Earthroamer SX

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
Ah, that explains it. Sigh. Sounds like I’ll have an adventure when I need to find 4 new G278s

I took a giant chunk out of one of my treads while traveling a super rocky/uneven trail that I’m a little suspicious of right now.

Not the ideal solution, but i have seen single G278 tires pop up on ebay recently, brand new (unsure of date codes)
 

ReluctantTraveler

Active member
Funny, just came here to post about this. I'd been working on a DIY truck camper plan, and it looks like EarthRoamer has built more or less the same thing I was planning (from a layout perspective, anyways).

Obviously much more nicely appointed than mine would be, but at a $1M price tag, well out of my budget as well!
 

ReluctantTraveler

Active member
Well, GXV had their branch out brand with the Adventure Trucks which was smaller and more "Reasonably Priced" (relatively speaking anyway) but they never really took off. Likely due to horrendous customer service.

Its not really possible to go smaller than the F450/4400 and have a fully built out truck and camper and have it anywhere near GVWR.

The TruckHouse thing was a hilarious idea and anyone that thought that would work out needs to lay off the glue inhalation.

I am still 51% convinced it was all a marketing / investment scheme to get a bunch of $ to build some cool trucks for the owners.

Its been what? 2 years now, and other than the few shop trucks they post pics of, there has yet to be one delivered to an actual paying customer?

The amount of capital to sustain that for 2 years or so is INSANE.

The truth will eventually come out, but i am betting on bankruptcy and fraud charges in their future.

Back on original Topic, i am not a Chevy or a Ford guy, but aethestically speaking, i very much like the SX. Looks a lot more balanced cab to camperwise.

Wait TruckHouse never launched? Too bad. That was a cool build!
 

ReluctantTraveler

Active member
I'm a much bigger fan of this interior layout then the previous. I think it just makes sense to have the door in front of the rear axle and have a large dinette in the back. At least from a family standpoint it would be nice to have two separate areas for sleeping and not have to climb over kids in a dinette to get to the bathroom in the back of the camper.

There's also something about having the large view sitting in the dinette being able to see all around the back of the camper.

absolutely agree! I’ve been designing a DIY family rig, and after many iterations the layout I thought worked best looked at lot like this.
 

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
Wait TruckHouse never launched? Too bad. That was a cool build!

There are some cult members that still think its real, and their marketing is still pushing it...

2 years and no paying customers with rigs...

I was convinced it was a fraud from the get go, and the more time that goes by without any actual customers taking delivery of their rigs, the more i'm thinking i nailed my assessment.
 

ReluctantTraveler

Active member
There are some cult members that still think its real, and their marketing is still pushing it...

2 years and no paying customers with rigs...

I was convinced it was a fraud from the get go, and the more time that goes by without any actual customers taking delivery of their rigs, the more i'm thinking i nailed my assessment.

that YouTube dude with the Jeep camper (down4mob or whatever) always seems so high on their stuff. And I’ve seen so many overlanding expo videos chatting with them.

i’m actually pretty bummed to hear this. A truck camper on a taco seemed like a really cool concept, and some of the design choices were quite nice.
 

lucilius

Active member
Until they discover a design choice that involves helium, or other anti-gravity capability, I’ll remain skeptical.
Agreed. I have had a couple of them: Taco is a great little 4x4 truck but Toyota USA (and the rest of the compact trucks made in the US) seems to have little interest designing off-the-shelf small trucks that can manage decent loads on pavement let alone what is needed to go offroad. Earthroamer took the time, $$$ & effort to work with Ford to keep F550 engine/chassis/body warranty intact (despite a significant amount of modification to suspension-wheel-tire) and, until the newer ones started having issues with Ford wheel bearings, weight vs tires, etc., actually performed as advertised...which is not nearly as nimble offroad as a Taco with a tent, some fuel, water and cooler full of food and cold ones: different tools, different jobs. A night in a tent or a night in a suite at Four Seasons can be equally epic. One would think doing a full "camper" on a small truck would be even more difficult, costly to build and expensive/tough to sell so probably not going to be easy to find a company able to do it successfully. None of this will stop the motivated DIY builder from creating anything he wants on any truck platform of course.
 

RAM5500 CAMPERTHING

OG Portal Member #183
that YouTube dude with the Jeep camper (down4mob or whatever) always seems so high on their stuff. And I’ve seen so many overlanding expo videos chatting with them.

Hes a paid shill and pimps whatever products are giving to him free for promotion.

Luckily, with the economy downturn, those type of folks are fading off into the sunset
 

ReluctantTraveler

Active member
Hes a paid shill and pimps whatever products are giving to him free for promotion.

Luckily, with the economy downturn, those type of folks are fading off into the sunset

Ah, I didn't realize that! I've really enjoyed seeing some of the stuff on his channel. Both TruckHouse and Bison Overland have some really interesting features that I've considered integrating into my future rig.

Unrelated, but... do you have a thread on your rig? I know you're hauling on a 5500, and I'd love to see what you've got!
 

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