Taxa Cricket Camper: Lightweight Camper of Your Dreams 2024 Review

Lightweight campers that super functional and have headroom are like a needle in a haystack. However, the TAXA Cricket camper aims to change that.

Usually, if you tell someone you want a camper that you can stand up in, cook in, and bring your whole family in that also weighs less than 3.5k lbs and fits in a garage, they would laugh in your face.

But that's not the case with the Cricket.

This little camper is one of the coolest RVs that I've ever seen! Let's get into the details.

All photos credit to TAXA Overland.

Table of Contents

What is the TAXA Cricket?

The TAXA Cricket camper is a lightweight and rugged travel trailer manufactured by the NASA architect minds at Taxa Outdoors.

This lightweight camper can do everything and it has plenty of room for the whole family.

And did I mention it’s super lightweight?

That’s right: the Cricket camper only weighs 1,800 pounds dry.

You can easily tow this travel trailer with most small to midsize SUVs on the market today.

Personally, I’m a little obsessed with TAXA, their mission, and the Cricket camper. And I think after this article you might be too.

About TAXA Outdoors

TAXA Outdoors doesn’t call their campers “campers” – instead, they call them “mobile habitats”.

Garret Finney is the founder of Taxa, and he takes pride in being an ‘RV industry outsider’.

Finney is a former senior architect for NASA’s Habitability Design Center, and his experience clearly shines through in his Taxa designs.

RVs have been built the same for decades – and sometimes the industry needs a fresh eye.

So, instead of building the same old boring RVs, Finney has designed several models of mobile human habitats that are built for adventuring.

Millennials, Gen Z, and the entire van life trend are proving that we don't want to see more giant, gas guzzling rigs on the road with paper-thin walls, particle board cabinets, and 60 inch TVs.

Instead, we want to see more versatile and intentional travel vehicles… And I think all the TAXA habitats fit the bill perfectly.

TAXA is focused on sustainable building materials and practices.

From their website:

“Our perspective on sustainability goes far beyond the obvious. A lightweight and durable TAXA habitat lasts a lifetime and requires less vehicle power to tow. The shape is designed to travel efficiently at highway speeds. And the thoughtful interior design means you can, quite literally, do more with less.”

Unlike most of the rest of the RV industry, TAXA habitats are built one at a time by skilled craftsmen in Houston, Texas.

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The Cricket Camper Can Easily Sleep a Family of Four

That’s right – the TAXA Cricket can sleep a family of four.

The Cricket camper has sleeping room for two adults and two children.

This small-yet-powerful camper has a full bed with plenty of under-bed storage. The full bed converts into a dinette during the day for eating space for the whole family.

And for the kids, there are two cots that hang from the ceiling above the full bed and easily stow away when not in use.

If you want a camper that is lightweight, rugged, and has a major focus on functionality, this versatile trailer might be perfect for you.

What’s the Difference Between a TAXA Cricket Camper and the Cricket Overland?

TAXA Outdoors offers the Cricket Camper and Cricket Overland. So what’s the difference?

The Overland Edition of the Cricket Camper is everything great about the regular Cricket camper, but a little more rugged and weighs a few hundred pounds more.

The Cricket Overland has increased ground clearance for navigating rough terrain.

This camper features an axle-less design for a quiet and smooth ride, with a 4” lift to go anywhere you want.

Another overlanding feature is an articulating lock n’ roll hitch that has 360 degrees of rotation so you’re not stressing the hitch while off-roading.

The Overland edition also comes with all terrain tires that are perfect for off-road conditions in dirt, gravel, mud, and more.

Finally, the Cricket Overland comes in two colors: white and titanium.

Regular Cricket Ground Clearance: 11″

Cricket Overland Ground Clearance: 14″

Cricket Camper Video Tour

TAXA Cricket Camper Interior

The Cricket Camper is a pop-top pop up camper with everything a family of four needs for eating, sleeping, and enjoying life on the road.

The kitchen features a large kitchen counter with a two burner cookstove and deep, covered sink.

Stovetop and Sink

Also in the kitchen is a storage tower of milk crate drawers and a control panel.

Control panel below sink with storage

Storage tower with optional toilet

Moving into the living area, the Cricket Camper has a removable table for the dinette that converts into a full sized bed for sleeping.

