teardrop ala bicyclé

[desert_sailing]

WOW.. I sure wish I had more awareness of these before I built 2 vans.



https://widepathcamper.com/bicycle-camper/


Has anyone viewed these bike campers first hand or used one?

For me this nearly checks all the boxes.  Only lacking a sail for perfection.

Not quite as good as a horse and a pack mule but darn close.

I think I may try to build one this winter as the boat is off the immediate to do list as is getting out of the valley.

There is a huge untapped market imHo for this product.. ofc that is from the eyes of someone from PacNW culture.

Would love to hear any views pro or con on these sorts of contraptions you may have.

 

[crofter]

Make it bear proof.   -c

 

[desert_sailing]

Goodness... hopefully I can come up with something a little better than this.... tho I really do like the idea of being inside while pedaling.



OMG this cracks me up.

Pedal powered RV

 

[desert_sailing]

As I did a google search this CRVL thread came up.

Lets see what folks 3 years ago thought.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=33134

 

[skyl4rk]

I built one. It has spent most of the time parked out back in my yard. I have camped in it, in the back yard about 30 nights, just for fun. I tried it around town but decided I did not like sharing the road with vehicles. The trailer is too wide to fit on the shoulder, so you need a good part of the lane. My plan was to put a folding solar panel of about 300 Watts on top and use an electric bicycle. But after trying it on the roads, I decided not to spend more money on it. I made a rectangular trailer out of coroplast with some similarity to the Paul Elkins design, but rectangular.

 

[desert_sailing]

I was wondering how comfortable with road traffic I would be. That really seems to be the biggest issue and by far serious issue that I would have. I could hope for 10$ a gallon gas to lessen the road traffic...?..LOL.. I think it isn't that far away and is one of the big reasons I would love a little towable bike camper.

I saw those Elkin designs with the coroplast. I was wondering if the foam insulation boards would work well.

If traffic was a lessor nuisance, would you be using your trailer much more skyl4rk. 30 nights is a pretty good trial...

Did you use an ebike? Would be great to have that as an option if I could keep it charged up.
Not sure what the regs are regarding something like this on the roadways.

When I think of the viability of van life.. all I see is my @zz getting bigger and my wallet getting smaller.

Would be great to find a group of folks doing this on a more fulltime basis. A bike with bags and a tent would be ok... but would be nice to have more gear and not putting up a tent when I just want to get out of the weather and rest.

 

[bullfrog]

Tnttt.com has many interesting possibilities. The foamies section includes a few boat ideas and links. There is a huge need for a lightweight, standup travel trailer with a bathroom that so far none have been lightweight enough without having durability issues. The simple life thread highlighted a lightweight trailer pulled by a goat on this forum. Paul Elkins design is similar and an english fellow designed an expanding one as well. Electric fat tire bikes and trikes have made many things possible like towing a kayak or canoe so why not an expandable teardrop with solar? If not for a bike what about a small economy car? Foam hexayurts mounted on a lightweight trailers have already been tested at highway speeds over hundreds of miles and survived pulled by an old Outback hatchback. I would not trust any modern RV to be bear proof by the way. Using the construction methods I learned on the tnttt.com foamies forums I have built 3 different toppers and trailer campers, one almost the size of the smaller Scamp or Casita for less than $1,000 in materials and about the same for the trailer so $2,000. My truck topper was less than $500.

 

[MGfromBC]

You could buy an electric, pedal assist semi-trailer bike and build a 5th wheel camper.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e4/00/5c/e4005c31674b86d1611fabe413df9c24.jpg

MG

 

[desert_sailing]

Tnttt.com
What a great forum. Some very creative people there. Thanks for sharing the resource. It is clear that the foam construction will be more than sufficient to provide light weight strength.
skyl4rk how heavy is your set up dry?

Thats quite the contraption that fella has there MG..LOL.. I love the pedal chair.! I bet he is having a great time.

I did see the goat dude and his camper. Its great that he is writing his own story outside the quo.

I sure would love an outback. Tho if I had one I probably wouldn't bother with a tt.

The intimacy of the land and journey is what really drives me. It is what makes sailing in a small boat so appealing and why the bike camper causes my heart to swoon.

There was an old man that lived in our town and he used to walk nearly 40 miles to the nearest town that had "services". He never accepted rides not even in the rain... It seemed like every time my family would be driving to or from there he was walking along the highway carrying bags of groceries or whatnots.

His "name" was Walkin' Mack and he was the first person I was inspired by. I remember as we would pass, each time I had a gnawing of emptiness while sitting in the back seat. Oh how I wanted to get out and walk with him.

If somehow I could become a variant of that. Full circle.
In the meantime more research!

Would love to see some of your foamie work bullfrog. Your trailer too skyl4rk.

 

[StarryNights]

I'd like to see how he does in hilly areas with that extra 245 lbs to move!

