Choosing to ride a bike instead of driving a car doesn’t mean you have to forego the convenience of a camper trailer – if you’ve got the leg muscles to pull it off. From prototypes by a major German RV manufacturer to impressively innovative DIY creations, these 12 miniature mobile homes for bicycles pack lots of function into small (and not-so-small) trailers that don’t require gas or electricity to transport.

Mini Mobile Home for Bikes by Kevin Cyr

(images via: kevin cyr)

This amazing bike camper by Kevin Cyr looks exactly like a standard car camper, down to the smallest details like faux wood siding, reflectors and power inlets. For Cyr the camper is more sculptural art piece than functional recreational item, but he has definitely proven its viability by cruising it all over various cities.

Midget BushTrekka by Kamp-Rite

(images via: kamprite)

Available at Kamp-Rite, the Midget BUSHTREKKA is a lightweight bike trailer built for uneven terrain. It features three main storage compartments with over 41 gallons of storage space and fully adjustable leveling jacks. The trailer pairs with the ‘TentCot‘ to create the camper setup pictured.

Room Room Camper for Bikes & Burros</>

(images via: design boom)

The adaptable ‘Room Room’ by Encore Heureux + G Studio for ‘Crossing: Dialogues for Emergency Architecture’ Exhibition in China can be pulled by bicycle, motorcycle, donkey or on foot. Conceived as a mobile shelter for post-disaster recovery, the shelter can be picked up and hauled on its wheels, set back for sleeping or turned on its head and extended with a tent for longer-term use.

Burning Man Bike Camper

(images via: dvice)

Built for Burning Man, this camper weighs 100 pounds and is packed with a solar oven and a solar water heating system, and has a wind turbine and solar lights on the exterior.

DIY Bike Camper Inspired by Moon Rovers

(images via: bikeportland)

Spotted in Portland, this DIY bike camper was inspired by moon rovers and the moon landing vehicle.

Minimalist Wood Camper by Sakari Holma

(images via: saholm)

Finish designer Sakari Holma built this minimalist wood bike camper trailer, which is just wide enough to lay down in to ensure that the design is streamlined enough to pull without too much effort.

Little Tag Along by Kevin Cyr

(images via: kevin cyr)

The ‘Little Tag Along’ camper is another design by Kevin Cyr, with the look of a conventional camper shrunk down to bike-size. Pulled by a vintage 3-speed bicycle, Little Tag Along contains the minimum that you’d need to hunker down for the night on a regular basis – just a bed and a little bit of storage space.

Ultralight DIY Teardrop Bike Camper

(images via: tiny house design)

Michael Janzen of Tiny House Design envisions a lightweight teardrop trailer for bikes in this concept illustration, pointing out that a company called Human Powered Machines makes bike trailers that can carry up to 500 pounds. Of course, whether the person riding the bicycle can tow that much is another question.

The Caravan

(image via: eta.co.uk)

This tiny lightweight bike caravan is fancier inside than you’d expect: it fits a twin bed, a 19″ flat-screen television, an electric kettle for tea and a ‘drinks cabinet’. Optional extras include solar roof panels, a satellite dish, a gaming console, central heating and an external luggage rack.

Dethleffs Bike Camper Prototype

(image via: xhyperactive)

German RV maker Dethleffs experimented with a concept bike camper, producing a prototype that included a bed and a small kitchen.

Supertramp Fabric Bike Caravan

(image via: lehmanb)

Made largely of fabric, Lehman B’s ‘Supertramp’ is relatively roomy and even contains a wood stove. The designer took the bike around London in summer 2010, setting up near bars, restaurants, companies and galleries to inspire curiosity about living in tiny mobile spaces.

