EarthRoamer XV-JP "Northwest Edition"

[DzlToy]

I have attended SEMA before and will be going again this year. I cannot imagine over-booking the convention center and surrounding spaces by that large of a margin. How many years have they been doing this show now?

Solution: take the 1000 cheap chinese tire and LED light bar manufacturers that are all the same and consolidate them into one. Then all the people who got rejection letters will have room for their cool projects

If that does not work, chromed Rolls Royces and the like can also be displaced.

Looking forward to the new new new XV-JP

 

[PaulJensen]

This build, at this point, is like watching a wheelchair tennis match...

Looking forward to the updates...

Mike, I really hope you finally get that one vehicle that you will be happy with for more than a year or two...

 

[mhiscox]

Mike, I really hope you finally get that one vehicle that you will be happy with for more than a year or two...

Thanks, Paul.

 

[ripperj]

I don't know Mike at all, and I will admit that this thread makes me dizzy, but certain types of people, myself included, are never happy with anything for more than a short time.

It's not greed, and it's not that the tool we have won't work for the job, it's the quest, it's the build, it's the rebuild, it's why I get up in the am.

People think I'm crazy for getting rid of things that I spent tons of time on, oh well, I think that people that spend tens of thousands of dollars in dues and membership fees, so that they can then spend $100 to go hit a white ball around the grass are crazy, but I recognize that everyone is different.

I assume the OP either knows what he is doing, or is planning to figure it out enroute. Either way it's his choice.

I suspect that the above post was not meant to be judgmental, but many have criticized his rebuild.( and I understand (I think) that you did the other build, and can sympathize . )


Sent from my Passport

 

[mhiscox]

It's not greed, and it's not that the tool we have won't work for the job, it's the quest, it's the build, it's the rebuild, it's why I get up in the am . . . I assume the OP either knows what he is doing, or is planning to figure it out enroute. Either way it's his choice.

I appreciate the supportive response. I'm curious if changing my house around to accommodate an additional person would also elicit adverse comment. It was a one-person camper, soon it will be a two-person camper. Seems reasonable to me.

Really fine work on your Alaskan, BTW. Bringing that camper back is one of my favorite ExPo projects. Very nice effort. :bowdown:

 

[GR8ADV]

Ok I know both Mike and Paul to some extent. I have purchased a vehicle from mike and we have exchanged thoughts and ideas for some time on a variety of topics from adventure vehicles, funky campers, motos and all the jewelry in between. Paul was charged with the awesome update of my Fuso and completely redid the inside and we worked together for many months thru good and bad. Both are quality people.
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Mikes builds are unique, functional and sometimes push the envelope giving us all ideas. Most of all his builds are evolutionary. His first sprinter build being quite different from the second, serving a completely different purpose. The jeep is that way as well. The XP in its original state was (in my opinion) a BETA piece for all intents and purposes from Earthroamer. It is known that it did not receive the internal QC and TLC that the current versions of the Earthroamer receive. A crazy cool idea but was not thoroughly developed or allowed to evolve into the unit it could have been. Mike saw an opportunity and decided to help in the evolution process and had several quality people like James Lombardo, Paul and others recreate a better unit. All of these folks were tasked with trying create a one off 1/1 unit with some serious constraints. Mike has been appropriately subtle in his descriptions of how the 'finished' XP product turned out. News flash folks, for a variety of reasons that really don't need to be hashed or rehashed, the XP did not function up to expectation. It is not just a matter of some schoolgirl fascination with changing his mind again.
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So I request that we leave the past behind, appreciate that none of us know or will ever know the whole story, and focus our thoughts on someone who is willing to push the boundaries and not settle for 'kind of works' kind of stuff. Mike has a true appreciation for function. I myself am looking fwd to Mike's ideas and budget (fyi Mike may have more than some but does not just throw his money around as some have suggested) combined with Dion's ideas, craftsmanship and energy. I expect that by Christmas we will see what may be the coolest jeep yet.

 

[brianjwilson]

Wow lots of changes in here the last couple of months. Can't wait to see what transpires!

Sure it is a little sad to see the hard work being removed, but I can respect the constant desire to change and improve a platform. My "perfect or ideal rig" changes so much too, I just don't have the time and resources that you do.
I sold my JK and j30 top to build my Tacoma and four wheel camper to comfortably carry wife and daughter. It has been great this summer. Now I'm expecting a boy this winter and wondering where everyone is going to fit? So sometimes our needs and desires change. Some people love tinkering and creating, and re-creating. I see some people build a rig and leave it alone for years. The running joke with some of my friends is to ask if I've spent enough money on my newest truck/suv to sell it yet. To each his own.

