This ‘Boater-Home’ is Half Boat, Half Van

Ridiculous Rides

CAR ENTHUSIAST John Ortlieb, from Nevada, is the proud owner of not one, but two ‘Boaterhomes’ – a spectacular half boat, half van hybrid. John inherited one from his father and purchased the second nearly ten years ago. His father’s, which stands at 36 feet-long, can travel up to 40mph on water and over 100mph on land. Only 21 of these unique vehicles exist, and John’s, built in the eighties was based on a Ford Econoline Van. The limited-edition hybrid is not just used as a boat, home and vehicle, but also as a unique party venue that you can often see cruising down the Las Vegas strip.  Video Credits: Videographer / director: Jessica Sherry  Producer: Frazer Randalls, Ruby Coote     Editor: Ciara Cecil​

Transcript

00:00Everyone loves the boater home.

00:04Good times, good energy, good fun.

00:08Yeah, it's always good times.

00:12270 miles from the sea on a dusty Nevada

00:16road, the last thing you'd expect to see is a boat.

00:20But John is the proud owner of this boater home.

00:24A half boat, half band hybrid. It's really convenient.

00:28It's fun. It's unique. It's just exactly like an RV, but it floats.

00:32It's amazing. The features of the boater home, just besides

00:36the fact it's a boat and a van, it's an RV

00:40basically. It's a floating RV, with a few extra bells and whistles

00:44that I put into it. Only 21 of these unique vehicles exist,

00:48having been built in the 80s and based on a Ford Econoline van.

00:52This boater home has been in John's family since they were originally created.

00:56I was about 10 years old when my dad

01:00called my mom and said, bring the kids outside and come see what I'm coming home in.

01:04So we're in the street and here comes this boater home, coming around the corner.

01:08It was so big and it was all white at the time and I didn't know what the heck it was.

01:12He saw it in Popular Science magazine in the early 80s

01:16and he's like, I gotta have that.

01:18About right here is where they chop the van off.

01:20And then the rest is fiberglass back with the seamless boat connection.

01:26Custom swim deck, alpha drive, ladder, underwater lighting.

01:32Gives a good about 35 foot sprawl of blue or white or mixed, very pretty.

01:36So this is the boater home. It's the inside.

01:44Right here we got our kitchen counter, our stove, AC unit,

01:50conventional oven, microwave.

01:52Right here is the fridge, dining table area.

01:54This goes down, things pull out and makes a bed nice and comfortable for two people.

01:59This is the bathroom and shower.

02:01Almost, probably 75% of the boater home is original.

02:04I've done a little bit of work to it.

02:06Made it a little bigger inside, a little more roomy.

02:09But the design of what the guy laid out is pretty much original.

02:13And then more little hangout area, two couches.

02:17These fold together and make the bed.

02:19So it's bigger than a king this way.

02:22Captain chair, helm.

02:25This is where I drive.

02:27So this is my gauge.

02:29I got my fuel, my trim, miles per hour, my stereo, my charger, train horn button.

02:39You don't have to tow a boat with your RV and then back the boat in and do all that trailer work.

02:44It's really a one man program.

02:45I can do it all by myself.

02:46Nice and easy.

02:47Never have to get wet.

02:48That's the great part.

02:50It's been all over the country with my dad.

02:52Personally, I've taken it to California, Dumont Sand Dunes,

02:56camped in it there.

02:58Lake Havasu, Kavaleen Island.

03:00We're hitting Lake Powell this year, hopefully.

03:08Incredibly, John has also come into possession of a second boater home.

03:12Almost 10 years ago, I found another boater home online.

03:16The guy was asking almost 30 grand for it.

03:18I'm like, okay, let's fly down and check it out.

03:20And this thing was not at all what he described.

03:22It should have almost been in the junkyard.

03:24So I ended up picking it up for around 11 grand.

03:26It's a big project ahead of me, but I'm excited about it.

03:29I'm going to completely remodel it and update it.

03:31Make it basically a 2020.

03:33It's got two Mercury, 275 Autorado, supercharged with shorty drives.

03:37Got to finally test it a couple weeks ago after all those years of putting money into it.

03:42And yeah, she's pushing 70.

03:44So this one's actually going to have a whole other seating arena up there.

03:47So it's going to be a double decker.

03:49So I'll be able to drive up top as well as below.

03:52I want it to be a smart boat.

03:53Before I get to the launch ramp, I could, on my phone, turn the AC on,

03:57get all the updated technology in the 80s boat.

04:00First one's definitely my dad's.

04:02It always will be.

04:03And it's a family heirloom.

04:05This one's a blank slate, complete, and I get to build it from the ground up.

04:11And it's not just used as a boat, home, and vehicle.

04:15It's also a unique party venue.

04:18You go straight from here, straight to the strip,

04:21and then party on the strip with everyone in it, like a limousine.

04:24Party rolling.

04:33Oh my God.

04:34I don't plan none of this, I swear.

04:37So it's like a party bus, boat, RV.

04:41It's amazing.

04:42Check it out.

04:43Check it out.

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