EarthRoamer 2.0

[turbopilot]

Thought I would break out a new thread documenting my experience with my new 2012 EarthRoamer XV-LT. My experience with expedition vehicles is only 16 months, driving a 2008 EarthRoamer XV-LT. I put around 20,000 miles on that rig. It is now on consignment at EarthRoamer. I have had many questions asking why I would trade up to a 2012 EarthRoamer. Looking at the pictures they don't look much different.

Simple answer is that the EarthRoamers beginning in 2012 are much different than earlier models. The guys at EarthRoamer have continued to feed in improvements to the rig over the last few years but have not really talked too much about those improvements. Based on my experience with the new rig since last Friday when I took delivery, I think the 2012 EarthRoamer XV-LT is different enough to be called EarthRoamer 2.0.

The combination of the Ford 2012 chassis, the 6.7L engine and the addition of the MPT81 41" tires make the new EarthRoamer an entirely different machine on the road compared to my 2008 EarthRoamer. The tires make a difference. My 2008 EarthRoamer had the standard 37" Michelin tires with air ride. The 41" MPT81 tires give a softer ride and the rig is very stable at highway speeds. The big tires make more noise and will only get about half tread life as the 37" tires. Most owners need new 41" tires between 20,000 and 30,000 miles. The MPT81's cost $14,300 more. Based on my experience I would recommend the MPT81's for the EarthRoamer.

http://turbopilot.smugmug.com/Travel/ER116/i-mHnM7Hc/0/M/EarthRoamerTires-M.jpg

The other big change from my 2008 EarthRoamer is the new 2012 Ford F550, 6.7L diesel chassis. Ford really got it right with this truck. It is much, much quieter at highway speeds than my 2008 6.4L F550. The transmission is much smoother. And it is much more efficient. Since taking delivery of my new EarthRoamer on Friday, I have been driving it around the Colorado mountains wringing it out before heading back to California. This morning I made a round trip from downtown Denver up to the top of Floyd Hill and back on I70. Made the entire trip up and down the grade between 60 and 65 mph. Ford MPG page showed 11.5 mpg which squared with the EarthRoamer fuel totallizer showing diesel consumed. By comparison my 2008 F550 would nominally get between 9.0 and 9.2 mpg under the same conditions. My new EarthRoamer only has 200 miles on it so it is likely fuel economy will improve as the motor breaks in. So the stories that the new 6.7L diesel is 20% more efficient seem to be true.

http://turbopilot.smugmug.com/Travel/ER116/i-BPK7pRR/1/M/IMG2523-M.jpg

Many other changes which I will feed into this thread with future posts.

[SRUPike]

Subscribed!!!! Can't wait to hear all about the truck and your adventures...

[TomH]

I would only recommend the MPT81's for the EarthRoamer.

Literally, this means you are recommending the MPT81 only for the EarthRoamer, and no other vehicle. I presume that what you actually mean is For the EarthRoamer, I would recommend only the MPT81 and no other tire.

Speaking of this tire, how heavy is the entire wheel and tire? That is a flat I would not look forward to changing in the middle of the boonies. Is the rim steel or aluminum? What will the replacement costs be for a new set each 20k-30k mi.?

[EMrider]

Thanks for the info, congrats on the new rig and looking forward to more updates.

R

[BlackClassic]

The earthroamers are down right nasty rigs! Can't wait to see your adventures and gotta have more pics! Congrats and have fun how there!!!

[DKB2GO]

What drove your decision to change from a Silver to White body?

[turbopilot]

What drove your decision to change from a Silver to White body?

Heat absorption. White is much cooler.

[TomH]

Are the rims steel or aluminum? How much does each wheel/tire weigh? What's the cost on these?

