A USPS electric cargo trike sits in the snow, its back box modified much beyond its humble origins as a postal delivery. Matt Spears, an outdoorsman with a passion for designing weird rides, is behind this, and he has the track record to prove it. He got one of these old machines for a cheap after it had been written off in a crash, and effectively converted it into a rolling snow shelter. This camper will keep a guy warm and toasty through an Alaskan winter storm overnight.
The base vehicle is a fairly nifty trike with a single wheel in front and two in back, originally designed to transport mail around towns with an electric help from a Bosch motor. When new, they cost the postal service almost $40,000 apiece, but Matt found a pair of damaged ones for only $1000, which was a steal to say the least. The electric motor powers the back wheels, and you can perform some of the work yourself if needed. The battery isn’t very powerful, but it does the job; you won’t be riding steep hills with a heavy load anytime soon.
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Matt limited his modifications to a minimum, beginning with removing the internal shelves to make room for wooden slats to form a suitable sleeping platform. He also added a few LED lights inside to lighten the space, though you don’t want to do that when it’s completely dark, and an interior latch for the rear doors, allowing him to lock them shut from the inside with some bailing wire. One of the entrances has a small wood-burning stove with a chimney piped through the roof to suck the cold air outside and discharge the heat directly inside the compartment. Cooking occurs with the door propped open, allowing you to chuck in a burger and eat even in sub-zero temperatures.
Matt contemplated adding extra insulation to the metal walls, but it only made it feel smaller, so he relies on a load of sleeping bags to keep the chills at bay. Condensation occurs, and melting snow may flow through the crevices, but the stove compensates. The trike’s high center of gravity makes it a little unsteady, especially when laden, but the electric assist and a bit of leg power get it moving down those abandoned rail tracks.
During one test, a roaring winter storm rolled in over the mountains. Matt added zip tie ‘chains’ to the wheels to provide traction, and although a nearby truck became stopped in the ice, Matt’s trike plodded on, allowing him just enough room to reach where he wanted to go. Once parked, the burner fired up, and the tricycle transformed into a proper small shelter; all he needed was food for the night and a few hours of flickering light from the LEDs.
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