TRAILPOD
One of the fresh faces at the expo was Danie Rossouw with his TrailPod. Even though Danie had never been a camper before, he showcased no less than three new Cricket models for the very first time.
Danie based his design on the classic tear drop. Initially, he built one for himself during the COVID-19 pandemic – this trailer, named Tintin, was the precursor to the production models that would follow.
It took Danie six months to build Tintin entirely by hand. A second version was built using a CNC machine, a project that took only two and a half months. And now, the TrailPod series is ready.
While mainstream teardrop caravan manufacturers mainly use fibreglass or marine plywood as building materials, Danie opted for plastic sandwich panels with a melamine finish for the interior. They're durable and lighter. The Cricket consists of four panels – the roof, floor and two sides – which are attached with adhesive. For the sides, two fused layers of 16mm each are used, while the floor has one 16mm layer and the roof a 12mm layer. The Burquip chassis is manufactured to TrailPod specifications and is robust enough for off-road driving, says Danie. You can also choose whether your Cricket should have brakes or not. And depending on the size of your towing vehicle's wheels, it's possible to have the same size on the Cricket.
Danie deviates from the traditional teardrop shape as two of the three models, the Cricket XC 120 and 140 – which are the same width – don't have a kitchen at the back. This provides more space inside. In both, you get a small outdoor kitchen in a cupboard above the left wheel. A shelf folds down as a work surface, and the sponge cutouts in the cupboard has space for plates, cups, and glasses. You can use a portable gas stove on the countertop.
A unique new feature is a bunk bed next to the doorway between the two side panels. It's comfortable enough for a young child or even two little dogs to sleep on; otherwise, you can simply use it as a shelf for items you want handy at night.
The third model, the Cricket Max, gets a traditional kitchen atthat folds down against the body when you're on the move.
