FOR SALE: 2008 EarthRoamer XV-LT

JRhetts

Adventurer
As of Thanksgiving Day 11/26/2009,

EarthRoamer #95 is SOLD

to a Forum contact. Thanks to all who looked and who inquired.
*******************************************************
FOR SALE: 2008 EarthRoamer XV-LT #095

14,500 miles, Excellent Condition, Arizona Beige (color)

LOCATION: Bend,OR USA

PRICE: $179,900.00

KNOWN PROBLEMS: None, excellent condition

DESCRIPTION: This is our second EarthRoamer. Needless to say, based on our personal experience —accumulated over 5 years, nearly 80,000 miles, and roughly 500 nights (in each of two years up to 140 consecutive nights) — we like EarthRoamers and we believe in what they can do. We have driven from Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and Watson Lake in the Yukon, south through Baja California, and all over the USA, camping in remote places and enjoying solitude, comfort, and safety. You, too, can live your dream!

As testimony to the ruggedness and design, in 2008 Australian overlanders ******** and Pip Smith completed a two and a half year, 25,000 mile trip around the world in their EarthRoamer XV-LT. Starting in Alaska, the couple drove across the United States, shipped the vehicle to England and drove across Europe to the easternmost point of Vladivostok, Russia. The EarthRoamer was then shipped to Australia and driven across the country, ending at the Sydney Opera House.

See http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14060&highlight=jrhetts for a review of our experience with our first one, ER #004.



We are selling because we plan to travel out of the US for a couple of years or more, and storing a vehicle like this does not make sense.

Every EarthRoamer comes with a long list of standard features. To save space here, please view those data at http://www.earthroamer.com/tab_xpedition_vehicles/xvlt5_specs.html , the official EarthRoamer website.

Below I list the specific additions, options and special features on our vehicle ( #095).