Custom Electric Bike Camper

(image via: jay nelson)

Of course, the addition of an electric motor to pull a bike camper makes this particular creation a whole different beast, but it’s still impressive. The Golden Gate by Jay Nelson has an unusual geometric exterior made of fiberglass, plywood, glass and epoxy and incorporates bicycle wheels and other bike parts. It’s got a bed,a miniature kitchen with sink, stove and cooler, a toilet and storage space, but it won’t go more than 20 miles per hour, and only gets about 10 miles per charge. Nelson uses it for trips to the beach.

The iPad is one of Apple’s most successful products in recent years, and for good reason. It’s an innovative, easy-to-use, and fun bit of technology that everyone can enjoy, from babies to cats to technophobic adults as well as the typical dedicated technology lover. But this high-tech futuristic gadget inspires some people to embrace the past by creating retro-inspired cases and accessories.

(images via: Kickstarter)

The Etcher is an iPad case that turns your high-tech toy into a well-loved but low-tech one. The case was developed to work just like a classic Etch-A-Sketch, but with some nifty added features like the ability to save your sketches or post them on Facebook.

(image via: GearZap)

If you’re used to using a laptop and are having a hard time adapting to the unique feel of using a tablet, the KeyCase iPad Folio helps ease the transition. It effectively turns your iPad into a laptop, giving it the familiar configuration with an integrated keyboard and a protective outer covering.

(image via: Apple Noir)

Prior to the sleek, no-nonsense form factors of the iPhone and iPad, Apple’s iconic products often took on curvy futuristic shapes like the iBook. Here, the two generations of Apple products meet in a quirky recycling project that uses an old iBook as a functional carrying case for both an iPad and a (fully functional) Apple keyboard.

(image via: Hirac)

Even before the iBook, the classic Macintosh defined Apple’s style. One blogger was surprised to find that the first-gen iPad fits nearly perfectly in the place of the Mac’s screen. So, like any loyal Apple fan, he tore apart the classic computer and updated it with an iPad right where the screen used to be. The design does have some flaws, but overall this case is playful and functional.

(image via: ThinkGeek)

For the same retro Mac look in a portable form, ThinkGeek offers the Padintosh case. It looks just like the front of a classic Mac, even including the disk drive on the front. The hard case protects your iPad from bumps and drops while giving it a unique retro look. The only drawback? The case drastically cuts down on the usable screen area of the iPad.

(images via: Jonas Damon)

The iPad’s super-thin profile is really a testament to just how quickly technology has moved in the past several decades. Designer Jonas Damon juxtaposes the modern iPad with one of the much thicker, much clunkier pieces of technology from previous years. The CRT (cathode ray tube) iPad dock looks like one of the old thick pre-LCD, pre-plasma TVs that were once in every home – and it makes for a pretty cool place to rest your iPad while you watch some retro TV shows.

(images via: Miterbox)

The retro TV aesthetic takes a slightly different turn with this handmade stained wood TV iPad dock from Etsy seller Miterbox. The stand is slim and simple, designed to give the iPad an awesomely fun place to sit.

(images via: BKNY Design)

The V-Luxe might just be the pinnacle of TV-like iPad stand design. It features a swiveling, tilting mount for your iPad as well as a speaker cabinet below. The high-quality construction keeps your iPad safe while the very cool retro design makes you feel kind of like you’ve stepped back in time.

(images via: Spinninghat, Austin Yang)

If you do a lot of typing on your iPad, you might be among the legions of users who are frustrated with just how difficult that can be. The virtual keyboard offers no haptic feedback, so touch-typing is just about impossible. Thanks to inventions like the Typescreen from Spinning Hat and the iTypewriter from Austin Yang, the iPad has some typewriter-like mounts that allow users to press actual, physical keys when typing. The typewriter mounts work a lot like classic typewriters, but instead of hammers striking a ribbon they feature rubber-tipped “fingers” that reach up to touch the on-screen keyboard.

(image via: Mic Gadget)

Apple fans who want to go way, way back in time will love the iStation: an iPad dock that turns your tablet into something resembling the early Apple I or Apple II computers. The iStation charges your iPad and provides the perfect place for a wireless keyboard to sit while you type. Inside the sleek wood case is a high-quality stereo system, including a subwoofer.

