Earthroamer sell off?

texasnielsen

Outdoorsman
The rich crowd are not the subprime crowd however that fact is still relative to the state of the economy at large.


And


To compare the cost of goods In yesterday’s dollars isn’t an equal comparison to today’s money and their costs when purchasing in todays money.

People with expensive toys fall into two categories. Those who purchased them and who weather this latest financial crisis like all previous ones. A bump aka a mole hill.
Then there are those who were bitcoin rich who aren’t any longer. To those this is bigger than a hill. Much bigger.

if you are rich, you may not have to work. If you’re wealthy, your grandchildren don’t have to work. Most (99.9%) of us only dream of being wealthy.
 

adam88

Explorer
There's now 11 pre-owned earthroamers for sale on their site. During covid at one point there was zero for sale. Times have indeed changed. Opportunity cost loss is much bigger now.
 

Steve_382

Active member
Speaking of the Pre Roamed ER page, there is now one of the used HDs listed for, wait for it,,,,,, $1.85 million.

 
I am really sorry to be nitpicky, but a “standard” Unicat on a 14-18 metric ton chassis would be a mere ~ €1M. If Unicat were to build on this chassis and handed €1.65M, it would have, among other things, CTIS and 2 diff locks (maybe Axletech/Meritor 4000s), decent low speed (you’re carrying everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink) transmission gearing with an Allison 3700SP, hydro pneumatic suspension, probably raising roof, etc. And that’s pretty much from the horse’s mouth.
No, I don’t do Rubicon stuff or try to get stuck in my vehicle. But unless you stick to pavement and KOAs, getting 100’ off road to camp IS offroad. Like what I did in Ontario about 10 days ago to get a bit off a gravel road and up over some Laurentian Shield granite to be a bit out of sight to camp on a big power line easement.
 

MattScott

Approved Vendor
I think it is natural that we are seeing more Earthroamers for sale. They continue to make more, and they usually change hands every 1-2 years, much like expensive supercars do. It's not that the toy isn't good—it's that this crowd always has a new one, and campers/RVs/overland stuff is coming off a massive growth period after COVID and is settling into a new normal.

We are on year three of owning ours, with no intention to sell. I will say that after this period of ownership, the ability for an ER to trigger the insecurities of others continues to impress. If I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me at a gas station and told me they could build it for less, I could probably buy another ER.
 

jchasse

Active member
I think it is natural that we are seeing more Earthroamers for sale. They continue to make more, and they usually change hands every 1-2 years, much like expensive supercars do. It's not that the toy isn't good—it's that this crowd always has a new one, and campers/RVs/overland stuff is coming off a massive growth period after COVID and is settling into a new normal.

We are on year three of owning ours, with no intention to sell. I will say that after this period of ownership, the ability for an ER to trigger the insecurities of others continues to impress. If I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me at a gas station and told me they could build it for less, I could probably buy another ER.
While I agree that approaching you at a gas station, and insecurely saying they could have built it for less is bad form....you could easily build it for less :geek:
 

lucilius

Active member
I think it is natural that we are seeing more Earthroamers for sale. They continue to make more, and they usually change hands every 1-2 years, much like expensive supercars do. It's not that the toy isn't good—it's that this crowd always has a new one, and campers/RVs/overland stuff is coming off a massive growth period after COVID and is settling into a new normal.