Our Philosophy: A complex, expensive vehicle like this (similar, say, to an ocean-going yacht) inevitably expresses the philosophy or purpose of the owner. Ours was and is: Get away, stay remote, have a challenging but safe and comfortable time. We want to get to places where we can engage in challenges in the deep backcountry. We want to get away from ‘civilization’ and yet bring with us safety, comfort and resources (read: “gear and backup parts”). When outside the vehicle, we seek out as much challenge and exertion as we can stand. When inside the vehicle, we want comfort and relaxation. And although we like the challenge of driving challenging roads, in a vehicle this size we want the ‘getting there’ to be as transparent (uneventful) as possible. What we want is: strength, reliability and organized storage over ‘pure’ luxury. Our choice of (and exclusion of) options reflects this.
Overall: Both Ford and EarthRoamer have made SIGNIFICANT advances in their design and build quality in the 2008 units. The engine is wonderfully quiet, the turning radius impressively tight, the suspension very adaptable to both highway and corrugated roads; the house construction is solid and very reliably done; the leather captains chairs in the cab are heated, electrically adjustable and very comfortable for the long-distance road driving inherent in our USA.
Driving Lights: Night driving is inherently more stressful and risky, so in addition to the HID Hella high-beam lights and Hella fog lights, we added a pair of PIAA HID driving lights. This combo really puts out more than sufficient light to drive safely and comfortably.
Fuel Tanks (90 gal): We added the optional 50 gal front fuel tank, to give a total of 90 gal and more than 1000 miles of range.
Recovery: We elected to install no winches as we choose not to drive a vehicle this big solo into situations where we are more likely to get stuck. [Winches can be added, both front and rear.] However, we did add a 2” receiver point in front. And we have experimented with tire pressures to discover that we can air down to 35 front and 45 rear to drive safely through very deep and soft sand with no problems.
Security: We often park our vehicle at a trail head or remote places and go off for a hike for a day or more. So we have installed Jimmy Jammers on all four truck doors, and had EarthRoamer add trailer-hitch-pin bolt locks to all 5 doors. In addition, we have an engine disabler that requires the use of a separate fob-button to permit engine starting.
Audio/Navigation in Truck Cab: We installed the maximum upgrade here, to have first-class sound, an excellent Garmin touch-screen GPS, hands-free phone integration, iPod playback, Sirius radio, and an excellent backup camera, all driven by a 4x75 watt amp and a 150 watt sub-woofer. We added an 110v outlet from the house inverter to run a computer or charge cell phones, etc. in the cab, and there is a very stable JottoDesk adjustable computer stand which bolts to the floor. [We ran real-time-GPS-interfaced topographical maps so we could decide what and where to explore way off pavement.]
Rear Seats/Storage Deck: To provide extra storage, we removed the rear seats and installed a flat deck covered in (Plynyl) flooring matched with the house floor. This deck facilitates movement from the cab to the house through the pass through, offers under-deck storage for heavy tools and tire chains, and allows us to store 18.5 cuft (a lot!) of additional “toys, gear and stuff” in readily-available stacking boxes [e.g., available from Lowe’s]. (The deck is easily removable, and the two rear seats are included — brand new in plastic bags and very easy to reinstall.) BTW, we have a set of tire chains and tensioners which we will include with the sale; they have been on the vehicle twice, both times in our driveway in order to practice installation.
Winterization: We have camped in temps as low as -10°F, and the AirTronic furnace is very adequate at such cold temps. For protection of the water tanks, we have electric heating pads under the fresh water and gray water tanks, and in the plumbing chase that crosses the floor. Also, two fans direct (warm) cabin air to the area behind the galley drawers where plumbing and the water pump are located; I have wired them so they can be operated by a thermocouple (on at 45° and off at 60°) or manually controlled. When the fan circuit is on, an electric solenoid also drips a variable amount of hot water back into the fresh water tank as additional protection from freezing. Furthermore, to facilitate winterization, we have a compressed air line plumbed into the water line to expedite ‘blowing out’ all the plumbing when storing the vehicle – one flips a switch to connect air to the plumbing.
Plumbing Protection: We added shut-off valves for every plumbing fixture or termination. Just as in your home, in the event of a leak or a failure this permits continued operation of the rest of the plumbing system rather than having to shut the whole thing down.
Coolant Isolation: The truck engine heats hot water in the house. This necessitates a long run of coolant hose, and this could be a vulnerability. We have an isolation valve installed that operates electrically in normal use, but can be easily overridden manually to isolate the engine from the house.
Gray Water Dumping: Normally, one has to stoop under the left rear corner to open the gray water dump valve. We have installed an electric valve and remote switches to permit splatter-free dumping without exiting the cab or camper. VERY convenient!!
Bed-side Storage Cabinets: We added ER’s option to install full-length bedside storage lockers on both sides of the queen-sized bed. This significantly increases overall storage, esp. for long items (even skis.)
Energy Consumption: We added a third solar panel to speed the recharge of the batteries, esp. on gray days. Nevertheless, we have found that after 5 years and nearly 500 nights of use, the battery bank is very adequate, even when we use the microwave regularly to heat water for hot drinks. All halogen bulbs have been replaced with good LED ones, meaning that the (5) main illumination points together consume about 0.5 amps, which is almost nothing. There are also (3) florescent ceiling fixtures, which are also low consumption in design, along with (2) excellent goose-neck LED reading lamps at the head of the bed. And on the exterior we put (3) blocks of LED lighting, each individually switched from inside. These blocks use approx. 0.1 amp each, so we have no qualms about having them on all night or setting them to light our way home after dark.
House Audio: In accordance with the philosophical statement at the beginning, we have a nice tuner/CD/Sirius player with stereo speakers, but no TV. However, the cabinetry and wiring are in place to be able to add DVD, flat-screen, and satellite dish equipment.
Exterior Storage: With the long trips we take, storage is very important; at the same time, organization is the key to making storage work. The rear lockers offer a lot of space, but the tire winch is normally stowed so as to make organization less than easy. So I moved the winch to a more space-efficient location in the lower locker in a custom made container, and I built a series of removable shelves in the upper locker. This achieves more efficient use of the entire space, especially at the top, above the door opening, and above the spare tire location. Six standard-sized, readily available (Rubbermaid) containers organize this space and more than double the useable space we had previously.
Inverter Power: The 2000 watt inverter is an excellent unit, but like all inverters in this power class it consumes roughly 5 amp at idle. In order to access lower-‘cost’ AC power, we added a duplex plug at each end of the bed that runs off a 200watt pure-sine-wave inverter that ‘costs’ only 0.5 amp. This is more than sufficient to run/charge our computers, phones, GPSs, toothbrushes, and even a rechargeable vacuum.
Magazine Rack: There are several options ER offers that we did not take (e.g., wooden ladder and wine rack), but we did go for the magazine rack installed in the side wall of the fridge. It holds map atlases and 4-wheel-drive-trail books very securely and conveniently to the nav table [a.k.a., the dining table].
Miscellaneous: We deleted the coffee maker mounted on the wall; the plumbing on the outside wall is vulnerable to freezing, it is reported by many owners to be finicky, and it takes up valuable wall space. We deleted the soap dispenser in the bathroom in favor of simple, more flexible and compact wire baskets to hold toiletries; our toiletries have never bounced out on the roads we’ve traveled. We deleted the roof-top awning; as many ER owners agree, the awning cannot be kept up in even a modest breeze, and it hooks tree branches, vines and power lines that droop down; the wiring and switch are in if one wanted to add an awning later. We added an extra shelf in the rear closet to have more shelf storage; hanging clothes are not ones we tend to take with us [though my friend Richard DeSomme would NEVER travel without his tuxedo.] We added an extra shelf in the upper pantry to make a spice shelf that is easily visible to the cooks. And, finally, I installed magnetic door catches on both interior doors (closet and bathroom) so that they can easily be held in an open position when camped on non-level ground – which is nearly everywhere that we go.

