Earthroamer

[explore this]

I think this may be my first post. I've lurked for awhile. Interesting forum. A lot of Toyots...

Does anyone on here actually own an Earthroamer? I love the concept, but am trying to justify the cost compared to the cost vs. a new truck + $20k in upgrades and a very high end camper. Were talking 4-5 campers you could rip apart and throw away or 2 new trucks and a couple of new campers to rip apart and throw away. This is compared to a single Ford chassis that has to last twice as long...

I'm not an extreme 4-wheeler, but do go into the sticks where most wouldn't expect me to be. I don't really think most would go that much beyond where I already do in an Earthroamer. From the looks of the photos I've seen and dimensions the footprint is larger than my fullsize Chevy and camper I have now.

Questions I'm pondering.

-Cassette toilet: I get this, then I don't get this. Certainly in the realm of being nowhere beyond the Americas a 20-30 gal black tank with 4-6 times the capacity would work. Don't you have to dump the gray tank anyway?

-Power: I love the solar and no propane concept, but I do a lot of winter stuff and know how batteries drain w/no sun to charge. I would think a tiny diesel generator as opposed to running the big V8 to charge batteries would seem more "environmentally conscious".

-Construction: Am I correct that these are 100% fiberglass/balsa structure? Is there any other underlying structure? How many layers of fiberglass (I don't know what I'm talking about here) are there? Where does this fall between comparing this to a boat or filon on a cheap rv?

-Ford: 6.0 was a disaster. How about the cab-off repair issues? Dodge/Cummins... hmmm... If only we could get a Duramax/Allison combo...


Any thoughts, observations, insight, etc. are greatly appreciated. I'd love to see one in person and might try to hookup w/them in CO. I'm in NCal if anyone actually does own one around here.

 

[Robthebrit]

I personally think the no propane all setup is a mistake. In theory its awesome, no issues with gas in tunnels, ferrys, crossing borders, driving with tanks on etc. You have one fuel and you are good to go, however diesel stoves simply do not work as advertised and are especially bad at altiude. Even for hot water or cabin heat the diesel Espars are great but struggle at altitude.

I serisouly considered ripping the gas out of my camper mog and putting in all diesel but tons of people have said don't do it (Stephen Stuart was very against it).

As for the construction, I think its probably one of the best features of an earthroamer and its way beyond anything you'll see on an RV. From what I can tell its very similar in principle to my camper and thats seen over 400,000 miles and its holding together just fine.

Rob

 

[stevenmd]

Rob - got a link to pics of your camper?

 

[Rhode Trip]

-Construction: Am I correct that these are 100% fiberglass/balsa structure? Is there any other underlying structure? How many layers of fiberglass (I don't know what I'm talking about here) are there? Where does this fall between comparing this to a boat or filon on a cheap rv?
.

Kind of like this?
http://www.northern-lite.com/construction1.html

 

[flywgn]

We came close to owning an ER. For us, it still boiled down to the question of having to break down camp in order to go sight-seeing. We like having a trailer or tent instead.

I have to disagree with Rob, though. We had diesel everything on our trawler and it all worked fine. No complaints whatsoever. It took a bit of getting use to the slow "up-to-speed" times on the burners, but once we...uhhh, excuse me...once Diana learned the technique, all was well.

Occasionally, we kept one burner warm during the day. Diesel cooktops are much slower than propane, but we felt the safety factor, especially on the boat, outweighed the inconvenience. Heating water was simple and rarely needed much assistance from the diesel. Seems to me that ER does a bit of the same in that they route the hot water line near the engine to pre-heat. Maybe I'm wrong there, but that would be an easy retro-fit.

Allen R

 

[explore this]

I personally think the no propane all setup is a mistake. In theory its awesome, no issues with gas in tunnels, ferrys, crossing borders, driving with tanks on etc. You have one fuel and you are good to go, however diesel stoves simply do not work as advertised and are especially bad at altiude. Even for hot water or cabin heat the diesel Espars are great but struggle at altitude.

I serisouly considered ripping the gas out of my camper mog and putting in all diesel but tons of people have said don't do it (Stephen Stuart was very against it).

As for the construction, I think its probably one of the best features of an earthroamer and its way beyond anything you'll see on an RV. From what I can tell its very similar in principle to my camper and thats seen over 400,000 miles and its holding together just fine.

Rob

Pardon my greenness on diesel appliances. What are the issues? I'm at high altitude a lot. Slow to heat? Priming issues? The safety/ferry/etc. issue sounds good..

 

[explore this]

Kind of like this?
http://www.northern-lite.com/construction1.html

Exactly. Which perplexes me how the cost can be what it is. What am I missing on the Earthroamer construction that sets it so far apart? Give the truck $20k in upgrades and you've got a $130 - $150k camper. I can understand maybe 2-3 times a truck camper setup for the frame-on and higher quality build, components, etc., but 4-5 and a truck that will wear out in the same amount of time. Obviously, we have some economies of scale here of a low production product trying to survive, but What am I missing? There must be more...

 

[Robthebrit]

The diesel applicances on a boat are fine, they have slow up times but once going are great and have a fair amount of power. These cannot be put on a truck, not only are they heavy but they are also unsafe as they are not made to be thrown around. The diesel stoves for trucks are diesel-ceramic-catalyst stoves with no exposed fuel or flame and are perfectly safe in the environent of a truck. These types of stove have issues at high alitude and/or extreme cold and can be very difficult to light, once lit they also have slow up time but unlike a boat stove cannot be left on. Finally, most of the diesel stoves in the US are not ULSD compatible and you'll have a hard time lighting them in general.