(images via: TwelveSouth)

The BookBook case covers up your iPad with a beautiful classic leather book, blending cutting-edge technology with an extremely low-tech aesthetic. The BookBook isn’t all about making your iPad look pretty, however – it protects against damage and can even keep it safe from nefarious iPad thieves by blending right in with the other books on your shelf.

(image via: Crunchy Logistics)

Compared to the iPhone, the iPad’s screen is exceptionally large. But if it still isn’t big enough for you, Crunchy Logistics has you covered. Their Padzilla accessory is basically a touch table iPad dock. You plug your iPad into it and then use an enormous 150-inch display for all of your iPad activities. Why? If you still have to ask that after watching the iPad air hockey video above, then you’re probably not in the Padzilla’s target market.

(images via: Kickstarter, ThinkGeek)

Gaming on an iPad is fun, but lacks the tactile satisfaction of smashing buttons and shoving a joystick around. These two iPad accessories bring that experience to the cutting edge of gadgets by attaching retro-type controllers to the iPad. The GameDock is a small dock that lets you play games through your iPad on a TV screen and with retro-style Nintendo controllers. The Joystick-It sticks (harmlessly and removably, of course) right onto the surface of your iPad, giving you an instant joystick with which to play all of your favorite arcade games.

It’s refreshing to see ingenuity unleashed from societal mores on an industrial scale. Why not add treads instead of wheels? Who says a home AC can’t work in a car? Vehicle modifications can be incredibly fancy. These are not.

(Images via popcrunch, jalopnik, artcar, yourcobalt)

Have fun with the family car! As long as it works, it works, right? Vehicle repairs can be completed with items found around the house, or cars can be enhanced with mobile beer taps… Imagine that boring sedan freed from its boundaries.

(Images via codyduty, bullfrogspas, gpsinformation, amazingdata)

Mobile hot tubs are typically found on ultra-expensive limousines. Handy, down-to-earth types have learned how to reject the 1% by creating their own mobile masterpieces.

(Images via gizmodo, geekologie, sportandmotor, davesdaily)

Treads are cooler than tires. Nobody is contesting that. All the pain and effort required to replace a vehicles tire’s with these treads is totally worth the end result.

(Images via digg, digg, digg, weeville, weeville, digg)

Giant tires or tiny tires… they’re both fun. Nothing is more eye-catching than an extreme. Take your car and kick it up a notch by upgrading those tired old rims to something outrageous.

(Images via stupidhumans, englishrussia, tensionnot, holytaco)

Limousines are not as posh as they used to be, huh? These fantastic do it yourself works of art are amazing. It’s tough to understand how these vehicles could possibly be street legal, however.

(Images via artcar, popcrunch, artcar)

Wood, cardboard, and laminate flooring are just a few of the creative materials that ardent characters use to decorate their vehicles.

(Images via keepbusy, lilligren, lilligren, break)

If the air conditioning unit works in the house, why wouldn’t it work in the car? It may not be the most elegant solution to hot summer days, but it sure helps!

(Images via solemio, sethbarnes, coolfunpics, rv)

The truly green revolution gets 300 miles per hay bale.

The green revolution would be a lot easier if everyone rode a bike. One way to get more people to start traveling via pedal power is to add a little creativity to an otherwise mundane form of transport.

(Images via buzzfeed, geekologie, xcitefun, damncoolpictures, gz250bike)

Some bike mods are exceptional; they embody a spirit of adventure and require a certain amount of funds that would blow up most budgets. These are the beautiful bikes of the mod world.

(Images via spicytec, spicytec, two-wheels-better, two-wheels-better)

More tires are better, right? These adventurous bikers have no issue pushing the limits of locomotion. Some may see these bikes as more of a circus than a means of transportation, but nobody denies that they’re fun.

