09/08/2026
Back in 2008 Australia, to get potential customers to understand what an EarthCruiser was, we needed to show them what made it different​, why it might be a better option than towing an off-road trailer or caravan (travel trailer).
Car manufacturers have executed the art of the off-road test facility well for a very long time—it's where we pinched the idea from.
Our potential customers, many from our social circles in off-road travel and off-road racing knew their stuff. They wanted to know how the sausage was made. They where and are educated and experienced ​ looking for "what's next" when there travel needs evolved.
​The unspoken question - does the organisation behind the building of the machine understand not just how to build it, but why they built it. Can the company build them, and support them consistently? Are they as serious as I am? It have very little to do with the truck.​It was about proving the company is committed.
But that was then, and this is 2026 in America.
​Years ago, "Overlander" was a word for camel drivers. Now it is thrown around on nearly everything that can go outside, from campers with roof racks to coffee cups. It is becoming a catchphrase, a tagline. A tagline does not prove anything.
These are fascinating times as the overlanding market grows and attracts more attention from established traditional RV manufacturers. Their ability to produce at scale, backed by sales and marketing budgets that are the absolute dreams of small builders, is impressive.​
The ​REAL tricky question ​for me is this: there is a reason traditional RV purchasers have demonstrated with their purchasing power that they want something different. ​They too are educated, experienced recreation vehicle buyers who are shopping for overland trucks and campers. I doubt it is because they all want to cross the Sahara Desert​ or Aussie bush.
The romantic allure of a few weeks on not so secluded beach or endless dusty roads doesn't generate the volume needed to support mass manufacturing investment. A few "oohs and ahs" created by a truck with big wheels on an expo track will not keep a factory running at scale.
So, what is drawing scaled manufacturing to this space?
From my experience ​in the United States taking hundreds of potential customers, journalists, colleagues, and corporate professionals on off-road courses, it comes down to this: Don't tell me how good the truck is. Show me your people know the difference between how and why​ it is different and better.
If this product performs well, you are giving me confidence not just in the machine, but in your entire organisation. The machine is the least of it.
It seems to me that buyers are asking the same questions to scaled manufactures differently. Do you see me? Do I matter now ? Are you listening to me now? Is your company truly ​serious ​about me now? Am I important to you now?
I think the answer is yes.
