A solo traveler needs a compact camping solution on his bike. To satiate this adventure group, a new league of bike RVs/campers is coming of age. After having already seen the likes of a wooden camper behind a bike to this hard-walled bike camper with a slide-out component to increase the compact living space for two people, it’s time now to spare some thought for this new bike RV built from scratch (quite literally) by Attoparsec YouTube channel.
The YouTuber has put out a detailed video illustrating and talking us through the entire build. You can see the complete video embedded above. If you want an idea of what’s been done and how he has created a pedal-powered bicycle RV or camper, as you may, read on.
Designer: Attoparsec
Attoparsec starts off with getting a home and industrial cargo trike, which he wasn’t able to use right away for the base. After addressing significant design and mechanical flaws (we’ll try and detail a few of them below), the custom bike was readied, and then the living solution was installed atop.
Constructed to be taken to Burning Man, Attoparsec restructured the donor trike’s mechanical flaw of a single brake cable splitting into a Y to trigger the two rear brakes. Since this caused uneven pulling, which could have been dangerous with the eventual load onboard, the YouTuber created a dual-cable brake lever that worked as a linkage mechanism to create an ideal balance at the rear wheels to brake together. custom mechanical solution also included retrofitting a new differential in addition to the brake system.
This wasn’t the only thing that required tweaking. The cargo bed on this standard trike also needed some expansion. The bed was custom extended toward the rear using round aluminum tubing for structural rigidity and to make it spacious enough to fit one sleeping adult. The compact 8-foot-long, 4-foot-wide living compartment to go on it would ensure comfort for a solo traveler. But extending the frame without moving the rear axle caused problems. The DIYer had to fine-tune it with the use of two heavy-duty trailer jacks with wheels to safeguard the camping structure from tipping over in a wheelie.
The sleeping enclosure sits on raised, reinforced frame risers and is built with rigid foam insulation. The structure is taped together to ensure the sun and the playa dust remain outside when the bike RV is stationed at the Burning Man. The bicycle camper is provided with a solar-powered refrigerator and draws its energy from a Jackery backup battery bank. According to the DIYer, the mobile home on a bike features a transformable interior that adjusts between lounging and sleeping easily. It fared well weathering storms and rain on the dry lake bed of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
