10 of the most weird and wonderful caravans
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Think you've got a cool caravan? Check out the list below and it'll blow your tourer-loving mind, just like it did ours
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Following our collection of the craziest caravans we'd seen online, we've put together this list of some of the most creative forms of caravanning you'll ever see, whether it's through spending masses of money being or the other end of the scale, saving through a tight budget.
Here at Caravan magazine we're always looking for tourers that drop our jaws to the floor; incredible interiors or the most out-there ideas for caravan creativity. Got anything for us to see? Get in touch!
Globe
Seen here outside the Emirates National Auto Museum, this scaled down global caravan was built by Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Ruling Family in the United Arab Emirates.This three-storey caravan is a millionth of the size of Earth and full of all the usual home comforts you’d find in a house! Eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms and four storage areas? Okay, so it’s a swanky house at that.
The "Rainbow Sheikh" has an impressive collection of vehicles – around 400, including another massive caravan in the form of the World's Biggest, featuring garages to hold four cars!
The Dukes Box
Ever seen an entire band – instruments, audio equipment lights and all included – crammed into a 1960s two-berth? The Dukes Box invite audiences to choose from one of 35 songs, jukebox style, before it’s performed live within the glass-fronted tourer.
Where have they played, you may ask… Festivals across the country and some little event called Glastonbury under their belt. The Dukes are often seen with the Sol Cinema by their side, which brings us on to…
Sol Cinema
Rescuing an old 1965 three-berth, the group behind this tiny tourer – the Sol Cinema – has towed around the country, showing film after film in fully-furnished, surround sound caravan bliss.What’s more impressive than having up to eight adults able to watch their favourite flick in a caravan cinema? Well… It’s all powered by the sun!
De Markies (“The Awning”)
This one does the rounds each year but was actually an entry in the 1985 Temporary Living competition, before going on to win at a Rotterdam Design Prize in 1996.Fold-out rather than slide-out, De Markies triples its floorspace of 2m by 4.5m when it simply drops the walls – walls that were obviously inspired by the Lost In Space robot’s arms.
Honda Yuasa Bailey outfit
You may think it’s weird that caravans are coupled with motorsport, but the two come together more times than you think. Just check out our video below for Wales Rally GB, where we toured in this Bailey Pursuit 550-4, coated in the Honda Yuasa British Touring Car Championship race livery. A marvellous motorsport double header!QT Van
Okay, so this was on our list of crazy caravans too, but now it’s a record-breaker! This mini caravan that can be towed by a mobility scooter or pedal bike, and yet, the World's Smallest Caravan (the QT Van) isn’t short of amenities.Entirely carbon neutral, there’s a full-sized bed, 19in colour television, book shelves, a kettle and more! It's the only caravan around that you can tow through a supermarket. Taking your bed shopping with you? That's even better than click and collect!
New meaning to touring trailer
More motorsport madness now as some caravanners have modified their tourer to be a trailer of a different kind, holding their pride and joy of four wheels in their pride and joy on two!
Ingenuous idea or tourer abuse? Pics courtesy of the Beam Breaking blog.
The Shebeen
Despite the solid pine flooring and handcrafted Irish oak furnishings; antique pictures adorning the walls and drinking memorabilia surrounding you in every direction, this isn’t a traditional Irish pub.This O'Neill's on wheels is the brainchild of John Walsh – it’s The Shebeen: a 30-year old tourer, transformed into a delightful drinking establishment.
What's better? You can hire The Shebeen for your own private parties and have one of the quaintest and coolest bar's ever. Check out our interview with John, here.
Extend-O-Van
We’re not sure where this caravan creation came from (answers on a post card please), but there can be little cooler than pitching up on-site, only to extend your caravan by about three times its size – lengthways! Anyone looking on an laughing at the titchy tourer being towed is sure to be in for a shock. It's virtually a hallway of ourdoor leisure greatness!
Bailey Orion Catavan
When a stray cat strolled into Cosford Caravans in Wolverhampton, little did the dealership know that it would lead to Bailey building the female feline her own kitty tourer years later.Bailey’s bespoke Orion 430-4 was made especially for Cosford’s creatively-named “Cat” when the manufacturer’s MD ventured on-site for a sales visit. For more information read the full cat caravan story here.
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