It's a BIG World, ​GO Explore it!

“What can you do with it?”
​The obvious answer is: “About anything you want to.”

     The rest of the answer is a bit more complicated. What does an airplane at altitude and a ship at sea have in common? Answer – if something breaks down, you have a problem — possibly a BIG problem. When we were designing our GXV Expedition Vehicles after our prototype, we had decided that all of the marine systems that were used on the prototype had performed so well that we were on to something. But in the nearly year long trip, I was all the time very appreciative of the marine-grade quality of the systems installed. But even in the best quality systems, you wish you had the airplane’s answer to the same problem. See, when airplanes are at altitude, they must have the best systems out there, but the really good planes, always have a backup, or more than one way to accomplish the same function.

      Now, if we were building on a light truck chassis or smaller, we would not have the luxury to consider backups. But being a Boy Scout when younger taught me to be prepared. So I have always wanted to cover all of my bases. With a medium duty chassis, you get the best of all worlds. You get something small enough to maneuver in small towns and cities, and the turning radius of something less than a crew cab pickup. You get the ground clearance that Hummers dream about, when they dream about growing up. Yet you can haul anything you would want to load. It just doesn’t get any better than this!

     Yes, we have the most incredible diesel furnace that uses so little diesel that the fuel tank could be a child’s sippy cup. But we learned in Bolivia that these little diesel heaters, while magnificent, at very high elevations do not always work as they should. At 16,000 or above, even in the Summer, it is Winter! This is a good place to have a backup. Our generator that also provides the A/C system at 33,000 BTU’s, also provides Heat at 33,000 BTU’s. It also provides the 110v power to the hot water heater backup element. The hot water heater is a stainless steel, highly insulated, high-quality, marine hot water heater that is tied into the motor of the truck so you have hot water when you stop for the night. It is also coupled with a diesel hydronic heater that is also incredibly miserly with fuel.

     Oh, did I tell you? The generator, at .25 gallons per hour, is the industry’s most economical and efficient system available. The big fuel tanks could almost be for show. We like to look at the fuel tanks as an escape pod to take us where crowds are just a memory.

     We have another fuel saving device, called a diesel cook-top, which works incredibly well under almost any conditions. Then again, at very high elevation, these diesel devices don’t work as well as they do at sea level, But, neither do I. Its backup is the latest greatest technology of a convection microwave oven...that microwaves, bakes and grills. If these 2 systems are not enough, I guess you could always break out the BBQ grill.

     Did you know that most of the world does not have 110v power? Sure you did, but did you even think about going to these places, and you may need to plug in? Well, we thought about that, too. So, here is what we though the solution. Our world revolves around 110v power, so we had to have that. We have a 110v Inverter and 110v Shore Power. But if you don’t have shore power, you can draw from the ample AGM battery bank. If you are in an area where the world does not revolve around 110v, 60Hz power, we also put in a 230v, 50Hz inverter. But what if you are drawing the batteries down faster than the amply-sized solar panels will replace it? Not likely, considering our highly-efficient LED’s and florescent lighting and 12v systems. Even more unlikely considering that the only thing that needs the inverter is the microwave. But let’s say, for fun, that you are in an area that is not getting much sunlight for long periods of time. Well, the 4wd off road Expedition Vehicle will charge the batteries while you are driving through a  fairly simple system of a battery isolator and separator, but the power supply unit ingeniously monitors both the house battery and truck battery through the isolator and separator system. It will automatically start itself to keep the battery bank at its peak.

     Four ways to provide power seems a bit of overkill, but they are very light-weight systems, all of these stacked systems just make it easier to sleep at night when you are 30,000 feet in the air or 1,000 miles out to sea, or 3 days down a dusty road. With a total weight at around 20,000 pounds, we think it is a good balance.

     Now all of that is the long answer to say that with solar power, minimum-use diesel appliances (that will also use bio-diesel), these Extreme Expedition RVs are the most efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles available. They truly will take you to places you have only dreamed about going in a motorhome. They still have enough GVW left over that your wife can ruin your brand new MasterCard on souvenirs and you can still get them home.

     If Europe had an equivalent, with the dual and triple backup systems, they would be twice as expensive as the GXV 4×4 XV. Oh wait, they already are twice the price! So, with our GXV Expedition Vehicles whenever you want to go, wherever you want to go, you will still have the money left over to GO there!