My Half Van, Half Boat Boaterhome
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.
Transcript
00:00 Everyone loves a boater home.
00:02 Good times, good energy, good fun.
00:07 Yeah, it's always good times.
00:10 270 miles from the sea, on a dusty Nevada road, the last thing you'd expect to see is a boat.
00:21 But John is the proud owner of this boater home.
00:26 A half boat, half van hybrid.
00:29 It's really convenient, it's fun, it's unique.
00:32 It's just exactly like an RV, but it floats, it's amazing.
00:36 The features of the boater home, just besides the fact it's a boat and a van,
00:41 it's an RV, basically, it's a floating RV.
00:44 With a few extra bells and whistles that I put into it.
00:48 Only 21 of these unique vehicles exist, having been built in the 80s and based on a Ford Econoline van.
00:54 This boater home has been in John's family since they were originally created.
00:59 I was about 10 years old when my dad called my mom and said,
01:03 "Bring the kids outside and come see what I'm coming home in."
01:06 So we're on the street and here comes this boater home coming around the corner.
01:10 It was so big and it was all white at the time and I didn't know what the heck it was.
01:15 He saw it in Popular Science magazine in the early 80s and he's like, "I gotta have that."
01:21 About right here is where they chop the van off and then the rest is fiberglass back
01:26 with the seamless boat connection.
01:29 Custom swindeck, alpha drive, ladder, underwater lighting.
01:35 Gives a good 35 foot sprawl of blue or white or mixed. Very pretty.
01:40 So this is the boater home.
01:46 That's the inside. Right here we got our kitchen counter, our stove, AC unit, conventional oven, microwave.
01:55 Right here's the fridge, dining table area.
01:57 This goes down, things pull out and makes a bed nice and comfortable for two people.
02:02 This is the bathroom and shower.
02:04 Almost, probably 75% of the boater home is original.
02:07 I've done a little bit of work to it, made it a little bigger inside, a little more roomy.
02:12 But the design of what the guy laid out is pretty much original.
02:16 And then more little hangout area, two couches.
02:20 These fold together and make the bed.
02:22 So it's bigger than a king this way.
02:25 Captain chair, helm.
02:28 This is where I drive.
02:30 So this is my gauge.
02:31 I got my fuel, my trim, miles per hour, my stereo, my charger, train horn button.
02:38 [HORN HONKING]
02:40 You don't have to tow a boat with your RV and then back the boat in and do all that trailer work.
02:46 It's really a one man program. I can do it all by myself, nice and easy.
02:49 Never have to get wet, that's the great part.
02:51 It's been all over the country with my dad.
02:55 Personally, I've taken it to California, Dumont Sand Dunes, camped in it there.
03:00 Lake Havasu, Catalina Island.
03:02 We're hitting Lake Powell this year, hopefully.
03:06 [MUSIC]
03:08 Incredibly, John has also come into possession of a second boater home.
03:15 Almost 10 years ago, I found another boater home online.
03:18 The guy was asking almost 30 grand for it.
03:21 I'm like, "Okay, let's fly down and check it out."
03:23 And this thing was not at all what he described.
03:25 It should have almost been in a junkyard.
03:27 So I ended up picking it up for around 11 grand.
03:30 It's a big project ahead of me, but I'm excited about it.
03:32 I'm going to completely remodel it and update it.
03:34 Make it basically a 2020.
03:36 It's got two Mercury 275 Eldorado supercharged with shorty drives.
03:40 Got to finally test it a couple weeks ago, after all those years of putting money into it.
03:44 And yeah, she's pushing 70.
03:46 So this one's actually going to have a whole other seating arena up there.
03:50 So it's going to be a double decker.
03:52 So I'll be able to drive up top as well as below.
03:54 I want it to be a smart boat.
03:56 Before I get to the launch ramp, I could, on my phone, turn the AC on.
03:59 Get all the updated technology in the 80s boat.
04:03 First one's definitely my dad's. It always will be.
04:05 And it's a family heirloom.
04:07 This one's a blank slate, complete.
04:09 And I get to build it from the ground up.
04:11 And it's not just used as a boat, home and vehicle.
04:17 It's also a unique party venue.
04:21 Go straight from here, straight to the strip.
04:24 And then party on the strip with everyone in it like a limousine.
04:27 Party rolling.
04:28 [Music]
04:34 [Laughter]
04:36 Oh my God. I don't plan none of this, I swear.
04:39 So it's like a party bus, boat, RV.
04:44 It's amazing. Check it out.
04:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]