Earthbound high tech travel trailers

[John E Davies]

I inspected a 29 footer yesterday at a local RV dealer and was most impressed with the construction. It is all composite construction with NO WOOD anywhere in the trailer. Even the furniture is aluminum composite.

Pic of the 29 footer:



Floor plan of the 23 footer:



Video of the factory in Marion IN: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XAESjyhsNM"]YouTube - Earthbound RV[/ame]

Video interview with the builder:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJW4d_gWqoE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJW4d_gWqoE[/ame]

Manufacturer's home page:http://www.earthboundrv.com/

44 page detailed construction brochure - this is MOST interesting!: http://www.earthboundrv.com/wp-conte....0-Website.pdf

I emailed them today with these questions:

"When will the 23 foot Camden actually be on dealer lots?

Will you consider offering a high suspension option, with the torsion axles mounted below the frame on, say, three inch spacers? I travel lots of forest roads and your standard rig is way TOO LOW to cross wash-outs, water bars, and to get into rough undeveloped camp sites. Could this be done as an option for for a custom-ordered trailer?

Actually, a non-rubber suspension would be better since the rubber axle bushings fail when subjected to lots of dirt. How about independent steel A-arm suspension with airbags, like the most excellent TASS off-road suspension from here: http://www.adventuretrailers.com/page.php?p=15. Maybe they would agree to sell you TASS kits that could be installed during the chassis build.

Consider offering the option of solar power with large roof panels, and also an easy-to-dump cassette toilet rather than a black water system. The space freed up by removal of the black water tank would work great for an optional extra fresh water tank for longer camp stays.

OK, this is getting complicated.

Please, for the smallest trailer, offer a "turn-key" off road version with extra clearance, protected under-chassis components (lightweight alloy skid/ rock guards), independent or leaf and shock suspension, off-road coupler (or a 2 inch square receiver on the tongue, so the buyer can choose couplers), and bed-liner stone protection for the front wall and fenders.

There is a small, but very vocal demand for this sort of expedition trailer, and there is _nothing_ out there in the US market, though Australians have some excellent choices like those from Track Trailers. Go here to read up on this: http://www.expeditionportal.com/foru...splay.php?f=42

Do you think your construction, especially the interior furniture, would stand up to sustained off pavement travel? Most RVs self destruct in a year or two due to the wood and staple construction. It seems as if your rigs would survive.

I need a trailer I could haul to Alaska and not have it turn to a pile of scrap after a couple of months.

How hard is it for a common RV tech to repair either crash damage or road rash to the exterior composite panels? It seems like a real down side to your construction is difficulty of repair. Most RV dealer workmanship is well below "acceptable", to be charitable. Would the trailer have to returned to the factory for major repair work to the exterior?

Thanks, and I would _greatly_ appreciate a detailed reply. May I have permission to quote your answers at Expedition Portal? "

OK, can we talk about these trailers?

John Davies
Spokane WA

[herm]

drool... awesome. i am going to start saving my 100 dollar bills. lol.

[Titanpat57]

Very intriguing construction and material choices. Probably with some additional support and fasteners it could be made substantiality stronger.

Nice find, probably the wave of the future.

Pat

[John E Davies]

I just thought I would post an update. Earthbound is apparently still hanging in there, but they have announced that they will only build 200 units per year as customs, and half will be going overseas.

I sent them an email price quote request for their single axle 23 footer, bone stock except for the Dexter disk brake upgrade (US$3K). Their reply was terse, with no explanations except a price of ....
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wait for it!
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US$87,000.

My oh my! I sent them back an email wishing them the best of luck in their business, and told them to stuff their 23 footer where the sun don't shine.

They never did reply to my first email asking about an off-road version.

John Davies
Spokane WA
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[Curmudgeon]

At that price, I doubt they will sell anywhere near 200 units. They may build 'em, but I think buyers will be few and far between. I would be surprised if they sell even 50 units.

[snorkel54]

Have you priced an Airstream Classic lately? The Earthbound price is not out of line, even if it's out of my league.


http://www.colonialairstream.com/air...324/index.html

[zidaro]

Have you checked out this manufacturer? All composite/alum. and will do custom builds as well. Ones i have seen look nice, and we are entertaining having their VRV toyhauler version built.

http://www.livinlite.com/index.php

[Yellowkayak]

And that is why lots of companies are going out of business....greed. Way over priced. Just because it looks better than anything on the road doesn't mean you should price it so high most people cannot afford it. Lower it to compete with the same price of other campers and they will sell ALOT more then the compitition. Greedy bastards....I hope they go out of business, and someone else comes up with their version of the trailers and sells them cheap.

These greedy companies still dont get it do they!

JJ

[gabepari]

And that is why lots of companies are going out of business....greed. Way over priced. Just because it looks better than anything on the road doesn't mean you should price it so high most people cannot afford it. Lower it to compete with the same price of other campers and they will sell ALOT more then the compitition. Greedy bastards....I hope they go out of business, and someone else comes up with their version of the trailers and sells them cheap.

These greedy companies still dont get it do they!

JJ

RIGHT ON!!! Occupy Wall St.!!! Down with the MAN!!! Corporations SUCK!!!

???????

[F5driver]

And that is why lots of companies are going out of business....greed. Way over priced. Just because it looks better than anything on the road doesn't mean you should price it so high most people cannot afford it. Lower it to compete with the same price of other campers and they will sell ALOT more then the compitition. Greedy bastards....I hope they go out of business, and someone else comes up with their version of the trailers and sells them cheap.

These greedy companies still dont get it do they!

JJ

Or maybe they could move production to China.