Eco off-road on a budget? Or destroying a Prius, you decide.
 

Hey guys and gal's and those in between,

I recently purchased a 2009 Prius ex-taxi with 415,000km on the clock and now I'm doing my best to piss off the entire Prius owning community by turning it into a Jeep.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...132644_815.jpg

Fortunately it uses a lot less fuel than a Jeep, and also a lot less than the Subaru Liberty that it's replacing, about half as much to be precise. Unfortunately the Subaru has a much better reputation for off-roading than the Prius so I have my work cut out for me.

Heres the Subaru in all its glory half way across the Oodnadatta track in the Australian desert for a bit of an idea of what I want the Prius to do.
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I need to get on a computer to continue, this website doesn't play well with my phone... Stay tuned!

Ok so after what seemed like an eternity searching for the right car i found this horrible yellow and green beast interstate, and promptly drove the Subaru there to buy it.

Unfortunately the week before someone had t-boned the Subaru and on the day I arrived interstate the registration expired so it was doomed for the scrap yard, but first I pulled off every piece of useful goodness I could unscrew, including the front light bar and lights:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...213320_859.jpg

I also fitted the DRLs, dashcam, various switches and wiring harnesses, and a bunch of other bits to the Prius before driving it back home.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...506676825.jpeg

https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...025526372.jpeg

The first tank netted me 5.52L/100km (42.6mpg) which was a massive improvement over the lifetime average of 11.5L/100km in the Subaru!

After arriving home i went through the process of getting the car inspected and new registration applied in my home state, which required the removal of my lights as they sat up past the arbitrary "front edge of the bonnet" measurement required and the bar which had edges that were deemed too sharp (and yet landrovers can run tyres, shovels and axes on top of their bonnet no worries?)

The next step was getting rid of that horrible colour scheme, i chose the Taubmans range of exterior house paint in low sheen "Sealord Grey"
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...210722_462.jpg

https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...174544_922.jpg

2 days and around $100 later it was looking much less garish
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...193553_126.jpg

Stay tuned for more adventures soon <3

Good improvement so far. Consider this:

jalopnik.com: This Lifted Prius Trolls Jeeps

Looks like a fun project. I'd much rather own a Prius made into a Jeep than a Jeep (sorry Jeep owners). :) Looking forward to updates!

Just two days ago I ordered a clear coat heat rejecting paint. Gonna clear paint my car roof. Maybe also paint the pillars and window sills and rear decklid.

43 MPG is some nice fuel economy for an Ultralight Offroader. A Suby Forester from 2009 gets 20/27 and '09 Jeep Liberty was 16/22 and an '09 Jeep Wrangler 15/20. You just about halved the fuel cost and the carbon footprint of your trips.

If making an off road prius pisses off the Prius purists then by all means do your worst.

It's even more fun to piss off the offroad purists.

I've gone offroading in a 77 Cadillac and an 84 K Car. The Caddy, oddly enough, wasn't all that nimble and took some damage.

That car was a big inspiration for this build, there are surprisingly few people in the wild doing this despite the popularity of Prii around the world.

The Russian lift kit has been in the mail for a month or so now but is taking forever thanks to the virus.

~~~

By this point another interstate trip was looming, and i had bought a new set of lights i was excited to fit, a night and day quality difference from the old ones (excuse the pun)
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...171553_460.jpg

This time i scrapped the old bar from the Subaru and trimmed the grille before bolting the new lights directly to the factory aluminium bumper support, this brings the lights down a couple of inches and gets rid of most sharp edges, bringing it more inline with local laws, and probably markedly improving aerodynamics.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...194322_674.jpg

The stock headlights have definitely seen better days but they will be replaced in due time, the following photos are with my camera set to manual, with the exposure as close as possible to what my eyes actually see and locked for all shots

Stock low beam:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...802862020.jpeg

Stock high beam:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...973007510.jpeg

Livid Hyperdrive Mk2:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...918861318.jpeg

Theyve already saved me from multiple animals strikes on the first trip.

Stay tuned for more!

Oh yeah I forgot to add, after getting home (in between the car registration and the paint job) I worked for a week, 10 minutes away from home in city traffic, while at work I left the car running all day every day to keep the radio on and returned a mind boggling 6.87L/100km, the idle efficiency of the Prius platform is amazing!

On the next road trip (after fitting the lights) I'd had a bit of time to get used to the car and improve my driving so beat the first road trip with a 5.04L/100km tank, I was extremely surprised at the difference drafting a truck or driving by myself made, i could quite easily get down to the low 4s at this point if i stuck to a truck the whole way (at 100kmh)

Maybe a fwd Jeep Patriot. Still I bet the stock 2wd Patriot beats tiny lift Prius. The Renegade is currently the least Jeep Jeep and it would certainly be better than that Prius.

Now combining the Prius with a Subaru drivetrain, you might get something. Now I have seen a Dodge Neon go places that would troll a Jeep, of course that was a rental and alcohol and momentum was involved. Getting it in yes, getting it back out, not so much.

Actually, the jalopnik piece says the Prius had 9" ground clearance after modding. The Renegade with trailhawk options has 8.7" and the 2wd Patriot has 8.1" ... and both get lesser fuel economy than the lifted Prius.

I'm obviously never going to get the same performance off road as a real Jeep (or even my old Subaru) due to the lack of rear wheel drive but I'm confident I wont have trouble getting into or out of any of the campsites I'd like to use with this car.

