If you’ve ever wanted to turn your motorhome into a houseboat, well, now you can. Sort of. A company has introduced the Rollerboat: A New Amphibious RV Concept.
It’s a large water craft that you drive your motorhome onto, and then your motorhome controls the craft while on the water.
It’s kind of like a barge or pontoon boat that you control from the driver’s seat of your motorhome.
So pack up your motorhome, drive to the lake, hop aboard the Rollerboat, and spend your time playing on the water in your new RV-houseboat!
The Basics of How Rollerboat Works
The motorhome positions its rear wheels on rollers connected to the boat’s outdrive.
When you use the motorhome’s gas pedal to accelerate, you propel the boat forward.
When you put the motorhome in reverse, the Rollerboat goes in reverse too.
A “fly by wire” system, an electrically controlled hydraulic power steering system, controls the steering. A controller attaches to the motorhome’s steering wheel and to a motor at the stern drive. You steer by moving a toggle for left or right turns.
Which RVs Can Use the Rollerboat
The RV boat is large – measuring in at 60 feet long and 18 feet wide. It can accommodate even the largest motorhomes, taking up to 45 feet long and 65,000 pounds of weight.
There’s room for you and your motorhome to enjoy the views while out on the water.
With that said, the standard Rollerboat will only work with Class A motorhomes. The RV boat doesn’t work with fifth wheels or travel trailers because it powers from the motorhome’s engine and propels using the motorhome’s rear wheels.
However, you can order a specially modified version of the Rollerboat. The modified version of the Rollerboat changes from roller power powered by your motorhome to outboard motor power. This change can be factory ordered and installed as your custom Rollerboat is being built.
Ready to Go Rollerboating?
The company is selling Rollerboats and there is one location in northern Tennessee where it can be rented.
The Dale Hollow Marina on the Dale Hollow Lake near the border of Tennessee and Kentucky is listed as a rental site on the Rollerboat’s website, and it says more rental locations are coming in the future.
But your rental cost won’t be cheap. The website says prices range from $600 for a three-day rental to up to several thousand dollars for weeklong trips.
You’ll be able to go about a third of the usual distance you can go in your RV when aboard the Rollerboat with a full tank of fuel.
The design of the rollers for the tires allows them to turn at 35 mph, speeding the amphibious apparatus to about 10 mph on the water.
But unfortunately it is not sea-worthy just yet.
The website says that the Rollerboat is designed for use on inland lakes and waterways. It can handle windy days and two foot waves, but not the Atlantic Ocean.
Check out the website for the Rollerboat: A New Amphibious RV Concept.
So you can’t drive your RV to Paris, just yet.
Other Amphibious RVs
Rollerboat isn’t the first company to come up with amphibious RVs. There are other possibilities available to take your RV’ing to the water.
If the Rollerboat doesn’t suit your fancy, perhaps you’d be interested in the Terra Wind for $1.2 million. The Terra Wind is a luxury motorhome that can travel up to 80 mph on the highway and up to 7 knots on the water.
Or you could opt for a more low-tech approach, such as taking your Airstream aboard a barge, as this family did to get to a prime camping location.
Now that RVs have conquered land and water, it’s obvious what the next invention needs to be — a contraption that turns your motorhome into an airplane!
Or perhaps someone has already accomplished this. We may have leap-frogged flying Airstream airplanes and jumped right into intergalactic Airstreams. Check out this flying Airstream spaceship in Southside Community Park in Sacramento, California.
