Extreme use Earthroamer

[Grenadiers]

'Andytruck', the initial poster, posted a follow-up, and that's that. Too many forum topics get started this way, basically to poke a person, or a product, or both. Then, as everyone sprawls around to take a position, etc., they OP sits back and laughs. This topic has reached it's zenith.

 

[DiploStrat]

'Andytruck', the initial poster, posted a follow-up, and that's that. Too many forum topics get started this way, basically to poke a person, or a product, or both. Then, as everyone sprawls around to take a position, etc., they OP sits back and laughs. This topic has reached it's zenith.

Say not so! Dead horses run ever so much faster when beaten! ?

 

[FordGuy1]

The Ford dealership I run services many Earth Roamers, and I have been off roading my entire life. First off, the employees and the company itself, is one of the best I have ever delt with. They go so far beyond what one would expect, even on 10 year old vehicles. these guy's will do anything for there customers. Second, I have been blown away at how well these vehicles do off-road. Yes, it takes some balls to put a vehicle that weights north of 16k and costs $500k into a hairy situation, but they are pretty amazing. For exploring the country, spending six months in Alaska, they are the only way to go.

 

[DiploStrat]

Its an EarthCruiser, not a roamer.. but I was pretty impressed by this video posted by one of our members in the forsale section



Now thats not something yer gonna do in a Winnebago and live to tell about it.. there's alot of world to explore before you'd ever feel compelled to do some rock crawling to get to the last 1% of it.

If the link works, here is the same trail from a MB LT series - a full 40 minutes of it. Enjoy! (Again, dry, no snow or rain.)

 

[pugslyyy]

The Ford dealership I run services many Earth Roamers, and I have been off roading my entire life. First off, the employees and the company itself, is one of the best I have ever delt with. They go so far beyond what one would expect, even on 10 year old vehicles. these guy's will do anything for there customers. Second, I have been blown away at how well these vehicles do off-road. Yes, it takes some balls to put a vehicle that weights north of 16k and costs $500k into a hairy situation, but they are pretty amazing. For exploring the country, spending six months in Alaska, they are the only way to go.

They are great vehicles and a great option for those able to write the check. However I never saw a single one in Alaska, the Yukon, or the Northwest Terriotories when I was up there in my 18,500 pound Fuso 4x4. I'm not sure the data agrees with you on them being "the only way to go"

 

[Grenadiers]

They are great vehicles and a great option for those able to write the check. However I never saw a single one in Alaska, the Yukon, or the Northwest Terriotories when I was up there in my 18,500 pound Fuso 4x4. I'm not sure the data agrees with you on them being "the only way to go"

I’ve only seen one, back in 2016 we parked next to one in Wall, SD. I didn’t even know what it was. At the time, we had a 40 foot Winnebago diesel pusher. The owners were an elderly couple, probably the market demographics for such a vehicle at that price. My take is that they wanted the comfort and back-trail capability the ER offered. But are not an off-road twisty trail type of people. So, even though the truck is capable of such travel, they didn’t buy it for that. I see no problem with that. I appreciate all kinds of overland Vehicles setup for budget and need.

 

[RallyeX]

Not an Earthroamer! We just bought this GXV Adventure truck back in June! So far an amazing truck. Can't wait for some cooler weather to go explore the desert and Sierra Mountains. These pictures are from our first outing when we drove it home from Missouri to California. Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada then home to Southern California!

 

[Trikebubble]

Or up the North Canol Road into NWT.

That is still on the must-do list. So much to see and drive in our own country, it could take a lifetime to explore it all.

 

[trailsurfer]

They are great vehicles and a great option for those able to write the check. However I never saw a single one in Alaska, the Yukon, or the Northwest Terriotories when I was up there in my 18,500 pound Fuso 4x4. I'm not sure the data agrees with you on them being "the only way to go"

I have had a ER in all of those locations for weeks on end. There have been multiple ER's up in the Yukon, Arctic Circle and Alaska this summer. Their will be ER's headed to Mexico/Baja and Central America this Fall and Winter. Great vehicles and wonderful service provided by ER.

