Broomfield, Colorado: EarthRoamer Founder - Bill Swails began building his first expedition camper for his own personal use in 1998, when he took a 3/4 ton Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel four-wheel drive truck and built a truly off-road capable recreational vehicle named the ER2K. After 6 years of design, development and engineering, he and his partner, Michele Connolly, are now in production building all weather, all terrain expedition vehicles that are well-equipped to travel back roads in comfort and safety anywhere in the world. Fitted with the latest in technological advancements, the EarthRoamer XV-LT uses diesel and solar powered appliances to enable completely independent operation while in the outback.

The structural designs of most standard recreational vehicles are engineered for highway use and very limited off-road use. Slide-in campers can be used for some off-road use, however they tend to have a higher center of gravity limiting their use in certain off-road situations. Most of the structural designs of these recreational vehicles are pieced together using a variety of materials commonly used throughout the RV Industry.

EarthRoamer Xpedition Vehicles are unique in that they utilize a molded monocoque shell that is completely waterproof and very lightweight. The bodies of EarthRoamer Xpedition Vehicles are a composite sandwich construction reinforced with carbon fiber resulting in an incredibly strong and lightweight camper body. This composite laminate shell is completely weatherproof and also provides excellent thermal and acoustic insulation. These construction techniques are tried and proven in the boating industry and are often used while constructing high-end yachts. EarthRoamer is the first to incorporate this sandwich construction into a recreational vehicle to create a truly one-piece monocoque shell.

The shell is mounted to the Ford chassis using a TriMount™ triangular mounting system to isolate the camper from torsional loads caused by frame flex. The front camper mounts are mounted to the truck frame using urethane mounts to isolate vibrations. The single rear mount is on a pivot to allow the frame to flex without transferring torsional loads to the camper. Isolating the camper from torsional and vibration forces allows it to withstand extended periods of travel in demanding rough road conditions without damaging the shell, interior components and cabinetry.

The EarthRoamer XV-LT Xpedition Vehicle is a vehicle manufactured to get you off the beaten path while holding up to the rigors that Mother Nature often hands out.

Off-Road.com caught up with the busy Founder of Earthroamer, Bill Swails for a one-on-one interview.

ORC- Bill, you are known throughout the industry and among your followers as saying, "Live your Dream." How is your dream coming along?

Bill S- I would say that “my dream” has evolved from adventure travel and photography to building EarthRoamer Xpedition Vehicles. My dream has evolved from building a rig for myself to explore the world, to building rigs for other adventurers. We had received so much interest in the original EarthRoamer ER2K, and no one was building rigs tough enough to get off the beaten path, that I decided to team with Michele Connolly to build the ultimate expedition vehicles. Using her Aerospace Engineering background along with my Industrial and Systems Engineering background and extensive experience traveling throughout Alaska, British Columbia, the Western US and Baja, we designed what we believe to be the best engineered and toughest camper out there.

ORC- The concept of the ER2K was a project that you really worked hard on for a long time. At the end of that road, what did you get out of that experience?

Bill S- Most definitely, the major parts of the design for the XV-LT evolved from the ER2K. Many of the systems are similar, but we have made substantial improvements. For example, I experienced the alternator problem during the 2002 Baja 1000 which required me to “MacGyver” a fix with some old battery cable I had in my tool box which enabled me to keep the engine running with solar and battery power from the camper. On the EarthRoamer XV-LT, we have dual alternators (instead of the one on the Dodge) and the camper batteries are automatically connected to the engine whenever the ignition switch is on. Real world failures and problems encountered with the ER2K have resulted in the design of improved systems on the XV-LT.

ORC- With the new concept of the XV-LT, EarthRoamer decided to change to a Ford Chassis from a Dodge Chassis. How has that change been accepted by your many followers?

Bill S- That's one of the biggest questions we have to answer all the time. And not all the Dodge guys are happy about it, but it was really a matter of practicality. Due to the required GVWR we needed for this project, we had to choose a chassis that met our requirements. And Ford was the only manufacturer that was able to provide a 15,000 lb GVWR. Essentially, neither Dodge nor GM offered the platform to build on. With the major improvements made in all three diesel truck engines in the past few years, we have become fans of heavy duty diesel trucks in general.

ORC- Now that we understand why you chose Ford, tell us about your experience with the Ford Chassis and 6.0 liter diesel motor.

