Category: campers

BICYCLE CAMPERS

Every once in awhile I find myself looking online at bicycle campers. I don’t know, maybe I have some nomad in me. I ponder over pulling a “small home” behind my trike and living out of it as I travel along in my final days of life on planet earth. In time past I have written about bicycle campers. In fact, I have featured Paul Elkins before including this very camper featured in the video below, but unfortunately the post no longer exists. I only have two posts from the past which are about a bicycle camper. Click HERE to view the first one and HERE to view the second one.

You can buy the complete set of plans of this camper from Paul for $20. Paul has invented and constructed many different things and has videos covering many of them. Click HERE to check out his other mobile shelters.

One of them he calls Conestoga.

Another one he calls Bug Out.

There are factory manufactured campers available to buy. Of course, they cost a lot more than these DIY campers. Unfortunately all of them I have seen are made in Europe. It would cost quite a bit to have one shipped here to the U.S. One of them I really like is the Wide Path which reduces to half it’s expanded size when pulling it. Here it is fully expanded …

And here it is at half size being towed along …

It is almost hard to believe that this is the same trailer unit. One thing that all of these campers lack is a toilet and shower although Paul Elkins did make an outdoor shower on one of his campers.

There have been a few different campers people tried to bring to market but failed in doing so.

Here is one which is a little different … tow, float, sleep …

I would not want to get the wheel hubs submerged when weight is added to the boat.

Foldavan makes a rather simple offering good for sleeping only I would say. Of course, I guess one could simply take shelter inside of it.

Dealing with wind could be interesting. A strong wind or wind gust could cause the trailer and trike to tip over. That could really mess up one’s day. And it could cause considerable damage and possible injury.

Hey, I just found a manufacturer here in the U.S. In fact, they are located in nearby South Bend, Indiana. BikeStream-RV sells their camper for $2395. They have a Facebook page as well.

As you can see it is only big enough to sleep in. The video below does a pretty good job of illustrating it.

There is not much extra room inside most of these but at least they would get you out of foul weather if you had no where else to go.

One last option which may be appealing to some as it is small, light and inexpensive. A bicycle tent camper can be had for under $400 on Amazon and Ebay. It is made in China so I don’t know the quality of it. It has 16 inch wheels which I would not care much for. Maybe 20 inch wheels could be installed in their place, but that would mess up the frame work support legs which sit on the ground with the 16 inch wheels. It sets up and tears down quickly so that is a plus. One can also carry up to 50 pounds of extra gear on it when it is all folded up. I would think having a tarp along to place over it might be a good idea … in case of rain or snow. It shows that it comes with a rain cover. I would still want the extra tarp anyway.

I just ordered one of these tent campers so I will let you know what I think of it.

Update: I received the main frame and tent part of it. I have not received the wheels and tongue yet. It is shipped in two different boxes. Anyway I set up the tent in the living room and crawled inside of it. There is lots of room and lots of ventilation available. I don’t think I would have any trouble sleeping in it. I did have trouble setting it up however. The roof poles were difficult to bow and get into place. I got three of them, but could not get the 4th one into place. I hope that changes with use. It comes with tent stakes and rope which I don’t have a clue what they are for since this sits on it’s own frame up off of the ground. It sure took a lot longer to set up than the video made it look. I wore myself out trying to get the roof poles in place. If I had to go thru that at the end of a day’s ride I would be ready to climb in and go to sleep. Anyway, so far I am fairly impressed. Everything seems to be made pretty well and I am hopeful it holds up. Now if I can just get the second box with the wheels and tongue.

UPDATE:  I received the second box with the trailer’s running gear and assembled it. The running gear is cheaply made and poor quality compared to the tent and its frame. I fully expect it to fail me as I am riding along.  Definitely this trailer with the wheels on it is way too wide to fit thru most bollards. That is going to be a problem. Oh, BTW, this does not come with assembly instructions. Howerver, there is a video available to watch. However, if one is mechanically inclined they probably can figure it out on their own as it is fairly simple. I recommend putting the tongue on before putting the wheel on that side as it will allow you to get a straight run at the screw head. With the wheel on you don’t have a straight run.

 

Here is a homemade tent camper. It is far more elaborate but has some good features. Definitely it is not one which you set up and take down as quickly as the other one.

Well, that’s about it for this topic. Who knows what the future may hold? I may someday own one such camper and be seen pulling it along … at least until I am done for the day and can find someplace to park it to crawl in it. I readily admit that I would be concerned about two things … 1) finding a place where I could park it and use it … and 2) my personal safety. I may want to get a German Shepher or Rottweiller dog for both companionship and helping with my safety.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

NEAT SMALL QUAD CAMPER

Made by a Dutch company, Flevobike, this compact outfit one could almost live in or out of. It does not have a shower or a toilet but it does have a small refrigerator.  HERE is an article with several pictures of it. The entire unit pulls out of the trailer so that the trailer can be used seperately. It has a 250 watt e-motor and solar panels on top of the roof to keep the battery charged up. The range is said to be 50 kilometers or 31 miles per day on a full charge.

