The origins of EarthRoamer probably began back in 1972 or so when EarthRoamer founder Bill Swails first started dreaming of traveling around the world. Fueled by reading about the adventures of the likes of Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Robinson Crusoe, Bill began dreaming about the adventures he would take one day. Serious planning didn't begin until some twenty years later. Employed as an industrial engineer with McDonnell Douglas in the aerospace industry, Bill realized he needed more out of life. Not sure if what was lacking was due to the industry and company at which he was employed, Bill decided to pursue his MBA at UCLA to open up some new employment opportunities.
It was in UCLA that Bill's idea of driving around the world began to take shape. His plans for adventure secretly took more form over time, and after graduating from UCLA and relocating to Denver to work in the telecommunication industry, Bill found he still wasn't able to shake his undying quest for adventure. He spent his evenings planning for the weekend trips he would take and climbing Colorado peaks over 14,000 feet tall became his passion. Bill eventually climbed thirty-nine of Colorado's fifty-four, 14,000 foot peaks. He started began research on vehicles and accessories and in 1998 he bought his first diesel truck, a Dodge Ram 2500 and began designing the living systems he would need for his adventures. Reliable, functional and comfortable expedition campers are not designed overnight. The EarthRoamer Xpedition Vehicles we build today are a direct result of the lessons learned through thousands of miles of testing with the proof of concept vehicle dubbed ER2K. This vehicle was built and rebuilt several 
times and was used by the company until 2008 when it was sold. The ER2K attended the first three Owners Rallies as a reminder of our roots. Today it lives on with a new owner planning to travel the world in the ER2K.
Bill has driven EarthRoamer's from as far north as the Arctic Ocean in Alaska and as far south as Costa Rica, but to date he still hasn't driven around the world, but one EarthRoamer XV-LT owner has driven his rig around the world.
The original EarthRoamer™ ER2K is an expedition equipped truck that started life as a Cummins powered, Dodge Ram 2500, quad cab, short bed, four wheel drive truck. The original ER2K was purchased new in 1998 and the next several years were spent equipping it for expedition travel. The ER2K became a quest to build the ultimate expedition vehicle and was an ongoing labor of love. The links below give a detailed account of the modifications made to the ER2K, why the modifications were made, and the lessons learned. Every modification made to the ER2K was focused on improving reliability, durability, rough-road capabilities, or comfort.
