Stephen Wheeler had spent years playing with campers, turning all kinds of weird and wonderful vehicles into mobile homes – there was a Suzuki microcar, an Opel mover, and even a Ford Galaxy. One day, while looking at his own Tesla Model 3, he noticed the wasted space above the sloping roof. Two years later, after a 3,000-mile test drive around Iceland, the Wheelhome Dashaway eCT rolled off the production line at its Lincolnshire factory. When you open the pop-up roof and step inside, you’ll find a true tiny house where two people can sleep comfortably, cook a feast and run for days without having to be plugged in.
The Dashaway eCT measures 3.8 meters from end to end, 1.44 meters wide and 1.1 meters high when closed – small enough to park next to the garden shed. You can use almost any kind of car to tow it; a single axle and smart suspension keep the center of gravity nice and low, even when you use a small 1.2 liter petrol engine as a tow vehicle. Unloaded it weighs 340kg, giving you enough space to store 410kg of all your camping gear, water and other essentials – after which you reach the 750kg limit. The side panel colors can be matched to your tow vehicle, and there’s an optional 170-litre front pocket that can store a couple of folding chairs or even a week’s worth of groceries.
Setting it up takes just two minutes – just drop the rear stabilizers, turn a few cranks on the handle and – voila – the gas struts lift the fiberglass roof up onto the support posts. Suddenly you have 1.80 meters of headroom in the back and 1.80 meters in the front. There is a zippered door that lets the wind in and keeps the bugs out, with a full fly screen on the opposite side windows. The trailer is ready on asphalt, gravel or grass, without the need for the usual pegs or guy ropes.
Inside, the layout is surprisingly spacious. Along one wall you’ll find a comfortable, rear-facing two-seater sofa – the cushions are nice and firm, the upholstery is a breeze to wipe down, and next to the sofa is a fold-down counter that converts into a desk big enough for a 16-inch laptop. Opposite the bench is a stainless steel sink, complete with a draining rack and a 10-litre water canister on a shelf above. With a slight turn of the spout, gravity begins to supply the water – and if you prefer a push-button tap, an electric pump is available.
Behind the sink is a pull-out drawer that can store all your cutlery and pans, and then there’s the very handy optional extra: a conventional 200W roof-mounted solar panel (optional) that generates enough power to keep the lithium battery pack in the under-floor locker topped up. With a 2600W inverter connected to the system, you can use a microwave, an induction hob and an electric kettle at the same time. And downstairs in the same underfloor safe you will find an 18 liter compressor refrigerator, which should keep your milk nice and cool for three days without having to be plugged in. With the optional second battery, the trailer can last a week without needing to be charged.
At night, the sofa base slides forward and the backrest folds flat to form a double bed measuring 1.9 x 1.2 meters – over 1.80 meters by 1.20 metres. That’s more than enough. When you’re on the road, you can simply leave the bedding on the mattress and store it under the front shelf when the sofa is back to normal. A Porta-Potti stores in a cubby at the foot of the bed, as handy as you’ll ever need – and you can even access it once you’ve completely made up the mattress.
You’d think this would be the extent of the storage space, but no: lift the sofa cushions and you’ll find a huge, deep bin that’s perfect for stuffing duvets and other items. Under the floor, in the middle of the floor, there is a safe with space for the refrigerator, batteries and all kinds of dry items to keep the essentials dry. When you fold down the back seat of the car, you can slide two large plastic crates through the passageway into the trunk, keeping the clothes and groceries separated from the living area.
But then there’s the towing – and that’s where Wheeler got a real surprise when his long-range 2024 Model 3 averaged 308 watt-hours per mile at 60 mph with the trailer attached. And lo and behold: That’s exactly the same as the roof pod version he tested last time, which is pretty much a big check mark in the plus column. In practice, this equates to 5.25 kilometers per kilowatt, or 390 kilometers of normal driving on one battery charge – although that drops to 80 km/h if you start driving almost empty. On the other hand, petrol cars fare a lot better: a 1.0-litre Ford Fiesta managed a pretty respectable 42mpg on a mixed drive.
Each of these units is built from scratch in a wheelhouse in the beautiful Lincolnshire countryside. The base price is £26,225, conveniently including VAT and delivery to the UK mainland. Then there are all the various extras you can add: engine movers for easy towing, rear awnings for a little private toilet nook, second batteries to keep everything running even when you’re off the grid… each option simply bolts on without having to replace the trailer’s standard 340-pound bed.
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