 

 

I wonder if there is room enough for a German Shepherd or Rotweiler dog inside. Smith & Wessen is fine but I would want that for extra protection and security. One thing lacking that sure would be nice is some sort of canopy/enclosure to keep the sun at bay and stay dry in rain and warm in cooler weather. I wonder if it locks up both from the outside and the inside. I see it does have a privacy curtain on the window. The small fairing upfront would help keep one’s feet a bit more comfortable from the wind and perhaps somewhat from the rain. Riding in strong winds would be a concern. I would probably be Florida bound if I had one of these … saying goodbye to northern winters. GoLo has a  WEBSITE as well as a FACEBOOK page. Oh, BTW, this camper is not yet in production. They only have this prototype thus far.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

LOW COST TRAVEL TRAILER

It is almost hard to imagine this … pulling a fully supplied mini travel camper on your journey around wherever you choose to go. And the cost … equally amazing … only $150 total. I saw this mini camper video a few years ago. It just resurfaced so I thought I would share it here as I am sure many of you will find it as fascinating as I do. As for me I would be very uneasy this day and age being inside of such a structure. There are just too many people out there who are dangerous and threatening to others.

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

COME RIDE THE FORT WAYNE TRAILS

Fort Wayne is Indiana’s second largest city with a growing population currently around 268,000. We are blessed to have about 130 miles of trails at this point in time. About 79 miles of them are connected together. They are all paved … mostly with asphalt and a small amount are concrete. The original trails are known as the Rivergreenway because they follow along the three rivers we have here in Fort Wayne. The Rivergreenway consists of about 21 miles of linear trails. The Rivergreenway consists of the St. Joseph Pathway, the St. Marys Pathway and the Maumee Pathway. Two other trails I recommend are the Towpath Trail and the Pufferbelly Trail. HERE is a map of the entire trail system.

For those who are campers there is a very nice campground conveniently located in Johnny Appleseed Park which has one of the Rivergreenway Trails (the St. Joseph Pathway) going right past it. There are also two fenced in dog parks available just across the street from the campground for those who have dogs with them. It is called Camp Canine and is 60,000 square feet in area. To check out the cost and requirements click on the dog parks link above. I often times stop by on my trike just to watch the dogs play and interact with one another. On the map below the black line area is the campground, the blue line area is the dog parks and the red line is the St. Joseph Pathway (bike trail).

I am available to ride with anyone who wants to come here and ride on our trails. I will help with learning the trails and making sure you are safe and don’t get lost. I look forward to meeting you. You can email me for further communication, information and planning. My email address is …   tadpolerider2 at gmail dot com.

May we all …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

 

 

THE PEDAL INN, A HOMEMADE INSULATED CAMPER (NOMAD LIVING)

Pedal Inn 1

The Pedal Inn

Over the last few years I have seen pictures of quite a few bicycle campers people have built. This is the most recent one I have come across. It is unique in that it is low cost and highly insulated … so much so he reports that his body heat alone will raise the temperature inside by 30 degrees when the temperature is 20 to 30 degrees outside. Using an alcohol heater set on it’s lowest setting he says it will raise the temperature to 70 degrees in only 10 minutes. There is one problem he reports that he needs to work on … condensation … he needs some additional ventilation.

HERE is a link to his blog where you can read about this camper. (I purposely chose this url in case anyone is interested in reading what he has written beyond this camper and about his recumbent bike and trike writings.)

Pedal Inn 12

Black Gorilla tape holds the 1 inch thick insulation boards together. Here is a closeup look at the insulation board.

insulation board

He says it is amazingly strong and light weight. He guesses it weighs somewhere between 20 – 30 pounds total. That is very light considering its dimensions.

Pedal Inn 2

14 square feet ain’t much, but when you are pulling this rig with a bike or trike ya’ gotta’ keep it to a minimum. The over all length is 7′. The first 4′ it is 2′ wide, 38″ at the highest and 33″at the lowest. The last 3′ is 22″ wide by 26″ high. The two windows are each 8″x15″ and are scavenged plexiglass.

Pedal Inn 4

There are 2 shelves for storage of clothes, canned goods, toiletries and a folding chair, among other things. All in a space that he wouldn’t be using anyway, as it’s too small for any other part of him other than his legs.

Pedal Inn 8

He has a fold down shelf for a cookstove.

Pedal Inn 9

Pedal Inn 14

The door is simply hinged using Gorilla tape and the latch is made out of a metal clothes hanger.

Pedal Inn 17

Sleeping inside of a sleeping bag I am sure he is toasty warm protected from the external elements in his motorless camper. And come summertime the insulation should help keep it somewhat comfortable since it will reflect the sun’s rays as well as insulate. All he needs to do is make some screened windows so air can flow thru it (which he mentions on his blog).

Pedal Inn 11

I have previously written an article about nomad living and the various trailers folks have come up with. Unfortunately that was back on my first endeavor with this blog which I decided to close and delete so it is gone forever dreadful sorry Clementine. I can’t say WordPress didn’t warn me. It was just a bad decision on my part which I will probably always regret. Anyway, I thought I would post some pictures here of some other camper trailers. Most of them are homebuilt, but one or two are factory made. Please remember that when viewing images on WordPress blogs you can place your cursor on the images and left click your mouse to have the images open up in their own window and usually appear larger. To return to this page just use your browser’s BACK BUTTON.

bike camper 1 bike camper 2 bike camper 3 bike camper 4

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bike camper 11 bike camper 12 bike camper 8

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For those who are interested in a “micro camper nomad life” check out this video  by Paul Elkins:

And here is another one of his videos about another micro camper he made:

He sells plans for some of the stuff he has come up with. Visit his website for the plans HERE.

And HERE is his main website.

Here is a video he made showing some of the various things he has made.

Paul has made other micro campers which he features in videos. Check out his YouTube channel.