A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent. It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries campers are restricted to designated sites for which fees are payable.
Travel trailers and caravans vary from basic models which may be little more than a tent on wheels to those containing several rooms with all the furniture and furnishings and equipment of a home. They are used principally in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand and are rare elsewhere.
1. Cricket Trailer by Garrett Finney
Designed for the outdoor adventurers, the Cricket Trailer is a modular, mini trailer home that draws inspiration from the compact but comfortable quarters of the NASA space station. The brainchild of NASA Architect Garrett Finney, the innovative, lightweight, compact and made-to-order Cricket Trailer is made mostly of aluminium, wood and steel, and can be easily towed away. This trailer cost: US$14,330
To create the space-saving trailer, Finley combined his childhood love for houseboats and experience of working on habitat modules for NASA and the International Space Station. The Cricket Trailer is environment friendly too as you can recycle it after many years of use. When you reach the spot for camping, the roof of Cricket Trailer rises up on a hinge and tent windows are opened for natural ventilation.
2. The Multicellular Caravan by Mehrzeller
Do you want to get a “house on wheels” with exclusive design? This is not a problem, “Mehrzeller” will help you with this.
“Using our Configurator, we set up a design that is unique for our customers, including their own layout that they can identify with. The configuration is generated by a computer using the customer’s inputs, and then the final design is done by parameters from the architects to yield an attractive and practicable result. The caravans are produced using the principles of “mass customization”: this allows both the individual wishes of the customer to be accommodated while producing the caravan with series methods.”
3. Old School Bus Turned Into A Tiny House
The all wood interior really gives this mobile home a comfy feeling. There’s a fully functional kitchen, a wood burning fireplace for heat (the bus is undoubtedly poor for insulation), a futon for sitting/sleeping, a desk and shelves with lips to prevent items from falling out when the road gets bumpy.
These old school buses are not known for their fuel efficiency, so gas is probably expensive. The trade-off is of course mobility, and the ability to park/sleep in pretty beautiful locations that a [moderately priced] hotel would be hard pressed to match. The experience of travelling/living in one of these is truly unique.
4. “De Markies”
“De Markies” (The Awning), designed by Dutch designer/architect Eduard Bohtlingk, was an entry in the “Temporary Living” competition 1985 and was conceived as a mobile home.
On the road, it measures 2.00 m by 4.50 m, and once it has arrived at its destination its floor space can be increased threefold in a matter of seconds. “De Markies” was awarded the Public Prize at the Rotterdam Design Prize 1996.
5. Comfort Trailer Home “ProtoHaus”
ProtoHaus is a timber frame or “stick built” house with accent on sustainability, functionality, and aesthetics. It’s fabricated primarily from recycled and reclaimed materials.
The building process was overseen and assisted by S. C. Holley Construction. This transportable house is built on a trailer bed rated to withstand 14,000 pounds.
6. The Popomo by Tumbleweed
The Popomo is sleek, simple and our easiest house to build. The hot rolled corrosion resistant steel siding separates this house from anything else on the road. At 8 feet - 6 inches wide, the Popomo maximizes the road width without requiring any special permit to tow. Ready made: US$44,997. Build it yourself: US$20,000.
Weighing approximately 7500 lbs, it can be towed easily by many full sized trucks. Including the hitch, the trailer is approximately 24′ long. Step inside this single level, 172 square foot house on wheels.
7. EPU Residence by Tumbleweed
The EPU is the first Tumbleweed designed and built. You can see inside this home when it was featured on Oprah. The EPU comes with a desk and fireplace in the main room; a kitchen; wet bath; and a loft upstairs. For its small size, the EPU has a large amount of storage space. Ready made: US$45,997. Build it yourself: US$19,950.
8. Tricycle House by PAO (people’s architecture office)
People’s Architecture Office of Beijing, China is the firm that is behind this imaginative travel home concept. It’s lightweight plastic structure is constructed in an accordion style and it can be folded or unfolded anywhere you go.
Having the home in its more compact or expanded form allows for varied experiences within your own space. It may not seem like much, but there is a sink, stove, tub and even room for furniture within. All this gets mounted atop of a tricycle for those who love to live the nomadic or minimalistic lifestyle.
9. Sumaya by Phil Duloy
Phil Duloy has built one of the most efficient mobile homes we have ever seen. The “Sumaya” is a sustainable, energy-efficient rolling house wrapped in cedar.
Phil was inspired to build the Sumaya for his family after living in a converted cargo truck, and the house is able to comfortably accommodate three people. Loaded with features that make it as green as it is attractive, the Sumaya is certainly an achievement in compact living.
10. Japanese Handmade Camping Car
Everything about this crazy mobile home screams “made in Japan“; it’s compact, it’s a vehicle and it’s extremely unique. In fact, we’re wagering that it’s the only hydraulic, double-decker, transforming, fully-equipped camper in the the world - well, at least the only one that features a Japanese-style zen loft space with rice paper windows and tatami mats on the second floor.
Of course, the other thing that makes this vehicle so special is that it wasn’t made by Honda or Nissan, but rather a group of pals who decided to convert an old truck into something way cooler, and have some fun doing it. Read on here for more pics of the interior (it’s amazing what they were able to fit in there).
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