 

[MGfromBC]

That semi-trailer cargo bike already has electric pedal assist and is being tested with a hydrogen fuel cell.

https://siamagazin.com/armadillo-cargo-bike-with-fuel-cell-300-km-range/

MG

 

[Cammalu]

I made a rectangular trailer out of coroplast with some similarity to the Paul Elkins design, but rectangular.

You can’t tease us like that. Pics or it didn’t happen [emoji16]

 

[Sofisintown]

Here's a cargo-bicycle parade (from basket to trailer). Some involve 2 people pedaling, and some with obvious assist mechanisms.
Was in my "videos you may like" - I wonder why.

 

[skyl4rk]

You can’t tease us like that. Pics or it didn’t happen [emoji16]

 

[Tony's Dream]

You pull it with a bike? You would have to be in excellant shape to go any real distance....and the hills would be scary.

 

[desert_sailing]

https://outriderusa.com/collections/electric-bikes

WOW they have amazing products. Some versions with 200 mile range and 4 hour recharge.  I wonder how pulling a little camper would be. Id be happy with 100 mile range...its not like anybody would be using electricity only.

No doubt planning a route is important.
I probably wouldnt head right over Lolo pass but having the right tow rig is gonna make all the difference just as it would with a car and a trailer.

skyl4rk... when your garage opened in the video I was really missing the theme from 2001 space odyssey plz edit it in So your a back and bike packer.. do you typically then just use saddle bags and ur usual gear?  What was your longest bike excursion? Did you find the wieght and movement of towing to be an issue?

Im definitely interested in the foam builds with poor mans glass for the trailer. Seems to me the standard v nose  trailer is a proven design... maybe I could just shrink that and use the foam.

Watched that additional link MG.. that is such a great product.... I was wondering tho where the hell do I get hydrogen to refuel??! I really like how beefy it is but the actual abode is nothing more than a tent..which maybe could be a fun option.

This popup is pretty cool... but I guess this particular model was recalled and is no longer on the shelf..lol. Not sure how educated designers can mess up such a simple product?!

I loved the parade vid... tho I think some of those bicyclists got onto the wrong path..lol..I saw some confused expressions on a few of the riders.

 

[skyl4rk]

I have used the camper trailer to overnight in my backyard. I have not taken it on longer overnight trips. I have done 50 mile overnight trips with a tent and ultralight camping gear strapped to the bike. I was planning to get an electric bike to help pull the camper but decided not to spend the money on it.

The weak points of my camper are 1. the boom/hitch attaching to the bike is somewhat flexible. This is an easy fix by adding some support, such as by bolting a 1x2 piece of wood to the boom, which I never got around to doing. 2. I do not have a good way to make the camper mosquito proof. I suppose I could get some mosquito netting and throw it over the top.

Otherwise, I think it is a good design. My dream was to put it on a boat trailer I have and use it with an electric bike to get up into the desert down by the Colorado River (Ehrenberg) or in the Kofa NWR. Pull it down two track roads for a few miles to get off into areas where few people drive to and camp out. It should be able to carry a load big enough for two weeks of food and water, maybe more.

 

[RoamerRV428]

what scares me most is long term travel on 'what roads' and how often cause one is DUE to be a statistic literally in this lifestyle on the roads. Reg. people and traffic and more and all this contraption on your 'not seen bike' and more so this is fab for 'controlled life specific location maybe' but long term road nomad travel life as it is now ain't gonna happen...unless one wants to roll the big dice LOL

 

[RoamerRV428]

and probably get tons of tickets from the police and more.........this lifestyle unless 'very controlled' thru your travel and location doesn't exist and wont now

 

[desert_sailing]

Zoinks..

Everyone is a statistic waiting to be published somewhere. What fills one person with fret and conjures boogeymen is not the same for all of us.

All activities should have some degree of planning. Tho i know many people simply eat, sleep, sh@t... over and over without a moment of planning.

Certainly a bicycle camping journey is not everyones cup of tea nor is it even conceivable to most urbanites. But it surely happens and many people are doing it. Forum member cammalu spoke about a 60 yo lady who visited her that has been bike camping for some time all across the country/world. There are many activites that due to limited experiences and culture can not even be fathomed by many. It is why not everyone is a creator..it is simply out of their capacity. They merely exist.

I can't think of a more offensive term than "probably". Honestly if people don't know facts especially regarding law, they should definitely refrain from presenting opinions as fact and building walls.

The fact is most States have minimal regulation regarding bicycles and where they can go. There also limited regulations regarding ebikes and how they are also governed.

https://motorandwheels.com/are-electric-bikes-street-legal/

That site alone is a simple example. I would suggest that the regs in each locale are confirmed directly.

There is no doubt that a bit of planning is needed for bicycle travel.. certainly more planning than how far to the next walmart campground.

I assume most people living a nomad lifestyle have to do quite a bit of planning...seriously how many threads are there on how to plan to take a dump or bathe or warm themselves. Isnt that what normal people do??... plan and prepare..at least that is how they do it in my world.

But this thread really isn't about opinion.. you know like those people that insisted that Columbus would sail off the edge of the world... he didn't listen to naysayers and neither do I.