In Germany this June, the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2022 in the category Product Design was won by EdgeOut, a South African-designed world-first rotomoulded teardrop camper-trailer for use on tar and gravel roads.
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South Africa has taken centre stage in the international design industry. EdgeOut – a world-first rotomoulded teardrop camper-trailer designed for use on tar and gravel roads – was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Design Award 2022 in the category Product Design.
A total of 7 900 entries from 60 countries from across the globe were submitted in this category. With this award, EdgeOut and its designer Retief Krige Industrial Design in Stellenbosch, find themselves in the company of internationals such as Ferrari, Philips, Google, Lenovo, HP and Siemens, and now have the approval to use the coveted Red Dot seal as an acknowledged international seal of outstanding design quality. With a longstanding and distinguished reputation as the authority on good design, Red Dot often serves as the media's reference for features on the latest design trends and noteworthy companies.
Retief Krige’s low-weight EdgeOut teardrop camper-trailer consists of two individual, linear-mounted rotomoulded low-density polyethylene sections. The one section is a comfortable sleeping pod or cabin (the bedroom) and the other a compact, well-equipped cooking and entertainment area (the kitchen). These are aesthetically secured together and mounted onto a galvanised steel trailer chassis.
From a design and user perspective, it draws attention for its spaciousness, innovative design and a host of technical features. It has a rugged and bold shape, with a faceted design approach, which was made possible by using an innovative mould construction method using bent sheet metal plates welded together.
The pioneering use of roto-moulding technology as a first in the field of teardrop camper-trailer design, gave the designer the freedom to break away from the traditional design approach. While the traditional teardrop trailer uses flat panel construction methods, rotomoulding allows for a full 3D-created shape in all directions, while still keeping the teardrop-shaped silhouette. This unique EdgeOut design identity was repeated in all accessories and fittings to emphasise the design concept throughout.
While rotomoulding technology is generally applied to produce single, standalone items, the EdgeOut design aesthetically combines blow-moulded items to produce a functional product. Polyethylene materials are used for the two rotomoulded pods and are favoured in industry for their long lifespan in the outdoors, and for being high in recycling value. Rotomoulding technology also allows for lower material and production costs, as compared to traditional camper-trailers.
EdgeOut – with the rotomoulded components produced by 4EVR Plastic Products and manufacturing done by EdgeOut, which are both Cape Town-based companies – is positioned at the top end of the camping market and is ideal for those not wanting to use either bulky caravans or tents and are now seeking to enter the camper-trailer domain. The camper-trailer’s insulated sleeping cabin features a near-queen-size mattress, as well as an array of cleverly-located overhead cabinets and various shelves and cubbies that provide an abundance of storage space. The tailgate galley provides for a full-width countertop with two slide-out drawers underneath. One drawer accommodates a built-in glass-top dual-burner gas stove, sink faucet and bucket, as well as storage drawers. The other holds a built-in refrigerator or cooler. The trailer also features a microwave oven – rather atypical for a rugged teardrop trailer!
Water is stored in a 110 ℓ water tank and distributed via a built-in 12 V pump. This, together with the trailer’s built-in LED lighting, is powered by a deep-cycle battery. Included is a charging system that can be hooked up to the vehicle or wired to optional solar panels.
Being of a seamless design, both pods are totally waterproof and dustproof, with the sleeping cabin well-insulated to ensure a quiet and cool interior. It has a gross weight of below 750 kg, which falls within the legal towing category for light vehicles.
In a letter to EdgeOut announcing the award, Peter Zec – Founder and CEO of Red Dot – pointed out that the entry received a distinction in its category and that it had emerged victorious from a strong group of participants: testimony to the extraordinary quality of the product. This was reiterated by the Red Dot Award Jury which said: “With its innovative construction and distinctive exterior design, the EdgeOut conveys robustness and mobility, and will attract a lot of attention.”