Collapsible Room for Portable Campers
I found a really interesting invention floating around the patent filings and it makes me wonder why I haven’t seen it on any campers:
It is a collapsible room for portable campers. It looks pretty non-descript on the back of this truck camper when it’s folded up:
When it’s deployed, however, it opens up a huge tent room.
The mechanisms for folding it up look simple enough.
This patent was filed in 1968 and finally issued in 1970. It appears that the inventor was concerned with size and economy for campers.
The primary consideration in trailer and camper construction is to provide additional usable space without increasing proportionately the outside dimensions.
So many campers use tent canopies next to their campers for some shade. Why don’t campers come equipped with this sort of thing built right in?
I can see one problem if the seals on this mechanism weren’t perfect, it would allow for water and snow to get into the camper, causing rot, mold or other problems. Other than that, I wonder why this idea hasn’t been used on campers. I have never seen this on a camper, but I think it’s an ingenious way to add space without adding extra bulk.
You can download the entire patent here: