As I mentioned last week, I am spending the better part of this week in the Denver, Colorado working as the host of the 2014 Diesel Power Challenge. The event is pretty gnarly and it pits some of the toughest trucks in North American against each other. Competitors have come in from Canada, the Midwest, the South, and the West. The trucks are brutes that have to compete in seven different competitions over the course of the three days. Yesterday we were at the home of ATS Diesel Performance, which is a mammoth shop that has nearly two dozen service bays, a transmission and torque converter building operation, and more square footage than you can shake a stick at. The shop is very busy with customer work and the customer work ranges from fixing late model diesel trucks, hot rodding diesel trucks of all shapes and sizes, and servicing other cool diesel powered vehicles and that’s where the vehicle you see above came into my life.

I was just standing in the parking lot minding my own business before we got going in the morning and I heard the familiar sound of a Powerstroke coming across the parking lot. Expecting to see an F-250 or F-350, my eyes bugged out when my eyes were greeted with the sight of this EarthRoamer XV-LT which is technically an RV but it somehow feels wrong calling it an RV. This is a truck designed to do a lot more than just stop at the local camp ground and hang out. The EarthRoamer is build to go off road and into the wilderness for action and adventure. There are a bunch of different models and wheelbase options but this owner chose the F-450 option here. The truck looks totally bad ass with the big Alcoa wheels and severe duty Michelin tires on them. The zombie killing front bumper and winch add to the tough appearance and overall go-anywhere attitude of the truck.

We’re not sure why it was in for service at ATS but perhaps the owners are getting ready to hit the dusty trail again and just wanted to make sure everything was in good working order before venturing into the wide open spaces that this truck was meant to explore. Or maybe it just needed an oil change. I wasn’t able to see the work order so your guess is as good as mine. These trucks are custom built to order and there are a few different floor plans for buyers to choose from. As you might expect, they’re pricey. How pricey? The truck you are looking at here basically starts at $282,000 and can go as high as $500,000 if you decided to go with every option available. Before you tell us that the company is doomed, understand that these guys have been in business for more than a decade and show no signs of slowing down.

I didn’t get inside the machine but I will include an interior photo from the company that builds the trucks to give you an idea of what life would be like inside the living quarters. It may be small in there but it sure looks nice! This rig really impressed me and since I had never heard of them before, it was a neat surprise to see it roll up on us in the parking lot. A big, diesel, 4×4 camper that is designed to be a self contained living quarters for off road adventure? BangShift Approved!

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS OF THE EARTHROAMER XV-LT –