Like I said I can't wait to see another project come together!

 

[fog cutter]

.... for a variety of reasons that really don't need to be hashed or rehashed, the XP did not function up to expectation...

not sure that was any news flash to someone following the build thread. surfboards don't really have any systems or moving parts. well, some have an allen screw holding the skeg into its box, but i've yet to see one with lights or running water. or that has to keep out the elements. just 'cause somebody is a good first baseman doesn't mean he can play the tuba.

 

[thethePete]

Pretty sure that was a completely unnecessary jab at a very competent craftsman. Can we see some of what you're capable of producing with your own hands? It's easy to be a critic.

Mike: This build has been a ride since the start. Can't wait to see the next iteration. As others have mentioned, your builds are always unique and a cut above, you seem to source some of the best craftsmen across the country for each rendition.

 

[GR8ADV]

not sure that was any news flash to someone following the build thread. surfboards don't really have any systems or moving parts. well, some have an allen screw holding the skeg into its box, but i've yet to see one with lights or running water. or that has to keep out the elements. just 'cause somebody is a good first baseman doesn't mean he can play the tuba.

Suffice it to say that you missed the point by a very wide margin.

 

[mhiscox]

Pretty sure that was a completely unnecessary jab at a very competent craftsman.

That's my feeling, too. I certainly don't know of anything in the build thread that could have produced such a negative reaction. In fact, I would have thought that most anyone reading the whole build thread would have concluded that it worked very well as a single-person camper. And I've certainly never personally explained to Fog Cutter what my expectations were and how they weren't met, so the comment seems pretty strange.

Fog Cutter--If you have any specific questions, either about the truck as described or about the revisions now underway, please feel free to send me a private message, and I will be pleased to respond.

 

[GR8ADV]

not sure that was any news flash to someone following the build thread. surfboards don't really have any systems or moving parts. well, some have an allen screw holding the skeg into its box, but i've yet to see one with lights or running water. or that has to keep out the elements. just 'cause somebody is a good first baseman doesn't mean he can play the tuba.

Oh and btw I have about 800 cubic feet of awesomeness that Paul did for me with the refurbishment of my fuso that says something quite different.

 

[mhiscox]

Well, faithful readers, there's some news to share. Kind of exciting news, though nothing that makes for good photographs.

For anyone joining us late in the game, my “Northwest Edition” XV-JP Jeep went last summer to Fairfield, Iowa, where a builder/fabricator named Dion Kranz undertook a revision of the interior and the way the roof opened in order to make the truck better accommodate two people. Dion got selected because he was formerly at EarthRoamer and had been an XV-JP builder there. His work has been going on for several months and I was planning to fly to Iowa to get the finished Jeep on December 15th.

Turns out, though, that we have yet another new plan. My Jeep's redo has gone well enough that Dion and his company, Red Cannon Expedition, have decided to commit to actually going into the business of producing Jeep campers. This was always a possibility, and something Red Cannon wanted to happen, and Dion has been tracking his experience on my truck to decide whether he could produce a good product at a reasonable price. And, as was his hope, as he finished up my Jeep as his prototype vehicle, he felt he learned enough to commit to the next steps leading to serial production.

So it happens that I'm going to help Dion out by not picking up my truck next week. When I agreed to delay delivery last week, Red Cannon was able use my redesigned cabin—disassembled (sigh)--to start making production molds that will let them replicate my cabin parts to make more campers. My delay will also allow for the camper's construction and systems to be examined and tested by the professional engineers who have to sign off on the paperwork Red Cannon needs to be selling to the general public, as opposed to do modifications on my pre-owned truck.

While I'll be getting the same truck as planned, it's a really big step for Red Cannon to invest the tens of thousands needed to make the molds and get the engineering done. I'm not sure when I will get my Jeep back, and once it's reassembled, Red Cannon may want to keep it longer to show it off to potential customers and investors. But since winter is here, which makes it better camping in the Sprinter than the Jeep anyway, I can afford to help out by leaving the truck in Iowa for a while. And should it all work out, and lots of people spend money to get new Red Cannon Jeep campers, I'll feel good about having assisted.

 

[Victorian]

Nice! Can't wait to see it.

 

[McBride]

Wow. It sounds like the beginning of a new adventure for a lot of people. I'm looking forward to seeing the product and associated innovation... Hoping for success for everyone!

Willliam