Earthroamer

noah

New member
Yes, we actually own an EarthRoamer. We picked it up in Denver in Dec 2006 and have put roughly 12,000 miles on it. We love it!!! It's the best decision we've made!!! Worth every penny!!!

We can’t help you with the cost decision. We looked at the truck & camper options before we found the ER. The ER has several advantages over the truck/camper setup, such as 85 gallons of fresh water, lower center of gravity and quite a bit more room inside, diesel appliances, solar panels (no need to plug into electric), large capacity house batteries, quality construction and lots of little goodies.

You’re probably right about the ER not going much beyond where you already go to camp, but you can do it more comfort and for longer periods of time.

-Cassette toilet: The cassette toilet is small & super efficient (lasts about 5-6 days) and easy to dump (flush toilet, vault toilets, 3 ft hole in the ground). The 26-gal gray tank is “green”.

-Power: Power management without the sun (and staying in one spot) dictates use of the engine. We don’t like to do this, but do find it necessary in certain situations. With good power management, we go 2-3 days without running the engine (with little or no sun).

-Construction: We can’t answer the details about the underlying structure, but we find the camper to be well insulated, sturdy and solid. It would be best to contact ER for details.

-Ford: Our research showed that 2005 and newer engines resolved the 6.0 issues.

We have posted our Roamer pictures on our personal webpage:
http://ncnoah.com/AlbumGroup.ASPX?Album=Adventures+in+the+RV

Carl Noah
 

kcowyo

ExPo Original
Welcome to ExPo Carl - :beer:

I just spent a few minutes perusing your website, very nice. I'll be spending some more time there looking through the many trip reports and photos from your travels. You two sure do get around.

As far as I know, you are the first Earthroamer owner on ExPo. What a great outfit. The one most of us lust after more than any other.

I see you're planning on returning to Yellowstone in Feb & March. I'm assuming to do some type of snow tour in the park? Snowcoach, snowmobile, sled-dogs...? We have a bunch of snow up here right now, one of the best winters we've had in quite awhile.

If you need any tips or info from a local, send me a "private message" here on the forum. I would be glad to help if I can, even if you just need a locals contact # in case of an emergency. Safe travels to you both!
 

noah

New member
Hi Scott,

The Expedition Portal is GREAT. Glad we can be part of it.

We're looking forward to future expeditions with you and others.

Carl & Nancy
ncnoah.com
 

haven

Expedition Leader
welcome, Carl!

Carl,

Welcome -- you are now our Earthroamer expert in residence! I hope you'll humor us by answering questions about your experiences.

First, everyone will be curious to know what sort of fuel mileage you see with the Earthroamer. How much does the mileage change when you're towing the Jeep?

I'd like to hear your thoughts about living in the Earthroamer for a long trip versus traveling in your larger motorhome. Have you traveled with more than driver and passenger aboard the Earthroamer?

Last, what's the story behind that Airstream RV with NASA logos you photographed on your cross-country trip? Seeking out UFOs, perhaps?

Chip Haven
 

noah

New member
Hi Chip,

Expert ? Watchout we all will be in trouble J. Will be glad to help if I can. Gas mileage is very difficult because of so many variables, however we experienced a range of 9.5 mpg to 11 mpg. Unable to determine changes of mpg while towing the jeep. Hardly know it’s there.

We found it was easy to live in the ER. We haven’t traveled with more than passenger and driver. We spent 4 ½ months driving from Arizona to Nova Scotia, Canada. We were on the move a lot. The ER was MUCH better driving (and safer), especially on the secondary roads and up & down steep mountain grades. It was also extremely easy to set up; no TV antenna (we now have tracking DirecTV), no leveling, electric hookup sometimes. As for storage, everything that we USED on our previous 3 ½ month in the 34’ RV fit into the ER storage. We found plenty of room for clothes, food and toys (we used the cab area also). We were able to carry food and supplies for about 2 weeks.

One disadvantage of the ER was in RV parks. There are no front or back windows, and side windows give great view of RV neighbor. Yuk!! Most of our camping was in state and national parks/forests.

Regarding NASA check out the journal entry below. This was a great end to our trip. http://ncnoah.com/Album.ASPX?Group=...m=2007-05+RV+Maine+-+Nova+Scotia&View=Journal

Our preference of camping is off-road, dry docking. This says it all: After being home 2 weeks, we couldn’t wait to get back into the ER for a camping trip (off-road all the way) in the Mohave National Preserve: http://ncnoah.com/Album.ASPX?Group=Adventures in the RV&Album=2007-10 RV Mohave Desert&View=Journal

Carl
 

explore this

Observer
noah said:
Yes, we actually own an EarthRoamer. We picked it up in Denver in Dec 2006 and have put roughly 12,000 miles on it. We love it!!! It's the best decision we've made!!! Worth every penny!!!

