Skip to main content

Trekking: Yes, the roof of this camper moonlights as a boat

Man isn’t meant to stay indoors — our weekly “Trekking” column can attest to that. It’s a column dedicated to the adventurer inside of all of us, the one pining to ditch the office humdrum for a quick surf session or seven-week jaunt in the Grand Tetons. One day we may highlight an ultra-light stove and the next a set of handmade canoe paddles. Life doesn’t just happen inside the workplace, so get outside and live it.

Recommended Videos

The notion of the American Dream, oft defined by economic and social opportunity, has never been anything short of alluring. It’s what many of us strive to achieve in our day-to-day lives, a sense of stability and peacefulness that’s as picturesque as the small house and white picket fence we tend to associate with it. Achieving it in these days of political turmoil and economic strife, however, seems easier said than done. Thankfully, the same isn’t necessarily true of the Portland-bred camper with which the concept shares its name, aka the American Dream Trailer ($8,900+).

Related: The Pendleton Limited Edition is built for the outdoors (not your budget)

The American Dream TrailerUsing a 1961 teardrop trailer for inspiration, husband-and-wife duo Paul and Tyla Dahlman have helped forge a modern replica with a penchant for authenticity. The 650-pound, fiberglass trailer takes a cue directly from the original’s design, and relies on a local metalsmith and fiberglass company to manufacturer the same glass windows and molds that defined the original. The entire building process takes five to six weeks, but the end result is a compact towable that sleeps two and houses a small cooking and storage galley in the rear for food preparation, complete with room for customization.

The real kicker of the American Dream Trailer isn’t the checkerboard floor, though, or the  two-tone color scheme and optional galley table. The trailer’s biggest selling point lies in the secondary roof, which conveniently functions as a small rowboat when it’s not securely attached to the top of the trailer’s lightweight frame via a set of five hood latches. How and where you want to use the trailer, well, that’s totally up to you.

Visit The American Dream Trailer Company online to request an estimate. Each camper is custom built to order, and takes roughly six to eight weeks for delivery.

Brandon Widder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brandon Widder is a journalist and a staff writer for the Manual and its brother site, Digital Trends, where he covers tech…
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more
The best medical shows of all time to binge now
From ER to The Pitt, these are the best medical shows ever made
Noah Wyle in the Pitt

Throughout TV's long history, the medical drama has occupied a somewhat unique place in the landscape. Medical shows are often some of the most reliable on TV precisely because there's so much drama built in to working in a hospital.

Personally, I've found the medical drama to be deeply comforting for years, even if I have no desire to be a doctor myself. Understanding the stress of people in the healthcare profession is fascinating in and of itself.

Read more