The number of “elevated” camping options on the market right now is, frankly, too damn high. Airstreams, rooftop tents, tiny homes, tow-along trailers: it’s a revolving door that spins faster by the day, leaving you, the consumer, likely to just throw up your hands and stick with that trusty old ground tent you took to Woodstock ’99.
Then something like the Travel Machine comes along, and we’re reminded why a little market competition is a good thing.
Designed by French company Tipoon, the Travel Machine is a sleek, polyester-coated pod that’d look at home as a piece of furniture in your living room … only it’s not. It’s a trailer you hook up to the back of a compact SUV, and basically is a living room.
The Travel Machine expands and collapses at the press of a button, offering customizable housing options that lend a surreal amount of living space to a trailer that can fit into a parking space. The ingenious structure accordions out, revealing a king-sized bed to one side, a kitchen to the other (both with windows) and a ceiling that rises to over six feet. There’s even a bathroom with a shower. Tipoon knows its clientele, too, planting rigging for a kayak or surfboard on the roof, and a rack for a couple of two-wheelers out front.
The first Tipoons will be delivered in June 2018; find more info here.
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