Earthroamer XV-JP, in general

[kjp1969]

Does anyone other than Mr. Hiscox actually own one of these? The Expeditions West vehicle is apparently no more, and a quick Google didn't turn up any owner pages. Unlike the big ER's, I don't see them around, ever. I don't find a dedicated message board, unlike SMB.

I'm curious about how many were made and sold, how often they come up for resale, and what they sell for.

 

[WhereTheHellIsJames?]

You probably don't see them around, because there were (as far as I've been told by EarthRoamer) only a handful made. I don't know which one Expeditions West had, but Mike's is serial # 003. I suspect that there are fewer than 20 of these vehicles out there, and wouldn't be at all surprised if I was told that there were fewer than a dozen. You might try and get in touch with EarthRoamer for real data about units produced, and current new vehicle pricing. As far as used vehicles, I've seen 3 come up for sale (including the one that Mike bought).

 

[haven]

The XV-JP was introduced in January, 2007. A couple were built in Spring 2007. The sub-prime loan crisis started in mid-2007, and USA was in full recession by the end of 2007. People stopped spending on discretionary items like new RVs. Many RV companies closed their doors or filed for bankruptcy protection when banks stopped making business loans in 2008.

I'd guess that fewer than 20 XV-JP models have been sold. Another guess: About 120 of the larger XV-LT models have been sold. Production of the XV-LT has resumed. I'm not sure about the XV-JP.

 

[mhiscox]

Perhaps Bill will provide the exact number, but I got the idea that there were maybe fifteen made. I have mine. Australian Martin Wright has a unique right-hand drive conversion which he has used extensively for impressive trips across his continent. I've corresponded with Martin and, indeed, need to send him a link to the build thread so he can see what we've done. (Interestingly, once it was surplus to our plans, we sent the big pressurized strut that raises the roof in the ER design to Martin so he'd have a spare.)

ExPo's Scott Brady had one for a while, using it for his Central America trip, but disposed of his not too long thereafter and I do not know where it went. It was great having a person with Scott's experience owning the same truck, as he was able to provide good recommendations from time to time. In particular, Scott changed his XV-JPs suspension to the Nth Degree/AEV setup and was thus in a position to recommend it to me when I asked how to improve the original setup.

Beyond these three, I know of three others that have passed through EarthRoamer's website to be sold, but I don't know who got them or if they actually sold. One was a new, very fancy black one with air suspension and a matching Adventure Trailer. Another was, IIRC, white with low miles, and the third was #001, which was the green vehicle which went to Central America and is the "only motorhome to run the Rubicon Trail." It is the green unit, which had something over 50K miles when offered, that is in most of the pictures shown on the ER website.

The XV-JP was introduced in January, 2007. A couple were built in Spring 2007. The sub-prime loan crisis started in mid-2007, and USA was in full recession by the end of 2007.

I was not/am not, of course, aware of any of EarthRoamer's actual plans, but I do know that they were aware of shortcomings with the XV-JP, especially with their tent design, and were looking for ways to improve things when their financial crisis hit. At the very least, there was talk of a correctly-designed rain fly, and also of a cool-sounding screen room attachment that would have attached to the underside (the top side when closed) of the open tent to provide an enclosed space right out your back door.

 

[alosix]

One was a new, very fancy black one with air suspension and a matching Adventure Trailer.

I believe this one showed up @ AEV to have the air suspension swapped over to the Nth kit. I thought that was kinda odd given the weight of the truck the AiRock would have been a good match (same springs I run, and my TJ does better on the road the heavier I load it).

Jason

 

[kjp1969]

Perhaps Bill will provide the exact number, but I got the idea that there were maybe fifteen made.

That's the kind of numbers I was thinking about too. I used to think that this was the perfect camper for its size, but it appears to have shortcomings as well, price aside. It seems that in the $100k range, there is also a lot of very worthy competition.