Looking to Escape?

Just you, a Bike and the open road? We are working hard to make this dream possible for many bike enthusiests, campers, cyclists and even motocycle riders who love the outdoors but would love a little more creature comfort. our concept is simple. A self contained eco friendly with solar electricity mini camper that can be towed by a bicycle anywhere! no set up just park it and use it! Add adventure to your bike trips by easily extending your trips with this easy to tow portable shelter, just pack and go!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Meeting With The Fabricators

Well this week and last week has had it's share of challenges for team UFO. Kel had been laboring hard on the blue prints to be ready in time for Monday's meeting with the fabricators (today). Our meeting went REALLY well, we finally have that "Great unknown factor" answered, which was "What the heck is this thing going to cost us to build." We were so happy to find out that it will cost us far, FAR less than what we initially expected, which means we will be able to sell our Bicycle Mini Camper far below what we originally thought. WhooooHoooo!!!

OK that's the good news, bad news... well not really bad news, just another minor unexpected set back. Turns out that the fabricators actually need detailed blue prints of each part of our camper separately. So that mean that Kel is off to the drawing board to whip those up so they will be ready for after the Christmas holidays are over. Poor Kel, just when he thought his work was done.

More good news. I always try to follow some bad or slightly bad depending on how you look at it with some good news. We are still smack bang on schedule and we should have our Bicycle Mini Camper done well in time for MEC's Bike fest in the spring around May. This is truly awesome because we'll have some time to do some road testing before the big event. Stellar!! :)

Monday, December 3, 2012

Blueprints Nearing Completion

It's been a great weekend, I met with our partner Kel who has been working on the Blueprints for our mini camper, they are very near completion, he's been busting his hump dimensioning all the drawings and soon will be doing the electrical drawings and once that is done we will be able to get many of the unknown factors off of our list and be well on the way to having our prototype built... so can't wait! :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

Another Week Goes Bye

Well another week has rolled on by. It's been pretty uneventful in many ways. our indiegogo campaign page is doing us no good, it's just sitting there counting down and not getting any new contributors to our project. They say that most of your initial crowd funding should come from your circle of friends and family. Well I guess our circle of friends and family is either not big enough or influential enough or feel that our project is important enough to us to bother helping out so our campaign suffers further by NOT being visible on the Indie Go Go web site. The only way people know about it is if we lead them by the nose to it which I think is kind of stupid and for that indie go go takes a percentage of your contributions!! For what? Giving us a fancy page to display our campaign that no one can see by going to their web site!! Hell we can do the same thing with our www.ufo-camper.ca web site!!

Even though we are having to deal with that frustration we have had some great things happen over the last couple of weeks. Kel is working hard on the blueprints for the Mark II mini camper and is very near completion. Mike V. has completed our business plan and we have a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce this week to go over our business plan and see what we have to do next. I'm planning a combination business and relaxation trip to Singapore sometime in the coming months. I plan to make some connections down there and see who else I can get interested in our mini camper project, perhaps find a metal fabricator along with the other parts fabricators that way we can explore the possibility of having them built down in Singapore as well as Canada that way shipping to certain parts of the world will not be so expensive if we have a manufacture already fairly close to where a unit will need to be shipped. I can't wait till I get all of my stuff ready to go too seeing how winter is now officially hit the Peg.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Benefits of a bicycle Camper/Trailer



For many cyclists, the idea of towing a bike trailer seems an almost daunting task when compared to the ‘free and easy’ experience of cycling. However there are many reasons for wanting to take a bike trailer when touring with your bike. Using a full set of panniers can often add unnecessary strain to your bike and often upset you balance where as you will not find this to be the case with a bicycle trailer.


1- Keeps your all of your gear dry when its raining. This to some might not seem very important but if you are carrying expensive equipment with you such as cameras or any other electronic gear you will quickly come to see the benefits that an enclosed water tight trailer will provide. Not only that but when it comes to sleeping in your trailer you will also feel comfortable and dry and not have to deal with the discomfort of damp sleeping bags or ground blankets or matting.

