camper

21 Articles

Camping On Unconventional Watercraft

May 28, 2026 by 17 Comments

The fjords of Norway are world famous for their beauty, but even though the word itself is Norwegian, there are fjords all over the world in areas that used to be covered in glaciers. One of these areas is the Pacific Northwest of North America, we herit’s actually possible to travel by boat from the Seattle area all the way into Alaska without going to the Pacific Ocean, and although plenty of people make this journey by boat, [Matt] is planning on doing this journey on a jet ski with a custom camper on the back.

Normally a jet ski wouldn’t be the ideal platform for a multi-day on-boat adventure because of their size, but [Matt] found perhaps the largest jet ski ever made and he got a deal on it since it had previously been wrecked. Once he repaired the hull damage, he cut a sheet of plywood in half and put a hinge in the middle so it can unfold over the top of the jet ski but fold it away when he’s traveling. With the basic concept in place he took it right out on the water to a campsite before finalizing the construction of the rest of the tent, including the installation of a door, a window, and some interior lighting.

During that first night, a storm cropped up and pushed the craft out to shore while [Matt] was sleeping, so after realizing, waking up, and motoring back to shore, he made sure to tie the craft to a rock to avoid similar situations before going back to sleep. But besides some motion sickness which prevented him from cooking inside his camper, the rest of the adventure went off without a hitch. Before taking it on the Inside Passage he has been thinking of a few improvements like outriggers to keep it from rocking while he sleeps. [Matt] is no stranger to unusual camper builds, though, we recently featured his other camper which is an electric car converted to explore abandoned railroads.

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A bright yellow crew cab pickup is on an unpaved area with snow-capped mountains in the distance. In its bed is a matching camper shell which is somewhat trapezoidal with a smaller semicircular section that can pull out to lengthen the sleeping space of the camper. At the top of the image it says, "Sleeps Two!" with an arrow pointing to the camper shell.

Want A Truck With A Short Bed And A Long Camper Shell?

February 26, 2025 by 37 Comments

Camper shells are a time-honored piece of truck gear, but with modern trucks having increasingly vestigial beds, the length of your overnight abode has increasingly shrunk as well. To combat this problem, [Ed’s Garage] built a camper shell that extends once you’ve arrived at your campsite.

[Ed] wanted to keep things relatively low profile while still tall enough to sit up in for convenience, leading to a small bit of the shell peeking over the truck’s roof. To keep the cold Canadian winter out, attention was paid to proper weather sealing around the sliding portion of the shell so that it stays warm and dry inside.

While this would work on any truck, the mains power plugs in the bed of some modern trucks mean that certain glamping conveniences like a heater and projector can be easily powered while you’re in camp. We get to see the camper shell in action at the end of the video where the pros and cons of having your sleeping space also being your storage while en route become apparent.

If you’re looking for something a little less conventional for your camping experience, how about this solar camper or this retro bike camper?

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Automated System Keeps Camper Van Air Fresh And Warm

March 6, 2024 by 22 Comments

Air quality has become a hot topic in recent years. [Ryan Stout] was interested in improving it in his camper van, and set about doing something about it. His solution was an automated system that provided cleaner air and better comfort to boot.

The concept was simple. [Ryan]’s system is based on an Arduino clone, and uses a SparkFun SCD40 as a CO2 sensor, and an MCP9808 for temperature. When the system detects excess carbon dioxide levels, it opens the MaxxAir fan in the camper by triggering it with an infrared signal. Similarly, when it detects excessively low temperatures inside the van, it kicks on a diesel furnace for heating. In a neat addition, to avoid the fan sucking in exhaust fumes, it also closes the fan in order to avoid exhaust fumes entering the camper unnecessarily. All the hardware was then  wrapped up in a simple 3D printed enclosure.

With this setup, [Ryan] has managed to cut the buildup of CO2 in his camper at night, and he credits this with reducing morning headaches when he’s out in the camper. We’d call that a win, to say nothing of the additional comfort created by the automatically-controlled heater! If you’re interested in something similar for your home HVAC system, we’ve got you covered.

Fan With Automatic Door Is Perfect For Camper Vans

January 17, 2024 by 5 Comments

Ventilation fans are useful for clearing stuffy or stale air out of a space. However, they also tend to act as a gaping hole into said space. In the case of caravans and RVs, an open ventilation fan can be terrible for keeping the interior  space warm, quiet, and free from dust. “Blast doors” or fan blocks are a common way to solve this problem. [Raphtronic] whipped up a duly-equipped ventilation fan to do just that.

The solution was to create a fan setup with a custom fan holder and a sliding door to block airflow when necessary. [Raphtronic] designed a fan frame for this purpose using parts 3D printed in ASA plastic. This material was chosen such that they could readily withstand the 50 C (120 F) temperatures typical in his Ford Transit camper during the summer. A simple 12 V ventilation fan was then fitted to the frame, along with a sliding door controlled by a 12 V linear actuator.

