The cataravane

Aurélien Dupuis is a member of the experts, he uses and tests our tools and gives us feedback to improve them. He also shares with us his projects and his construction and bricolage tips.

Discover the project of the Cataravan, created by Aurélien Dupuis with the objective of alerting on the global warming and the rise of water. 

The concept of the Cataravane

« This caravan is the physical support of a character from the future, in 2048 in the Gulf of Morbihan. It tells the daily life in this dwelling, in the heart of a community of ecologist scientists, living in the gulf covered by the rising waters.
It is a concept that includes a retro futuristic narrative to alert us to global warming and rising waters. »

The work was exposed at the conservatory of Vannes in July, on the port of the city.

Wood and metal work

This project involves a lot of metal work. It required all the classic do-it-yourself tools in all trades: a screwdriver, a soldering station, a liquid crystal mask that closes automatically for soldering, all the Fartools accessories such as clamps, vices, a hacksaw, an angle grinder, a saber saw, a belt sander and a tube sander, and even a renovator for the wood parts, which also helped strip the metal.

Woodworking was really minor on this project, which was mostly about the connecting parts between the trailer and the floats.

The comfort of a single battery

« As with many of my collaborative projects, I love the Fartools tools and the XFIT line with a single battery for all the tools. It's really great for these types of projects and very easy to pick up. »

Do a lot with a few tools

The structural part is made of assembly, welding and sleeving of metal bars. They made the connection between the hulls and the caravan. « We made an exoskeleton and a frame placed around the caravan to attach the various accessories. » The tubes are alternately bent, cut, ground, sleeved and welded with very few tools.
« In the world of metal, there are few tools. That's why in this business we make our own tools. For example, we make a holder before we grind a part.
For metal work, which represents 80% of the work on this project, we can do everything with just a welding machine, a grinder and a drill and screw machine.

The stages of construction

The first step is to build the stanchions, the supports used to raise the caravan and which will allow to remove and put back the different elements.

« We determine the aesthetic proportions of the object to be made and then we pre-position the elements to refine the details. There is no 3D design for a project like this, nor is there a plan drawn in advance, so everything is adapted at the time of construction. So everything is adapted at the time of construction." Each element is positioned so measurements and structural studies can be made. We then determine how to fix and connect the different elements so that it fits, on the one hand, but also so that it meets aesthetic requirements, almost to the centimeter. »

Then comes the stage of construction of the basic frame and the assembly of the floats, which will allow to come to graft the exoskeleton and the small deckings, platforms in front and in the back. Only then are all the small accessories installed, from the largest to the smallest. When everything is pre-assembled and welded, we dismantle the structure again to paint everything before reassembling it, greasing it and adjusting it. « Everything must fit together perfectly. »

Many little things were done on the side, like sewing for the flag or cutting stickers for the writings. « Iit took us 3 weeks, two of us, without subcontracting anything. We did everything at La Grande Berthe, my artist's residence in Berthenay. »

The cataravane can be dismantled very quickly and can be transported with two cars. « The caravan becomes mobile again after dismantling. The floats are installed on a large trailer and it's done! »

More projects to come

Aurélien still has other projects of caravan hijacking.
In particular, he is preparing an "accordion" caravan that will allow the chairs and the table to be raised to a height of 14 or 15 m, thanks to an elevator hidden under the caravan. It will be the subject of a future article.