#40 - I had some time to reconsidder
Since I started planning for building a camper to pull behind the trike, several different layouts have come and gone. While the original idea was a fifth-wheel kind of setup, I since have moved to a more modular kind of build, based on a typical bike trailer. The original idea was to be able to arrive at my overnight spot, and just move in to the camper without having to build it up. While I still really like that idea, it comes with some challenges of its own. The size of the camper. The sleeping part would have to be over 180 cm to accommodate me for a comfy nights sleep. Even with the bed in the top part of the camper, that would make it rather long. Long and very high. Since wind can be an issue in all seasons in Western Europe, I feel more comfortable with a lower build as my first.
So I started thinking of some kind of folding or modular system for the camper. I need storage for my gear, and that part can’t be part of the folding system of course. It should fold over or around that part, while the gear still has to be accessible from the outside without setting up the camper. The first ideas are already building in my head. In fact, I already started designing them to a buildable plan. The general idea is that I can unfold the trailer to a rigid platform to sleep on, while I still have to set up a tarp over the whole thing. This basic setup should keep me dry during rainy nights, and still offer a more comfy sleep then on the bare ground in some forrest or field. With some folding out sections that can provide a surface for cooking and eating, that should give me everything I need along the road.
A first design
A first design of the shape for my camper. The two wings at the end form one single surface with the top of the trailer to act as a bed. They can be detached and mounted to the trailer when I’m on the road.
I also decided I will be implementing some kind of solar system on the trailer as well. There’s still plenty of options in that department but that will be part of the design process. Whether I opt for a basic camping system or a full 220 V system remains to be seen for now. But it will be on the top surface while I’m riding and it should also be detachable so I can set it up next to the camper while I’m sleeping.
The whole system has to be as rigid as possible, both folded and unfolded of course. That’s why the build will be metal and wood. Not the lightest options, but I have the tools for both, and I feel comfortable I can do the entire build by myself that way. I never welded aluminium, and any resin based material feels a little out of my comfort zone at this point in time. Although I haven’t completely discarded that idea as I write this post. Maybe I will decide on a combination of thin wood, heavy duty tarp and polyester. And even as I write this, new designs pop in my head to be further examined. That is actually a really fun part of this journey. Coming up with designs and finding out if they could actually work. If they can be build with the basic skills I have.
A dream for now
But as things are looking now, somewhere early spring of 2026, the final version of this should be my first real tour with the self-built trike camper. Let’s say the starting date depends more on the weather then on my fitness.
Then of course, there’s the first journey I should do with that camper. While my wildest dreams take me all across Europe already, I’m pretty sure my legs won’t thank me if I would decide to do that as a first real tour. With the little experience I have riding my trike fully loaded, I feel daily rides around 100 km should be possible, but even that may be a stretch. I pretty much decided that first long tour should keep me more or less confined by the Dutch borders, since I know the cycling paths over there are amazing and they won’t throw me a curveball with every corner I take. I don’t mind the occasional unpaved path, not even while pulling the trailer, but entire days taking detours because there’s mudpatches, narrow passages or rocky trails that rattle my bones may be too much of a challenge to start with. On top of the top quality of cycling paths, I already know my way around the country pretty well. I’m sure that will help mapping out a nice route while preparing and it will also help taking detours along the road.
The planning of the route is something else that has already started. Now the days are getting shorter, I have more and more free time at night to spend googling what feels like the full extend of the internet about bikepacking and bicycle traveling. About nice stretches of cycling path and epic scenery. About long distance cycle paths and river crossings by ferry. It sometimes feels a bit like I already started the journey. And since so many people say that planning is the first part of the journey, it must be true.
I’m pretty sure this is going to be one of the longest winters of my lifetime, but it will also be one of the most exciting ones.
