Most bicycle campers just tow, but there are some that flip, that drop, that pitch and that straight blow up. The new Alpencamper adds another motion to that mix: sliding. The two-wheel towable borrows a trick from larger caravans and motorhomes, using a sidewall slide-out to expand its tiny interior enough to house a double bed comparable to what you’d find in a full-blown camper van – not bad for a little ‘drop trailer that weighs less than the average adult.
Not to be confused with German tiny camper van builder Alpincamper, Switzerland’s Alpencamper is a small upstart dedicated to bicycle camping trailers. Its Eco Slide Out (ESO) takes on the exterior form of a smoothed-out, pavement-ready squaredrop trailer. Described as a three-season camper build, it’s crafted from a lightweight aluminum frame and 3-cm insulated composite panels. It weighs in at 115 lb (52 kg) empty, lighter than a number (but not all) of single-sleeper bike caravans we’ve looked at over the years.
Alpencamper
Undercutting competitor weights is all the more impressive once you step around to the ESO’s left side of travel, where it has a sizable slide-out that emerges to add an extra 20 in (50 cm) of sleeping width inside. That widens the interior sleeping floor to 55 in (140 cm), which is actually wider than the mattresses in the newest Volkswagen California models.
It is worth noting that the slide-out is centered within the sidewall and does not run the full length making for a non-rectangular tapered sleeping surface that might prove less comfortable for the sleeper farthest from the door. Reading over the specs, the interior stretches a full 6.8 feet (208 cm) long, so the slide-out may still provide ample length, especially if the inside camper can lie their head in the longer section outside the slide-out, but it might require a bit of diagonal positioning or bent knees, depending upon the two campers’ overall size and sleeping style.
Alpencamper
RV sleeping surfaces and mattresses are commonly asymmetrical or tapered, even in full-size motor vehicle campers, so it’s no surprise to find such a layout in a bicycle-towed teardrop. And assuming sleeper 2 isn’t pedaling a tandem, thereby leaving all the towing up to sleeper 1, he or she should be more than happy just to have a warm, hard-walled shelter to sleep in overnight, with no added weight for towing or carrying an alternative shelter along.
Of course, the Eco Slide Out can also be used by a single cyclist who wants a little more space to spread out at night than a typical fixed-body camper offers. The trailer’s low weight relative to other bicycle campers makes that an option worth looking at.
The sleeping platform is raised above the trailer floor to clear 270 liters of storage space below. Here, cyclists can stash food, luggage, backpacks, camping gear, etc. They’ll also find a dedicated compartment for a composting toilet. The trailer lends you roughly 70 lb (32 kg) of available payload before you have to start strapping cargo to your bike or back.
Alpencamper
The sleeping platform includes a cutout that lifts up and secures across the trailer on two support strips on the walls. This then serves as small table for dining and perhaps a workstation for laptop work, with the edge of the greater sleeping platform serving as a seat.
Alpencamper completes the Eco Slide Out package with an openable insulated plastic window with integrated blind and insect screen, battery powered ceiling lighting, four support legs, a storage shelf, and a Weber coupling designed to work with a wide variety of bicycles and ebikes.
Alpencamper introduced its bicycle camper series in 2025 and offers the Eco Slide Out as a fully integrated trailer or as a camper pod that separates from the trailer, which then doubles as a cargo trailer. Since we can’t imagine ourselves using a bicycle camper more than a few times a year, the split pod/cargo trailer option seems like a smart solution for those who also use their bicycles for everyday commuting, work and/or errands. That split-apart unit costs CHF500 more than the CHF8,350 (approx. US$10,675) integrated Eco Slide Out camper and adds 15 lb (7 kg) for a 130-lb (59-kg) empty weight.
Alpencamper
Additionally, Alpencamper offers a non-slide fixed body Eco camper starting at CHF5,950 ($7,600) for the integrated model and CHF6,450 ($8,875) for the Flex split pod/trailer version. It weighs as little as 86 lb (39 kg), but the interior is limited to a fixed 35 in (90 cm) of width.
Source: Alpencamper
