EarthCruiser Overland Vehicles

[Goanna]

Hi Rick,
Yes there will be a book. Firstly a travel book much like the one I did on "Russia and Beyond" but also a DIY travel book so others can follow the route. Shipping info, border crossing info, contacts, camp sites etc. I realise a lot of this is available on the net ...with a lot of research but this will be a complete Do It Yourself route guide....anyway that is the plan!

As for padding. No not necessary. We ratchet strap it down from the body ( not the springs as they would do on a transport truck). The straps also run in an 'X' pattern left to right/right to left and the vehicles do not move so much. The upper tapering of the body design also helps.

 

[bptp7270]

Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. I always admire people who undertake the sort of adventure you are doing. Have a wonderful time and I will look forward to the book.

 

[haven]

new initiatives at Earthcruiser

I received an email this week from Lance Gillies, owner of Earthcruiser Overland Vehicles Pty. Ltd. Lance announced several new initiatives.

First, the Earthcruiser can be ordered in several new configurations.

There's a new version that has suspension and single rear wheel upgrades, but mounts a tray in place of the camper. This allows the owner to install his own camper, or to use the Fuso FG as a utility vehicle in rugged conditions. This model is called the Earthcruiser UTE.

The second new configuration is a longer camper mounted on the long wheelbase Fuso FG. The extra room allows the camper's bed to be oriented parallel to the long axis of the vehicle, instead of across it. The extra room also allows for a larger fresh water tank. This model is the Earthcruiser LWB.

A left hand drive version is under development for export buyers and world travelers. Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, India, east Africa and Great Britain are right hand drive. The rest of the world is left hand drive. This model will be called the Earthcruiser LHD.

Second, Earthcruiser is increasing support for its owners. There will be a forum for owners on the company website, and organized tours and events for owners to join.

Third, the company website will shortly offer Earthcruiser parts and accessories for sale. The email didn't say if the parts can be shipped internationally.

Last, Earthcruiser is planning to offer a rental program for its vehicles.

Details of all of these new programs will appear on the Earthcruiser web pages soon.

Chip Haven

 

[Borrego60]

I was in Walmart in Oceanside Ca Saturday and saw one of the Goanna vehicles there parked. Wished I had my camera with me,looked pretty tight.

 

[haven]

The Earth Cruisers in southern California are the overlanding group led by Kym and Lyn Bolton. They have finished their journey across southeast Asia, western China, Mongolia and eastern Russia, and they shipped their vehicles to Long Beach in November. Read about their trip here
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44366

The vehicles will be in storage in southern California for a couple of months. In 2011, the group plans to explore North America.

 

[adventureduo]

It would be really bitchen if they could invite portal members to come shake hands and view their Earthcruisers

 

[haven]

I just received the latest news update from the EarthCruiser people. I was pleased to find this sentence at the end of the newsletter:

"EarthCruiser is establishing a base in North America..." :victory:

The newsletter also says the company has begun delivery of a camper for the long wheelbase (136.2 inches / 3460 mm) Fuso FG chassis. That makes sense, since Mitsubishi stopped selling the short wheelbase FG (112.6 inches / 2860 mm) in North America a couple of years ago.

None of this information appears on the EarthCruiser web site yet . For the latest, it's best to send email to sales@earthcruiser.com.au

 

[adventureduo]

Oh man, that is great news Chip!

 

[Northern Explorer]

Nice...very nice.

 

[constructeur]

Saw a couple from NZ in a Canter in Seattle recently, seemed pretty damn cool. Earthcruisers are only thing I'd consider traveling in besides our Landcruiser.

 

[haven]

After a year of somnescence, the EarthCruiser web site has some new material. The What's New section has the one page November newsletter, and links to three newspaper articles about EarthCruiser models. Photos of the new UTE and long wheelbase variants are included. All news items are downloaded in PDF format. http://www.earthcruiser.com.au/news.php

 

[engineer]

It reads like he is saying he invented all this stuff, but they were doing euro springs onto jap trucks for Melkshams back in the late 80's.....
Reasonable product, but not the best of the best of the best......

 

[alan]

Did'nt someone else build the first one and then they copied it?
I'm not sure?

 

[haven]

Here's my understanding of the origin and current status of EarthCruiser.

The original EarthCruiser was designed by Australian Kym Bolton. He wanted a vehicle capable of traveling through rough country, and also capable of providing enough comfort and amenities to make an extended trip enjoyable for two people. With trips to other parts of the world on his mind, Bolton needed the camper to fit into a shipping container.

Bolton hired All Terrain Warriors to build the vehicle. ATW contributed lots of ideas and experience to the project. The final product really was the work of both parties.

In 2007, Kym Bolton and his wife, Lyn, drove the original EarthCruiser across Russia and Mongolia to Europe, a total of 25,000 kms and more than 100 days on the road. Later they drove the vehicle from England south to Morocco and back. Read about these trips here: http://www.blog.goannatracks.com/ See the links on the right side of the page to the Russia and Morocco trips.

After these "test drives," Bolton formed a company with Lance Gillies to sell EarthCruisers. The design was modified based on experience gained in more than 125 days of camping and driving.

At the same time, ATW started advertising their plan to sell a replica of the vehicle they built for the Boltons. After some discussion, the two sides came to a gentlemen's agreement. Each company modified the original design and now sell their own versions.

The result is two very capable expedition vehicles
the EarthCruiser http://www.earthcruiser.com.au/
and the ATW Scout http://www.allterrainwarriors.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=25

Bolton wanted to do more traveling, so he sold his stake in EarthCruiser to his partner Gillies in 2010. Using a version of the updated EarthCruiser, Bolton and his wife recently drove through southeast Asia, China, Mongolia and eastern Russia, another epic journey of 4 months and 22,000 kms. The couple then shipped their vehicle to USA, where they just completed a month's meandering through the Southwest states.

Lance Gillies has expanded the EarthCruiser line with three new models:
-- a version with a Ute tray (flatbed) so people can mount their own camper.
-- a version designed for countries with left hand drive (Australian vehicles use right hand drive, so the original EarthCruisers are designed to exit from the camper on the left)
-- a version that uses the long wheelbase Fuso FG

Hopefully, we'll see a left hand drive, long wheelbase EarthCruiser on a USA version of the Fuso FG sometime in the future.

Chip Haven

 

[FSH00]

I see there is some new info on the Earth Cruiser site today. http://www.earthcruiser.com.au/news.php

Pete.