A few more months of cold (?) and lovers of outdoor life will be able to get back on the road: some will choose to travel comfortably in a mobile home, others will prefer equipped vans or caravans. Still others will opt for classic tent camping, the good old school.
And then there are the hybrids, the pioneers. Those who experiment, fail, learn. Or, more simply, those who want to combine comfort and innovation. For them there is Traveller, a sort of telescopic caravan that does not need towing: it is carried "on the shoulders" of the car, like a backpack.
The genesis of the mini caravan
The Californian startup Hitch Hotel had started raising funds for its project in the midst of the pandemic: I admit that the timing wasn't the best, and for this reason in 2020 things didn't go as hoped.
Today the telescopic caravan is ready to see the light, revised and corrected twice. The car "backpack" which once opened can accommodate two offers an interesting solution at a price of less than 10.000 euros. For this reason it has already raised over 180.000 euros in funds on the Kickstarter platform. With these, Hitch Hotel has already further perfected the Traveler: In its first version it weighed 172kg and could only be transported by a large SUV.
Today the music has changed
To create a lighter version, engineers have come up with a solution to the problem. They mounted the fiberglass hull on a wheeled chassis, making the trailer easier to tow. It can be hooked up to a conventional vehicle and set up in minutes.
Of course, if you want it can also be towed the old fashioned way, with a hook. Its special feature, however, is that it can be placed on a sort of "bicycle rack" directly behind the car.
Yes, but how is it inside?
The mini caravan is made up of two parts arranged a bit like those “folding” travel glasses, or like a folding telescope. Once opened, it will have two rooms (the back side will be a bedroom complete with a mattress) and the door will form a large awning that will act as a "portico" for a small table and two chairs. It's a short step from the tiny house to the folding house.
Some data: The Hitch Hotel minicaravan weighs 109 kg: when I spoke of a "car backpack" I wasn't joking. It measures just 86cm wide and 127cm high when folded. Once opened, it reaches a length of 2,25 m and can accommodate up to 3 people, supporting a maximum weight of 450 kg.
This “single-volume” house offers minimal but sufficient comfort for a bivouac or a camping stay in nature. The launch price is set at just over 5.699 dollars (around 5200 euros), an affordable figure for this innovative transport option.
