I have a dream. I look forward to the day when I can take an RV trip with my dogs without those nagging guilty pangs. It appears that Winnebago and their industry comrades have a new greener competitor--EcoRoamer. Sure, EcoRoamer uses diesel fuel, so it's not perfect, but then no transportation is, unless you want to bicycle around the world. Good luck with that, by the way.
EcoRoamer's sustainability is far better than its conventional competition in many ways, starting with the product's carbon footprint. As they put it, "In two years of driving the EcoRoamer around the planet we will emit less than 10% of the CO2 that a single return flight on a 747 from New York to Singapore would do.”
Additionally, EcoRoamer’s makers are committed to the environment by planting trees to absorb their CO2 production, as well as investing in wind power projects through TerraPass. Okay, no great surprises there.
I was extra pleased to learn the next fact; EcoRoamer is using Bamboo (a grass) in place of wood. Their comment on this replacement was nothing short of profound: “The RV industry in the USA uses millions of board feet of plywood every year. That's a lot of trees chopped down in the name of building some campers to go and look at the trees.” Great point, EcoRoamer. I’m sold now.
I’m the first to admit that I’m no tech geek. I love the idea of solar power, but really don’t understand all the ins and outs of how you can use it to replace some, but not all of your needs. That said, I have copied their info on solar panels verbatim:
“The EcoRoamer has almost 2kW of Sanyo Solar panels on the roof. Combined with our high efficiency LED lights and DC voltage air conditioning, we should be able to live in the vehicle for extended periods of time without having to run the engine or generator. Of course there is an 8.5KW generator as a backup (saved literally 'for a rainy day') but it runs off the BioDiesel as well.”
Sounds good to me. My experience in a conventional RV tells me that the air conditioning was needed for some periods of time, even in October in Virginia. Yet it appears that EcoRoamer has addressed this also. I was pleased to learn their insulation uses recycled foam in the ceiling, walls and floor of the vehicle to give it a much better R rating than a typical RV. While the Air conditioning runs off battery power, charged by the solar panels, heat is provided by biodiesel, a more eco-friendly alternative to propane.
The folks at EcoRoamer readily admit that biodiesel sends up a red flag with some consumers. Their response is that this choice reduces the amount of oil that has to be drilled from the earth, a choice that should hit home with more of us today, as we are dealing with an ongoing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, following an explosion of a well-drilling platform. I’d say EcoRoamer is on more solid ground today than two months ago, given this Eco disaster.
EcoRoamer further lives in the sustainable world by following the mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Their chassis are all purchased used from trucks that have been given up, after a too-long engine life. The outside of the camper is made from a composite that includes 80% recycled aluminum with a recycled plastic core.
Finally, the subfloor and countertops are produced out of non-toxic resins and recycled paper. Sounds much better than laminated fiberboard that I’ve seen in most RVs; they tend to not like water, and bubble up easily whenever water comes in contact with the inner layer.
Borrowing from the forestry rule of “Take nothing but a picture. Leave nothing behind but footprints,” EcoRoamer has installed composting toilets that are used commonly on sailboats. The result? All of our waste is recycled into a liquid and evaporates into a steam released during driving. No more dumping gray and black water at the campground dump station.
Sign me up! Just don't tell my dogs yet. They'll be so excited I won't be able to calm them down. Our first and only RV trip was a 3-dog-hike adventure, and I was just along to cater to their every need. Which by the way was lots of water!
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I have a dream. I look forward to the day when I can take an RV trip with my dogs without those nagging guilty pangs. It appears that Winnebago and their industry comrades have a new greener competitor--EcoRoamer. Sure, EcoRoamer uses diesel fuel, so it's not perfect, but then no transportation is, unless you want to bicycle around the world. Good luck with that, by the way.
EcoRoamer's sustainability is far better than its conventional competition in many ways, starting with the product's carbon footprint. As they put it, "In two years of driving the EcoRoamer around the planet we will emit less than 10% of the CO2 that a single return flight on a 747 from New York to Singapore would do.”
Additionally, EcoRoamer’s makers are committed to the environment by planting trees to absorb their CO2 production, as well as investing in wind power projects through TerraPass. Okay, no great surprises there.
I was extra pleased to learn the next fact; EcoRoamer is using Bamboo (a grass) in place of wood. Their comment on this replacement was nothing short of profound: “The RV industry in the USA uses millions of board feet of plywood every year. That's a lot of trees chopped down in the name of building some campers to go and look at the trees.” Great point, EcoRoamer. I’m sold now.
I’m the first to admit that I’m no tech geek. I love the idea of solar power, but really don’t understand all the ins and outs of how you can use it to replace some, but not all of your needs. That said, I have copied their info on solar panels verbatim:
“The EcoRoamer has almost 2kW of Sanyo Solar panels on the roof. Combined with our high efficiency LED lights and DC voltage air conditioning, we should be able to live in the vehicle for extended periods of time without having to run the engine or generator. Of course there is an 8.5KW generator as a backup (saved literally 'for a rainy day') but it runs off the BioDiesel as well.”
Sounds good to me. My experience in a conventional RV tells me that the air conditioning was needed for some periods of time, even in October in Virginia. Yet it appears that EcoRoamer has addressed this also. I was pleased to learn their insulation uses recycled foam in the ceiling, walls and floor of the vehicle to give it a much better R rating than a typical RV. While the Air conditioning runs off battery power, charged by the solar panels, heat is provided by biodiesel, a more eco-friendly alternative to propane.
The folks at EcoRoamer readily admit that biodiesel sends up a red flag with some consumers. Their response is that this choice reduces the amount of oil that has to be drilled from the earth, a choice that should hit home with more of us today, as we are dealing with an ongoing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, following an explosion of a well-drilling platform. I’d say EcoRoamer is on more solid ground today than two months ago, given this Eco disaster.
EcoRoamer further lives in the sustainable world by following the mantra: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Their chassis are all purchased used from trucks that have been given up, after a too-long engine life. The outside of the camper is made from a composite that includes 80% recycled aluminum with a recycled plastic core.
Finally, the subfloor and countertops are produced out of non-toxic resins and recycled paper. Sounds much better than laminated fiberboard that I’ve seen in most RVs; they tend to not like water, and bubble up easily whenever water comes in contact with the inner layer.
Borrowing from the forestry rule of “Take nothing but a picture. Leave nothing behind but footprints,” EcoRoamer has installed composting toilets that are used commonly on sailboats. The result? All of our waste is recycled into a liquid and evaporates into a steam released during driving. No more dumping gray and black water at the campground dump station.
Sign me up! Just don't tell my dogs yet. They'll be so excited I won't be able to calm them down. Our first and only RV trip was a 3-dog-hike adventure, and I was just along to cater to their every need. Which by the way was lots of water!
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1 COMMENTS:
The EcoRoamer looks so cool! I appreciate your review and empathize with the dog guilt - travel issue. Thanks!
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