Wheel-less caravan gets wheels

Remember the unique Hitch Hotel invention of a couple years' back?

Described as the “world’s first expandable wheel-less trailer”, the unique RV blended camper trailer and telescope designs with the versatility of a tow hitch bike carrier.

However, after launching a crowd-funding campaign that helped pay for development of the original Hitch Hotel, it seems hesitation from some potential buyers to hang such a bulky object off their towball has seen the company come up with a more conventional ‘wheeled’ version.

Instead of hanging 150kg off the tow bar and supporting the stand-alone unit on four adjustable legs, the latest Hitch Hotel Traveller features a single axle with two wheels that can be rolled along, making it more like a regular camper trailer.

The rest of the Hitch Hotel remains similar in concept, with the three wall sections of the main accommodation and cargo box expanding out on runners to create a big enough internal space for sleeping up three people or carrying three bikes.

The benefit of adding wheels is that smaller tow vehicles are now able to haul the Hitch Hotel, with a much lighter ball weight. There’s also a wheel kit so buyers of the original Hitch Hotel can retrofit wheels if they want to.

All up, the 180cm long (overall) Hitch Hotel Traveller has a Tare weight of 204kg and a payload of 249kg. Ball weight is listed at just 45kg.

To make it easier to store, the Hitch Hotel Traveller also comes with a fold-up drawbar.

As you can see in this video, set-up is pretty simple: after winding down the jockey wheel and adding the removable support leg at the back, the rear walls slide out and are supported on fold-down braked wheels, before flipped the top-hinge door up and climbing inside.

Both the original Hitch Hotel Classic and Hitch Hotel Traveller are due to go on sale in North America this year, with pricing at US$4999 and US$5699 respectively.