The Freakshow Camper of the Year Award Goes to This Custom Honda CRX Glamping Abomination

Folks, I recently ran across the works of one Jay Nelson, a designer and craftsman out of California with a passion for taking a timeless material like wood and transforming it into some very modern pieces. Aside from crafting works of art from this material, Jay also dabbles in creating boats and habitats like the Golden Gate, too. As for the project we'll be focusing on today, it's the Honda CRX Camper, a little one-off project that takes the famed vehicle to a level no dignified customs shop ever would.

Now, I'm still trying to figure out how this thing looks inside or if you're sleeping on some kind of platform supported by the CRX's rear window and hatch. None of that matters, honestly; it's a friggin Honda CRX with a camper shell on the back. That's enough to take this year's prize for "Freakshow Camper of the Year."

While there's no information about this camper design on Jay's webpage, it doesn't stop us from exploring what could be happening with this one, and all of this adventure starts with that base vehicle. Again, I don't think anyone has ever thought up something like this, but Jay pulled it off somehow. The only indication of how this camper is set up is a piece of paper with a pencil drawing of the completed machine.

Once a rather banged-up Honda has been acquired, it looks like Jay built a mobile habitat on top, with minimal modifications. Judging by how low that rear sits, no suspension work has been done. The bodywork looks in need of some love too. In layman's terms, this puppy is a budget camper.

But to slam a camper shell onto the shapes and lines of a CRX's body doesn't look like an easy task. After all, it's not built for this! But Jay does it by creating a sort of platform that's shaped to fit around the CRX's exterior, and it's on this platform that the camper is built, and yes, it's technically a cabover. If I could use laughing emojis in this text, it would be at this point. Furthermore, the steel bars from the cargo carrier also look like they're doing some securing of their own; the last thing you want is to hit the gas and run out from under your habitat like a Looney Toons scene.

Speaking of cartoons, one of the things that made me chuckle is this rolling cave's shape. Not only does it look like this thing is a giant snail trying to devour a CRX, but those two porthole windows give it a very Hobbit-like feel. I could easily see the tiny humanoids popping out of this bugger, and all would look and feel normal. Oh, god, what have they done to you, my dear CRX!?

Listen, if you need to glamp and need to do it now, solutions like this CRX Camper are genuine solutions. After all, how much money do you think went into building this freakshow? Leave a comment with your estimate, and then I'll reach out to Jay to see who was closest. At the end of the day, projects like these only prove a theory I've been building in recent times: you need very little moolah to start living the nomadic life.