2- One clear benefit is the sheer amount of space within a trailer, and therefore the amount of items that can be carried whilst on any road trip. With a trailer's larger single space or smartly designed compartments, bulky or heavy items can be carried easily. Unlike with panniers, which usually has several smaller compartments which prevent larger single items from being transported, a trailer allows the cyclist to carry items of a much larger mass and may therefore be much more useful for trips which require longer tours.

3- A bike trailer isolates your bike from the load so you don't waste energy wiggling the load. Weighted panniers on the other hand turn the bike into a tank that has to be carefully controlled.

4- No damage to your bike Carrying heavy loads in bicycle panniers or mono wheel trailers needs a strong bike with strong wheels and frame. Two wheel bicycle trailer s are rotationally isolated from your bike, so even suspended or lightweight bikes don't suffer.

5- The trailer can be easily removed once you get to your location. reattaching panniers to the bike when they're fully weighted is a bit of a time consuming hassle.

6- Makes you more visible in traffic. While the width of a trailer in the road is a common concern, it actually tends to make drivers give cyclists a little more room. The added advantage of powerful LED lights and reflectors make you far more visible to automobile traffic, this is especially important at night.

7- Balance: The main advantage of a two wheel trailer has to do with the balance. A two wheel trailer is easier to handle because it provides it's own balance. It has less of an effect on the handling of the bike, two wheel trailers stay upright, which makes loading, unloading, and storage easier.

8- Handy for home use as well as touring (carrying groceries, collecting large purchases from shops)

9- Aggressive dogs tend to chase the trailer, keeping them away from your legs.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Coffee at the Mondragon

Coffee at the Mondragon cafe this weekend with our team chatting about our project and discussing the blue prints of the mark II mini camper design. One of the things we were talking about is just how lucky we are to have an awesome team like this working on this project, we have saved so much money just being able to do so much of the work ourselves. Kel is an amazing Drafts person who without which we would be paying someone a good $65.00 per hour for their Drafting services. And don't let those videos fool you into thinking we spent loads on those because I do those for us at my own expense of many hours at the 3d rendering and then video editing. So we've been very lucky in that aspect as well. Mike V. has been spending exhaustive hours gathering information to add into our business plan as well. So a lot of progress is happening. We are getting all of our ducks lined up and ready so that when we finally have our funding we can get them rolling on producing our prototype of the Mark II mini camper.

We had a great time also this week attending the Chesterfield Magazine's issues 8 launch party which I had one of my artworks published in the latest issue. We showed our mini camper project to many of the attendees and they loved it. Many had questions about it such as weight which we are estimating around 130 to 150 lbs. give or take a little based on our current research. Next issue we are planning to run a full page ad in the Chesterfield magazine to hopefully draw some more exposure to our project and see if we can get more people on board with helping out to donate funds for our project. We've a long way to go and we are looking at ways to fund outside of our indieGoGo campaign since that does not seem to be working very well for us. After christmas we are looking at doing a fund raiser social so we are looking into what we need to do to get that ball rolling.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Like us on Facebook

If you are one Facebook and would like to follow us there too please feel free to like us on Facebook and get even more connected to updates and events with our Bicycle Mini Camper Project and also shared posts from the cycling community, YouTube videos and more!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Is the World Ready For This?

The question may have been raised before, or maybe not? But here it is again, the idea of a mini camper that can be towed by a bicycle. It's not particularly a new idea. The idea has been done before only quite often ending up as being not very practical and being more of a novelty item. But in all seriousness what if such a product existed? What if such a product was practical in every way? Would the world be ready for such a product.

