EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"

[zimm]

any idea what you weigh wet, with bike?

 

[mhiscox]

any idea what you weigh wet, with bike?

Yep. The XR629R weighs right at 300 pounds, the Big Ruckus scooter is 350, the Trail 90 is about 200. All seem to ride well on the Joe Hauler carrier, which adds another 50 pounds.

The XV-JP weighs right at 7000 pounds loaded. Interestingly, it weighed the same 7K pounds when I got it. All the stuff added on my watch almost exactly balanced the heavy LofTop mechanism, big fridge and other ER stuff we took out.

This sounded appallingly heavy when I got it, and it did wallow a bit on its original Teraflex suspension, but Scott Brady, who had one for a while, suggested I get the heavier 4.5 inch rear springs as part of the Nth Degree (now AEV) suspension, and since that swap, it's handled really well with no real effect on the handling from being overweight. And each of the tires is good for 3195 pounds, so no issues there. Plus, it doesn't perform too poorly, mostly because of the 5.13 gears (auto/33s), though I'd love this truck even more with the 3.6's 282 horsepower.

About the only place the porkiness shows up is in the fuel economy, where the most common result is something between 13 and 14 mpg. Some of this is bad aerodynamics--you can hear it fighting the wind--but the weight is likely the biggest factor.

 

[McBride]

Probably not--it's about 3K miles of driving--but thanks for the segue opportunity . . .

Because SprinterFest sponsor Upscale Automotive did a bunch of work in the truck's early days, and because Paul Jensen did the interior, the XV-JP got invited to be in the vendor area (probably at Paul's display) at Northwest SprinterFest on Saturday, April 12th. So while McBride probably isn't going to drive up from New Mexico for the day, anyone in the Portland, OR, area who'd like to see the truck is encouraged to come. And the new Sprinter conversion Paul's been working on
(http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/121227) will be finished up by then and also be in Paul's display.

Oh man. The XV-JP wants to come. Road trips are the best. The miles will fly by and you'll be super relaxed by the time you get there. I'll bring lots of food and drink. Springtime sabbatical! European length holiday!

I know. I'm not one to talk.

 

[mk216v]

Yep. The XR629R weighs right at 300 pounds, the Big Ruckus scooter is 350, the Trail 90 is about 200. All seem to ride well on the Joe Hauler carrier, which adds another 50 pounds.

The XV-JP weighs right at 7000 pounds loaded. Interestingly, it weighed the same 7K pounds when I got it. All the stuff added on my watch almost exactly balanced the heavy LofTop mechanism, big fridge and other ER stuff we took out.

This sounded appallingly heavy when I got it, and it did wallow a bit on its original Teraflex suspension, but Scott Brady, who had one for a while, suggested I get the heavier 4.5 inch rear springs as part of the Nth Degree (now AEV) suspension, and since that swap, it's handled really well with no real effect on the handling from being overweight. And each of the tires is good for 3195 pounds, so no issues there. Plus, it doesn't perform too poorly, mostly because of the 5.13 gears (auto/33s), though I'd love this truck even more with the 3.6's 282 horsepower.

About the only place the porkiness shows up is in the fuel economy, where the most common result is something between 13 and 14 mpg. Some of this is bad aerodynamics--you can hear it fighting the wind--but the weight is likely the biggest factor.

Handles the corners LOTS better than my G, sad to say(I need an XV-JP now....).
And it's much more fun to drive with 92oct and appropriate software mapping.

 

[SamM]

Wow, 13 to 14mpg. Have you thought about putting a Diesel engine in it? I'd be looking at a 4BT. You could ditch the auto transmission too. Great thread and build!

SamM

 

[mhiscox]

Wow, 13 to 14mpg. Have you thought about putting a Diesel engine in it? I'd be looking at a 4BT. You could ditch the auto transmission too. Great thread and build!

Thanks for the compliments, Sam, and for the idea of the engine swap. Perhaps someone who lived in a state with lax emission enforcement who had enough talent to do the work him- or herself might want to undertake this swap on an older Jeep simply because it'd be a really cool truck when finished. But with the more computerized JK, living in a state where the truck would get an instant fail as soon as they hooked the emissions computer to the OBDII plug, and not having the talent to do it myself out of used parts, it's not too attractive.

The installed cost of a BT4 and a manual transmission--estimated at $25,000 on the Bruiser Conversions cost calculator--is enough to buy enough fuel for about 90,000 miles, and we'll not even speculate on how well my truck would perform with its horsepower cut in half. Overall, given that it's a self-contained motorhome that performs pretty well, I'm neither surprised by nor unhappy with my fuel economy. Others might have a different opinion, though even they might not find the engine/tranny swap you proposed to be cost effective.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

... and we'll not even speculate on how well my truck would perform with its horsepower cut in half.

13-14 mpg for that beast doesn't sound too bad. But I tell ya... Once you go diesel you will never go back. That sucker would do JUST FINE with half the hp and twice the torque. Granted... I'll admit I've had a big gulp of the diesel "Cool-Aid" but conversely don't knock until you've tried it. If they would have put a diesel in the 2014 JK as there were rumors flying around as such my bank account would have taken a HUGE hit.