We can’t help you with the cost decision. We looked at the truck & camper options before we found the ER. The ER has several advantages over the truck/camper setup, such as 85 gallons of fresh water, lower center of gravity and quite a bit more room inside, diesel appliances, solar panels (no need to plug into electric), large capacity house batteries, quality construction and lots of little goodies.

You’re probably right about the ER not going much beyond where you already go to camp, but you can do it more comfort and for longer periods of time.

-Cassette toilet: The cassette toilet is small & super efficient (lasts about 5-6 days) and easy to dump (flush toilet, vault toilets, 3 ft hole in the ground). The 26-gal gray tank is “green”.

-Power: Power management without the sun (and staying in one spot) dictates use of the engine. We don’t like to do this, but do find it necessary in certain situations. With good power management, we go 2-3 days without running the engine (with little or no sun).

-Construction: We can’t answer the details about the underlying structure, but we find the camper to be well insulated, sturdy and solid. It would be best to contact ER for details.

-Ford: Our research showed that 2005 and newer engines resolved the 6.0 issues.

We have posted our Roamer pictures on our personal webpage:
http://ncnoah.com/AlbumGroup.ASPX?Album=Adventures+in+the+RV

Carl Noah


Thanks for the info! It's great to finally see an owner on here! I'd love to see any other insight on the good, bad, what are they missing (washer and dryer ;-)), what would you change, what is spot on, etc. Checking out your site after hitting the post button.
 

noah

New member
Earthroamer Good & Bad

The good list very long !! This is an awesome machine!! We’re VERY pleased with the workmanship, it’s capabilities and engineering design!! The workmanship is similar to a high-priced sailboat. The most awesome features are:
1) NO propane is major advantage for us
2) NO loud generator is major advantage for us (we camp with tenters)
3) Skylight above the bed
4) Good HP to weight ratio (lots of power)
5) Knarly brakes (safe on steep grades!!)
6) Swing away table is absolutely awesome, very innovative
7) 85 gal fresh water
8) 90 gal fuel
9) cassette toilet very efficient (one of our main concerns initially)
10) kitchen sink macerator and proper treatment allows “green” disposal of gray water
11) use of LED lights (especially the adjustable touch on/off lights in bed area)
12) high-grade electrical design and installation (inverter, switching, solar, etc)
13) excellent control and monitoring panel (almost total control of ALL systems for power management)
14) Storage is sufficient!!

We could go on and on about the good things, but we don’t have the time. When we finish tearing this one up, we plan on buying a new one. That says it all. We “drive it like we stole it”.

The lack of washer/dryer is not an issue for us. We stop at the Laundromat every couple weeks or so when we do a grocery store run.

The areas for improvement for us, but are not a real issue are:
1) Need side windows in bed area
2) Need a 2nd drain in shower for when we’re not level (which is often)
3) Water pump has failed twice
4) Refrigerator very noisy, cycles on off more than specs
5) Awning is wimpy, but don’t need it as much as other RV because the ER is so insulated with double paned windows.
6) A/C very inefficient, too much battery drain (though we haven’t found a better solution)
7) TV antenna for local stations not useful (but we always use DirecTV anyway)
8) 450 # torque lug nuts a challenge

Carl (AB7KD)
http://ncnoah.com/
 
It's good to hear the ER is working out for you. But the one electrical issue that I disagree with ER on is the ability of two 8D batteries to keep up with the AC; especially at night. My calculations are that 2.5-3hrs at night will deplete the batteries 50%; a bit more in the daytime depending on sunlight. That is the main reason I ended up with a relatively quiet Fischer-Panda 3.5kw generator.
Regarding the lug nuts, I carry a 5' torque wrench. Makes it very easy. You can find them for about $300.
My shower does the same thing.
Last, the propane issue: Thomas Ritter @ Unicat talked me out of a diesel cooktop. He claimed they were very problematic at altitude. We plan to be in Tibet in 2010 camping up to 18000'. I carry two 30 lb propane cylinders. An average burner uses 1/4 lb per hour, so that's 240 hrs of burner time, about a year's worth. And 3 fill adapters: dish, bayonet and European Acme, plus the US Acme/POL on the cylinders. Have you used your cook stove at higher altitudes? How does it work? Which brand is it?

