Shipping containers have a lot of uses outside of getting goods around the world on the backs of ships, trucks and trailers. But I have to admit, I haven’t thought about the potential of using one as a custom camper. Now, you can have a 3.05 m container turned into a discount travel trailer, if that’s your jam.
I love the concept of using something for a purpose other than it was originally constructed for. I write a lot about old school buses, box trucks and transit buses now living new lives as homes on wheels. A similar thing happens with shipping containers. Some people repurpose shipping containers into stylish modern homes while other build storage complexes out of them.
But I hadn’t considered posting up at the local KOA with a tiny shipping container bolted to a trailer.
The seller of this “2019 Custom Camper” on RVT said back in 2021 that this travel trailer would be perfect for weekend camping or use as a home base. It consists of a 3.05 m shipping container riding on a twin axle trailer. These are normally 3.05 m long, 2.44 m wide, and 2.44 m, 6 inches tall. The addition of the trailer frame makes this one a total of 4.57 m long and 3.05 m tall. Its dimensions are similar to that of a fibreglass camper, but that’s where the similarities end.
Inside, it looks like the builder took whatever they had laying around their basement and shoved it in.
There’s a cabinet, a king-size bed and one of those propane heaters that you’d usually install in a garage. Amazingly, it has some basic facilities, too. There’s a cassette toilet, sink, shower and water heater. Onboard is also 53 l of fresh water storage and 102 l of grey water.
Sadly missing is any form of air-conditioning.
The trailer it’s mounted to has brakes and a tire pressure monitoring system. It’s said to track straight, though I can’t imagine pulling a steel brick is good for fuel economy. It also weighs in at around 1,474 kg; three times as heavy as a comparatively-sized fibreglass camper.
They say that the camper turns heads and I bet it does. Imagine waking up and seeing this next to your campsite.
I like the idea; shipping containers are a blank slate to do whatever you want. But the end result of this one leaves a lot to be desired. It would look so cool painted or wrapped to look like a Borg cube from Star Trek. But really, you’d likely be better off just shoving a bed into the back of a van.
This article has been updated since it was first published.