~~~

Now that the outside is relatively together il move my attention to the inside, the next few mods were installed at random times during everything else but il put them all together into one post for ease of reading.

First the switches for the lights, the far left is for the big spotlights, the far right is for the daytime running lights, and the middle 2 are spares for now. You can also see my phone holder peeking out from under the steering wheel, it's just a steel L bracket that sticks to a magnet glued onto the back of my phone.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...411_141604.jpg

The next thing to go in was another switch (in the bottom right corner of the top glove box) that turns the radio on without the key in the ignition, this will be more useful later when I've upgraded to an aftermarket radio without all of the controls on the MFD screen. I also fitted a volt gauge that comes on with the same switch (or the key) this allows me to keep an eye on the 12v battery.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...411_141626.jpg

Moving to the other side of the top glove box I fitted 2 more switches, these are connected to the front speaker wiring and swap it from the factory door speakers to a pair of speak-on plugs that I can plug my external speakers into while camping, at parties or job sites.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...174544_919.jpg

There are also some of these plugs replacing the rear door speakers but I forgot to take a photo of that. The external speakers sound great and are quite loud even just running off the factory head unit.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...322_171909.jpg

There will be much more extensive audio upgrades later, but that's all for now.

Had you seen some places I've been in front-wheel drive econoboxes such as an Opel Corsa/Holden Barina and a Dacia Logan, you wouldn't be so skeptical about the lack of 4WD. By the way I guess you know what a Citroën 2CV is capable regarding off-road ability even though the majority of them is also FWD. On a sidenote, if you could get a differential locker (or something like the Quaife ATB differential) it would be enough to handle most situations for which proper 4WD/AWD would be overkill.

When you take into account that the Compass/Patriot is really just an AWD Caliber with a lift, a Prius with a lift makes a lot of sense unless you're really planning on needing the AWD.

It'd be screaming for a Trail Rated badge on the fender.