I can't speak for the world when it comes to my own opinion on the issue, I only know that there are a lot of people who have stepped up to the plate and built their own home made bicycle campers, built them because they wanted such a product so badly that they were driven to build it themselves. They had no choice since there is nothing like it on the market outside of the motorcycle industry. There are some small trailers made for bikes but a lot of these are along the lines of a "tent in a box." When we first started toying with the idea of a bicycle mini camper a "tent in a box" is the farthest thing away from what we wanted as cyclists who had had our experiences with tents. We wanted something that would keep you off of the damp ground, high and dry, survive the heaviest of downpours, offer many of the simple creature comforts of home and be easy and light weight enough to tow. We came up with our first camper concept and then tweaked it based on feedback from the cycling community. We feel it meets or exceeds many of the requirements that we wanted in a mini camper as cyclists. But is the world ready? I know that if I personally knew that such a product existed that I could buy commercially I would be all over this! My partners also agree, many of the people we have shown our camper concept to have also said and I quote: "This is the Coolest thing I have ever seen!" But would they buy it? Yes! is the definitive answer we have gotten back in response to that question time, and time again during our long endeavor into this project. We even have some dealerships very interested in carrying our product once it is developed and I think that alone speaks volumes because those people know their customers. I think also that if a lot of people knew that such a product existed they too would more than likely be very interested in such a thing.

We also know that commuter cycling in our fair city alone is up quite a higher percentage from previous years. This trend seems to be the same for the U.S. as well and also appears to be happening in the U.K. We know also that our research has indicated that bike camping statistics are also on a similar upwards trend as well. All of which would indicate a certain sort of "ripeness" for a product like our Bicycle Mini Camper.

On another more darker note though, what would happen if suddenly your life took an unexpected change for the worse and you were forced to live on the street. Would something like our mini camper be so much better that a cardboard box in some alley somewhere? You would be mobile, able to travel in freedom and comfort, sure a more "Nomadic" lifestyle would be in order. But given your alternative? I know that I would do it, in a heartbeat, hands down! One only has to go to google image results and type in "bicycle camper" to see the results of just how ready the world could very well be for such a product. I know I want one, my partners want one, many of the people we have presented our concept to would like one and I'll just bet there are many, many more unenlightened souls out there who would also love to own one ;)

Tuesday, October 16, 2012


A marketing poster concept we came up with to help promote our Bicycle Mini Camper project. We can have a lot of fun with these types of marketing campaigns given the name of our mini camper trailer but right now our toughest challenge is in trying to get people to dig into their pocketbooks and help us out. We can't get our prototype built without help from the community which is sadly lacking right now. We are not sure what we have to do to get people on board with this idea. So far we have bucket loads of people who love our idea and think it's nothing short of brilliant, and even dealerships interested in our product. But when it comes to trying to get those people to support our project we are finding that very tough. If we could get even one percent of the community out there to chip in we could get this done and get our prototype out there for people to see in the real world, from that point on it will practically sell itself once people see this thing being towed around.

We REALLY need people to go to our IndieGoGo Campaign page and chip in whatever they can to help us out! We need to build it so you will eventually be able to actually purchase one of our bicycle mini campers commercially at your local dealerships or online through our website.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

"Urban Freedom Outlander Mark II 11" by mdkgraphics | Redbubble

"Urban Freedom Outlander Mark II 11" by mdkgraphics | Redbubble:


If you could take your home with you on a bike, how far would you go?

Be sure to check out the blog to learn more at:
http://www.urbanfreedomoutlander.blogspot.ca

Web site:
http://www.ufocamper.ca


Help support our project:
http://igg.me/p/232699?a=1300437

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Monday, October 8, 2012

Urban Freedom Outlander Mark II Design Completed

I have completed the new design for our 2nd version of our Bicycle Mini Camper. As you can see in these new 3D renderings our Mini Camper has a different shape making it less resistant to wind with the curved front and back. Our size is pretty much the same although this one I believe does have a little more head room while sitting up inside. I have also made a slightly larger fold out table.




Our rear stabilizer jacks are a little different to accommodate the position of the rear compartment hatch, they are of the "Swing Down" telescopic type of jack. This version of our Mini Camper has vents on the sides as well as the one on the roof, the side vents work very similar to those found in most automobiles where you can open or close the vents with a small switch or lever.





