Long before #vanlife became a hashtag, one Coloradan was just tired of packing up.
Bill Swails, an engineer, writer and avid wildlife photographer, would drive deep into the backcountry in search of the perfect shot. But he was always bummed to cut his evenings short because he needed to return to camp. So in 1998, he built a vehicle that allowed him to stay put—a self-contained living space powered by solar panels and battery banks.
Nearly three decades later, that personal project has evolved into EarthRoamer, a Dacono-based company that builds luxury expedition vehicles capable of crossing continents.
“It started when Bill Swails had people asking him if he’d build them a similar truck for their personal vehicle,” says Dustin Cornell, marketing manager at EarthRoamer. “He thought he would just build two or three. But after a year or two, demand kept going to the point where it turned into the company it is today.”
Swails died in 2022, but his legacy lives on through the company, which is still dedicated to helping adventurers experience the splendor of the remote wilderness.
Today, the Dacono-based brand has more than 480 trucks on the road. Owners have used them to trek across Alaska, hunt in winter conditions and, in one case, drive from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South America.
Crafted for Adventure
At first glance, an EarthRoamer looks like a heavy-duty pickup truck outfitted for serious backcountry travel. But inside, it feels closer to a swanky condominium than a campsite.
Each vehicle is built on a Ford or Chevy heavy-duty chassis and designed to function as a fully self-sufficient, four-season home. The company currently offers two models—the smaller LTx and the larger SX—both engineered to travel off-road while maintaining the comforts of modern living.
Prices reflect that ambition. New vehicles start at around $800,000 and can climb as high as $1.3 million depending on the level of customization. For buyers looking for a more affordable entry point, certified pre-owned models range from roughly $350,000 to $800,000. Even at those prices, the smaller model currently carries about a year-and-a-half backlog of orders.
While owners appreciate the luxury finishes—think: handcrafted cabinetry and spacious living quarters with California king beds and full-size wet baths—capacity is usually the big draw, says Cornell. Solar arrays and lithium-ion battery systems power coveted off-grid amenities, like built-in refrigerators and induction cooktops.
Many newer models also include Starlink satellite internet, a major perk for remote workers. The work-from-anywhere technology has likely contributed to the expansion of EarthRoamer’s customer base, which has gone from retirees seeking a vacation home on wheels to high-earning telecommuters.
“Lately, we’ve had more C-suite execs and people who work remotely, particularly after Covid,” says Cornell. “They’re getting these vehicles so they can work from a beach one day and a mountaintop the next.”
Staying Power
But there’s more driving EarthRoamer’s growth than luxe interiors. Over the past decade, new expedition-style vehicles have entered the market—yet the way the company builds its trucks continues to set it apart.
Unlike many competitors that outsource chassis modifications, EarthRoamer performs nearly every aspect of production in-house at its Dacono facility.
The company’s campers are constructed using a one-piece carbon fiber shell, a material more commonly associated with aerospace engineering than RV manufacturing. This makes the body lighter and stronger than traditional aluminum and fiberglass builds, lowering the vehicle’s center of gravity and boosting off-road durability.
EarthRoamer’s pivot mount system is also a defining feature, Cornell adds. Because large vehicles twist and flex on uneven terrain, many expedition campers risk stress cracks between the chassis and living quarters. EarthRoamer’s system allows the truck frame and camper body to move independently, reducing structural strain when drivers are traversing rugged backcountry trails.
Electronics are also integrated directly into the base vehicle. A single factory key fob locks and unlocks both the truck and the camper compartments, and backup cameras and monitoring systems display seamlessly on the Ford or Chevy dashboard screen.
The company has nearly 120 employees, the majority of whom work in production. That includes teams dedicated to chassis fabrication, carbon fiber composites, upholstery, wood work and crafting storage boxes, bumpers and other metal accessories.
“So literally everything you’ll see on our vehicles we do in-house in this one little place in Dacono,” he says.
Colorado Roots
That hands-on approach reflects EarthRoamer’s culture and roots in Colorado, where outdoor recreation is a way of life. Many of the company’s staffers are campers, hunters, mountain bikers or backcountry skiers themselves, so they understand the terrain the vehicles are built to navigate. While few may own the six- or seven-figure trucks they assemble, Cornell says there’s pride in seeing each finished vehicle roll off the production floor.
“When you walk through our factory, you can see that every single one of these guys are putting their heart and soul in every single component that they’re building,” he says.
In the company’s early years, EarthRoamer built just two to four trucks annually. Today, that number has grown to roughly 45 vehicles a year, and the staff has nearly doubled over the past five years.
Even so, growth has been measured. EarthRoamer doesn’t build inventory for dealership lots. Instead, every vehicle is custom-ordered and built for a specific buyer.
“We don’t even start building a truck unless it already has a home,” Cornell says.
That commitment to quality over quantity sets the company apart in an industry where mass production is common. Scaling too quickly, he notes, would mean cutting corners—something EarthRoamer has resisted for nearly three decades.
The Road Ahead
As overlanding continues to gain traction—fueled in part by post-pandemic wanderlust and the rise of remote work—EarthRoamer is charting a deliberate path forward. The company typically introduces a new model every few years and has expanded its footprint in Dacono to accommodate its growing team.
Still, the mission remains remarkably similar to the one that inspired Swails in 1998: Build vehicles that give people the freedom to venture into the wilds on their own terms. For some owners, that means ambitious expeditions to Alaska or across continents. For others, it simply means driving a mile or two past the end of the pavement, where the noise of the campsite fades away.
“ You can just go and disappear and go wherever you want to go—and know that you have all the comforts of home in a luxurious fashion with you,” Cornell says.
