How long before we see a Earthromer for $150K?

vintageracer

To Infinity and Beyond!
How long before we see a Earthromer for $150K?

My opinion is "Much Sooner Than You Might Imagine"!

With all the "Boomer's" retiring right now and into the next 5-10 years there will be lot's of interest in recreation type of vehicles including "Earthromer's" HOWEVER I believe you will see the market and therefore the vehicle offerings from manufacturer's get SMALLER and Less Expensive. This is the trend in the recreational vehicle industry as a whole and I believe it will continue as all us "Old Farts" will want a little more simplicity in our lives along smaller sizes to deal with as we travel in older age no matter what type of vehicle travel that might be. We just might be learning something from those damn "Millennials"!

Given the RV industries continued huge sales growth as a whole there will be less and less available space for all "Explorer's" including the "Boondocker's" who will continue to find that they cannot get far enough away from the "Masses"! In the 1990's through early 2000's Prevost buses were all the rage in the money crowd. As is typically the new wears off pretty quick along with the huge size, upkeep and expense of large vehicle operation. I think the "Boomer's" learned a lot in the last recession and won't make that same mistake again.

Just look at the huge sales increases in expensive Sprinter conversions along with the availability of the factory built Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 and the rumored factory built Ford 4x4 Transit. Many of these new van buyer's are capable of purchasing much larger and more expensive unit's however the more manageable size and better designs that are now available are winning them over. The "Boomer's" are going to want an "Expedition Vehicle" that is smaller in size just like that new "Condo" or "Planned Retirement Community" home they just purchased after selling their "McMansion"!

"I" believe you are seeing that same trend invade the high end Earthromer vehicle market. Those huge Earthromer vehicles will go by the wayside for smaller, better designed, cheaper and more manageable Earthromer designs. This will be great for everybody including the dreaded "Millennials"!

Do I think the currently produced BIG Earthromer's are KOOL to look at?

Hell Ya!

Would I buy one?

Hell No!
 

68camaro

Any River...Any Place
With all the "Boomer's" retiring right now and into the next 5-10 years there will be lot's of interest in recreation type of vehicles including "Earthromer's" HOWEVER I believe you will see the market and therefore the vehicle offerings from manufacturer's get SMALLER and Less Expensive. This is the trend in the recreational vehicle industry as a whole and I believe it will continue as all us "Old Farts" will want a little more simplicity in our lives along smaller sizes to deal with as we travel in older age no matter what type of vehicle travel that might be.

As a tail-end boomer, I agree that our generation is looking for smaller but my generation is also looking for "better and nicer", which would not be less expensive. But aside from class A's I don't think what this generation wants is less expensive, a Sprinter type conversion is well over $100k, a Provan Tiger is $140k new, plus even smaller Earthroamer etc type vehicles are up there. These vehicles are alot smaller than 5th wheels or travel trailers but way more expensive. It seems as you downsize the space, but still try to get everything in there to fit in smaller body costs go way up.

As I have been researching an overland rig for only a few months I think the company that can take the comforts and quality of a B-Class like a Pleasure-Way Plateau TS or even better yet, taker the quality and room of a B+ class like the Pleasure-Way Wide Body XLTS, and marry it with a true 4x4 capable rig with pass-through, like Provan on truck chassis or van Conversion, they will sell a ton of them. However, this rig will not be cheap or inexpensive but how sweet it would be.

One option to above could be take a Pleasure-Way, or similiar, and put a WhiteFeather true 4x4 conversion under it for $30k, the only problem I see is interior build will not hold up to off-road use.
 

waveslider

Outdoorsman
One option to above could be take a Pleasure-Way, or similiar, and put a WhiteFeather true 4x4 conversion under it for $30k, the only problem I see is interior build will not hold up to off-road use.

I have experience with a capable 4wd vehicle with an interior that wasn’t matched to suit the rigors of off-road travel. I know how that movie ends. No thanks.
 

