This Beautiful DIY Bike Trailer Can Make Bikepacking a Thing of the Past

With the recent boom on the market of electric bicycles came a spike in interest for trailers for two-wheelers. Not having to rely solely on leg power anymore means bikepackers have an extra, more comfortable option for weekend getaways – or even longer, if they're not against going without creature comforts for whatever the duration of the trip.

e-Bike trailers remain a novelty product despite the incredible surge in sales for e-bikes themselves. That means that they're still hard to come by and, perhaps more importantly, very expensive, selling for full-size RV money.

Of course, there's always the DIY (do it yourself) route. As we've seen with van or bus conversions and tiny houses, people aspiring to live on the road aren't letting exorbitant pricing kill their travel or downsizing dreams, even if they have little skill and even less experience in this kind of project. With help from a growing community and online tutorials, they're taking matters into their own hands, quite in the most literal sense.

Maxime Darache did the same, though, to his credit, he holds a degree from the Ateliers de Beaux Arts in Paris and works as an engineer. His creation is simply called the Travel Bike Camper, and as of last year, when he unveiled it to the world, he was working toward bringing it into production as a series model.

Darache lives in France and has traveled all around Europe on his bike, either alone or in the company of his wife. For years, all he needed to travel was his recumbent trike, a bivouac, and a sleeping bag – a most rudimentary setup but enough for him to keep him on the road, where he wanted to be.

He says that he started thinking about designing a towable for his trike because looking for campsites would take up most of his afternoons when he would rather spend that time exploring.

"This insatiable desire for freedom but also for optimal comfort" fueled the design of the Travel Bike Camper, he says. That latter part of the quote probably gives away the real reason: no matter who we are and how we live, age catches up with us all. Camping at 40 or 50 is different from similar adventures in your 20s or 30s, and the need for more comfort becomes paramount.

Darache's solution was a trailer with a most unusual form. From the front, it looks like a teardrop trailer, but a closer look reveals an extension at the rear, which is a must-have addition to allow him to fully lie down. The interior cabin could be generously described as snug, or coffin-like if you're not feeling generous today.

The trailer is 2 meters (6.6 feet) long, 0.76 meters (2.5 feet) wide, and 1.37 meters (4.5 feet) high, and according to Darache, it's very stable on the road. It also goes wherever the front wheels of his trike can go. The trailer rides on a pair of 20-inch wheels, with a fold-down leg coming down for stability only in camp mode.

The mattress sits on a frame of wooden slats, with the lower portion lifting up to create an armchair-like seating area and to offer access to two 20-liter (0.7 cu-ft) bins for storage. Also here is a 12V 8Ah LiFePO4 battery charged by a 35W solar panel and the control hub for the interior and exterior lights.

The cabin might be very cramped but it has mood lighting and charging ports. For ventilation, Darache relies on the access door and a "secret" hatch that opens up the entire opposing side. As long as you don't mind a gazillion bugs, it's a great way of experiencing that "sleeping under the stars" feeling without actually sleeping outside.

The frame of the trailer is aluminum and wood, with panels of fiberglass and wood. The porthole windows, which give it that very distinct nautical styling, are vinyl. The beige-and-brown color combo does the rest.

The trailer weighs just 30 kg (66 lbs), which means you can move it into position by hand or even tow it with a standard bicycle, if you're in top physical shape and your outing allows it.

Darache says that the trailer is registered with France's National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). The model showcased in the video below, which has since been at least on one extended trip, is actually Darache's second prototype. When the video was posted, the plan was to make the third prototype a production model, but there's been radio silence since.

Even assuming the worst case scenario is true and that Darache has had to stop development on the project, it still makes for a fascinating watch – and might even serve as inspiration.

It might not be the most practical bike trailer out there, mostly because of the fact that it lacks an underside, which means functionality in bad weather is zero, but it's gorgeous to look at. If you feel the coffin comparison is the most apt, at least it's a nice-looking coffin.