Apparently the biggest issue with the Prius is the overzealous traction control halting forward momentum, but ive got a few ideas for that later on down the track.

~~~

Next on the list was a towing hitch, but since I live on the wrong side of the world buying one from Amazon wasn't an option, instead I decided to adapt the one from my old Subaru, it has a 40mm reciever and was rated at 1200kg, quite a bit more than im ever likely tow with the Prius.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...410_170647.jpg

I ended up using the same tow hook bolts that the Curt ones use, and also braced it with the factory bumper reinforcing bar mounts, this puts it a good 6" above the normal ones and means it's completely hidden by the bumper and flat under floor panels for optimal aerodynamics and ground clearance.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...414_135707.jpg

Compared to a Curt Hitch:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...6649727475.jpg

The finished product:
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...164941_100.jpg

Those with keen eyes will notice the wheels have also changed in that last pic :cool:

I took the opportunity while the rear end was apart to swap to my Subaru wheels with 215/70/16 Toyo Open Country AT2 tyres on them, they fit very snugly once I'd removed the mudflaps, plastic wheel arch liners and little air deflector thingos, the fronts were the same, with just some plastic removal needed to get them in.

First drive revealed the expected drop in acceleration and braking, but a marked increase in cornering ability and a surprisingly smooth ride considering the difference in unsprung weight, the extra ground clearance was immediately noticeable hopping into the drivers seat.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...100816205.jpeg

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https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...678378116.jpeg

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The shadows cast onto the hood by the lightsfitten onto on the front bumper suggest the shape of a fairing you could make for them, no? In the photo, you can imagine the shadow is the fairing and conceive how it might look:

https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...678378116.jpeg

Good idea. Two simple hoods affixed to the ...hood.

With these old sealed-beam headlights there was a wimpy shaft of light, but I could scrunch down in the seat and sight down the beam like a laser pointer.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/member-f...headlights.jpg

No more scrunching down... ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQpDnqTD55Q


:)

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I'll take 4wd, and suspension articulation over .3" of ground clearance at the lowest point anyday.

I bet the "off road" Prius gets stuck on wet grass with a slight slope even with the best tires.

This should be entertaining...I'll follow along :)

In the case of rear engine, rear drive the only place 4WD has an advantage is [reputedly] in crawling boulder-sized rocks.

I've not driven a FWD car off-road, but my Type II panel van could back up uphill on wet leaves with no problem.

This thing is just begging for a stand-alone Electric rear axle out of the Highlander Hybrids to make it all wheel drive.

At one point I had 26 1/2 inch tires on a car that was supposed to have 24 inch tires. (2002 Celica) The ground clearance was simply amazing, mainly because you didn't have big differentials hanging down.

If you are actually serious about taking on a trail, you would really want to have a winch or come along to get you out of sticky situations. I would also suggest rolling the fenders so that you can fit some even larger all-terrain tires on it. Your biggest weakness is you're not going to be able to beat on the suspension, you'll need to drive gingerly. Skid plates to protect the Bottom would also go a long way.

If this is just for trolling, and not actually for taking off the road, you need a decal indicating how much ground clearance do you have under the diff. Oh and some aftermarket shock and suspension stickers.

We used to back up hills in our VW beetles (the air-cooled ones) in slippery conditions. I think the Prius should do just fine getting into drive-in campgrounds.

Is there wet grass down under? Saying the guy that got his Impala stuck in the drive way a few weeks ago and had to use a Rogue to pull it out.

Considering there is a company in Germany offering conversion kits for regular axles to convert them into portal axles for some 4WD rigs, and such approach would be likely to turn it easier to fit bigger tyres, makes me wonder if a similar conversion could be done in a Prius.

A good point, but this video suggests its not needed, I plan to do my own tuft testing to confirm on this car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjttwGPWh-s

Those lights look impressive in the video but are absolutely useless in the real world, the hot spot is so small and so far away that it doesn't improve vision at all

An electric rear axle would be epic! Well outside the budget for this build at the moment though.

I have recovery boards, various straps, shovel and high lift jack so far, winch is on the list of things to do, probably on a portable mount that can go in the rear hitch reciever or another one i plan to integrate in the front bumper.

These tyres are probably one size larger than my ideal balance between off road ability and on road manners, going bigger reduces gearing too much to make it worthwhile.

Skid plates are probably the next mod il do, i want a full flat floor to get some of the aero back that i lost with big wheels.

Onto the solar fitment! I was tossing up many different mounting options and roof rack systems and all sorts for ages, as with everything on this car a balance between off road usability and on road manners/mpg was tricky.

Eventually I decided to just keep it simple and glue them directly to the roof, this will provide the best aerodynamics but may reduce the power the solar panels produce in summer if they get too hot, il keep an eye on it but we are only just starting winter in Australia so that's a long way away.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...135536_365.jpg

I removed the AM/FM radio antenna and ran the solar wiring through the resulting hole in the roof, the antenna itself I just tucked under the roof lining so it still works but doesn't have quite the same signal range it did before. I usually connect my phone for music so that's not an issue.

https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...135536_359.jpg