For reference, the final invoice to us was $229,000.00. EarthRoamers are very limited production, highly specialized vehicles and are known for holding their value extremely well. In order to make this very attractive to those rare individuals ready to live out their dreams, we have chosen to price it far below the original selling price. To avoid unnecessary negotiating, we are pricing this rare expedition vehicle at $179,900 for a discount of nearly $50,000! We welcome any serious inquiries from qualified buyers.

Feel free to PM me or use my email: jrhettsatbendcabledotcom (remove the ‘at’ and ‘dot’).
 
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haven

Expedition Leader
This is a great opportunity to purchase a vehicle from an owner
who has installed upgrades and fixes to issues uncovered after
years of use (in ER#4).

Point of clarification:
Which set of tires and wheels did you choose?

Chip Haven
 

JRhetts

Adventurer
Chip

We chose the standard Alcoa rims (DOT rated at 10,000# each) and Michelin tires: steer (XZA2) in front and drive (XDA2Plus) in rear. These give great road performance as well as sand/mud traction.

John
 
Last edited:

JRhetts

Adventurer
2008 EarthRoamer XV-LT for Sale

I've had a few inquiries about the suspension on #95.

It is the standard ER mods to the Ford suspension: heavy duty sway bars, custom-valved Bilstein shocks. We did not elect the Kelderman air suspension for two reasons:

First, the ride as-is, on both pavement at highway speeds and on dirt tracks is just fine; we have aired down on prolonged washboards to good effect.

Second, the air suspension in our opinion added another layer of complexity (not necessarily design problems, just complexity) that would increase the probability of something failing, and we wanted to Keep It Simple **********.
 

Bella PSD

Explorer
Would you have the part # for the Bilstein shocks or what the valving is? Are they the 7100's? 12" or 14"? Short or long body shock? I like the idea of KISS as well. I am thinking of something similar on my F350.

Good luck with the sale and your travels outside the US!

Thanks
Louie
 

JRhetts

Adventurer
Louie

I regret to say that your question requires more detailed technical information than I possess. That is an aspect of the ER that I felt I could leave to ER's engineering, and I have been happy with their solution so I have not had to look into it any farther.

I recall being told that the ER Bilsteins are custom valved for the ER's weight and springs, etc (which at 17,000# ± may be quite different from your 350-based rig.)

At any rate, sorry I cannot answer your question.

John
 

daniel ruops

Adventurer
Hello John. My wife and I had the pleasure to meet you and your wife while you were traveling in your EarthRoamer (which is a most impressive vehicle) in Montana. Due to the fact that we enjoyed your company it is now my responsibility to attempt to persuade you not to sell your state of the art, customized, fine quality and well maintained mental-health and excursion mobile. Paraphrasing from your add, your EarthRoamer allows you to get-away, stay remote and have a challenging but safe and comfortable time. EarthRoamer allows you to get to the deep backcountry and get away from civilization in safety and comfort with reliability and assurance of mechanical reliability all while staying in pristine picturesque places.

You state that you are selling because you plan to travel out of the US. I humbly suggest that you reconsider your plans. In my opinion your interests and health are best served by traveling in your EarthRoamer rather than staying in hotels characterized by unsanitary and fecal stained bedding, diseased bedbugs, air suspended viral masses of sneeze residue and surly employees with unwashed hands who intend to prepare your food.
 

JRhetts

Adventurer
Several people have PMd and emailed me to ask whether winches and/or TV equipment can be added to #95.

When we ordered #95 we asked about both of these, and upon delivery we were (again) informed by ER that both winches and TV equipment can be added with relatively little effort. We were told that our front bumper is the same as the ones winches are installed on as original-optional equipment.

The cabinet that ER uses to install TV/Sat equipment in is the forward wall cabinet on the passenger side. At the present we have a simple audio system in there, but this could easily be removed and more extensive equipment put in its place. This cab has both 12v and 110v available, and a TV is normally mounted on the wall just forward of this cab.
 

JRhetts

Adventurer
Apparently (from the PMs and emails) I did not make clear that #95 is a crew cab-based unit. The longer wheel base gives much better ride (e.g., less 'porpoising' than the extended cab version) and with the new front end does not compromise the turning radius.

Also, removing the rear seats and installing the deck in their place created a major improvement in both storage and ease of movement from the cab through the pass-through into the camper.
 

JRhetts

Adventurer
I have had a number of inquiries about what trips we have taken in this vehicle, i.e., where we have taken it, where it can go, etc.

Attached is a cumulative track log of our travels over the last 5 years. All the tracks except thru Mexico to Panama were done in an EarthRoamer - roughly 80,000 miles. [We chose to do the Panama trip in our Jeep with a RTT, though another driver brought his ER-XVLT, and there is no doubt that ours could just as well have done it, too.]
 

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JRhetts

Adventurer
Happy Thanksgiving and thanks to all who have looked and inquired.

I received a number [>10] of serious and qualified inquiries, and yesterday I received payment in full from a Forum contact.

EarthRoamer #95 is SOLD.

Happy day for me!! And it looks like ER#95 will continue to be used, driving and taken to interesting and remote places.

Congratulations AND THANKS to Ed.
 

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