A HIKE IN DEMAND
Taxa Outdoors churns out “camping machines” in COVID era.
Taxa Outdoors moved into a factory more than triple the size of its previous Heights location to meet a surge in demand for trailer campers spurred by COVID-19.
The company, which has a backlog of 650 units, has capacity to make 3,000 units annually at the nearly 70,000-square-foot headquarters at 7930 Blankenship Drive near U.S. 290 and Loop 610.
CEO Garrett Finney, who previously worked on the design of a Habitation Module for the International Space Station as a senior architect for NASA, put his knowledge to work to develop “camping machines” with the essentials for exploring the outdoors.
“We make what we call mobile habitats, which is adventure equipment that you sleep in,” Finney said. “We really try to serve the gray area between the full on house-on-wheels (RVs), where you might as well be home, and sleeping on the ground.”
With his own family in mind, Finney designed the first model, the Cricket, for two adults and two kids, with a layout that maximizes the use of every surface. The campers, which are light enough to be towed by automobiles, are primarily made of aluminum, steel and wood.
Production began to ramp up in 2014, and three other models, also named after insects, followed. They range from the 10-foot-longWoolly Bear, starting at $11,800, with an outdoor kitch
en and platform for a tent up top, to the 19-foot Mantis, starting at $41,950. The Mantis sleeps four adults, plus three or four more in the rooftop tent, and has an inside toilet and shower.
The pandemic opened up options for families who want to be outdoors, have a sabbatical or home school their children.
“All of a sudden, COVID make it possible — acceptable — for them to be away from work to school on the road,” said Taxa
President Divya Brown.
The demographic for the company’s campers is families where parents camped in tents growing up and want to get closer to nature, have unique experiences with their kids, taking kayaks, bikes and outdoor gear in tow.
“They want to get out there, but they want it to be easy for them,” Brown said.
All of the units are designed to fit in a garage for storage, but
some customers use them in the backyard as a quarantine unit or writing studio or guest suite, Finney said.
Taxa is slated to make 1,200 units this year, up from 430 in 2020, Brown said. The company is producing three new Overland models, which “provide all of the necessities for travel deep into the unexplored.”
The surge in business comes as towable RV shipments rose to 38,485 units in November, a 46
percent increase compared to November 2019, according to the RV Industry Association.
The new facility, which employs 75 people, has three production lines, and 9,000 square feet for offices and a showroom. There will be a podcast studio, meeting area and community yoga space to support teh health and well-being of employees.