I used an Anderson plug to connect the panel to the wire going into the car so that if I park in the shade I can unplug the rooftop panels and plug in an extension cord to some portable panels which I can sit away from the car in the sun.

https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...204602_944.jpg

Moving into the boot, The original plan was to make a board to replace the factory tray that fits above the spare tyre which my car was missing when I bought it, on that board il mount the solar controller as well as a 240v mains charger for the 12v system and a 600w inverter, I may also fit my 2000w inverter later down the track along with some extra batteries and an external 240v input/output plug/socket so I can use the Prius as a UPS for my house. Ive since changed my mind and I think I might mount them in front of the hybrid battery where the back seat used to be instead for better weight distribution

https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...430_130924.jpg

The next stage will be to upgrade the 12v battery, I'm not sure whether to go for a larger capacity AGM or if the factory DC-DC charger is capable of charging a lithium battery.

Who knows what might happen in the future... If you could integrate it to the original electronics, might not be a bad idea.

The new e-AWD is going to make for some pretty cool overlander Prii in a few years, once they get old enough to get cheap. Somebody may be making supplemental battery packs to expand Prius e-range then, too, offsetting some of the economy lost to offroading mods

You have nickel-metal-hydride in the traction battery as well as an AGM lead acid battery, right?. Given lithium's reputation for fire, I would not try to charge it in the Prius system. Maybe a DC-DC charger like this one? https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Batter.../dp/B07Q4SVX3M

Don't think failure, think offroad Prius with an afterburner.

Yeah thats it, someone is currently developing a lithium replacement for the NiMH traction battery that is a straight swap but uses new management and allows higher capacity, faster charging and less weight, hopefully it comes onto the market before my factory battery dies (i wont replace it until it does)

The 12v system im struggling to find information on, im assuming its just a constant 14.xv dc power supply rather than a proper AGM charger which means any of the off the shelf lithium 12v replacements for cars will work.

Lithium polymer batteries that are used for these purposes are a lot more stable than the lithium ion batteries that were catching fire in phones, the energy density is not as good though hence needing ion for small electronics where space is an issue.

Preparing to return home from my interstate trip to my partners house I discovered that the Prius fits an unbelievable amount of stuff in it.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...506_144839.jpg

Unfortunately that also means a lot of weight, and the suspension sagged quite a lot causing the rear tyres to hit a small bit of the inner guards where the plastic liners used to attach, nothing an angle grinder and hammer cant fix.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...510_120102.jpg

There is still a slight rub on big bumps when the suspension compresses but the lift kit should fix that (if it ever arrives) and I don't plan on packing the car this tightly on a regular basis.

I also fitted the spare tyre holder that I made for my Subaru for the trip. Once I returned home I modified it to fit the Prius better as I don't need to lean the tyre back to clear the hatch and I would like to add a jerry can and/or toolbox for a jack/shovel/recovery gear etc
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...510_131125.jpg

I decided to go for a simple flat platform this time, that way i can strap whatever i like on instead of being restricted to just a wheel, it keeps bulky items nicely within the wake instead of on the roof or elsewhere ruining aero.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...513_154445.jpg

I still need to get some steel mesh for the top, and some eye bolts for around the edges to strap things to, then paint.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...513_171602.jpg

This road trip with the new big wheels, and excessive weight netted 6.95L/100km with about 80% highway and 20% city, a saving of $40 over the Subaru for the same trip. I was also having some trouble with the fuel system for most of the trip, with the engine struggling to get fuel at high load (steep hills, overtaking etc). A bottle of injector cleaner and a fresh tank of premium fuel seems to have fixed it but I'm not sure on the mileage penalty. I'm still waiting on my OBD2 adapter to check the new codes after getting them reset at Toyota once.
https://attachments.priuschat.com/at...429_222406.jpg

Did by any chance you get to weigh the load?

I like the leaning tire, looks like a kammback frame to me.

Do you have any gray paint left over?

I'd want to at least paint the driver's door jamb.

What about that camo van? Mitsubishi L300? BTW the cat looks almost the same size of my Mini Foxie :D


Maybe you could try to make a Kammback which would also provide some weather protection for the loads attached to the platform.

At least 2/3rd of the can are left, I want to do all the jambs eventually but the main priority was the exterior.

The L300 is my partners pop top, she is slowly doing it up to live in, I have a matching one in maroon without a pop top that is getting a ground up rebuild, (#OscarVanWild and #fernthevan on Instagram) I'm working on the possibility of a Prius drivetrain swap once I learn more about this car.

A kamm back/partial boat tail is definitely on the cards built off the rear carrier.

I didn't get a chance to weigh the load but there were a lot of tools and scrap metal and wood so it wasn't light.

This brings me pretty much up to date with the current progress on the car, so updates will be a little slower from now on.

Considering the Prius C has roughly the same width of this generation of the L300, which by the way had some clearly underpowered engine options back in the day, it doesn't seem to be a bad idea at all. On a sidenote, since the stock RWD layout has some clearance issues which prevent the floor to sit lower, it wouldn't be so hard to find space for a larger-capacity battery pack and to place it closer to the center of the wheelbase in order to better balance the weight bias.

Mine currently has a 2.6L efi motor from a TR magna in it so I don't expect to have any issues fitting the Prius system, the hardest part will be adapting the output of the CVT into the input of the L300 transfer case to retain low range and 4x4

I could easily fit 4x Prius batteries in the space under the rear floor and keep my 120L long range fuel tank (I doubt 4x Prius batteries would be a wise investment these days however)