Charlie
 

noah

New member
Er

The AGM batteries ( 550 amp) in 80- 90 deg’s with 6 deg’s cooling will run A/C about
5-6 hrs. This was a disappointing features to us since we camp frequently in warm conditions. However with the celing fan exhausting and only front loft windows open a nice breeze is generated. Also we have a low amp draw 12 v fan. May explore generators if HOT summer nights become to much of a problem.

The diesel furnace, water heater ( engine also heats), stove top all work great from 500 to 11,000 elevation. There is a switch for over 5000 ft operation. Have not used above 11,000 yet. Stove top is a Webasto. 18,000 ft maybe a different story.

Tiebet is on our list !!!! Hope to hear more about it from you.!!

Going to go check out your Beast. Looks awesome.!!

Thanks for info, Carl
AB7KD




It's good to hear the ER is working out for you. But the one electrical issue that I disagree with ER on is the ability of two 8D batteries to keep up with the AC; especially at night. My calculations are that 2.5-3hrs at night will deplete the batteries 50%; a bit more in the daytime depending on sunlight. That is the main reason I ended up with a relatively quiet Fischer-Panda 3.5kw generator.
Regarding the lug nuts, I carry a 5' torque wrench. Makes it very easy. You can find them for about $300.
My shower does the same thing.
Last, the propane issue: Thomas Ritter @ Unicat talked me out of a diesel cooktop. He claimed they were very problematic at altitude. We plan to be in Tibet in 2010 camping up to 18000'. I carry two 30 lb propane cylinders. An average burner uses 1/4 lb per hour, so that's 240 hrs of burner time, about a year's worth. And 3 fill adapters: dish, bayonet and European Acme, plus the US Acme/POL on the cylinders. Have you used your cook stove at higher altitudes? How does it work? Which brand is it?

Charlie
__________________
 

VikingVince

Explorer
Carl,

Just wanted to say how great it is to get real world feedback on the ER from an ER owner...thanks for taking the time to post your experiences and opinions...glad you joined the forum...welcome.
 

ujoint

Supporting Sponsor
It's great to see the rig in action, I just took a look at the website. We're all so jealous!! :)
 

explore this

Observer
noah said:
The good list very long !! This is an awesome machine!! We’re VERY pleased with the workmanship, it’s capabilities and engineering design!! The workmanship is similar to a high-priced sailboat. The most awesome features are:
1) NO propane is major advantage for us
2) NO loud generator is major advantage for us (we camp with tenters)
3) Skylight above the bed
4) Good HP to weight ratio (lots of power)
5) Knarly brakes (safe on steep grades!!)
6) Swing away table is absolutely awesome, very innovative
7) 85 gal fresh water
8) 90 gal fuel
9) cassette toilet very efficient (one of our main concerns initially)
10) kitchen sink macerator and proper treatment allows “green” disposal of gray water
11) use of LED lights (especially the adjustable touch on/off lights in bed area)
12) high-grade electrical design and installation (inverter, switching, solar, etc)
13) excellent control and monitoring panel (almost total control of ALL systems for power management)
14) Storage is sufficient!!

We could go on and on about the good things, but we don’t have the time. When we finish tearing this one up, we plan on buying a new one. That says it all. We “drive it like we stole it”.

The lack of washer/dryer is not an issue for us. We stop at the Laundromat every couple weeks or so when we do a grocery store run.

The areas for improvement for us, but are not a real issue are:
1) Need side windows in bed area
2) Need a 2nd drain in shower for when we’re not level (which is often)
3) Water pump has failed twice
4) Refrigerator very noisy, cycles on off more than specs
5) Awning is wimpy, but don’t need it as much as other RV because the ER is so insulated with double paned windows.
6) A/C very inefficient, too much battery drain (though we haven’t found a better solution)
7) TV antenna for local stations not useful (but we always use DirecTV anyway)
8) 450 # torque lug nuts a challenge

Carl (AB7KD)
http://ncnoah.com/


Great, Great feedback! Thanks and keep it coming!!

Have you heard of anyone installing a small battery charging generator? On a $200k vehicle I don't want to have to get out and string up my honda generator to the plug-in... What other instances have you had of draining the battery and not being able to keep up with the solar? I do heavy winter stuff... What freeze protect systems do they come equipped with?
 

explore this

Observer
Received an e-mail concerning the "demise of Earthroamer"... Any info out there? Their fleet of used was reduced in price about a week ago... e-mails are in the air, but doubting I'll get a response on the query/interest.
 

Scott Brady

Founder
This is entirely false. Call their number and ask them.

If you notice, the original poster of that information (on another forum) has retracted their message.

I am sure EarthRoamer has been affected by the downturn, like all other businesses have, but lets give them the respect of announcing their own demise, if it ever occurs.

Rumors like this will just serve to hurt them and existing owners even more.
 

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