Rear bed turned into dinette for day time use

There's 25 cubic feet of storage underneath the convertible bed and dinette.

Above the dinette in the pop top, two kids bunks hang from the ceiling for sleeping and easily stow away during the day.

There are plenty of windows along the pop top portion of the camper and below for plenty of natural light and air flow.

TAXA Cricket Exterior and Features

The Cricket camper has two doors: a front entry door on the side, and a large rear hatch opening on the back.

These doors combined with all the windows allow for plenty of natural light and air flow and make the space feel much larger than it is.

Two 20lb propane tanks sit on the tongue of the camper. The Cricket also has a Truma furnace and water heater and a compartment for battery storage.

On the rear of the camper you’ll find a powder-coated steel step bumper for easy access to the optional Thule ProBar Evo roof top cargo storage rack.

This camper comes with a 15 gallon fresh water tank and city water hookup, a 16 gallon grey water tank, a 12v roof vent fan, an exterior hot and cold shower, and is all wired up for solar.

There are plenty of LED lights and 12v power outlets throughout the camper, on both the interior and exterior.

When you're all done, you can store the Cricket in your garage. With the pop-top down, this camper is only 6′ 11″ tall and 15′ long.

Optional Upgrades for the Cricket Camper

Upgrades you want, and upgrades you get with the TAXA Cricket.

Optional upgrades include:

Or, you can upgrade the whole camper to the Overland Edition.

How Long is a TAXA Cricket Camper?

The overall exterior length of a Cricket Camper is 15 feet from the rear to the front of the trailer tongue.

How Tall Is It?

The exterior height of the camper when closed is 6 foot, 11 inches. When the pop top is open, the exterior height sits right at 9 feet.

The interior height when closed is 4 foot, 2 inches. And, when the pop top is open, the interior is 6 feet 10 inches tall in the tallest portion.

How Much does the TAXA Cricket Weigh?

The regular Taxa Cricket camper has a dry weight of 1,800 pounds and a GVWR of 2,700 pounds. The Cricket Overland edition has a dry weight of 2,000 pounds and a GVWR of 3,000 pounds.

The “dry weight” is how much the camper weighs with nothing in it: no water, batteries, or personal belongings.

The “GVWR” or gross vehicle weight rating is how much the camper can weigh when it’s fully loaded.

What Kind of Vehicle Do You Need to Tow the Cricket?

Believe it or not, you don't need a very big vehicle to tow this lightweight RV trailer.

The TAXA weighs 1,800 pounds unloaded and has a max weight of 2,700 pounds fully loaded.

That means that you can tow this camper trailer with certain sedans, cars, SUVs, hybrids, and small pickup trucks.

The general rule of thumb for vehicle towing capacity is to not pull a camper or trailer that weighs more than 80% of your max capacity.

However, if you're only going short distances, you can go a little over that number.

That means you need a vehicle that's rated to tow at least 3,200 pounds to effortlessly pull the TAXA Cricket camper.

Here are a few vehicles that can tow over 3,200 pounds:

Subaru Outback: 3,500 lbs
Honda Pilot: 3,500 lbs
Chrysler Pacifica: 3,500 lbs
Kia Telluride: 3,500 lbs

How Much Does the TAXA Cricket Cost?

The base price of a TAXA Cricket camper without added options is $32,439. The fully-loaded price is $36,965 with all available options.

Options include:

Kids bunk set
Thule Roof Rack
Soft Goods Package with Awning, Screen Door, and Shower Tent
5,000 BTU Air Conditioner
Portable toilet

You can buy a TAXA Cricket camper directly through the Taxa Outdoors website with a refundable $2,000 deposit.

The deposit is refundable until the unit is in production. Since these campers are built one by one, there is about an 8-10 week wait time.

The Cricket Overland has a base price of $43,745 and that goes up to $44,628 with added options.

Pros and Cons of the TAXA Cricket Camper

TAXA Cricket Review Summary

Carrie Wilder

Carrie has a passion for location independence and nomadic lifestyles. After traveling full-time in an RV and living the van life, she created Making Money and Traveling to help others make the switch to a remote lifestyle. Learn more about Carrie on the About page or connect on social media below.