Bill S- We've been extremely pleased with the Ford. They provide straight frame rails, a stock wiring harness to the back of the vehicle which is easy to tap into the Ford factory wiring, the leaf suspension system is easy to add to and/or modify for our specific needs and the vehicle comes from the factory with two tanks that hold 59 gallons of diesel. Equipped from the factory, the vehicle comes stock with heavy duty disc brakes. This package was the perfect fit for our project.
The visibility out of the cab is nice. The new 6.0 liter engine with the 5 speed automatic transmission works well. I like the manual locking hubs, two-wheel low, the Dana 135 rear axle and Dana 60 axle in the front. However, it's not been without some small problems. We had one of the very early Ford 6.0’s, so small glitches were to be expected. We experienced an injector problem and had issues with some cold weather starting, but since Ford re-flashed the ECM, we've had no problems. The coldest we've started the truck without being plugged in was -11 degrees. We had one of the very first Dodge Cummins 24-valve when they came out in 1999 and we had small problems then as well.

The Ford has plenty of power. I had many upgrades on my Dodge, but the Ford will "dust" the Dodge and its plain stock. Our XV-LT hauls! I've had it up to 96 miles per hour (on a closed course with a professional driver obviously – NOT!). As a matter of fact, I've recently had two tickets while traveling back and forth from Colorado to the West Coast. It is hard to drive an XV-LT slowly on the highway.

ORC- The suspension for the XV-LT was built by T-Rex Engineering. Has the suspension been successful?

Bill S- In the beginning of our project, we went through several different suspensions and then we found T-Rex Engineering. T-Rex Engineering installed King remote reservoir shocks and provided the custom valving specifically for our XV-LTs. Having King Shocks on all four corners of the XV-LT allowed us to keep our factory spring rates. All of our production vehicles are fitted with King Shocks from T-Rex Engineering. www.T-RexEngineering.com And since then, we've installed heavy-duty front and rear sway bars from IPD and the difference is night and day. On the road we notice the difference in performance and stability on cornering, passing tractor-trailer rigs and in heavy wind. Also, IPD supplies us with the same front and rear sway bars for all of our production vehicles. www.ipdusa.com

ORC-Most people are faced with sticker shock when they discover how much the XV-LT costs. Of course, ORC has seen this phenomenon in other high-end products within the industry, but what do you do to overcome that initial sticker shock with the public?

Bill S- We get that question a lot and it surprises us every time we here it. Let’s consider two brand new 2004 model year cars, Car A and Car B. Car A is 200 inches long and Car B is 203 inches long. Car A is 73 inches wide and Car B is 74.9 inches wide. Car A is 57.3 inches high and Car B is 58.7 inches high. Car A costs $22,145 and Car B costs $117, 200. How can that be? Surprised? Probably not when you realize that Car A is a Chevrolet Impala and Car B is a BMW 760Li. A four-wheel drive EarthRoamer XV-LT with a diesel engine producing 560 foot pounds of torque, with a yacht quality camper and all the systems to support true, four season, stand-alone camping costs AND DELIVERS a lot more than a Minnie Winnie and we believe an incredible value at $150,000.

ORC- What's the toughest part of manufacturing a custom off-road recreational vehicle like this?

Bill S- Every one of the billions of details involved in a project of this magnitude. You can't pick one thing, it all works together. If you change one thing, it changes perhaps another 50 things. Imagine building a luxury condo with all the systems you would find in a house and having to build it to withstand hurricane force winds, 8.0 earthquakes, and temperature extremes from 120 degrees F to minus 20 degrees F. It also needs to be solar powered and extremely energy efficient. You begin to see the challenge.

ORC- Now that EarthRoamer is moving ahead in the manufacturing process, what plans do you have for exotic travel of the world as you have previously?

Bill S- I think realistically the next big trip will be to Central America. It's a place I haven't yet explored and to drive the EarthRoamer XV-LT to that region of the world would be a blast.. The photographic opportunities alone would be awesome.

Bill Swails and the ER2K accompanied Off-Road.com during our live event coverage of the 2002 Baja 1000. The experience left ORC staffers with a renewed respect for those individuals who are dedicated to pioneering new innovative ideas relating to the off-road world.

The devotion of Bill Swails and Michelle Connolly have provided the off-roading community with the latest technoloically advanced off-road recreational vehicle is a monumental task. The fact is, you can take the Xpedition XV-LT to extreme locales safely and live comfortably while you explore your passion. Whether you're digging for rocks, searching for long lost artifacts or living your adventure, the Xpedition XV-LT is the way to travel in comfort.

Visit their website at www.Earthroamer.com for the latest updated information about the world's finest off-road recreational vehicle.