EC adventure Frequently asked questions
frequently asked questions
Have questions about our adventures?
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Current owners of EarthCruisers, EarthCruiser Terranovas, and their passengers. This includes new vehicle purchases, and current owners of pre-owned vehicles who purchased their vehicles through our consignment program or via a third party and purchased membership into the Cruiser Crew program. These trips are designed around our vehicles in terms of their driving capabilities and self-sufficiency ability. Our end goal is to foster community amongst our owners, provide a place for them to share their knowledge and skills, and provide opportunities for them to grow in their confidence in overlanding. Group sizes will be limited to ensure optimal access to experiences and places and individual attention from trip leaders.
Included with each trip:
- All camping and accommodation fees
- All activities listed as included, entry and park fees
- EarthCruiser Tour Leader
- Most meals will be included on overseas trips, and cooking will be performed by EarthCruiser staff or a local chef – though there will be plenty of opportunities for participants to assist as we feel shopping and cooking is part of the fun of experiencing new places.
- For domestic trips, a limited number of meals will be provided; see individual itineraries for details.
Not included:
- Transportation of you and your vehicle to and from the trip’s start and end point. For overseas trips, the costs of shipping your vehicle to the starting location is not included. EarthCruiser staff will be available to assist in shipping logistics.
- Fuel, vehicle insurance, personal travel insurance, visas, and border fees for you and your vehicle
- Meals/groceries not listed in itineraries as included, drinks
- Optional activities and gratuities for local guides
- Incidentals
The beauty of overlanding is that no two days will be exactly the same. That said, generally most days will begin with driving after breakfast. We will rotate lead vehicles throughout the trip to ensure fairness in selecting camping spots and give each participant the chance to build their navigation skills. Most drives will be under 4 hours, broken up by short breaks or stops for activities such as short hikes to scenic or historic sites. Lunches will typically be taken en route. Upon arrival at our night’s destination, we will make camp. Afternoons and evenings are opportunities for participants to explore the local area, go on short walks, participate in activities or shop for supplies. We try to work in free time and flexibility to each trip.
Each trip is carefully designed with the capabilities of our vehicles in mind. Our goal is to travel the most scenic and interesting routes, away from the crowds. This means many of the drives will be on unpaved roads, and challenges such as rough terrain, deep sand, and fording of rivers may occur. Occasionally, following a paved highway is the most logical course, and certain activities and sights may be popular simply because they are good and we wouldn’t want to miss them. Our ultimate goal is for our owners to finish each trip feeling more confident in their abilities and their vehicles, and EarthCruiser employees will be there to facilitate that through their leadership. Each trip will be given a driving rating of 1-5. Trips rated 1-2 will consist of occasional paved roads, plus well-maintained dirt and gravel roads. Trips rated 3 will include a mix of dirt and gravel roads, some well-maintained other providing more challenges in the way of occasional deep sand, mud, rocky or narrow roads. Trips 4-5 are designed to offer more learning opportunities for challenging driving and may require advanced winching techniques, water crossings, and guiding through obstacles. See individual trip itineraries for more details.
Each trip will vary in terms of the comfort or challenges you may experience. Each itinerary will be given a comfort rating of 1-5. Trips rated 4-5 will be very comfortable with nights spent at well-appointed campgrounds and the occasional hotel or eco-lodge. Drive times will be shorter, and participants are unlikely to encounter significant weather events. Food will be familiar and cultural interactions will be close to what participants experience at home. Trips rated 3 will include a mix of campgrounds and dispersed campsites without faculties. Participants may experience some heat, cold or rain and drives may be longer and less smooth. They may experience cultures and foods differing from their usual experience. Trips rated 1-2 will be primarily camping without amenities. Drives may be challenging, and you will often encounter people and environments that may be outside your usual comfort zone. See individual trip itineraries for more details.
EarthCruiser Tour Leaders will accompany every trip to run logistics and provide leadership. They are chosen for their leadership and have a general understanding of driving and EarthCruiser vehicles, but they are not mechanics. In the event you experience mechanical difficulties along the way, they are available to guide and advise you in performing your own maintenance and repairs. They may assist with obtaining professional help if needed.
Most trips will require a basic set of recovery equipment including at least one spare tire, Maxtrax, Snatch Block, Tree Saver, one pair each hard and soft shackles, and gloves. Overseas trips and driving trips with a rating of 4-5 may include additional gear requirements. See individual trip itineraries for more details.
Currently our trips are only open to those age 18 years and older. We plan to offer family friend trips with included activities designed for younger participants in the near future.