The same curtains and privacy blinds from our first version also fit the windows of our 2nd design as the windows are pretty much the same size and shape. The Solar panel is positioned a little more towards the back just behind the transparent skylight dome. The rear lights plaque is positioned a little higher off of the ground in this version because of it's unique almost "Egg" shape.





The external AC power cord hatch is also positioned more towards the back just behind the wheel well, we also placed the Solar battery compartment on the opposite side also just behind the wheel well.








Because of our Mini Campers new shape our trailer base is a little smaller which we believe should further cut down on the overall weight.










The interior design is also changed in that we now have the shelving unit along the door side wall, this makes for a shorter shelving unit. Foot space in front of the bed when folded up and used as a seat is also much smaller but still very efficient. We still have a very adequate amount of under the bed storage accessible from a removable panel located at the foot of the bed right next to the door.



You can see clearly how our new more aerodynamic design should make traveling much easier, even with a fairly strong wind blowing. All this plus ultra light weight construction should make this a very appealing choice for any avid bicycle camper. When given the problems with tents in rainy or damp conditions you are sure to love being high and dry and with many of the creature comforts of home with our newly designed Bicycle Mini Camper.

We are working very hard to make this dream a reality but we can't do it alone. We need your help to help make this new and innovative product a reality. We are trying to raise funds on our IndieGoGo campaign page so that we can have a Prototype built for spring 2012 in time for MEC's Bikefest and to also have it ready for other cycling and outdoor events throughout the summer like Cyclovia and many more. Please go to our IndieGoGo Campaign Page and be sure to check out the perks we are offering to show our appreciation of your support. With your help we can make this dream possible. So if this is a product that you would like to see one day available on the market please help support us in this goal.

Team UFO thanks you :D

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Urban Freedom Outlander Mark II

Presenting the Urban Freedom Outlander Mark II. I have the basic design done and I'm just working out some of the finer details like the rear compartment access hatch, interior floor plan and things like where to place the solar panel and exterior power cord hatch and battery placement. This version sacrifices a little floor space but we still have under the bed storage compartments, a shelving unit alongside the wall next to the door this time. I think I have a good idea for where and how to make a fold out table, this time it will be right up against the front of the camper's front wall, I believe I can make a much bigger table top area by utilizing this space more effectively.

If this version should prove to be more popular it very well may be our first prototype built, we'll have to wait and see what kind of response it gets from a lot of the cycling community.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

I was doing a little doodling for secondary concept designs for future design considerations. This is a design based on what one of our Team UFO Kel had envisioned. Similar to the first only more oval shaped with a dome / skylight on top. As you can see from the design we still make excellent usage of under the bed storage with a hatch that folds down to gain access to a spare tire and possible any tools that one would wish to carry on an extended trip. This design also still has a bed that converts into a seat so campers can sit upright inside of the mini camper. This design also features side vents for added ventilation along with the standard top exhaust vent. This design features an even smaller trailer base thus trimming weight even more.

Bicycle Mini Camper Promo Video 03



Our latest video promo featuring our Mini Bicycle Camper alongside of a bike so you have a much better visual representation of the scale of our Mini Camper concept design. When we say "Mini" we sure mean it. ;)

Monday, October 1, 2012

New Promo Pics

I have been working hard all week on some new promo pictures that show our Bicycle Mini Camper alongside a bike so people will have a better visual understanding of our campers scale.









When we say mini camper we mean "Mini Camper." You can see clearly the comparison in size compared to this rendering of our camper next to my mountain bike.









Our Mini Camper sleeps one person comfortably, and probably two if they were small enough and very cozy ;)










Practical design and outstanding use of space will make our Mini Camper a premium choice for the cyclist who loves to camp but hates the hassle of setting up a tent.

With our Mini Camper's ultra light weight construction "how far will you travel?"

