Size matters: Park Liner stuffs plenty of space into a tight place, proving that good things come in small pack.

• Author: Martin, Edward
• Position: PICTURE THIS

He's just learning the business ropes, Chandler Palethorpe of Gibsonville says. After all, Park Liner Inc., which manufactures lightweight travel trailers in Gibsonville, is built on the unlikely principle that less is more. "I've had a lifelong interest in small-space architecture," he says. "This is a chance for me to put that to use." ParkLiners can be towed behind a minivan and navigate tight fast-food drive-thrus but are large enough to incorporate a queen-size bed, kitchen, stand-up shower and other amenities.

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Palethorpe enjoyed backcountry hiking and camping growing up in Chapel Hill and while studying biology at Carolina in the late '80s. After marrying and starting a family, he turned to car camping--packing a tent and living out of the trunk--and pop-up campers. The family eventually settled on hard-shell camping trailers. He bought his first in 2000, but during a trip to the beach, wife Emily complained about how much space the table took up. Could he, she wondered, design one that folded flat against the wall or became part of a bed? He decided he could.

Palethorpe, who had owned landscaping, remodeling and other businesses, started the company in 2007, and with about $500,000 in startup money of his own and from friends built mock-ups in his Gibsonville garage. "Most big companies would have a team for design and engineering. I had me." Working from the inside out, Palethorpe, now 51, drew on his family's experiences. The result is an interior 12 feet long, 6 feet 10 inches wide and 6 feet 5 inches high. In less than half the size of a typical hotel room, ParkLiners sleep four, have 21 linear feet of cabinets, molded fiberglass furniture and 15-gallon water and 30-gallon waste tanks. Base models start at about $16,000, though options such as refrigerators can drive the price to $20,000. The upholstery is Sunbrella, a fade-proof and stain-resistant fabric made by Glen Raven Inc.

Palethorpe designed a two-piece fiberglass shell in which, among other things, cabinets are glued in with industrial methacrylate adhesive, stiffening the trailers while reducing weight and avoiding rivet holes that can leak and create cracks. Using boat technology, he goes to exceptional lengths in...