TAXA Outdoors’ Celestial Camper: A Stargazer’s Delight

For the uninitiated, TAXA Outdoors’ claim that their latest offering, the Dark Sky Mantis overlanding trailer, draws inspiration from celestial phenomena might seem like a stretch. However, upon delving deeper, one discovers that this NASA-inspired approach to designing recreational habitats on wheels is more than mere marketing rhetoric.

The connection to the space agency runs deep, with TAXA’s CEO, Garrett Finney, previously serving as a senior architect at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. His tenure at the Habitability Design Center, dedicated to engineering human-focused living spaces aboard the International Space Station, has imbued Finney with a specialized knowledge of small spaces and the equipment necessary for survival in the most extreme environments.

Leveraging this expertise once devoted to the highest stakes of outer space exploration, Finney now channels his talents into designing overland campers like the Mantis. Outfitted to accommodate four adults within its 105-square-foot interior, the trailer shares some of the same attributes as a spacecraft, with a meticulous focus on efficient storage solutions.

Beyond its compact living quarters, the Dark Sky Mantis boasts an indoor kitchen area, built-in shower, toilet, air conditioning, furnace, and a 180° Batwing awning, allowing travelers to extend their living space outdoors. Taking the spacecraft analogy further, the trailer is pre-wired for solar panels and battery storage, enabling off-grid operation and independence from electrical hookups.

For those seeking distant campsites off the beaten path, the special edition receives an Overland Upgrade, featuring an axel-less suspension offering an additional 3 inches of clearance, rugged all-terrain tires, 16-inch alloy wheels, and an articulating Lock ‘N’ Roll hitch with 360-degree rotation and three-axis movement.

However, the feature that will undoubtedly turn heads, whether parked in the driveway or stationed as a backcountry basecamp, is the custom matte wrap Dark Sky colorway. Accessorized with limited edition graphics and matching dark wheels, the special edition Mantis leans into its eclipse theme from front to back, with an enormous graphic of its namesake adorning the trailer hitch.

Akin to the fleeting nature of a solar eclipse, the TAXA Outdoors Dark Sky Mantis is a transient special edition offering, available for pre-order for only one week, from April 8th to 15th, 2024, beckoning stargazers and adventurers alike to secure their celestial camper before it vanishes from the market.