For domestic trips, so long as your pet is up to date on vaccinations and does not bother other participants with noise, you may bring your pet. You must follow all local regulations and laws regarding keeping it leashed and picking up after its waste, and due diligence in regards to these regulations is your responsibility. Owners assume full responsibility for their pets and any show of aggression towards other people, other pets, or wildlife may result in the owner being removed from the trip without a refund. For international travel, securing all necessary paperwork, quarantine periods, and vaccination requirements are your responsibility. Any failure to successfully cross a border or enter a restricted area, such as National Parks, is not the fault of EarthCruiser Adventure, and you will be responsible for any fines or changes in plans that may result.
Absolutely. We consider our trips a success if they give our owners the tools and inspiration they need to continue on independently, and we’re here to help with planning and logistics.
We will do our absolute best to accommodate all dietary requirements, though it can be very difficult to guarantee in some international locations. We will ask you at the time of booking of any dietary requirements and allergies, and we will let you know if there are places where we think it may be difficult to accommodate and work with you to find a solution. We recommend on international trips to bring a card with your dietary requirements written in the local language for those times you are eating away from the group.
We will provide detailed trip information upon booking. However, we recommend you continue to check with the embassies of countries you will visit along with the CDC and state department travel advisories for up-to-the-minute information.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all our international trips. It must, at a minim, provide for medical expenses, including emergency repatriation. We strongly recommend that all travelers have a policy covering COVID-19, personal liability, cancellation, and loss of luggage. For domestic trips all driving participants will be asked to provide proof of valid insurance to operate the vehicle within the state the trip will operate.
For domestic trips if you need to cancel for any reason more than 31 days from the trip’s departure we will refund all but $1000. We do not offer refunds for cancellations less than 30 days prior to the trip’s departure date. See individual trip itineraries for more details. If in the unlikely event that EarthCruiser Adventure needs to cancel a trip due to unseen circumstances or the minimum number of bookings required to run a trip is not fulfilled a full refund will be provided.
Is your dream to explore places beyond the traditional RV park or campground in North America, or elsewhere in the world? Do you want to be able to go streamside, mountainside, beach-side or in the snow with access to a warm shower, toilet, and a cold beverage in a true all-weather vehicle? Do you want to continue moving forward rather than having to turn back for fuel or provisions? If the answers are yes, then read on.
An EarthCruiser is sized for ease of handling on and off road. The living compartment isn’t simply a bolt-on box full of amenities; it is engineered in a way to compliment the chassis. The width of the house relative to the cab has been designed so when traveling through scrub, branches are easily deflected past. An EarthCruiser’s widest elements are its side mirrors; an easy to monitor dimension when trying to squeeze through tight environments. When we started building EarthCruisers in Australia there were restrictions on length ~22ft (6700 mm). Those same restrictions are now in place on some roads in national parks and other places in the world to limit environmental degradation. An EarthCruiser from the front of the bullbar to the back of the spare wheel carrier is 21′ 9″ (6630 mm). To comply with these regulations, EarthCruiser has no plans to extend the length of the vehicle.
Job postings have historically been posted on Indeed, but sending in a resume any time never hurts.
Please drop us an email and we’re happy to answer your questions.
We build to order, and it takes approximately 10 weeks to build an EarthCruiser. Delivery timing is dependent on a few factors: the amount of personalized options and builds in front of you in the queue.
Because we build to order, seeing an EarthCruiser is dependent on what is being built at the time. Our workshop builds during four, ten hour shifts and we’re available by appointment on Fridays and Saturdays. Please organize in advance if you would like to visit as we can’t guarantee we won’t be out enjoying all Oregon has to offer. If you are indeed serious about an EarthCruiser, we like for you to come spend the day with us learning more about what we do and how an EarthCruiser may compliment your outdoor lifestyle. Contact us to set up an appointment.
Absolutely! We have a Certified Pre-Owned sales program for owners looking to upgrade to new models. All vehicles go through an extensive certification program. You can find all these well-cared for trucks by clicking on the pre-loved EarthCruiser page.
EarthCruiser vehicles are listed in the NADA Guides, which many lenders use to determine financing. We have several partners we recommend for financing. Contact sales@earthcruiser.com to learn more.
EarthCruiser EXP and FX models start at $595,000. Terranova models start at $350,000. Pricing does change periodically. Contact our sales team for up to date pricing at sales@earthcruiser.com.
