Found the dream rig: T-duck amphibious vehicle

[debit.servus]

I found it. This is the type of rig I've been looking for: an amphibious vehicle that puts function before form, is built tough and has enough space on the platform for a posh little living space. Capable of overlanding, crossing calm bodies of water while being street legal in North America. Has a rugged, reliable drivetrain with redundancies built-in without using exotic aerospace materials. And for the fuel economy fanatics, 10+ mpg and 300 mile range on both land and water.
Meet the T-Duck amphibious vehicle:
http://tduck.us/

I couldn't find any prices, so as the saying goes if you have to ask its too much. So I guess the cost is six-figures for new and upper five figures/low six figures for used.

However, so worth it as I plan to take a road trip around the world before I die. The T-Duck amphibious vehicle or similar is the rig worth spending 20 years to save up for.

 

[bullfrog]

There are several people that camp in their small boats on trailers a day or two before launching here at Bullfrog. If they didn't weigh so much might use a small houseboat as a camper, you could park at the launch ramp or campground unnoticed! Yes sir officer been trying to get this thing to float for years!

 

[TMG51]

There are few things that average two functions together and turn out to be good at both. I wouldn't try to put my life into an amphibious vehicle. And if I wanted one, I'd strap some pontoons to a junk truck like Top Gear rather than spend 20 years of savings on a big doggy boat.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

They do tours around Boston in those and that includes a dip into the harbor.
http://www.bostonducktours.com/

I'm not sure they are very reliable. It seems every year the guy that runs the Boston outfit is in the news....with them breaking down, sinking, catching on fire, etc. TMG51 nailed it....."There are few things that average two functions together and turn out to be good at both"

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/05/are_duck_boats_death_traps

Here's one for sale. 65k
http://militaryvehicleweb.com/vehicle/1943-wwii-amphibious-military-dukw-by-gmc/

Another for $185k
http://www.aad.us.com/Eng/vehicle_sales/used.html

And a brand new one for only $275k
http://www.aad.us.com/Eng/vehicle_sales/tduck_sale.html

However, a trip around the world in one would be an adventure for the ages. It would be costly having to have it shipped from continent to continent but if you could build up enough followers maybe they'd help fund it to follow along on your adventure via social media.

 

[debit.servus]

http://www.dukwsforsale.com/about-us.html Doesn't show prices which means it's too much.

The $185k one looks great. Definitely going great condition used to save. Now I know boat is an acronym for Break Out Another Thousand but something that can travel on land and water with the flip of a switch is worth breaking out another thou$and everytime something goes wrong.

For the price of a house you can have a comfortable, go anywhere within reason amphibious dream machine that has all the qualities outlined in my first post. There is enough space on the top deck for a mini-apartment style space with a modest kitchenette, dining/living area, wet bath, bedroom with space left over for utilities and for two people to be comfortable onboard. One could mount an outboard motor or two on the back for extra oomph on the water and upgrade the engine/transmission for interstate speeds.

ERLH, do you know if the owner of the Boston duck tours keep their machines well maintained? The company I linked in the first post builds new and improved versions of the military DUKWs.

I can see this rig being top heavy with a living space built on the back, and thus outriggers will be needed to keep it stable on the water. But being able to cross calm bodies of water as an alternative to bridges adds a whole nother dimension to living and exploring.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

ERLH, do you know if the owner of the Boston duck tours keep their machines well maintained? The company I linked in the first post builds new and improved versions of the military DUKWs.

   
    I'm not sure what they do or don't do to the boats when they get them.  I just remember a stretch of time where I felt like I was seeing them in the news every other day.  However, I haven't heard anything negative about them in years so maybe he did a lot of preventative maintenance to his fleet or maybe it's under new ownership.


Here's a story I missed, driver hit and killed someone.  
http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/east/2016/07/22/272293.htm

This one crashed in Boston when it lost its brakes
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Duck-Boat-Crashes-in-Boston-5-Injured-98623299.html

 

[debit.servus]

Vehicle is 8' wide so outriggers will need to be detached while on the road. You could trailer them or store them on top.

Guy

Would put the outriggers on the roof, as there's still over 1' of ground clearance before reaching 13' 5".

 

[debit.servus]

I am just thinking of all the places I will go with the T-DUCK rig. Iqaluit, Nunavut, Crossing Lake Superior during calm days, touring calm fyords, lakes and rivers, when the water starts to get choppy head for dry land and wait out the storm.

 

[debit.servus]

Check out this. Looks like a square boat with a pickup truck drivetrain: . I'm looking at other options just in case.

What do you think, I'm thinking my best bet when I have the means within 20 years is to buy a used T-duck from one of the tour companies in good to great condition.

 

[debit.servus]

I found another builder of amphibious tour buses, http://camillc.com/hydraterra.htm I just sent them a email asking for their asking price (I know it's too much but how much?).

I'm haven't found any other commercially available than this and the t-duck, so it's looking like I will need to build my own for it to be in reach, unless I find 25-40 foot amphibious buses with five figure asking prices in running condition. I'm not waiting until I'm rich enough to afford a $300k t-duck.

I've always wanted to do a dog-nose skoolie conversion and school buses lend themselves well to this with their cavernous underbelly and medium duty truck drivetrain. I even saw Monster Garage (a TV show) turn a short school bus into a party barge, and Skoolie.net has a framework to make a skoolie float. So I see a DIY version of a t-duck in reach of this 99%er, with becoming a welder and a well paid trucker seeing total costs in the low to mid 5 figures ($30,000 to $60,000 plus Another few Thousand).

