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Architecture

An Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Look at the FireFly, an Ultra-Compact Camping Trailer Inspired by Space Travel

By Glen Taylor - October 23, 2013

After spending several years in the habitation department at NASA, developing living spaces for the International Space Station as well as multiple off earth exploration vehicles, designer Garrett Finney left in 2009 to launch his dream recreational vehicle, the Cricket trailer. At the recent Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, Finney introduced a prototype of the FireFly, an even more compact and utilitarian next-gen trailer, designed to fit in the back of a pickup truck or be towed by a small car.

The FireFly's interior is minimal, lined with folding bench tops for the sleeping/living surface with room for storage underneath. Although he initially hopes to attract the eco-campers who require the robustness of a trailer and the serious off-roader, Finney also envisions industrial or disaster-relief applications, such as deploying temporary base camps in remote and disaster stricken areas. Working with the small team of Evan Twyford (recruited from NASA in 2012) and Cricket Lead Designer Brian Black, the FireFly was designed in a three-week blitz after several months of sketching, mockups and CAD modelling.

"We worked with one of our local metal vendors to cut and fabricate the majority of the exo-skeleton," Black says of the development process. "Most of these skeletal components were laser cut and bent sheet aluminum which, when fastened together, create rigid structures."

Combined with the welded square tube sections, this created a rugged yet light weight architecture. We borrowed many construction methods and materials from our NASA/aerospace design experience as well as our experience designing and manufacturing with the Cricket such as the use of light weight yet highly insulative composite panels. These panels are high R-value, inch thick architectural siding with .04inch aluminum skin and an eps foam core. This use of aluminum and composites allowed us to create the rugged volume seen with this prototype while keeping it weight at just over 600lbs.

Firefly with deployable lander leg package. Concept sketch by Evan Twyford.

Early Firefly concepts depict the living module with anodized aluminum exterior 'exo-frame' members that tie into extruded aluminum shipping pallets. The pallets allow units to be stacked and shipped easily. This idea was later traded for increased interior stowage volume. Concept sketch by Evan Twyford.

Solidworks CAD assembly.

A second generation prototype of the FireFly is scheduled to launch early next year, you can learn more about the project at TAXAFireFly.com.

Glen Taylor

Coffee black, whiskey neat, and chocolate dark!

16 Comments

Camp

4 years ago

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Your team made this uber complicated as only the very educated are able. It's as if the people that designed this have only read about RVs, and camping. Give a good DIY guy and his drinking buddy 1 week and 1/4 of the budget you pissed away and they'll beat the snot of this hapless design.
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Mike

5 years ago

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I have to agree with David, putting the beams inside would do a lot. I can see thin storage cabinets or even rope net pockets inside, and the exterior smooth look would match the vehicles' look better.

Overall, I love the idea. It's like an update to the classic teardrop trailer style of camping. More headroom would be awesome, as well as taking advantage of negative under space after jacking up / driving away the truck.
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Ken J

5 years ago

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Eliminate the forklift & give the legs more function by making it possible to deploy the camper.
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David

5 years ago

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v1.0 is almost so spartan to me that I wonder, why not just a tent.
v2.0 would benefit from:
-a v birth with desk/table at one end (like the cricket) and somewhat more permanent cubbies underneath
-a 12v system with built in solar!
-the upper half exoskeleton should be reversed to add that much more space inside. I know this messes with the leg bracket hangers, but still it would be a good move. Then you could also do away with the sharp looking inside bungie angle iron.
-somehow make the areas cut away for the wheel well of the truck/trailer. I know this is different vehicle to vehicle, but boy is that unused space.
-a ceiling that expands like the cricket! That's your signature!
-a set plan for an outdoor cooking station - I'm thinking of how tear-drop trailers have this in mind.
On a whole though, v1.0 is still so exciting!
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Thijmen

5 years ago

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@damnrobert
I guess the idea is that you get the legs to lift it from the truck bed and then drive from underneath it.
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Spri

5 years ago

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fantastic concept, especially the disaster relief idea that is sure to pad your wallet if this takes off in that direction. however, i feel like the interior could be pimped out a bit more at low cost. solar arrays on top, a small fridge unit, etc. might be dumb ideas - just brainstorming, but you get my drift.
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Eric

5 years ago

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Nice to see the process, hope the article is good for business.
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trimtab21

5 years ago

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pretty cool! but i think it is over engineered a bit. Considering the length, does it really need four verticals with such a short span? also, some space could be gained if the part that fits inside the truck bed was not angled
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Daniel C

5 years ago

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I'm in love with your sketching.
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Camp Gab

5 years ago

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This thing looks awesome! I could definitely see it used for off road. It looks very durable.
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Phil

5 years ago

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Off-the-charts cool.
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Tom Wykes

5 years ago

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It's a great design nice and simple, which is what folk want for a quick weekend trip away.
I can't help thinking though. If the legs were longer there's a ground floor space that could be the living area with a simple awning to keep the weather off, no need for walls.
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Daniel Yorba

5 years ago

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Loved seeing the hand sketches. The concept itself looks to have a lot of promise as well. Could be a good alternative for the weekender RV crowd. Nice work.
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slippyfish

5 years ago

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NASA-derived camping trailers? This sh*t is the sh*t. Awesome. Please make it fit the Raptor (5.5" bed).

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Damnrobert

5 years ago

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So it takes a forklift to install it in a pickup but once you're in the desert you can easily remove it from the truck bed and deploy the landing legs?

Also - the interior space is so small it doesn't seem possible to comfortably fit more than one person. Who wants to camp alone?

Where do you prepare, store, or eat your food?

The interior looks about as welcoming as the space station.

Sorry - not for me.

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Thijmen

5 years ago

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Awesome, and nice to see a camping design that's not driven by the usual home/cosiness factors. It might even be a little too industrial for the market, but I love it.
I do wonder about the price though.
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