If you go with diesel take a small portable camping stove with you, at least this allows you to make a cup of tea while you figure out whats wrong with it.

Rob

 

[charlieaarons]

-Cassette toilet: I get this, then I don't get this. Certainly in the realm of being nowhere beyond the Americas a 20-30 gal black tank with 4-6 times the capacity would work. Don't you have to dump the gray tank anyway?

I agree completely. I specified a holding tank on my Unicat. I dump in the boonies every time I move camp but with the holding tank I'm good for 3-4 days, with the cassette you have to walk around with a tank full of crap every day looking for somewhere to dump it. If by chance I stay in a RV campground for a longwhile it's easier to use the sewer hose than traipse around with a cassette.

-Power: I love the solar and no propane concept, but I do a lot of winter stuff and know how batteries drain w/no sun to charge. I would think a tiny diesel generator as opposed to running the big V8 to charge batteries would seem more "environmentally conscious".

I agree completely here also. He has 330W solar cells, I have 246W. But on a bright sunny day at 40-60 degrees from the equator even in the summer you only get 10A at the most from my cells because the max wattage is computed at output of 17V, even though it's scaled down to 14V by the solar regulator. So I really get 100-140W on a sunny day from my cells. I doubt ER gets much more than 15A from his. His AC is smaller than mine but I'll bet it draws 70-80A from the batteries thru the inverter. That'll 50% his batteries is 3-4 hrs, NOT all night. You are supposed to try not to draw deep cycle batteries below 50% on a repeated basis. My diesel generator is very quiet and puts out 30A AC, which more than covers the AC which is 110V, not 12V. It will charge the batteries at up to 120A DC thru the inverter/charger.

-Construction: Am I correct that these are 100% fiberglass/balsa structure? Is there any other underlying structure? How many layers of fiberglass (I don't know what I'm talking about here) are there? Where does this fall between comparing this to a boat or filon on a cheap rv?

At least Unicat is specific about their construction: 3mm fiberglass on the outside, 2mm inside, 55mm foam in between, R13 insulation rating.

-Ford: 6.0 was a disaster. How about the cab-off repair issues? Dodge/Cummins... hmmm... If only we could get a Duramax/Allison combo...

You could spend a lot more money and do a Cummins swap; I'd keep the ZF 6 spd....


Any thoughts, observations, insight, etc. are greatly appreciated. I'd love to see one in person and might try to hookup w/them in CO. I'm in NCal if anyone actually does own one around here.[/QUOTE]

Good questions,

Charlie

 

[Robthebrit]

charlie,

What type of diesel generator do you have how big is it and where is it on your truck

Rob

 

[flywgn]

Rob,

Thanks for the clarification re: the different types of diesel stoves. Of course, on our boat, we had the added advantage of being at sea level.

Allen R

 

[charlieaarons]

I have a Fisher-Panda 3.6KW 1 cyl generator. I think it's rated for 3.6KW intermittent, 3.0KW continuous. The air con draws about 1.8KW, leaving 1.2KW = 100A DC capacity to charge batteries if needed. Mostly the truck alternator charges the house batteries via two 45A automatically regulated chargers (they only turn on when battery voltage is >13.0, IOW when the alternator is on) and the solar panels. I used the generator the most recently when I took a trip to the North Slope when my alternator wasn't working because of a dead rectifier, since fixed. I only have one alternator, they couldn't find a place to put a second one on my engine.

Charlie

 

[explore this]

If you go with diesel take a small portable camping stove with you, at least this allows you to make a cup of tea while you figure out whats wrong with it.

Rob

Ha! That is great! I obviously need to do some more research on diesel. This is good insight! Thanks!

I really can't imagine having to have to dig a hole or find a gas station to dump your suitcase in every 2 days with a $200k "expedition vehicle". I at least want to be self-sufficient for a week, at minimum.

Beyond this, I'm not trying to diss the Earthroamer. I really like the concept and I truly am trying to find the quirks and advantages to their setup. If an additional chunk must be spent to get it up to real world speed with what I do with a black tank and generator it starts to get into the realm of comparing to a 100% custom job or back to the throw-away camper concept.

Does anyone know who does their body fiberglass construction/manufacture to gauge the quality and examples of work? I recall seeing and it would seem only logical, that they sub that out.

Do system/internal schematics exist on how they are setup? Internal dimensions, battery, holding/fuel tank placement etc.?

What lift suspension upgrades to they install besides nitrogen shocks and sway bars?

Does anyone actually own one on here? Real world experiences w/one?

Thanks!

 

[Rhode Trip]

The Earthroamer bodies are produced by c.f. maier
http://www.cfmaier.com/products/vehicles.htm
They also make the bodies for Hallmark campers.

I had the opportunity to meet a couple who own an Earthroamer in Newfoundland last August:

 

[Digital Nomad]

I'm currently considering the purchase of an EarthRoamer and have talked to three couples that own them. All three said they can go for up to four days with two people on the cassette. One said he would vastly prefer the cassette since he can dump at any toilet. You can also carry a second cassette onboard for extended stay. None of the people I've talked to had any complaints about the cassette system. But I doubt they take their rigs into as any true off-road areas as you guys.

I don't have personal experience with using the system though... although I have seen an EarthRoamer and I pulled the cassette out and wheeled it around to get an idea of what it involved.

I wish the ER has a graywater bypass and am amazed that no rigs seem to have them... by bypass, I mean being able to let your shower and sink water go directly onto the ground without ever being held in a tank. You turn off the bypass when it would not be appropriate and would rather store it. The RV I currently live on has the bypass and I love it since it allows me to extend my stay somewhere and last for weeks (I also have a combo gray/black tank, so with the bypass on, the whole tank becomes a black water tank).