Big custom camper sightings
- Thread starter haven
- Start date
PNWDad
Dad in the streets, Daddy in the sheets
From my brother headed up AK last week:
"They went off the road in an area with a bunch of tundra and they were so heavy a semi had to pull them out. They were stuck in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory until they got a new tire and rim shipped from chigaco... Other then that they have loved it. He said that there was nothing strong enough to winch to with either the front or rear winch."
"They went off the road in an area with a bunch of tundra and they were so heavy a semi had to pull them out. They were stuck in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory until they got a new tire and rim shipped from chigaco... Other then that they have loved it. He said that there was nothing strong enough to winch to with either the front or rear winch."
expeditionvan
Observer
Please, no speculation.
We don't know whether it is a wheel bearing issue or simply a tire rotation.
We don't know whether it is a wheel bearing issue or simply a tire rotation.
McZippie
Walmart Adventure Camper
Looks like an alignment and component inspection
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Overland Hadley
on a journey
What caused the off road excursion?
Soobarubin
Observer
Spotted a Silver Earthroamer at the Silverwood Theme Park parking lot today about 8P.M.
I've never seen one in person before, nice to see in one the area!
-Jaren
I've never seen one in person before, nice to see in one the area!
-Jaren
trailsurfer
Explorer
Guys do not need to attack me, I just wrote what could be - any component ever breaks.
P.S. Well I wrote that may be just a tire rotation :elkgrin:
:iagree: but ER installed oversized tires. I understand that is a requirement for expedition vehicle (super singles) because weight too heavy for standart tires (not a duallies).
P.S. Please no punches
eepwall: it's just a my viewBill@EarthRoamer.com
Observer
As of today, still no ER wheel bearing failures.
I just spoke with the owner of this 2004 F-450 based EarthRoamer XV-LT (the 6th EarthRoamer ever built) and he had it in the shop to replace loose ball joints and tie rod ends, as well as get an alignment. After 7 years of hard use, he had some worn steering/suspension components. The tech said there was some play in the wheel bearings but nothing he hasn't seen on other Ford trucks and the wheel bearings were left as is.
As I stated in an earlier posting:
"With 108 (we now have 110) EarthRoamer XV-LT's on the road, some F-450's but most F-550's, some Super Cabs but most Crew Cabs, ranging in model year from 2003 through 2011, that have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles over every type of terrain imaginable, through Iceland, Europe, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Australia, Mexico and Central America (yes, more EarthRoamers have traveled outside of the US than most of our competitors have built in total) and all over the backroads and trails of the US and North America...
There have been no wheel bearing failures."
Spotted this at the Line-Up Shop in Portland, OR today while dropping my Suzuki Sidekick off for an alignment.
- Andy
I just spoke with the owner of this 2004 F-450 based EarthRoamer XV-LT (the 6th EarthRoamer ever built) and he had it in the shop to replace loose ball joints and tie rod ends, as well as get an alignment. After 7 years of hard use, he had some worn steering/suspension components. The tech said there was some play in the wheel bearings but nothing he hasn't seen on other Ford trucks and the wheel bearings were left as is.
As I stated in an earlier posting:
"With 108 (we now have 110) EarthRoamer XV-LT's on the road, some F-450's but most F-550's, some Super Cabs but most Crew Cabs, ranging in model year from 2003 through 2011, that have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles over every type of terrain imaginable, through Iceland, Europe, Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Australia, Mexico and Central America (yes, more EarthRoamers have traveled outside of the US than most of our competitors have built in total) and all over the backroads and trails of the US and North America...
There have been no wheel bearing failures."
Bill@EarthRoamer.com
Observer
Driver Error
The Alaska truck is a unit #108, a 2011 Ford F-550 based EarthRoamer XV-LT (a completely different truck than the picture of the one in the shop shown above).
Here's what happened as told by the owner:
"About 2.9 km before Eagle Plains, I tried to avoid a nasty pot hole and veered to the right onto the shoulder. Big mistake again. The shoulder was so soft that it immediately gave way under the weight of the EarthRoamer and, I was not able to get the vehicle back onto the road. My only concern was now to avoid that the truck would turn over. When we came to a standstill in the ditch, the truck was leaning dangerously to the right side. I had to correct the position immediately if we didn't want to run the risk of toppling. I put the gear into reverse and tried to move the EarthRoamer more straight onto the incline which, however, meant that I basically buried the right back wheel into the soft and musky ground. I don't need to mention that my lovely wife was not very happy (to put it mildly) with my driving skills."
http://sue-n-joe.com/index.php?opti...2:inuvik&catid=42:port-hardy-dawson&Itemid=66
The truck was driveable and undamaged after this unplanned "off road" excursion.
The Alaska truck is a unit #108, a 2011 Ford F-550 based EarthRoamer XV-LT (a completely different truck than the picture of the one in the shop shown above).
Here's what happened as told by the owner:
"About 2.9 km before Eagle Plains, I tried to avoid a nasty pot hole and veered to the right onto the shoulder. Big mistake again. The shoulder was so soft that it immediately gave way under the weight of the EarthRoamer and, I was not able to get the vehicle back onto the road. My only concern was now to avoid that the truck would turn over. When we came to a standstill in the ditch, the truck was leaning dangerously to the right side. I had to correct the position immediately if we didn't want to run the risk of toppling. I put the gear into reverse and tried to move the EarthRoamer more straight onto the incline which, however, meant that I basically buried the right back wheel into the soft and musky ground. I don't need to mention that my lovely wife was not very happy (to put it mildly) with my driving skills."
http://sue-n-joe.com/index.php?opti...2:inuvik&catid=42:port-hardy-dawson&Itemid=66
The truck was driveable and undamaged after this unplanned "off road" excursion.
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flywgn
Explorer
That must have been a scary few seconds. In almost that same spot we met an oncoming white-knuckled RV driver who was taking his half of the road from the middle. I was forced to grab some of that soft shoulder and I was pulling a trailer. I really do not know what prevented us from tipping over or at least mired, but I was in 4WD at the time and somehow the truck (F250 SDTD) kept its footing.
Bill, a bunch of years ago you stopped just off the I-5 (Exit 278) to let Diana and me look at the ER you were delivering to Pasadena (I think.) to L.L.'s son who was about to set out on a long overland journey of tracking down some of the places his father wrote about and write a book/journal about the experience. Did this ever come about?
Allen R
Token
Explorer
:iagree: but ER installed oversized tires. I understand that is a requirement for expedition vehicle (super singles) because weight too heavy for standart tires (not a duallies).
P.S. Please no punches
Thise tires are OVERSIZED..?? I would have thought maybe they were smaller than stock.. Regardless, the axles under a F450 are PLENTY strong enough to hold up to what they are being used for.. Beyond use they should even be able to hold up to a good bit of ABUSE..
Token
Explorer
Bill.. Curious.. Have yall done any studies on what the agility and balance limits on the rigs..??
I'm by no means in the income market for one of these beasts, but the one thing that would worry me would be how far it can lean before everything starts going sky ground sky ground on ya.. Maybe a tilt alarm or something installed in the cab to warn folks they are pushing the limits..
I'm by no means in the income market for one of these beasts, but the one thing that would worry me would be how far it can lean before everything starts going sky ground sky ground on ya.. Maybe a tilt alarm or something installed in the cab to warn folks they are pushing the limits..