(Images via vitalbmx, organicherbs, flickrhivemind, dham2u, cutefunnystuff)

Long, tall, short, who really cares how a bike is, right? For one, the designer does. Some of these bikes are amazingly articulated considering the height and difficulty of creating such wild inventions. There’s no longer a excuse for not carpooling.

(Images via damncoolpictures, loyalkng, dham2u)

Want more power for the bike in the family? Look no further. These bikes are super-powered masterpieces of engineering. Every ounce of thrust has been dedicated to the desire for speed. These bikes are fast, and dangerous, no doubt about it.

(Images via xcitefun, everydayfunnyfunny, impactlab, atomiczombie)

What makes a bike, a bike? These inventors have gone to the core of that question with an intense investigation. One thing is sure… don’t expect to see many of these rolling down the street any time soon.

(Images via discovery, designboom, ventilxp)

These vehicles are terrifying. An all-terrain bike looks ludicrous, but fun, while the other looks more like a beautiful torture device.

(Images via bocaberta, flixya, autonewsjunction)

Bigger is better! What cooler way to show off your modding skills than by adding the largest possible tire to your ride?

(Images via wired, twowheelforum, wired, mikehulsebus)

Not all mods are made equal, though each serves its own purpose. These low-budgets modifications are certainly handy, even if they aren’t the most gorgeous engineering feats.

Seeing art is one thing, but have you smelled it lately? These 11 scent-sational concept garbage trucks trash traditional artistic sensibilities while maintaining the “can”-do spirit today’s waste management demands.

Dirty Jobs Garbage Truck

(images via: Paweena Prachanronarong)

You see advertising plastered all over city buses these days, why not city garbage trucks? OK, some advertisers might object to seeing their budget go to waste, so to speak, but not the Discovery Channel! The TV network that hosts “Dirty Jobs” featuring the comedic and non-germaphobic Mike Rowe thought garbage trucks were the ideal medium for hosting a guerrilla ad campaign to promote the show.

Philly’s Frilly Garbage Trucks

(images via: 2DayBlog)

You might wrap your trash but the City of Brotherly Love does one better: it wraps its garbage trucks. The frillified Philly fleet boasts gorgeous graphics inspired by historic textile patterns. The trucks might still smell bad but they definitely look better.

(images via: Urban Places and Spaces and 2DayBlog)

Philadelphia’s garbage truck beautification program got off the ground in the spring of 2009 when city authorities prompted the Mural Arts Program to hook up with The Design Center at Philadelphia University. The resulting textile patterns were transferred to mylar and a total of 10 garbage trucks got wrapped. It’s likely that Philly’s program was inspired by the amazing Bonkers Yonkers garbage trucks – a case of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.

Garbage Truck Concept by ~Stepdesign

(images via: ~Stepdesign)

This retro-futuristic garbage truck concept by ~stepdesign displays hints of GM’s massive Motorama buses of the 1950s while looking ahead to the practical waste management concerns of today – and tomorrow.

(images via: ~Stepdesign)

The concept envisions a single driver occupying the front cab, who would be responsible for navigating the truck through urban and suburban living labyrinths. The pick-up crew rides at the very back. As for the trash, it’s stored in capacious clamshell side bins.

RV Garbage Truck

(images via: Apartment Therapy)

You don’t have to be a real-life Oscar the Grouch to live in a garbage truck… and really, it’s hard not to crack a smile at the sheer wonder inside the Unicat‘s all-business exterior. A custom kitchen, hardwood floors and a cozy sectional sofa fit snugly inside the Unicat, providing the driver/homeowner with a veritable palace on wheels with which to navigate post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested highways.