The mode of operation is simple. A DPDT switch controls the linear actuator. Flipped one way, the linear actuator is fed 12 V in such a polarity as to move it to open the fan door. In this mode, 12 volts is also supplied to the fan to start ventilation. When the switch is flipped the other way, the actuator moves to the closed position, and a diode in the circuit stops the fan spinning backwards. As a bonus, limit switches are built into the linear actuator, so there’s no need for any microcontrollers, “off” switch positions, or additional wiring.

It’s a tidy solution to the problem of ventilating a camper in a clean and effective manner. Files are on GitHub for those wishing to build their own. We’ve seen some great work in this area before, like this off-grid van project that made excellent use of 3D scanning during the build process. If you’ve designed and built your own nifty camping gear, don’t hesitate to drop us a line!

A large, teardrop-shaped van with a wide, friendly face sits in a grassy field. A grey canvas pop top is opened on its top and solar panels extend from either side of its roof, making it look somewhat like a large insect with wings extended.

An Off-Grid EV Camper Van

November 14, 2023 by 34 Comments

Despite our predilection for creature comforts like electricity, it can be nice to get away from it all from time-to-time. Students from Eindhoven University of Technology developed Stella Vita to let you glamp from the power of the sun alone.

Solar-powered vehicles have been plying the highways for decades, but we’re only now getting vehicles with multiple seats that could potentially be used for transport outside of protected race conditions. While production vehicles that can charge off the sun are yet to appear in any appreciable numbers, universities are continuing to push the envelope of what’s possible in a solar car.

Stella Vita is a whale shark-esque camper van designed to be as aerodynamic as possible while still housing all the accoutrements one would want when car camping including a large bed, inductive cooktop, fridge, shower, sink, toilet, and standing room via a pop top. The 2 kW solar array expands to 4 kW when parked via two wings extending from the pop top that also function as awnings for your base camp. By keeping the car lightweight (1,700 kg or 3,700 lb) and aerodynamic, it can go about 600 km (370 mi) on a single charge with its 60 kWh battery.

While it’s still experimental, the team took Stella Vita on a road trip of 3,000 km (1,900 mi) to the south of Spain and were able to get there with only a couple charging stops to account for technical difficulties. A full charge on solar alone takes 2-3 days, which we can see being a convenient amount of time to stop in one spot for your outdoor adventures before heading home or to your next destination.

If you want to build a slightly smaller off-grid camper that’s fueled by coffee instead, you might want to check out this bike camper or this other example.

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Level Your Trailer Or RV With This Nifty Helper Device

October 25, 2023 by 30 Comments

Getting your RV or trailer parked nice and level is key to getting a good night’s sleep. Traditional methods involve bubble levels and trial and error, but [MJCulross] wanted something better. Enter the Teensy RV Leveling Helper.

The device uses an accelerometer to detect the pitch and roll angles of the RV. It then displays these on a small screen, and performs calculations on how much the RV must be raised at each corner to bring it level. The RV’s width and wheelbase can be entered via a simple touchscreen interface to ensure the calculations are correct. There’s also a trailer mode which calculates three-point leveling figures for the wheels and the hitch, as opposed to the four-wheeled RV mode.

The result is that the correct leveling blocks can be selected first time when parking up the RV or trailer. It’s a lot less tedious than the usual method of parking, leveling, checking, and then leveling again.

We don’t see a lot of camper hacks around here, but we’ve noticed a new trend towards lightweight cycle campers in recent years. If you’ve found your own nifty hacks for your home on the open road, don’t hesitate to let us know!

A blue work tricycle (single front wheel with platform between two rear wheels) sits on an asphalt path with trees and wildflowers in the background. A boxy, white camper with a front overhanging the bike seat is attached to the platform. It has a yellow stripe and curtains like many campers did in the 1970s. One white male is exiting the door of the camper while his brother is standing to the left of the camper by the bike seat.

Bike Camper With Retro Flair

May 23, 2023 by 33 Comments

As we’re approaching summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, thoughts naturally turn toward road trips. While most people do this in their car, the [Dangie Bros] built a 500 lb bike camper for their own take on the great American Road Trip.

Taking a maximalist approach not seen in most bike campers, this behemoth has a working sink, propane stove, seating area, and an upstairs sleeping area. A small window in the front of the camper opens to let the passenger inside converse with the person pedaling, and a solar panel charges a small battery for lights and a roof fan.

While the camper is very ’70s retro-chic, its lack of assist (other than the passenger getting out to push) meant that on the second day of their road trip they resorted to towing the camper behind a second bike in a pseudo-tandem arrangement. The fold out bed takes some design cues from RVs, but clearly needed more reinforcement since it collapsed partway through the night. With an e-assist and some refinements, this could be comfortable (albeit slow) way to go bike glamping.

If you’d like to try your own hand at a bike camper but do it more aerodynamically and attached to an assisted bike, checkout this teardrop trailer or this bike camper.

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