Teardrop trailers are natural head-turners, but an Australian camper startup takes things to a new level. Making the already curvy teardrop even curvier before splashing it with bright paint, Cool Beans builds a teardrop that simply refuses to be ignored. With a warm two-person cabin, gourmet galley, smartphone monitoring, and plenty of storage, the stylish, little Cool Beans trailer tows along as a light, cozy abode for the road.
Not to be confused with Bean Trailer, an American teardrop manufacturer we discovered around this time last year, Cool Beans is an Australian outfit that got rolling earlier this year. We've come to know Australians more for incredibly rugged off-road camper trailers and caravans, but they clearly have a healthy nostalgia for the classic teardrop, too. And if journeys across the Outback are still a must, Cool Beans offers a full off-road package.
"A lot of people don't have places to store their caravans anymore, and they don't want to be towing these big vans all around," Cool Beans co-founder Josh McLernon says in explaining why Cool Beans breaks from the more common large Australian caravan and pop-up trailer designs. "Towing is a breeze with the Cool Beans — no pop- up/pop-down, no messing around, just hook up, head out and get after your adventures."
McLernon and business partner Wade Ellis have put their own signature on the already eye-catching teardrop to make it pop that much more. They go beyond just slapping on bright paint, massaging the teardrop design with a long, gently sloped body complemented by curvy, reverse D-shaped doors, instead of more common rectangular entryways. The shiny trim around the tinted glass porthole windows matches the arched fenders and contrast bare-aluminum roof perfectly, finishing a vibrant trailer that looks like it was recycled from materials salvaged from a demoed 1950s diner.
The Cool Beans exterior certainly isn't the only aspect that impresses. Pop the tailgate, and you find a kitchen with a distinctive design all its own, starting with rounded-face cabinetry following the overall curviness of the trailer. That kitchen has a stainless steel sink atop the worktop and a 60L Engel fridge/freezer and dual-burner stove on slide-outs below, amongst the drawers.
The cozy cabin on the other side of the nautically inspired windows houses a queen-size bed with built-in padded headrest. A combination of three cupboards and three drawers provides more storage than you might expect in such a compact interior, while overhead and reading lights keep things illuminated after sundown.
Power to the lights and USB and 12V outlets in the cabin and kitchen comes from an AGM battery managed by what Cool Beans calls the Smart Power System. These days you just aren't smart without a mobile app, and indeed the Smart Power System lets campers monitor the battery from the comfort of their smartphones. The battery charges from a 240V shore hookup, the tow vehicle or a solar panel (sold separately).
Each Cool Beans trailer is built atop a heavy-duty, fully-welded steel frame made in Australia and includes a leaf-spring suspension. The body is constructed of plywood and aluminum, and the fittings and hardware are marine-grade stainless steel. The trailer measures 15.4 feet (4.7 m) in length and tares in at 1,985 lb (900 kg). Each trailer comes with 40-L fresh and waste water tanks, an underbody spare tire, disc brakes and a ventilated/insulated roof with skylight.
Cool Beans standard AU$32,000 (approx. US$22,450) Custom Retro model includes a powder coating in the buyer's choice of color, and the AU$35,000 (US$24,550) Custom Off Road model gets upgraded with a reinforced chassis, heavy-duty leaf spring suspension, stone guard and roof rack. As the names make clear, Cool Beans can customize each trailer to the buyer's needs and wants.
Source: Cool Beans