We are on year three of owning ours, with no intention to sell. I will say that after this period of ownership, the ability for an ER to trigger the insecurities of others continues to impress. If I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me at a gas station and told me they could build it for less, I could probably buy another ER.
I've had mine for just shy of a decade and a half. It is rare that I park or fill up and someone doesn't walk up to say hi, nice camper, heavy truck tires, how do you change em?, man 90 gallons of diesel in Oregon is a plane ticket, etc. I must say I have never had anyone come up and say they could build it for less, or anything else even remotely similar, but if I met such a person, I would give them my contact info and ask them to give me a call when they roll out Unit 1 for sale so I can check it out: I'm always on the hunt for a new rig but haven't found one better. Earthroamer operates in a niche they've carved that no one really seems to be going after (why I have no idea)...and they're making money running their company. The late ER CEO Bill Swails had a pretty straightforward concept and, esp. given the [still] mediocre US options for 4WD diesel trucks that can handle some weight, did a decent job moving the ball forward for American-made offroad campers that a small family can camp/live in comfortably through 4 seasons. I'm pretty familiar with all aspects of my rig and maintain it mostly by myself. I really don't know if someone could do it for less. I doubt I could, especially with all the comfort-oriented bells&whistles the modern American overlander seems to want/need not to mention how much it costs to design/build/test something that is street legal let alone lets you keep your OEM truck warranty. There are definitely some decent DIY builds out there, who knows how they handle 14+ winters of cold weather, icy roads and climbing/descending passes...hopefully great though I know many say to hell with that winter camping stuff. When ER started out, they weren't significantly more expensive than a Sportsmobile. You could pick exactly what options you wanted which was an easy way to save. Alas, mission creep seems to be hardwired into the American way for a lot of folks and the new roamers are $$$$ and over the top complex, just like most things these days (homes, appliances, F-35 jets, going to college, etc.). Personally, I decided to get mine after I spent a chunk of time in it, under it and looking throughout at the plumbing and other systems and determining that it would do a good job in the cold unlike anything else I had seen...and in 2008 I was hard-pressed to find a 4x4 camper (Sprinters weren't even being sold in the US with AWD yet) that could operate in winter (cooking, hot shower, toilet, etc.) and drive over mountain passes, chain up and do snow-covered roads, etc. reliably. I didn't need a serious off-roader, more a ski-house/base camp on wheels that could roam the paved/dirt roads of the US and Canadian Rockies year round. My go-to "offroad" tricks are reading maps, driving really slow well & tirelessly, turning around/backing up with no ego bruise and being relatively quick with tire chains any time the route ahead looks dodgy. I had read some about Unicat and some other European companies with more capability and proven performance history overseas but vehicle availability, parts and maintenance seemed to be challenging not to mention being twice as expensive as an ER then. Some US companies out there now might be building the equivalent or better, maybe even for less, but I haven't really seen much of them, maybe GXV or Bliss though of course "equivalent or better" is subjective.
 

DiploStrat

Expedition Leader
Never had an Earthroamer, but finding the site and reading Bill Swails's comments on what he was trying to do shaped my road to the camper I do have.

As to the "I/you could build it for less ..." comments. A single skilled craftsperson probably could build one - there are some great examples on the Internet. But that is a long way from running a company and providing support.

So if you can build it, build it. If not, there are lots of new and used units for sale. ;)
 

hoodlum

Member
WELL written Lucilius….in so many ways.

First off…we didn’t want to be campground dependent.
We wanted 4 wheel drive, a pass through into a roomy habitat, a generator, complete use of our water system for showers n cooking all while mountain hoping the West in the dead of winter. Also add the ability to go out and camp on the beach.

When you throw those desires into a rig …. there’s not much out there.

Truthfully, I‘d never heard of an ER or Expedition Portal when we built ours…
It would have saved me a lot of time.
 
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ITTOG

Well-known member
WELL written Lucilius….in so many ways.
Our build took a year. We wanted 4 wheel drive and not have to rely on a campground. It gave us the ability for hot showers, cooking n toilet all inside while mountain hoping the West in the dead of winter. Also add the ability to go out and camp on the beach, plus have a roomy habitat. When you throw those desires into a rig …. there’s not much out there.
Truthfully, I‘d never heard of an ER or Expedition Portal when we built ours…It would have saved me a lot of time.
Why would you cook in your toilet?



Do you mean cooking AND toilet? ;)
 

Deleted Member 183

Well-known member
As to the "I/you could build it for less ..." comments. A single skilled craftsperson probably could build one - there are some great examples on the Internet. But that is a long way from running a company and providing support.

In the beginning days of the "Overlanding Epoch" I also had aspirations of starting to build "expedition campers" for sale. I had/ have the fully outfitted shop (overhead rail system & NC milling/ turning/ plasma) with 5 acres of secured yard) and back then with some VERY talented employees. BUT...

When I was in right in the middle of "the lettuce days" with my previous epoch, I had a CEO coach ( Harvard MBA & former CEO of one of America's largest steel supply companies) and the one lesson that he HAMMERED into me was...

"The best lesson about business/ life a person can learn is from dogs... Don't (BM/ defecate) where you eat!"
 
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