(images via: Apartment Therapy)

You might know a bachelor or two who lives in a virtual garbage dump; the Unicat is the polar opposite as it’s a garbage truck that looks like a bachelor pad – one seen in the pages of GQ, Ask Men or Playboy. One very cool feature of the Unicat involves the windows: the rear portion of the truck extends vertically to expose them. Hmm, I wonder where they load the garbage…

Double-Decker Garbage Truck

(image via: Artsology)

Taken a trashy tour of the Big Apple lately? This very rough concept seems to hold out the possibility of seeing New Amsterdam the way its sanitation engineers do – street by street, can by can. We’re not sure why the precarious contraption above was on display in an NYC shop window but give the designer some credit, he/she had the foresight to route the semi-tractor’s exhaust stacks to the rear of the truck… the better to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Olde New Yorke!

Japanese Musical Garbage Truck

Everything’s cute in Japan, and Japanese garbage trucks are no exception. The cherry blossom special above patrols the streets of Osaka, picking up carefully sorted trash while luring unsuspecting children with a little happy musical repartee. Check out this short video of the pink patrol doing their cheery rounds:

Osaka Garbage Truck, via MrJapanMan

(images via: Pan-O and Facts and Details)

Imagine being a kid in Japan, hungry and overheated on a blistering summer’s day, and what to your wondering ears should appear but those cloying, tinkling, dulcet tones that could only mean… the garbage truck?? Good humor, Osaka waste management trucks don’t haz it.

Patrick Ehlers’ Garbage Truck

(images via: Sidequesting)

If Thunderdome had a garbage pickup service, Patrick Ehlers’ Garbage Truck would do the picking up – hey, you thought The Toecutter was a neat freak? This trash terminator concept was crafted by Ehlers for Sidequesting’s 2011 Dystopia Competition and as a mobile waste grabber, it’s outstanding in a very messy field.

Garbage Truck: The Movie

(image via: Adrian Lazar)

Got a mania for garbage trucks? Then get your trash to Romania and watch Garbage Truck, the Movie… actually “Trei Fratzi de Belea” in Romanian, which translates to “Three Loony Brothers”. IMDB just about blew a sprocket trying to find this 2006 flick but we’re sure it was as big in Bucharest as Ceau?escu’s pompadour.

(images via: Adrian Lazar)

Adrian Lazar‘s concept Garbage Truck art is the true highlight of the film – at least, it’s the only part relevant to today’s topic. Now that’s some mean machine there… with a dash of goofiness tossed in. Just what you want rattling your cans at five in the morning.

Saudi Garbage Truck Funny Car

(images via: AutoBlog and Jalopnik)

Who says Saudi Arabia’s dull, boring and rigidly policed? OK, everyone, but fun can be found if you look hard enough. A garbage truck cruising around on two wheels? I’d walk a mile for a cam, er, to see that. The driver of this dashing Jeddah drifter is unknown and as for the music, we suggest a switch to Tone Loc’s Funky Cold Medina. Watch Saudi Arabia’s version of NASCAR meets Demolition Derby right here:

Garbage truck drifting in two wheels, via ArabMotorsTV

Garbage Truck Rocket Launcher

(images via: Snopes)

Unfortunately, not all Middle Eastern garbage trucks are deployed for distraction; some have been modified to deal in destruction. The Gaza garbage truck above was captured by Israeli forces and its “interesting” modifications (to fire up to 9 Qassam rockets) are being displayed. That note on the driver’s door reads “In case of traffic violations, please contact The Palestinian Authority.” Would that be road traffic or air traffic?

Space Junk Recycling Garbage Truck

(images via: MTV Geek and Funkmaster Flex)

Design student Vaughan Ling’s orbiting garbage truck concept is useful, practical and awesome! Ling envisions all sorts of space junk being snagged, stored and recycled by this flying one-stop-shop. The latter function involves salvaging valuable rare earth metals from burnt-out satellites. NASA should build and launch this space-sweeper soon… before the orbiting garbage patch over our heads makes it impossible to do so!

(image via: Freaking News)

Wherever humans may go, garbage will follow and if the Space Shuttle was America’s “space truck”, then somebody (besides Deep Purple) is going to be space garbage truckin’.