Zybane

Active member
As a tail-end boomer, I agree that our generation is looking for smaller but my generation is also looking for "better and nicer", which would not be less expensive. But aside from class A's I don't think what this generation wants is less expensive, a Sprinter type conversion is well over $100k, a Provan Tiger is $140k new, plus even smaller Earthroamer etc type vehicles are up there. These vehicles are alot smaller than 5th wheels or travel trailers but way more expensive. It seems as you downsize the space, but still try to get everything in there to fit in smaller body costs go way up.

As I have been researching an overland rig for only a few months I think the company that can take the comforts and quality of a B-Class like a Pleasure-Way Plateau TS or even better yet, taker the quality and room of a B+ class like the Pleasure-Way Wide Body XLTS, and marry it with a true 4x4 capable rig with pass-through, like Provan on truck chassis or van Conversion, they will sell a ton of them. However, this rig will not be cheap or inexpensive but how sweet it would be.

One option to above could be take a Pleasure-Way, or similiar, and put a WhiteFeather true 4x4 conversion under it for $30k, the only problem I see is interior build will not hold up to off-road use.

Yes expedition vehicles are IMO the most costly living space, even more so than high end boats. A well known companies vehicle I looked into came to about $3,600 per square foot of living space. As a comparison, my Airstream (highest level travel trailer) is about $500 square/foot.

So an expedition vehicle in that regard is about seven times the price per square foot of living space over a high end travel trailer. Being able to take your small living space off-road and be self sufficient costs a TON.
 

zip

I prefer social distancing.
I have seen a couple of Roadtrek 190s on the Chevrolet 3500 van chassis that have been lifted and 4WD that have turned out well.
 

DzlToy

Explorer
waveslider said:
10k lbs behind a Fuso means that you will get passed by a box turtle heading up the generals highway to the Needles or up the other way to Church Dome. No bueno.....

Towing 10k behind your FG means you are over the legal and OEM limitations of that truck.

Max GVW for a 2012 Fuso FG is 14,050 pounds and GCVWR is 21,760 pounds.

I have had about 6,600 pounds on the bed of an FE140 and it would not get out of its own way. I cannot imagine how much of a turd, nor how horribly unsafe an FG would be towing 7,700 pounds at 14k GVW.
 

waveslider

Outdoorsman
Well, 1,000 man hours... That is one man working 25 weeks @ 40 hrs a week.. to dial in what?... Cmon... My leg is falling outta my socket it's being pulled so hard..

To fix mfg problems? Different story.. to "dial in"?

Were they OCD rearranging clothes???


No kidding. I owned an SMB for 12 years that was a POS and required constant care and feeding and even then I don't think I had a grand of hours in it.

If it truly took someone a thousand hours of time to get systems "dialed in" on a vehicle like that then we should have them take the driver's test again. They might not be mentally fit for interstate travel.
 
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boxcar1

boxcar1
I love the coment that 100,000 miles is nothing .....:LOL: These things have transmissions differentials , transfer cases and brakes. All wear the same as any other vehicle. 100,000 miles can be the end of an un maintained rig. Weather the engine runs well or not.
 

srqsup

Observer
Couldn't believe it last time I was at Expo West and the new SMB's were going for $160k lol - my wife loves them.

I'm actually in the market for something like an Earthroamer because we'd live in it full time and I require a certain amount of daily ease, comfort and storage for that life. The ER would work; I like the layout and overall design. But I don't think I'd take it South of the border, or anywhere outside of USA, Canada, maybe Baja.

Grew up offroading in New England so the sheer size, turning radius, weight, and wheelbase are all big marks against it in my mind for really getting off road. But getting far enough away from the RV parks and hookups so we can boondock to our hearts' desires is nice. And they will do that just fine.

As did the Bigfoot slapped on the F550 in my avatar ;-)


Have you considered a GXV Turtle model?
 

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