Core77
e
An Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Look at the FireFly, an Ultra-Compact Camping Trailer Inspired by Space Travel
By Glen Taylor - Oct 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.
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
-
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.!Report as spam
-
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.!Report as spam -
Eliminate the forklift & give the legs more function by making it possible to deploy the camper.!Report as spam
-
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!!Report as spam -
@damnrobert
I guess the idea is that you get the legs to lift it from the truck bed and then drive from underneath it.!Report as spam -
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.!Report as spam
-
Nice to see the process, hope the article is good for business.!Report as spam
-
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!Report as spam
-
I'm in love with your sketching.!Report as spam
-
This thing looks awesome! I could definitely see it used for off road. It looks very durable.!Report as spam
-
Off-the-charts cool.!Report as spam
-
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.!Report as spam -
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.!Report as spam
-
NASA-derived camping trailers? This sh*t is the sh*t. Awesome. Please make it fit the Raptor (5.5" bed).
!Report as spam -
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.
!Report as spam -
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.!Report as spam
Continued Reading
-
By Core Jr - Oct 18, 2013
This Week in EV Charging Stations: The HEVO Resonance-Charger Looks Like a Manhole Cover & Synthesis Design + Architecture's Portable Volvo-Charging Pavilion
[Editor's Note: This was adapted from a post on Synthesis Design + Architecture's PURETension charging concept for Volvo. It has been updated to include a related news item about HEVO Power's resonance charging system.]Reporting by Ray Hu and Rain NoeHEVO Power has been making headlines this week following the announcement...
-
By Rain Noe - Oct 14, 2013
Apple Shows Off Wicked Scale Model of Their Proposed 'Spaceship' HQ & Campus
Tomorrow, the Cupertino City Council will cast their final votes on Apple's dream headquarters design, giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the project. Which is why just a few days ago, Apple opened their doors to the Bay Area News Group for a rare glimpse at their in-house scale model...
-
By Shaun Fynn - Oct 08, 2013
Church, Mosque and State
Culture and belief often are often expressed through visual codes. The origin and meaning of these codes are full of rich influences driven by historical evolution, invasions and colonization of societies, combined with ideas of modernity, status and progress.The Indian state of Kerala is home to many unique visual messages...
-
By Ray Hu - Oct 07, 2013
Beijing Design Week 2013: Zhang Ke, Matali Crasset & Others Explore the Future of the Hutong
My earliest memories of hutong come from my first visits to China as a child: Pedicab drivers offering tours of Beijing's arcane labyrinth of largely unmarked alleyways that once demarcated the space between the city's traditional courtyard houses. Aside from the principle that upper class residences were closer to the...
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
