leave them functioning in case the boattail ever comes off) and mount lights in the rear of the boattail. I also plan to keep a receiver open (use an extension and weld the bedframe support to that) so I can put a trailer hitch in although any trailer will have to be modified with a long tongue, but that will still probably give better mileage when hauling than putting things on the roof.
While PMF doesn't finish out really shiny, the car is currently matte black (cheap rattle-can paint-job covering the former yellow taxi paint which is itself over the original silver paint), I plan to eventually redo it in semi-matte John Deere Blitz Black so it doesn't have to take a fine finish.
Thoughts? Always open to new ideas.