The reason I want to go big with my dream rig is simple, you can't use your surrounding as living space on the water, unless you want to swim. Having 30-40' of modest living space just makes sense, especially when hosting (looking forward to SF fleet week 2020-23!). For me, a rig that can travel on land and calm water is worth Breaking Out Another Thousand for.

 

[jimindenver]

I am just thinking of all the places I will go with the T-DUCK rig. Iqaluit, Nunavut, Crossing Lake Superior during calm days, touring calm fyords, lakes and rivers, when the water starts to get choppy head for dry land and wait out the storm.

Superior on a calm day? What starts out as a calm day on the big lakes rarely stays that way. Add to that the big boys are not ponds, crossing one can be a feat on a good day. Surviving is good on a bad day.

 

[debit.servus]

Superior on a calm day? What starts out as a calm day on the big lakes rarely stays that way. Add to that the big boys are not ponds, crossing one can be a feat on a good day. Surviving is good on a bad day.

I believe you. 

What does everybody think about turning a school bus into an amphibious bus?

 

[Stargazer]

Lol!  This thread brings back great memories (get ready for a story).

When I was a kid, my Dad was the civil defense director in a smallish Texas town, about 30 miles from the Gulf coast.  He had access to all the surplus equipment from WWII.  He and my mother made one of those ducks into a camper.  They installed a plywood floor, made a canvas cover (I guess the old one was gone??), filled it with camping gear and took us all camping on the Gulf coast.  They set up a huge army wall tent, with cots for us kids, right on the beach, the adults slept in the duck.  Daddy would take us fishing in the bay, sometimes in the dark of early morning, once in a very dense fog.  It was so fun to just drive into the water and it always drew a crowd of onlookers.  The last time we took it out, he drove into the water; unknown to him, the last hurricane had left a trench not far from shore in maybe four feet deep water and he drove into that trench and we were STUCK!!  We all had to wade back to shore and he spent the weekend looking for someone to pull it out.  High tide wasn't high enough to float it out.  The local fire dept tried to tow it out and greatly damaged their fire truck.  Ended up getting a bulldozer or ??? Something to pull it out.  How I laugh when I think of those times!

He also used that duck to rescue people in our town when the Guadalupe River flooded, which was several times a year.  I remember getting up in the middle of the night during a big rain storm and my mother would tell me Daddy had gone out in the duck to save people.  It wasn't "ours", he just borrowed it from the civil defense dept.  which may have just been him, I don't know.

The Duck.  What times those were.

 

[debit.servus]

I just got the pricing back from HydroTerra "Used vessels, I have 4 available at $310,000.00 each." As expected, it's too much.

I'm not falling into the trap of "I'm not getting my dream rig until I can afford a t-duck or hydroterra", kind of that afflicts life-deferrers.

I guess it is a nice mind game but in reality is a non-starter, especially for someone with limited experience.

If successful how would you even get it out of the water and back onto dry land?

If you desire water access just tow a boat on a trailer.

Guy

Amphibisizing a skoolie is a consideration, would need loads of money and skill but could be done for less than $55,000 ("50,000 + "Another few Thousand"). The bus would need a hull built around it or be placed inside a hull, axles passed through the hull, the drivetrain would need protective paint, the engine bay the proper marine enclosure and modifications, outboard motors for water propulsion, those are just the things I thought of as a land-lubber.

$55k is less than 2 years salary as a trucker versus 10-20 years of savings or payments for the t-dock or hydro-terra.

I would get it out of the water the same way the T-duck and hydro-terra get out of the water. Putting a truck drivetrain under a boat or a hull around a bus or truck chassie is possible, but is it sensible?

Towing a boat means being limited to same launching/landing point. Having a rig that is self contained on land and water is the same reasoning behind toad-less vans and small-RVs, no seperate vehicle slowing you down.

If the Hydra Gator can be made street-legal, this is a (very downsized) possiblilty http://newatlas.com/cami-hydra-gator-budget-amphibious-vehicle/31890/ This is an article of Cool Amphibious Marine International's (CAMI) vehicle lineup.

I guess I'll have to settle for a un-modernized WW2 DUKW as those are five figures in good to great condition, or find a steal on a t-duck or hydro-terra like vehicle.

 

[debit.servus]

I guess I'll have to settle for a un-modernized WW2 DUKW as those are five figures in good to great condition, or find a steal on a t-duck or  hydro-terra like vehicle.

Unless someone else has other ideas. Please share your amphibious vehicle ideas, they can be homebuilt or production model in the 4 or 5 figures (under $100k).

 

[debit.servus]

Please share your amphibious vehicle ideas.

 

[mr_elijah_gardner]

I suppose a pratical semi amphibious vehicle could be:

A van that tows a pontoon barge large enough to support the van. Put the van on the barge when you want your boat. 

You could even have the barge be its own trailer so your not limited to returning to the same boat ramp that you dropped off at.

You'd have normal driveability of a van. You could drop the trailer when you didn't need it. You'd be able to enjoy your van on the water whenever you wanted.

In the world of what if's anyway.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Two Hundred Seventy Five THOUSAND dollars?



What part of 'cheaprvliving' do you not understand? 

Hey for that kinda money you can buy a small helicopter or a decent little airplane and REALLY see the world!

 

[John61CT]

Unimog camper on a landing craft

 

[Minivanmotoman]

Driven to explore. Remember this one?
.http://www.doityourselfrv.com/globetrotting-amphibious-rv/