What's better than a sauna in your backyard? A sauna you can use in your backyard and then hitch up and tow anywhere you might want to use it. Inspired heavily by the covered wagons that used to roam its birth state of Oregon, the all-new Saltsaun NW is a versatile on-/off-road trailer that carries a Himalayan salt-lined cedar wood sauna behind virtually any vehicle. A choice of electric or wood stove ensures it fires up, whether you're traveling on or off grid.
The Saltsaun NW trailer certainly isn't the first mobile sauna we've seen out there roaming land or sea, but it is a very distinctive design with an impressive set of capabilities, created by the same folks that have developed some uniquely sized teardrop campers at Bend Teardrop. For their latest towable, they begin with a highway -peed-capable, off-road-ready square-tube chassis measuring 6 x 8 feet (1.8 x 2.4 m). According to an introductory video Saltsaun NW put out, the trailer has 13 inches (33 cm) of ground clearance and rides on 15-in wheels.
Atop the frame, Saltsaun NW applies the construction skills it's honed building teardrops at Bend, creating a very different style of rounded-roof body, reminiscent of a solid-roofed covered wagon. That body is crafted from cedar wood sourced locally in the Pacific Northwest. A large checker plate panel up front, aluminum paneling below and corrugated metal roof scaffolding protect the soft wood from the hazards of road and weather. The roof extends over top a small porch with two integrated seats designed for cooling off.
Inside, the Saltsaun NW trailer accommodates four to five adults on its benches. The heart of the design is the electric or wood stove that cranks the temperature up between 100 and 200 °F (38 to 93 °C).
The electric model's 3-kW steam-ready heater plugs into a 110-V outlet with a recommended 20-A+ output. The wood stove model, on the other hand, is designed as an off-grid solution featuring a rock basket for steaming and combination of deep-cycle battery and 100-W solar panel for powering the interior/exterior lighting. Both trailer models feature a wraparound row of Himalayan salt blocks with integrated multi-color lighting.
At between 1,100 and 1,660 lb (500 and 753 kg), Saltsaun NW trailers can be towed by a wide variety of vehicles. They require only a 2-in ball hitch and flat 4-pin electrical connection for brake lights and turn signals.
After building the initial sauna trailer as a personal project last fall, Bend Teardrop spun it off into its own company this year. It sells the trailers for prices starting at US$9,999 and also rents them out for $200/day. Sales and rentals take place at its Bend, Oregon headquarters.
We're still partial to the concept of a nomadic hot tub, but a rolling sauna also sounds like a pretty good way to wind down after a long, heavy day on the slopes or trail. Get a feel for the experience in the video below.
Sources: Saltsaun NW, Bend Teardrop