 

[gregmchugh]

If you can afford an EarthRoamer go for it. We looked at all the options and decided on a GXV Patagonia on a Kenworth chassis which was more affordable and we feel more suited for our needs (especially cargo carrying capability). We had always planned to sell our house and get the standard 40-42 ft diesel pusher to travel in after we retired. After a trip to Alaska in 2014 in a Class B Sprinter we decided that the large diesel pusher RV was not what we wanted since we saw the limitations in terms of locations where you can go and where you can camp. We wanted something more rugged than the standard US RV in order to handle rough roads without falling apart and to be able to go down anything that resembles a road. We are Overland travelers, not off road enthusiasts. We don’t have to worry about the bad roads in Alaska and the Yukon and NWT and elsewhere while all the normal travelers are concerned about damage to their rig and flat tires and running out of fuel. The size of our rig does limit where we can go but we wanted to be able to carry all the stuff we desired in our new home. One advantage of the Kenworth vs the EarthRoamer is that we are never loaded near the the GVWR of the chassis (33,000 lb) even will full fuel, water, us, and our stuff. It works for us and that is all that matters. Whatever works for you is what matters.

We have seen a few EarthRoamers this year on our trip to Alaska, Yukon, and NWT but more Europeans who have shipped over their expedition trucks and there are also a couple other GXV rigs around too. You do get to meet a lot of new people when you travel in a larger expedition truck, no way to be stealthy and always answering a lot of questions. What is that thing?, Do you like your Unimog (the generic term for any expedition truck that looks anything like a Unimog), Is that an army truck?, Are you getting ready for the Zombies?, Are you a Prepper?, etc, etc.

 

[Lovetheworld]

I guess some people expect it to do better offroad because it costs more money. But that is of course not the case.

However, I think the earthroamer and other big 4x4 trucks will do nicely.
But if you don't need the comfort of it, or the space, you probably can be satisfied with a smaller 4x4 van which can get into even more places because it is smaller and lighter.

And most people would be in a position where they have to save lots of money to buy it. Then I think you shouldn't even think about it, buy a more simple vehicle, and spend the money on travelling itself.

 

[FordGuy1]

They are great vehicles and a great option for those able to write the check. However I never saw a single one in Alaska, the Yukon, or the Northwest Terriotories when I was up there in my 18,500 pound Fuso 4x4. I'm not sure the data agrees with you on them being "the only way to go"

Certainty not the only way to go, just a good way.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

If the link works, here is the same trail from a MB LT series - a full 40 minutes of it. Enjoy! (Again, dry, no snow or rain.)

Bottom of the Shafer Trail

 

[dcrzach]

Our e350 shuttle bus conversion sits at 13k lbs .. Utilizing a leaf sprung Dana 60 front axle .. Its very similar in size (22ft long , 8 ft wide, 11ft tall) and carrys similar offroad potential to a GXV adventure truck or f550 Earthroamer . I did not invest nearly as much to own a very similar offroad capable home with a multi month ability to remain autarkic, so I can promise you i have tested beyond its limitations its ability to tackle any terrain. Any machine such as a GXV or Earthroamer with purpose built offroad components already placed on a proven platform can gurantee performance .

 

[Porkchopexpress]

If you watch videos on EarthRoamer, you will see the interior is all high end luxury so that part of the high cost. Also, there are “Super C” RVs out there made by more high volume companies that are built on commercial truck chassis that should provide the same durability for less extreme dirt roads. Probably a better value for someone who doesn’t need the ground clearance of an EarthRoamer.

Here is my perspective:
-There are over 1000 places in the world that I would like to visit
-Over half require airline travel so I will probably only see a small percentage.
-Maybe 70% of the other half are easily accessible by any rv on the market.
-About 20% might be restricted to smaller vehicles like Class C or less.
-Maybe 10% also require travel on dirt roads that cause extra wear and tear on light duty vehicles.
-Maybe 3% require ground clearance provided by an EarthRoamer or unimog.

My finances and perspective don’t justify the expense to fill the niche provided by EarthRoamers but that doesn’t mean that the niche doesn’t exist.