Blue Prints

I met with our other Team UFO partner Kel on Sunday who showed me the blue prints (floor plans) of our trailer design. They look fantastic! Kel is doing an AMAZING job. This is a very important step in our project development as these floor plans are what the various manufacturers will use to create our prototype.

I was saying to Mike V. this morning about how lucky we have been that we have saved so much by having the right people on our team, the design was done by yours truly and even the video presentations ;) and with Kel being an experience professional Draftsman we are no doubt saving a bundle there too!! I've been saying all along it is like this project was just meant to be ;)

We just need to get the ball rolling more on our indieGoGo campaign. We'll be contacting as many green friendly technology companies locally this week to see if we can get them on board with funding so we'll see how that goes but every little drop in our bucket helps bring us closer to our goal.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Indie Go Go Mini Bike Camper Campaign Video


Official Launch of Indie Go Go Campaign

Today marks our official launch of our Indie Go Go Campaign to help raise funds for our Mini Bike Camper Project. Please help us reach our goal with any contribution you can. We especially would like to see "Green" Technology companies and organizations get on board and show their support because we believe very strongly that it is a very good match and our perks we are offering are outstanding!!

Please visit our Indie Go Go Campaign page here:
http://www.indiegogo.com/mini-bike-camper?a=1300437

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Project Fund Raising

Things are starting to move very quickly for us. We are in the process of setting up a fund raising campaign page on indiegogo to help us raise funds to get a prototype built. Our goal is to have one ready for spring in time for MEC's Bikefest event which is held at the Winnipeg Forks Market and also have it ready for other summer events such as the Cyclovia Street festival event, various trade shows etcetera. Be sure to keep an eye on our profile on Indiegogo for when this officially launches
http://www.indiegogo.com/mdkgraphics

We are rewarding our sponsors and backers with outstanding incentives like quality T shirts, postcards, posters and coffee mugs with either the "Urban Freedom Outlander" logo or pictures of our Mini Bike Camper design. More generous contributors will have also their name, company logo and web address prominently featured at special events where we will have our Mini Bike Camper on public display. We know our camper is sure to draw a crowd so this is going to be powerful exposure. So we are urging companies, especially "Green Technology" companies to get on board and help sponsor our mini Bike Camper Project as you cannot get more "Green" or "Eco Friendly" than a Mini Bike Camper that is Solar powered!

On another quick note we are currently in the development process of our web site to further feature and give more details about our Mini Bike Camper.
So far the two URL's are:
&

Monday, September 10, 2012

Different Skins Available

We will even have many different skins or paint jobs available to choose from like this retro hippie theme for your mini bike camper.









 
You will eventually be able to choose from a wide variety of different themes to suit your individual taste and style.











Unique style and design mixed with simplicity and functionality is our goal for this mini caravan project.










Cute designs such as this Ladybug custom paint job will also be sure to become a favorite and conversation piece that will really Wow your fellow bike campers.










Whimsical, cute and wacky, why not let your imagination take flight with unique style and design along with your traveling comfort.










 

Sunday, September 9, 2012


Our mini bike camper aims to meet the most basic of needs, shelter and comfort. But we have gone several steps beyond with our design to include storage compartments to stow away your travel belonging's. A  full size fold up bed that becomes a seat. There is even a fold out small table that tucks away neatly to the side of the shelving unit.






Rear storage hatch for extra gear or spare tire or even tools that you may want to bring on your trip. Rear stabilizer jack.











Solar panel on the roof charges a long lasting rechargeable battery to power on board LED lights and your entertainments devices such as MP3 players or laptops.










Door locks for added security, folding bed becomes a seat so you can sit up inside if desired. Under the bed storage space.










Strong suspension for comfort and durability. Rear LED lights. Mock wood paneling and trim. Rugged durable wheels.











Cozy interior complete with privacy shades and curtains, LED lights, roof vent & exhaust fan, AC standard electrical outlet which can be run either from the solar rechargeable battery or from the AC electrical extension cord plug in should you park at a campsite that offers electrical outlets.