[762X39]

I have MPT 81's on my Unimog but they are only the 38" ones. I paid about $525 each for them 2 years ago. The tires were about 75 lbs each plus rims. They are not that hard to change in the field as long as you have a block of wood and a shovel. I have also found that you should only lift the axle till the tire clears the ground by about a 1/4". The tire comes off easy and it is easy to put the tire back on with minimal lifting.:coffee:

[turbopilot]

I have MPT 81's on my Unimog but they are only the 38" ones. I paid about $525 each for them 2 years ago. The tires were about 75 lbs each plus rims. They are not that hard to change in the field as long as you have a block of wood and a shovel. I have also found that you should only lift the axle till the tire clears the ground by about a 1/4". The tire comes off easy and it is easy to put the tire back on with minimal lifting.:coffee:

For the EarthRoamer I understand the tire/wheel weight is around 160lbs. To replace 4 MPT81's on the ER, I have heard the cost is in the range of $2,800.

The MPT81's make a amazing difference in ride and handling in the ER. While the tread wear is significantly less, the added traction and substantially improved ride make it clearly worth the difference in the rig.

[TomH]

I'm curious about the storage location for the spare. Does ER make the indentation in the rear wall of the cabin according to the size tire you originally order on the vehicle? What happens if the original tires match that recessed cavity, but you later decide to upgrade to larger tires? Can that cavity be enlarged; do you put the spare somewhere else; do they make that cavity for the largest possible tire you could ever have at the original manufacture of the vehicle? If they make it for the 41", but you go with the 37", is there a spacer to fill up the empty outer section?

Thanks,
Tom

[SRUPike]

Tom,
From what I understand the size of the spare cavity is about 42". Bill thought ahead when designing the moldings knowing bigger meats would be possible. And from what I understand a lot of owners have since upgraded to the air ride/MPT81 ie Global Road Trekker has, and they have posted a cool time-lapse video of the tire change process on EXPO.

[cwsqbm]

If they make it for the 41", but you go with the 37", is there a spacer to fill up the empty outer section?

No spacer - it looks a little empty with the smaller tire, like here (http://earthroamer.com/galleries/065%20HTML/img_8658.htm).

Looking through the Earthroamer galleries, it looks like there was a change to the mold somewhere between #8 and #18, as #8 has a smaller spare tire well (http://earthroamer.com/galleries/008%20HTML/img_2602_std.jpg) that might not fit a 41" tire.

[john278516]

Thought I would break out a new thread documenting my experience with my new 2012 EarthRoamer XV-LT. My experience with expedition vehicles is only 16 months, driving a 2008 EarthRoamer XV-LT. I put around 20,000 miles on that rig. It is now on consignment at EarthRoamer. I have had many questions asking why I would trade up to a 2012 EarthRoamer. Looking at the pictures they don't look much different.

Simple answer is that the EarthRoamers beginning in 2012 are much different than earlier models. The guys at EarthRoamer have continued to feed in improvements to the rig over the last few years but have not really talked too much about those improvements. Based on my experience with the new rig since last Friday when I took delivery, I think the 2012 EarthRoamer XV-LT is different enough to be called EarthRoamer 2.0.

The combination of the Ford 2012 chassis, the 6.7L engine and the addition of the MPT81 41" tires make the new EarthRoamer an entirely different machine on the road compared to my 2008 EarthRoamer. The tires make a difference. My 2008 EarthRoamer had the standard 37" Michelin tires with air ride. The 41" MPT81 tires give a softer ride and the rig is very stable at highway speeds. The big tires make more noise and will only get about half tread life as the 37" tires. Most owners need new 41" tires between 20,000 and 30,000 miles. The MPT81's cost $14,300 more. Based on my experience I would recommend the MPT81's for the EarthRoamer.

