EarthCruiser closed its Oregon-based factory last year but founder Lance Gillies said the company is operational and transitioning to a new business model.
The overland vehicle manufacturer has ceased building vehicles and is forging partnerships with adventure van builders and upfitters across the country.
For now, the company will build its MOD truck campers and Terranova camper shells. EarthCruiser will sell the products to adventure van manufacturers and upfitters, who will provide adventure vehicles to their end consumers.
“We do not want to be a component supplier; we want to be part of the team,” Gillies said. “The end user will be the van builder’s customer and we will promote the van builder like crazy.”
Gillies said remaining in operation as an overlanding vehicle manufacturer was difficult because of the challenges in scaling up while serving a niche audience. He said hundreds of outfitters around the U.S. are in a similar situation and cannot scale into the growing overland business.
“We see them as allies and friends,” he said, “and the response, just in two days, has been unbelievable.”
In addition, EarthCruiser will move forward with plans for its Evado Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicle build and a towable RV as well.
The Evado was unveiled in 2023 but Gillies said the company never could get the staffing to put the vehicle into production. Now, EarthCruiser will work with vehicle builders to bring the Evado to market. Although the towable RV is not as far along in development as Evado, Gillies said EarthCruiser would take a similar development path, then work with builders to bring the RV to market.
Gillies said the transition enables EarthCruiser to support builders with products and reinvent what an RV manufacturing organization can be.
“We are giving them a great experience, and these van builders now have a menu of products to offer customers,” he said. “If they have a customer who would be moving from the overlanding vehicle they bought from the van builder, instead of leaving them entirely, now the builder has a variety of options to keep that customer.”
He said the company’s new model will fill a gap larger manufacturers might have difficulty meeting. The MOD and Terranova structurally completed shells can be personalized by the customer after consulting with their builder. Gillies said consumers will be able to bring their past experience of what has worked for them to competent vehicle builders that speak their language.
“I really think some of those large and medium manufacturers will say, ‘You are doing us a favor,’” Gillies said. “It is hard for larger manufacturers to meet the needs of a customer who does not want to necessarily fit into a traditional RV customer box.”
Initial feedback since the company’s transition announcement has been positive. Gillies said conversations and orders in just two days are good but success will be measured over the long haul.
“We are not going to take on the world in our first day,” he said. “We will build the business one customer at a time, like we always have.”
