The cyclecamp blog

Sleeping above the ground

Cyclecamp Blogpost 002

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My idea of luxury camping is to turn up on any campsite and know that I don’t have to worry too much about the state of the ground. Stony, hard, muddy or even concrete. I would love a tent that could handle it all – just like a caravan or a trailer tent does.

And then someone comes along and designs something that exactly meets my needs. That man is Tony Hoar of Tony's Trailers. He’s a Canadian designer/maker based in British Columbia. Tony loves designing things and has come up with lots of ideas and designs for bicycle trailers. My favourite of all of though is the bicycle tent trailer (or trailer tent as we might say here in the UK). It’s called the Nomad and yes it just makes you dream of a truly nomadic lifestyle!

You pull it behind you, you arrive at your campsite, you put down the legs. You unfold the tent (which is attached to the trailer and, hey presto, you have a tent and a secure sleeping platform - and you don’t have to worry about the ground beneath you! During the day, the trailer obviously carries your luggage and acts in the same way as an ordinary bicycle trailer.

Pulling a trailer isn’t difficult for a cyclist and an ideal way to carry larger amounts of camping gear. So is there downside to the trailer? Well, the first of course is cost. No trailer is cheap: most are about £2-300 and a bicycle trailer tent from Tony is about twice that price. Having said that, it is a bespoke, specially made trailer tent and carries Tony’s personal guarantee.

Weight will be an issue for some cyclists (as all trailers are) but the trailer tent will replace the weight (and the cost of) of panniers, racks and of course your tent. Tony makes all kinds of bicycle trailers and now has an international reputation amongst utility cyclists. You can see more on Tony’s website (and even order one if you want!) here: tonystrailers

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