We've seen a number of angular teardrop styles, from the fairly common squaredrop to the much rarer faceted polygon. French startup Carapate Adventure tries something different with its eponymous mini-caravan — a rolling wooden trapezoid with rounded corners, vibrant color and plenty of style. Designed to better connect people and nature, the Carapate trailer features a modular bed layout, indoor/outdoor kitchen, nearly as much window area as a greenhouse, and a series of optional upgrade packages for more function and comfort.
The 10.5-foot (3.2-m) Carapate trailer's shape doesn't technically look anything like a teardrop, but Carapate was heavily inspired by the effortless style and compact escapism of the classic tear. In fact, its website has a section dedicated to the history of the teardrop camper.
We have to say that Carapate has crafted a successful living homage to the teardrop trailer, capturing a similar level of simplistic beauty and captivating style as the teardrop but with a look all its own. Much like the teardrop, the Carapate appears almost guaranteed to attract double-takes and invite questions from strangers.
Built from marine-grade plywood, the 990-lb (450-kg) Carapate trailer keeps things stylish but simple, pulling the focus away from the trailer interior and keeping it on the surrounding outdoors to prevent campers from forgetting why they decided to camp in the first place. The oversized lift-gate side entry immediately lessens the divide between inside and out — pop it open and let the breeze roll over your skin and local scenery fill your eyes. When it's time to close up shop for the evening, large panoramic windows and a skylight ensure the fresh air and scenic views don't disappear.
Oversized doors have become a small trend in camping trailers, bringing in more of the great outdoors while still offering the option to sneak away behind four solid walls. Just last month we saw similarly large doors and hatches on the Overkill T.K.4.7 and Earth Traveler, and traveling a little further back in time brings us to other recent debuts like the Droplet trailer, Taxa Tigermoth and Mogo Freedom.
Carapate keeps the innovation flowing inside its high-swinging door, where three single-sized 55 x 25-in (140 x 64-cm) mattresses replace the usual single triple-folder. At night, the mattresses piece together to fill out the floor area with a roomy bed for two. During the day, they stack and rearrange into a functional L-shaped sofa or front-facing sofa. An optional child's bed kit turns the platform in the front window into a small bed, allowing the Carapate to sleep a family of three.
More than just a potential sleeping platform, the front bench plays an even more important role. Lift the top away to reveal the indoor/outdoor kitchen. Campers can cook inside the trailer or slide the entire kitchen out to cook under the open sky. The slide-out unit packs room for a single-burner stove and simple sink with spouted water canister and collapsible bucket. A storage compartment and shelving at the far end keep pots, pans, dishes and other kitchenware right where you need them. When used outside, the kitchen has a slide-out cutting board/worktop, and when used inside, the fold-up shelf provides a counter.
In keeping with the simple, natural theme of its design, Carapate equips its trailer quite basically with the three mattresses, kitchen drawer, PVC flooring, spare wheel, stabilizing jacks and various storage compartments. From there, buyers can select from a number of options packages, adding an electrical pack with 110Ah gel battery, LED lighting, USB ports and control panel; 120W solar charging pack; kitchen equipment pack with sink system and single-burner stove; gas/electric fridge box and more. Carapate co-director Fabien Denis told France news site Presse Ocean last month that prices range roughly between €14,000 and 18,000 (approx. US$15,850 to $20,400), depending upon options.
The 2-minute clip below provides a closer look at how the Carapate's individual features work.
Source: Carapate Adventure (French)
