Given the British love/hate relationship with both bicycles and caravans, it may be that our roads are not ready for the Wide Path Camper, but for adventurous spirits looking for a novel alternative to sleeping under canvas next summer, the 40 kg mobile home could be just the ticket.
The fibreglass-bodied camper can sleep two adults in comfort, boasts 300 litres of storage space and collapses to half its size for towing.
For more information, visit widepathcamper.com
The TAKU-TANKU is another exciting take on the idea of a bicycle caravan, but has yet to be built.
The tiny travelling house is an eco-friendly design built with off-the-shelf and upcycled materials. The superstructure comprises two 3,000-litre plastic water tanks connected by a ring of wood that frames the entrance. The TAKU-TANKU home joins an ever-growing group of bicycle caravans that can be towed by bike including the Foldavan and QTvan.
Vist the TAKU-TANKU website
A French boat building company has unveiled the Foldavan – a lightweight bicycle caravan that collapses for easy storage and towing.
Wooden Widget already produces a range of collapsible boats and sailing dinghies that can be towed behind a bicycle and the Foldavan shares many of the same design principles.
Built from wood, carbon fibre and reinforced PVC cloth, the teardrop-shaped Foldavan has three modes. When being stored, or transported on a car roof rack, it collapses flat. While being towed by a bicycle, it opens to 60 cm – about the same as the width as most handlebars. Once at its destination, it takes less than five minutes to transform the Foldavan into camping mode. Fully-extended, the caravan measures 1.2 m wide and offers over one metre of headroom.
The Foldavan weighs only 30 kg and has a low centre of gravity, which means it can negotiate even quite rough terrain – in high winds, the sides can be unzipped to let the wind pass through.
The Foldavan trailer is available for £30 as a set of plans. It takes about 50 hours to build a Foldavan. The materials needed are easy to find in varying qualities to suit any budget – A Foldavan can be built for next to nothing using reclaimed timber and secondhand parts.
The carbon footprint of the Foldavan is small because all the materials can be found locally or salvaged. Furthermore, the company plants five trees every time it sells a set of plans.
QTvan bicycle trailer
It’s not as practical a proposition as the Foldavan, but the QTvan may be the ideal accessory for cyclists who demand the height of luxury on their camping trips. We designed and built the tiny QTvan as a light-hearted demonstration of how bicycles are extremely capable load carriers. Here in Britain, cyclists appear reluctant to fit panniers, opting instead for rucksacks, but elsewhere in the world, bicycles are routinely used to carry and tow heavy cargo. The QTvan features a full-sized single bed, 19” television, drinks cabinet and tea-making facilities.
Travelling abroad with your bicycle
Cycle insurance from the ETA includes everything you would expect from a fully comprehensive policy such as theft and accidental damage plus many other benefits. For example, every policy includes 90 days worldwide cover and will include damage caused by airlines while the bike is in transit. Find out more about travelling with your bicycle or get an instant quote.
ANDREW BERRY
I love the idea of bike-towable “caravans” but they can only be a consideration for cycling on the flat and/or people with no time constraints. Having had to pedal DOWNHILL on several occasions with a full set of panniers and once having to take ten hours to climb a single Alpine pass into a headwind, I can’t help but feel a sense of dread of pulling such a lot of drag! That said, the pop-up one could be goer – how small can it go though – for transport on planes, trains and buses?!