http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1165298/Fasten-life-jackets-The-coach-turns-boat.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1165298/Fasten-life-jackets-The-coach-turns-boat.html)
According to the article, they are about $400,000 U.S. (280,000 pounds sterling). I don't think they are going to give you much of a discount just to leave the passenger seats out.
Note that there are no bays, making conversion a challenge. Also, you'd need to keep all the weight very low.
A U.S. company also makes amphibious coaches, so this is really "old news." (Not in Europe, I guess, where they are touting it as the "world's first." Bah.):
http://www.terrawind.com/hydraterra.htm (http://www.terrawind.com/hydraterra.htm)
This same outfit has been making amphibious coaches for city tours for many years, after the success of ex-military "ducks" being converted to city-tour coaches around the country. Google "duck tours" to see some examples.
This company also introduced an amphibious RV a few years back:
http://www.terrawind.com/terrawind.htm (http://www.terrawind.com/terrawind.htm)
We discussed it to death right here. AFAIK, they haven't sold a single coach.
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=8757.0 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=8757.0)
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=7322.0 (http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=7322.0)
FWIW.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com
Well, maybe if you would use it to service some coastal Islands that do not have bus service, you could get one under the stimulous package.
In many ways it's just the modern equivalent of one of these, many of which are still running tourist trips on British beaches:
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simplonpc.co.uk%2FEastbourne%2FDUKW_070904-038.jpg&hash=7e131286c4d6ae3ccb1a2740c552d7cac29315ff)
Jeremy
PS - As a general principle you'd be well advised not to believe anything that's written by the Daily Mail. It's the newspaper equivalent of daytime TV and has probably been responsible for the death of more brain cells than the invention of alcohol
For serious route service, I can't imagine having to deal with the DOT and the Coast Guard.
They use those at the Wisconsin Dells for tourists, they are called the ducks and it's funny to watch then head down the street and then take a hard right or a hard left and go straight into the river.
Quote from: Jeremy on March 27, 2009, 12:59:33 PM
In many ways it's just the modern equivalent of one of these ...
That's what I was talking about when I said "duck" ...
Quote from: cody on March 27, 2009, 01:36:13 PM
They use those at the Wisconsin Dells for tourists, they are called the ducks ...
Is there an echo in here?
Quote from: Sean on March 27, 2009, 12:00:18 PM
... This same outfit has been making amphibious coaches for city tours for many years, after the success of ex-military "ducks" being converted to city-tour coaches around the country. Google "duck tours" to see some examples. ...
If you do Google "duck tours" you will find several places these are offered besides the Dells. The Terrawind folks have been capitalizing on this for quite a while, as the old military ducks are at (or past) end-of-life, and cost a small fortune to keep up to USCG standards. BTW, you need at least a 50-ton Masters License and a TWIC card now to operate one of these in the water, in addition to a current class B CDL with Passenger endorsement to operate it on land.
-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com
Actually, they are DUKW's
DUKW is a manufacturer's code used by the General Motors Corporation to identify the different vehicles in their range. In this case it works as follows;
D = Date 1942 - the first year of manufacture.
U = Amphibian.
K = Drive to all wheels.
W = Dual rear axles.
Some are still in service in the royal marines in the UK.
I believe they have what is basically just a standard 6x6 GM military truck chassis under the floatation hull, with a propellor drive from the rear diff. Amazing to think that they were essentially built to be disposable (once-only use as landing craft), yet many are still in use after 60 years of operating in salt water. I believe some are used here by fishermen to drive out to their lobster pots (or something like that - I'm not into fishing)
Jeremy
My wife and I rode on a duck in Branson. Naturally they have the old unsynchroed manual trannys and the trip was full of grinding and growling!! :D Not much power either. The driver had to stop and get it into granny to crawl even a modest incline. I think the fastest we went was down the incline into the water!! Several years ago one of them sank in Wisconsin if I remember right and several people drowned.