Green, sustainable living (think tiny houses) is a trend that’s thankfully here to stay. Today’s homes aim to do more with less, and such forward-thinking design has extended to the realm of camping. To that end, French innovator Green Cat Technologies has unveiled plans for the forthcoming sCarabane. The one-of-a-kind caravan is not only beautiful, but designed to be an almost entirely self-sufficient camper.
Like many campers, the sCarabane is easily towable with just about any mid-size SUV. But its remarkable slide-out features differ from anything on the market today. The Transformer-like design folds up to a compact 25.6 feet long, 9.2 feet high, and 8.2 feet wide, belying the clever engineering origami within. Once deployed — which the company promises can be handled by one person in about 30 minutes — it resembles a retro-futuristic getaway pad like those envisioned by progressive architects of the mid-20th century.
The exterior walls pop out to reveal a large (for a camper) indoor/outdoor space that includes a full kitchen, two bedrooms (one of which is a 77.5-square-foot master), and a dining area that doubles as a third sleep space. There’s also a dry bathroom with a sink, toilet, shower, and an ultra-efficient compact washing machine. A large, rotating bubble window guarantees plenty of natural light, and two rose-shaped windows integrated into the bedroom roofs allow those inside to control the flow of light. The entire interior space opens to a spacious, 140-square-foot walk-out deck.
Living area aside, one of sCarabane’s best assets is its sustainability and self-sufficiency. Hardcore road-trippers know that going off-grid is the best way to travel just about anywhere overland. A custom parabolic mirror atop the unit tracks the sun while a telescoping, vertical-axis wind turbine generates 500 watts of renewable energy. The included supplementary solar cells provide another 500 watts. What’s more, the entire unit sits on a 360-degree track to allow it to rotate for maximum wind and solar energy capture. All of these features provide near-limitless sources of hot water, heat, and electricity to allow you to venture as far off the beaten path as you like.
The sCarabane is currently under development. While it still relies on bottled propane for cooking, the company’s goal is to release a model that’s entirely self-sufficient. This includes designing systems that can harvest and filter rainwater indefinitely. Unfortunately, no price or release date has been set, so campers will need to wait. For those seeking a bug-out pad to ride out the zombie apocalypse, however, these 3D-printed homes from PassivDom should do the trick.
