What you want is a 1st gen (Toyota) Scion xB. 2004-2006. You can pick up a decent one for $2k-$4k. I got 27mpg average loaded with equipment. 32+mpg stripped out for road trips.
I had a passing notion of a passenger side ladder storage/rack at one time. The only thing really stopping me at the time was the fact that it was our only vehicle. I was lucky my wife let me remove the back seats.
Post 10 has a short video
