There’s a new style of EarthCruiser in town.

EarthCruiser, the Bend-based manufacturer of luxury expedition vehicles that can travel the world on- and off-road, is unveiling a new line of its trucks this week. Called the EC Terranova, it is a custom-camper or “cab-over” that is tailor-made to sit on the chassis of a Ford F350 pickup, but in a more exacting way compared to conventional campers. Coming in 2022, the same model will be integrated with Chevrolet or Dodge models.

The company was founded in 2009, first launching in Brisbane, Australia, then relocating to the Bend headquarters in 2013.

Lance Gillies, CEO and founder of EarthCruiser, said the advent of the new topper came when two things collided — the COVID-19 pandemic and the desire to have a remote vehicle, but one that was not as large an investment as a full-sized EarthCruiser.

“We have been building expedition vehicles for a long time, and have been wanting to build something on a domestic chassis. And, essentially with COVID-19, that accelerated that dramatically,” Gillies said. “Our specialty is building vehicles for remote travel, and people wanted to be more remote than usual when the pandemic hit.”

EarthCruisers are known for going off-road to remote locations around the world; some places such as the jungles of Borneo or the Sahara Desert, have no roads or amenities at all. Hence, one can bring much of that along in an EarthCruiser.

The chassis has an independent 4-wheel drive developed by EarthCruiser engineers and special suspension systems, allowing one to navigate extremely rugged terrain. Each comes equipped with a winch for those hard-to-get-out-of spots, too.

Other campers or vehicles, such as Sprinter vans, are adapted from one use to another. At EarthCruiser, the vehicles are built from the ground up or “from scratch” as Gillies likes to say.

“Our engineers — many of whom are outdoor enthusiasts — design our trucks with users in mind,” Gillies said.

When the pandemic struck Central Oregon early last year, EarthCruiser shut down its operations for two months.

“It was a bad time for us and our 35 employees,” Gillies said.

The pivot was to make a smaller camper for the market.

“We wanted to build something more approachable for the public from what we consider our bigger trucks. A domestic truck needs no introduction. But we didn’t want to make a compromise (or retrofitted trailer). We wanted to make sure that what we know from years and years and years of traveling the planet is to bring an over-cab to the market that integrally fits with a Ford or a Chevy chassis.”

Since announcing its plans for the Terranova, the low-key shop tucked away at 61510 American Lane has received at least 20-plus reservations for the new camper. Base price starts at $289,000. (The prototype will be unveiled Friday at the shop in a virtual tour event, see sidebar).

The Terranova is a 4×4, all-season cab-over that allows outdoor enthusiasts to “live and travel unbound” without sacrificing performance, comfort or livability,” reads the marketing brochure. Like other EarthCruisers, it can easily fit in a shipping container to be sent anywhere in the world.

“What we build has got to be in sync with what the manufacturer had in mind,” Gillies said. “It’s not about adding something with a host of new features. We pay a lot of attention to vehicle noise, how it moves through the air, how it corners, how it brakes.”

When one talks about a fully integrated cab, that means the remote controls on a key fob or dashboard open the doors to not only the truck, but the camper, control the heating and cooling, the water systems, raise the camper roof. There’s even a crawl space between truck cab and camper so one doesn’t need to go outside to access the living area.

And the living area is designed with comfort in mind as well as being eco-friendly. Its canopy provides 360-degree views and the beds are designed so one doesn’t have to duck when sitting up, or entering the living space. Much of it is powered by lithium batteries and a solar panel for recharging electrical circuits sits on top of the canopy.

“The EC Terranova is the culmination of years of expedition experience and field testing across the globe. We used this hard-earned knowledge to create an incredibly capable, well-designed over-cab expedition vehicle on a domestic one-ton chassis, something already proven, familiar and accessible to consumers, and that can be serviced with ease” said Chad Knight, general manager of EarthCruiser.

From the conception of the idea to bring it to market took just under 18 months. It was not remarkable to Gillies who said that, “We knew exactly what we wanted it to look like when we were finished and pieced it together from there. We had to bring our collective experience, the network of suppliers, manufacturers, the Ford engineers and bring all that together. But that’s the beauty of a small business.”

It’s a source of pride for Gillies, who has traveled the world, to say when someone spots an EarthCruiser at the Great Pyramids or in the bush of Africa, “Yeah, that was made in Bend, Oregon.”

When: Friday, April 30 at noon PST

Where: EarthCruiser social channels (available on YouTube afterward)

EarthCruiser YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCF0UuGWo1XK68wMF7oXdOvw

EarthCruiser Instagram: www.instagram.com/earthcruiser/

EarthCruiser Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/earthcruiseroverlandvehicles

“The EC Terranova is the culmination of years of expedition experience and field testing across the globe.”

— Chad Knight, EarthCruiser general manager

“Nobody walks alone at EarthCruiser,” CEO Lance Gillies likes to say of the operation. His recipe for success is simple:

• Every employee is responsible for his or her their own work and responsible for fellow workers;
  
• At regular companywide meetings, called “All Hands,” anyone can ask a question of anyone else and expect to get an answer;
• Employees may not come to the firm with a specific expertise, but a willingness to learn helps. Workers have a set of ‘how-to’ instructions as they learn and grow in experience about manufacturing the vehicles;
• Orientation and the promise. From sales to delivery, no EarthCruiser label goes on a vehicle until the customer is fully oriented about its operation and satisfied that what was promised, was delivered.