 

[mhiscox]

That sucker would do JUST FINE with half the hp and twice the torque.

I'm 100% with you on the benefits of diesel torque, and it's the thing that's made my 154 hp inline-5 Sprinters workable. But the specs I saw had the BT4 at 105 horsepower and 265 pound-feet of torque. That's only 10% more torque than the 245 from the 3.8 liter V-6 I've got, and though it's admittedly at much lower rpm, it's still not all I'd want for a truck this heavy.

Give me the 3.0 liter diesel that's in the Grand Cherokee (240 hp/420 torque); now that would work a treat. :sombrero:

 

[mk216v]

Thanks for the compliments, Sam, and for the idea of the engine swap. Perhaps someone who lived in a state with lax emission enforcement who had enough talent to do the work him- or herself might want to undertake this swap on an older Jeep simply because it'd be a really cool truck when finished. But with the more computerized JK, living in a state where the truck would get an instant fail as soon as they hooked the emissions computer to the OBDII plug, and not having the talent to do it myself out of used parts, it's not too attractive.

The installed cost of a BT4 and a manual transmission--estimated at $25,000 on the Bruiser Conversions cost calculator--is enough to buy enough fuel for about 90,000 miles, and we'll not even speculate on how well my truck would perform with its horsepower cut in half. Overall, given that it's a self-contained motorhome that performs pretty well, I'm neither surprised by nor unhappy with my fuel economy. Others might have a different opinion, though even they might not find the engine/tranny swap you proposed to be cost effective.

Do remember that if it were diesel, you wouldn't have to go thru DEQ. I believe you'd just have to show OR DMV that it's diesel one time, and then you're good to go.

Once you run the numbers an engine swap, even to a Hemi, doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. Might as just live with the lower MPG and slightly longer time it takes for a trip(time which can be used to enjoy the scenery vs blow right by it).

 

[mhiscox]

Do remember that if it were diesel, you wouldn't have to go thru DEQ. I believe you'd just have to show OR DMV that it's diesel one time, and then you're good to go.

Ummm . . . Jeremy knows a lot more about this sort of thing than I do, but it was my understanding that all Oregon diesel cars and light trucks with a manufacturer's GVWR of 8500 pounds or less have to be emissions tested. I think this is right, as my T1N Sprinters just squeak by with GVWRs of 8550 pounds. (Bad record system though; every two years the DMV's paperwork includes the testing information as a requirement for re-registering, so every two years I send them another Declaration of Exemption.)

Once you run the numbers an engine swap, even to a Hemi, doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.

If I had a nickel for every time someone told me I should put the Hemi in it, I could buy . . . ummm, let's see . . . a Hemi. Seriously, when running on premium, the truck with the stock motor keeps up with traffic, goes any legal speed, merges fine, makes it up steep grades reasonably well; there's really nothing more I would expect or probably want. Besides, if you previously owned an 8-ton, 110 horsepower Unimog motorhome and a four ton 80 Series pulling a trailer, you'd feel like the world was flying by in the XV-JP. (Actually, if you gave me the choice between more power and a couple more gears in the transmission, I believe the gears would make a bigger improvement.)

 

[GR8ADV]

Mike, I think you should take yourself out of this engine bashing, you need a HEMI mess (high stress, not good for the heart kinda of stuff) and let me take the XV-JP off your hands. Only thinking of your health.

ken

 

[mhiscox]

Mike, I think you should take yourself out of this engine bashing, you need a HEMI mess (high stress, not good for the heart kinda of stuff) and let me take the XV-JP off your hands. Only thinking of your health.

Well, buddy, you know I would, but I'm worried it's too small for you and the family. (Or are you leaving them behind on your forthcoming expedition?) Only thinking of your happiness.

 

[WhereTheHellIsJames?]

A quarter million views now for this thread!?
Wowsers...

 

[DzlToy]

Read all 74 pages over the last few weeks as I had time. Can't say anything that hasn't already been said about the work done.

If you change your mind on the diesel swap, the HPCR Cummins 4B was rated conservatively at 170 HP and 420 foot pounds of torque. With some mods, 250-300 hp would not be too difficult, but the torque would eat the little jeepie driveline.

#7000 seems a bit heavy but I guess there is a lot of stuff in there. Have you done any serious off road work with it since completion?

 

[mhiscox]

#7000 seems a bit heavy but I guess there is a lot of stuff in there.

There IS a lot of stuff in there, and things like batteries, lots of water and extra fuel and a fridge add pounds fast. That said, fully built-out Rubicons, what with a winch, heavy bumpers front and rear, big tires and a bunch of off-road gear attached are often well over 5000 pounds. (Somewhat amazingly, given it seems a small truck, a bone stock JKU Rubicon is already 4350 pounds.)

Have you done any serious off road work with it since completion?

Yes, with no real difficulties. I'll remind newer folks that there's a good video of Scott Brady driving one of these across the Rubicon Trail. It's somewhere here on here on ExPo, but it's also here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-hHWqM2pSQ: