Living in an EarthRoamer Means Things Break

EarthRoamers are incredibly capable, high-end rigs built for off-grid travel. But that doesn’t mean things don’t go wrong. We’ve owned ours for about a year now, and we’ve had a handful of repairs come up. At one point I asked Jacob, “Why are things breaking so much? Is this normal?” His answer actually made a lot of sense. Unlike a house, the EarthRoamer is constantly being rattled and shaken. It’s exposed to dust and a wide range of weather that a stationary home never has to deal with. A house in Phoenix isn’t built the same way as one in the Puget Sound, but the EarthRoamer moves through both. And while houses are built with materials designed to last for decades, many RV components simply aren’t.

None of our repairs have been major. The biggest issues we’ve dealt with have been related to the Ford chassis, not the EarthRoamer systems themselves. But the smaller things, like a roof leak or a misreading gauge, are what day-to-day ownership looks like.

We first realized we might have a leak back in Zion National Park. One morning we woke up to wet bedding and quickly figured out that even though it hadn’t rained, condensation had built up on the fan above the bunk and dripped down enough to soak the duvet. It’s our first winter in the truck, so we weren’t sure what was normal yet.

A few weeks later, while staying at Natural Bridges National Monument, we got real rain. Jacob woke up to a soaked bed. Not just damp, but fully soaked through to the mattress. In the wee hours of the morning, I climbed out, grabbed a bowl, and set it under the drip. By the time we fully woke up, it had collected a surprising amount of water.

It wasn’t fun, but it also didn’t feel overwhelming. A few weeks later, after finishing that stretch of the Utah BDR and a few other excursions, we brought the truck back to EarthRoamer HQ and they replaced the fan seal. They recommend a yearly inspection, which includes checking and replacing seals like this. Our EarthRoamer is nine years old, so it made sense that it was time.

The other issue during that trip was our water gauge. After two showers, the percentage hadn’t dropped at all. That makes it hard to track usage and plan ahead. We didn’t want to risk running out, so we stayed conservative with water for the rest of the trip. In the end, we had more left than expected.

During that trip to HQ, EarthRoamer recalibrated the system. Even when working properly, it’s not perfectly precise. We treat it as a general guide and leave a buffer. Within about 10 percent feels realistic and manageable.

So far in our travels these types of issues haven’t stopped a trip or forced us to change plans. But small issues do come up regularly. Sometimes it’s a repair, sometimes it’s just a quirk that goes away on its own. What we’ve learned is that this is part of the experience.

If you’re not someone who handles repairs yourself, it’s worth planning for maintenance throughout the year. For us, that means getting back to EarthRoamer for service a couple times annually. We’ve used a local RV shop in our home town for a few quicker fixes, but we prefer going back to EarthRoamer when we can. They know these trucks inside and out, and the quality of their work shows.

At this point, when something small comes up, we don’t stress about it. We take note, make adjustments if needed, and decide whether it’s something to handle on the road or save for our next stop in Denver.