Home brew amphibious travel trailer--just right for summer.

This one's been floating around the Internet and we thought we'd reel it in to show off here. All we know is what the newspaperman says. Anybody have the inside story?

Flash Gordon's RV?

Randy Grubb started out early. As a young teenager who'd learned how to weld, he start putting vehicles together out of the most unlikely materials. Some might have said the combinations were even borderline illegal. Like that first project: A full race '48 flathead Merc meshed with  a '39 three-speed trans and torque-tube driveline, capped off with a Channeled Ford Roadster body.

Today Randy's a part of a group called Blastolene, which describes itself as, "A Brotherhood of autonomous individual artists and craftsmen who encourage each other's creativity." And what that creativity translates itself into.




Here's Randy Grubb's Decoliner. A moderate 26' motorhome, this "polished aluminum beauty features a flying bridge, complete with driving station and room for 5 passengers on the roof." And you'll never guess what it started out as. OK, guess if you will, but then keep paging down for the full story.

Yes, that is a GMC motorhome. At least, it used to be. Today the running gear sits firmly under Randy's Decoliner. "But where," you ask, "did that distinctive pilot house nose come from?" Glad you asked!

That bridge used to be part of a 1955 truck with a cab-over engine. It's all just a small part of the artistry that's gone into this truly, "one of a kind" motorhome. Check out more on the Decoliner's construction by visiting the Blastolene website.

An RV you might want to eat on a hot summer day!

This little trailer almost looks good enough to eat! We have no idea where this photo was taken or who took it, but we do know that this is one very cute RV! If you know anything about it, please leave a comment.

The trailer that Jack built

If the thought of backing up a 35' fifth wheel makes you queasy, if imagining maneuvering traffic in a 40' motorhome breaks you out in a sweat, maybe we have an answer. It's less than 12 feet long, only 70 inches wide, scales in at under 1,000 pounds and sleeps two. Tow it behind your whatever and take it just about anywhere. It's Jack Gerber's baby--and he'll sell you one, too. It's a Tiny Trailer.

Jack confesses that he wanted to be a hippie, but never did. But the teardrop trailers that Jack builds are better than a VW "hippie bus." With a Tiny Trailer you can sleep inside, but as he says, "Cooking, dining, bathing, changing clothes--it all takes place outside." Jack and his trailer building firm in Ardenvoir, Washington recently got a lot of press, courtesy of the Wenatchee World newspaper.

Jack's "other life" was that of a cabinet maker by trade. He built a lot of fancy custom cabinets for clients in the Seattle area when the economy was booming. Before it went bust, he and his family moved to a much slower-paced and quieter area in Eastern Washington. He took on a "dream job," teaching high school students wood shop craftsmanship.

But one day his wife presented him with a projected she wanted: A tear-drop trailer. Using the standard four-by-eight plywood sheet as the basis of his work, Jack started on the family's own prototype. At six-three, he knew he'd have to think big in a compact space, and he managed it. After building his own, Jack started his own one-man production line: He builds about four at a time.

A visit to Jack's web site, tinytrailers.com, shows the real beauty of his creation. Think Airstream on a Lilliputian scale.

If you're yearning for small and have about $10,000, Jack can build you one.