Our wheel and tire combination weigh roughly 100 lbs./45 kgs, making it easy to change. Our spare wheel carrier is also engineered to make dropping and stowing hassle less. We NEVER use military type tires, you can take your EarthCruiser to nearly any local tire shop around the world
Cab-over chassis are engineered to be operated by drivers, not owners. They are robust, have reasonable fuel economy, and are very reliable. Outfitted with our proprietary 4wd system, these vehicles are more than competent in off-road settings, and once we’re done with them, their on-road manners shine just as well. The wide windscreen provides a panoramic view of forward obstacles while also granting a commanding presence when knocking down those pavement miles on the way to your dirt tracked destination. There is access to a network of service available worldwide; this is important for little things that can make a big difference, like replacing a windscreen while traveling domestically or around the world.
The current 6-speed auto with a full manual mode is a dream to drive our customers really enjoy it. The steering column is fully adjustable so that people of all heights can easily reach all of the controls. It isn’t a ‘big’ truck, it is smaller in overall length than many US pick-up trucks. They easily fit in a standard car parking space. The great turning radius with a visibility only available in a cab-over truck just adds to enjoyment of touring in a EarthCruiser EXP or FX.
New cab-over trucks with a factory 4wd in the states are produced by CORE Vehicles, a division of EarthCruiser. With emission standards becoming even more regulated you’ll start seeing many manufacturers of mid-duty trucks switching to gas or electric platforms. These emission regulations are also forcing the demand for ULSD to increase drastically and diesel fuel prices are expected to rise significantly.
Most importantly, our business is about long distance remote overland travel. Our job is to give customers as many options to travel without limitations anywhere they want to go. Many parts of our beautiful world are getting away from diesel as a fuel, and this is only going to get more common as time goes on. Switching to a petroleum platform means owners won’t have to worry about something that could be a limitation when traveling to remote areas.
You have 2 options when ordering your EarthCruiser FX or EXP, a single cab or a dual cab. The single cab can seat two people comfortably. The dual cab option gives you two extremely comfortable Scheelman Vario captains chairs in the cab and the option for either two more or a bench seat with seatbelts for four. Our standard sleeping arrangement can comfortably sleep two adults in the rear, and two in the dinette area. An optional sky bed can be installed to fit 2 more small kids, or one adult under 150 lbs.
EarthCruiser Terranova vehicles seat four persons in the cab. The Terranova comfortably sleeps two adults in the rear, and two in the dinette area.
We hear this a lot and van conversions are great for a weekend. An EarthCruiser FX or EXP gives you about 92 sq. ft. or 8.6 sq. m of internal living space. Having the bed always made in the back and a dinette up front means that there is defined space for different activities or just to have separate ‘personal’ space when needed. Being light and bright makes even rainy or cold days enjoyable and our walk-through mudroom/shower area makes drying wet clothes, dogs or boots easy.
EarthCruiser Terranova trucks feature 90 square feet of living space, including copious storage drawers and bins to keep you organized.
An EarthCruiser has a lot of storage — we have customers traveling the world in their EC’s, demanding enough room for not only everyday items, but also tools, spares, recovery gear, and outdoor swag! In an EarthCruiser, you have pass through storage for long items like skis as well as a plethora of internal storage for kitchen and personal items.
An EarthCruisers capacity for fresh water is 75 gallons. They also have an onboard water purification system so that any water you pick up (you can fill tanks with stream or other water sources) can be safely consumed.
Terranovas come standard with a 36 gallon fresh water tank and a 20 gallon auxiliary tank as well as an on-board filtration and purification system.
Propane, often called LPG, is a very common, transportable fuel for heating and cooking. It does have some drawbacks for extended overland traveler. Propane tank shut-off valves have a have a nasty habit of vibrating to the ON position when traversing rough or corrugated roads. The results can be devastating. It can be very difficult have bottles refiled in remote places and countries, there are different standards for gas, meaning gas vents may not work or become unstable. Not ideal. Hence, we use other fuel sources. Induction cook tops are safe, extremely reliable and efficient for inside cooking. A petrol-fired air heater allows for comfortable nights in the most extreme conditions.
Yes, there are addition power creation and storage options available beside the standard system installed. It simply depends on what is important to you. Our trained and knowledgable sales team can help.
As an example, our crew can provide a “energy usage”map based on your expected usage requirements, taking into account driving and weather conditions. Energy systems engineering is a discipline our team is well versed in. We provide everything you need, and nothing you do not for adventures of a life time.
In the house of every EarthCruiser and Terranova you’ll find a 130L fridge freezer, which is very efficient and functions off-level (very important when you can’t always park on a nice flat spot). We also wire for an additional fridge/freezer in the rear locker box which we can install on sliders for easy access and an efficient use of space.
Our EarthCruiser EXP and Terranova vehicles come with electronic pop-up roofs.
When the roofs are down in both vehicles it is still possible to access the house, use the toilet and sit at the dinette table. You can still lie down and use the bed in the EXP with the roof fully closed.