Seen on the Road to Glamperland Facebook page.
Tag: roulotte
Update from the vault: Vardo and Sheepherder Links
After several requests for information, here is my short list of inspirational sites found on the web. Culling the web for Vardo style so you don’t have to. I will try to morph this into it’s own page soon as a place to add more links as they become available.
Romany and Traditional Style
Sheepherder Wagons
French Style
An Interesting mix of Hippie vehicles from Britain and Europe:
MORE TO COME
Eight Foot Terrapin
Not terribly far from the Paleotool secret lair there toils a designer and builder of unique, hand-built, small campers. Inspired by the lack of uniqueness and beauty in mass-produced campers, Peter Pavlowich put his Wood Construction and Design degree to work to create beautiful, minimalist campers for small pick-up trucks under the name Casual Turtle. These are real works of craftsmanship and simplicity and are reasonably priced for those who cannot or do not want to build their own. I particularly like the compound curves of his roof designs.
“Casual Turtle Campers was founded on the belief that wood is good, small can be comfortable, and that there is still room for simplicity in this increasingly complex world.” Peter Pavlowich, owner-designer-builder, Casual Turtle Campers.
Building on his past successes, Peter has now branched out into trailer-caravan design using the same principles as his truck mounted campers.
The new design packs a lot thought and detail into a small package. The new Terrapin is about 8’2″ long by 6’9″ wide (nearly identical in dimensions to the vardo known as the Snail). First of all, I love the roof design and have decided that if and when I build my next vardo, it will have compound curved roof like this.
“Tiny and simple” is the mot juste of this design, containing all the space you absolutely need and not a scrap more. Like the Snail, this beauty could easily accommodate two adults on an extended journey.
Taking inspiration from early twentieth-century design, the interior is a simple kitchenette that converts to a bed. A rich, wood interior keeps it classy and abundant windows provide light and views.
There is plenty of room for customization and in my opinion, maybe even a heat source.
Here are the spec’s from Casual Turtle’s website:
- 1,360 lbs
- 5’x8′ custom trailer frame from Sport Trail (Loveland, CO)Professionally-sprayed Reflex truck bedliner undercoating
- Rockwell American 3,500lb axle
- 15″ wheels and trailer rated tires
- A-Frame tongue with jack and custom storage box
- Fully insulated floor, walls, and roof
- 15 amp shore power inlet – two interior outlets
- LED crown moulding lighting
- Full size memory foam bed (75.5″x54″)
Dimensions:
- Width: 6’9″
- Height: 8′ (at peak)
- Length: 8’2″ (cabin), 12′ overall
- Interior Height: 5’11” (at peak)
All coming in at $11,800. Not too shabby.
Head on over to Casual Turtle to see more today!
Early Home Built Camper
From the Road to Glamperland Facebook page. A very interesting all or mostly wooden home built camper trailer. It has two simple slide-outs, a nice little kitchen set-up and I suspect the benches fold out to be the bed. I really like the water tank on the roof. I have been looking for a vintage looking tank to use for quite a while now but so far, no luck.
Cargo Trailer Conversion
A cool conversion I saw on Tiny House America:
Virtually everything folds away and you still have a cargo trailer when needed. This was my initial plan before building the vardo but, well, you-know, one thing led to another, the wood got out of control, plans were pulled out of old notebooks and the gypsy wagon as we know it was born.
Nice and clean look here but I’d miss my cozy interior. This however, is a great, straight-forward design that could work for many people and is incognito from the outside.
A Real Land Yacht
A Wayside Camp
Party Time
This is part of a series of images, mostly Romany, Irish and Scottish Travellers collected from around the internet. Many of these historic images found on the web are without citation. When a clear link to a source is found, I try to include it. If a source is known, please pass it on and I will gladly include it or remove it if necessary.
A Vardo Build Recap
This post is a re-cap of the Vardo build. I get questions about this project at least three times per week and I think it has inspired a few other people to make the leap. I still consider it a work in progress even though it is four years old and has 18,000 miles under it. New and improved ideas are being added right now but maybe this will help somebody get started.
After the sketch-up, start making parts. This was a momentous occasion for me.
Assembly begins. Mild panic sets in; “will this work?” and “am I crazy to dive into this?”
At this point, I took some time to ponder. “Is the size and layout really going to work?”
Attaching the ledge to the prepared frame.
Build, build, build. Using a window of good weather in January.
Even relatively easy details, like door placement and size, were still up for change.
Finally, I can get a real sense of scale.
I fell in love with the design once the box was built.
Working alone means lots of clamps.
Gawkers were willing to take pictures.
The bed framing becomes integral to the structure.
Seats were designed and tested for size and functionality.
The first storage is done.
Wood is good!
The shell becomes complete.
Now for the details.
Temporary window inserted for a quick trip to the desert.
Quick coat of paint and off we went.
A little living helped bring together the details.
Spending time in the space gives an idea of where things are needed.
Finish work is a process, not an event.
The Vardo becomes a home.
A safe and cozy nest on the road.
Still far from done, I took her cross-country anyway.
Things began to come together after a few thousand miles travel.
Finishing touches are added constantly.
As are safety details.
Still making changes and additions four years down the road.
More big changes are happening and I hope to get up some new information very soon. I think an important fact that this project showed was that, for a relatively low-budget, and a little patience, a little home can be built over time but still be usable along the way. I didn’t wait for every last detail to be completed before putting this house to good use or I’d still be waiting today.
Romany Family on the Move
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 