http://turbopilot.smugmug.com/Travel/ER116/i-mHnM7Hc/0/M/EarthRoamerTires-M.jpg

The other big change from my 2008 EarthRoamer is the new 2012 Ford F550, 6.7L diesel chassis. Ford really got it right with this truck. It is much, much quieter at highway speeds than my 2008 6.4L F550. The transmission is much smoother. And it is much more efficient. Since taking delivery of my new EarthRoamer on Friday, I have been driving it around the Colorado mountains wringing it out before heading back to California. This morning I made a round trip from downtown Denver up to the top of Floyd Hill and back on I70. Made the entire trip up and down the grade between 60 and 65 mph. Ford MPG page showed 11.5 mpg which squared with the EarthRoamer fuel totallizer showing diesel consumed. By comparison my 2008 F550 would nominally get between 9.0 and 9.2 mpg under the same conditions. My new EarthRoamer only has 200 miles on it so it is likely fuel economy will improve as the motor breaks in. So the stories that the new 6.7L diesel is 20% more efficient seem to be true.

http://turbopilot.smugmug.com/Travel/ER116/i-BPK7pRR/1/M/IMG2523-M.jpg

Many other changes which I will feed into this thread with future posts.

Any updates Turbopilot? I love to hear actual owner experiences. I'm drooling over your rig. Looks like your used one sold pretty quickly, congratulations!

[turbopilot]

Any updates Turbopilot? I love to hear actual owner experiences. I'm drooling over your rig. Looks like your used one sold pretty quickly, congratulations!

I am updating my experience over on the EarthRoamer Owner's Forum (http://www.earthroamer.org). Anyone can join.

[Saiyan66]

So the tire replacement cost would be $2800, but the upgrade cost when buying new is $14300? Wow those are some expensive rims...........

[Christian P.]

Tom

thanks for sharing your experience. Glad to see that the new Ford really is more efficient.

[turbopilot]

A few days ago I made a trip south on US101 in California from Arcata to San Luis Obispo in the 2012 EarthRoamer. Here is the message center for the trip.

http://turbopilot.smugmug.com/Travel/ER116/i-b3db2ZH/0/S/IMG2715-S.jpg

I confirmed the actual distance to be within one mile of the reading shown on the message center at 526. I filled up the tanks and they took 42.9 gallons versus the message center reading of 42.8 gallons. So over the 526 mile trip the 2012 EarthRoamer fuel milage was an amazing 12.3 mpg. The enroute time of 10:51 included about 40 minutes for a lunch break with the engine idling and some stop and go traffic in Oakland. During the trip the ER had one regen.

Great mileage for a 17,000 lb rig.

[charlieaarons]

So the tire replacement cost would be $2800, but the upgrade cost when buying new is $14300? Wow those are some expensive rims...........

1) you get 5 tires, not 4 with the Earthroamer
2) you get 5 bolttogether rims, and yes, those rims are not cheap, on the order of $1000 each. They are designed for a load capacity of at least 7000 lbs each. An example of heavy duty bolttogether aluminum rims:
http://hellgeth.com/sale/sale-parts-wheeled-vehicles/
2nd item down on page
3) I believe the $14300 also includes the air suspension; yes it is more expensive than a Skyjacker lift kit.

Charlie

[762X39]

Thanks for chiming in Charlie. Yes 5 tires cost more than 4 and 5 Beadlock rims made by Hutchinson are more than cheap rims by everybody else. I never considered a Skyjacker lift for an F550 to be a serious choice for an ATW truck (especially one with a high build quality). At the price, I think the package is reasonable and fair.:coffee:

[charlieaarons]

Actually I was wrong. I looked at ER's price list:
http://www.earthroamer.com/pdf/2012%20EarthRoamer%20XV-LT%20Pricing%20and%20Options.pdf
The air suspension is another $16K.
So the $14300 is just for the 5 tires, wheels, and I think hub spacers.

Charlie

[Saiyan66]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to stir up anything over the cost of the wheel and tire upgrade. I know that ER puts out an amazing product and was just thinking about what their cost/retail is on some of the upgrades. Someone who is legitimately in the market for one of these probably wouldn't bat an eye at those options prices. For me however who is still in the dreaming phase, it seems they are definitely making some good profit on those upgrades.