Minimalist Honda N-TRUCK and N-CAMPER Are Just Too Darn Cute

Once upon a time in America, the average middle-class citizen was more than content to spend their nights in a cozy teardrop trailer as they crossed this great country of ours. Nowadays though, many campers are the equivalent of McMansions on wheels, massive land yachts that, in my humble opinion, dilutes the purpose of going camping in the first place.

We love us some tiny campers, and after seeing this pair of concepts, I feel like…Honda gets me. The N-TRUCK and N-CAMPER concepts are an adorable exercise in minimalist excursions that still bring some semblance of comfort, without going overboard. The N-CAMPER can sleep two in its loft-style bed, and the pictures show ample room available to kick back and just hang out. But on the flip side, there’s not too much going on here that would discourage one from wanting to go outside and explore your surroundings, whether it be a music festival or a national forest.

Unfortunately for Honda, the kei car culture is starting to die out as government support for the micro-cars is drying up. That’s been the main reason kei cars don’t really do well outside of Japan, and as cool as concepts like the N-CAMPER are, once it came down to cost and utility, I doubt it’d make a whole lot of sense. Consider that for less than $10,000, you can buy yourself a 27-foot vintage Airstream trailer that is bigger, cheaper, and frankly every bit as cool as this micro-camper, and I can’t blame Honda for trotting this out as a concept, and not a production model.

I do however think the market for minimalist camping trailers is making a comeback, and maybe the N-CAMPER will inspire something more than just my imagination, some day.