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 for just $4,000, you can have a 10-foot 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 says that this travel trailer would be perfect for weekend camping or use as a home base. It consists of a 10-foot shipping container riding on a twin axle trailer. These are normally 10 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet, 6 inches tall. The addition of the trailer frame makes this one a total of 15 feet long and 10 feet tall. Its dimensions are similar to that of a fiberglass 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 14 gallons of fresh water storage and 27 gallons 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 3,250 pounds; three times as heavy as a comparatively-sized fiberglass 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.
If you’re undeterred, the seller wants $4,000 for it after reducing the price down from $7,500. A shipping container can be had for about half of this price on Craigslist or Facebook, so you’re basically just paying for the materials used to build the thing.
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