If you’ve been on the internet in the past 10 years, which I’m assuming you have, then you’ve probably seen the trend that is sweeping across America. People are foregoing the big house with 5 bedrooms and bathrooms, and instead trying to downsize. There are plenty of advantages to this kind of living. Your bills will be less, organization and efficiency is better and let’s face it tiny homes are way more cozy. A man named Paul Elkins is raising the bar even farther when it comes to this alternative style of living. He created something that may seem like it would never work, but it surprisingly comfortable and efficient. The best part? It only cost him $150! Check out this awesome build below!
Paul first got into “micro-camping in 2002.
Back then he had a truck with a cap that he converted into a camper and toured around the country with. I’d take this thing in a heartbeat!
He then created a post apocalyptic micro-camper for his trip to Burning Man one year.
He wanted to create something that was truly affordable for almost anyone though, so he started on his latest project by drawing inspiration from an old emergency shelter he had.
This was the fruit of his labor. It may not look like much, but this thing has everything you need for a comfortable life on the road.
The micro-camper attaches with a simple bicycle hitch. The whole frame is made of 1×1 pieces of wood, it is extremely light. The frame alone weighs around 3 pounds.
The entire structure is made from an extremely light but durable plastic called coroplast. He collected most of the materials by recycling old political campaign posters, as many of them are made from coroplast.
He was able to figure out a technique to give the micro-camper a rounded nose. He simply insulated the inside and says it does a nice job of keeping him warm even during the winter time.
He even got creative enough to add a skylight/air vent to the top.
He built a wooden frame and nailed down coroplast along the top to create his sleeping platform.
For a kitchen, he simply created a container out of chloroplast and slid a small camping stove inside. He added a metal housing around the flame to keep the whole thing from catching fire.
He has cupboards made entirely from coroplast as well. They hold his food and various other things.
He even has his own little spice rack!
With everything added inside of the micro-camper, it weights about 60 pounds. Pulling that weight would be a small price to pay for a place to sleep on a long bike ride.
Check Out This Video Of Paul Explaining The Build And Showing Off Some Of The Features:
I would love to try to tackle building one of these this summer. I actually just bought a bike for the first time in quite a while, and I have really enjoyed riding it. Being able to attach something like this to the back would add a whole new element to a bike trip. You could even pack this thing with your gear and take it for a nice weekend of camping. This micro-camper is perfect for almost any type of adventurer!