EarthRoamer XV Finished... Pics Inside

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Its beautiful frankly. Too bad there isn't a decent stock motor. If you are spending that kind of money I hope it has one of the V8's that AEV puts in their wrangler packages?

I can see into the future 10 years: Myself and other do-it-your-selfers are cutting on our trucks to copy and turn our suvs or trucks into something similar!
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
More power would be great, like a 6.1 HEMI!! But then you'd just HAVE to get some D60's under it, right?
 

SOAZ

Tim and Kelsey get lost..
Thats true, its a jeep gonna want that warranty!! Har Har Har!!!:jump:
Just kidding!
 

viter

Adventurer
I think the thing looks great - very functional, innovative, stylish, and built with quality!
I especially like the bed with a view - looks very inviting... ;)
img_0672_std.jpg


but yeah, if only it was more affordable... but as always, what else can one expect for a custom very time intensive handmade product built in small quantities. now, if they were to get together with Jeep and talk them into offering this as a factory option... perhaps at a run of say 5000 or so a limited edition Jeep Earth Roamer could cost more around $50000...

it is nice to dream.....
 

peanut'sdad

New member
I emailed the guy a few months back about this thing...
I asked him if he ever considered the possibility of making a Camper/canopy type hard top to mount onto a tj. Kinda like the canopy of a pickup...
He came back with a "snooty" remark saying that they didn't build "lessor" type equipment. For a hundred thousand bucks... I'll keep My Jeep and maybe run the idea to some other canopy company.
 

calamaridog

Expedition Leader
cshontz said:
Underhood is stock to retain as much of the factory warranty as possible.

I think what he meant was why did Jeep go with the minivan v6 in the first place.

I was betting on the 3.7 v6 and 4.7 v8 family of engines myself, and was disappointed they were not used. Those are good motors.
 

VikingVince

Explorer
kodiak1232003 said:
kinda lame in my opinion...

i think 99% of the home built rigs :safari-rig: on this site are more functional, better looking and about $75-95,000 cheaper...

Your point is well taken...maybe not quite that much cheaper, but certainly ALOT cheaper. I could redesign the interior of my truckbed/flippac to include all the same amenities and it would essentially be the same thing. In fact, I've thought about doing it. I have about $8K in mods and equipment. (got the flippac used) But if you bought a new Tacoma TRD ($25K) and purchased everything else new, you could create a similar rig for around $40K. Hmmmmm...but then if you start considering that ER's Jeep probably costs $10K more, LABOR, productions costs, overhead, marketing, etc, one can start to see why their rig costs what it does...oh, and plus they have to make a profit!:ylsmoke:
 
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Bongo Boy

Observer
It's got to be tough to mix an off-road capable rig with a fully-integrated mobile home; I'd have to give the designers a lot of credit for trying it. This looks like it would be as successful as any such attempt could be. No question from the photos, at least--they did a beautiful job in the interior.

But, the concept itself just doesn't make any sense for me, and man do I find it butt-ugly (from the outside). Anyway, I guess I'm just not 'getting it' when it comes to marrying 'base camp' and 'extreme mobility' into one vehicle. It's just not something I'd want to do in the first place. The show-stopper, though, is the overall deployed height--besides not wanting to climb up (and down) to get into my sleeping quarters, it just seems too limiting in terms of where it can be deployed--especially accounting for the even greater (even if only slightly) clearance needed to swing that cover open.

Anyway, I guess my view is that it's a small, self-propelled Winnebago with the added cost of a Rubicon platform that I now can't practically use for my intended purpose of a jeep, and the added inconvenience of a tent in a tree-house. I can see how this is exactly what some folks would want, but I can't imagine why--the Rubicon is no longer going to go on many of the (easy) trails I like to drive, yet I still have a tent and not a 'real' camper. The paisto resisto though is that I now have to take my campsite with me wherever I go--those exploratory day excursions. Absolutely not going to do that.

...and for $100k, I could get over 10 years of holiday time camping at Ritz-Carltons. :)
 
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VikingVince

Explorer
Bongo Boy said:
The show-stopper, though, is the overall deployed height--besides not wanting to climb up (and down) to get into my sleeping quarters, it just seems too limiting in terms of where it can be deployed--especially accounting for the even greater (even if only slightly) clearance needed to swing that cover open.

the Rubicon is no longer going to go on many of the (easy) trails I like to drive, yet I still have a tent and not a 'real' camper.
. :)

FWIW, I have never had any issues deploying my Flippac anywhere. Granted, their design needs a larger footprint because the flippac opens to the back but I can't think of any situations I've been in where that would be a problem either...and I've been in lot of different type of places.
As far as climbing up and down...well, I guess different strokes for different folks...but, for me, the flippac easily creates an interior space with standing room as well as a very comfortable and dry place to sleep off the ground....and, because of all the zip windows, it's wonderfully open in nice weather with great air flow.

And the modified Rubicon is still going to handle any 'easy' trail with no issues...In fact I would say that it could handle almost any trail that it could before the mods...all that's been done is slightly raise its COG...that's never been a problem for me with a similarly raised COG...although, admittedly, I've never done more than a 3.0 on a scale of 5.0...and maybe a few short portions of 3.5 (I have 31" tires and I don't have a locker)...but anything 3.0 and below is really no problem...and this Jeep is more capable than my Tacoma.
 

Bongo Boy

Observer
I think it's a beautiful implementation of the concept. But no, it's NOT going to handle any 'easy' trails. The stock vehicle can barely handle the easy trails I'm accustomed to driving, this unit won't even come close. But not to argue. There are many, many trails it will handle, I'm sure.

The bottom line is, it's not for me, I think it's brain dead ugly, and the idea makes no sense. That's just me. The concept has nothing to do with 'adventure' or 'expedition' as these ideas gel in my head, but I know that doesn't mean anything universal. Even if someone made a compelling case for why I needed this, I'd resist until my last breath.

That's how much I think it sucks, is unattractive, is brain-dead, ugly, and a dumb idea.

But, OTOH, I hope the guy makes a fortune selling them, because I absolutely love innovation and small business. The market he's targeting is not the market I'm in, but I love to see small business succeed. You go girl!
 

VikingVince

Explorer
Bongo Boy said:
I think it's a beautiful implementation of the concept. But no, it's NOT going to handle any 'easy' trails. The stock vehicle can barely handle the easy trails I'm accustomed to driving, this unit won't even come close. But not to argue. There are many, many trails it will handle, I'm sure.

I'm confused...how can a stock Jeep Rubicon not handle easy trails?
 

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