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" Beware the giant amphibians. At night by the lake, amid the incessant chirping of crickets and the croaking of frogs, comes the sound of Fordus Excursionus slithering up the bank. Farther out, in deeper water, is the ominous outline of a 43-ft. monster that rises some 15 ft. above the surface. These creatures are not out to eat you or your lunch. As a matter of fact, they&amp;#039;re not natural creatures at all, but man-made creations. They are giant amphibious vehicles, as mind-boggling as anything that ever crawled out of the water on its fins in prehistoric times. The 43-ft. amphibian is the Terra Wind--a motorhome made by Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International. It&amp;#039;s not a converted anything, but a built-from-scratch custom vehicle that you can buy today. The Terra Wind sits on an all-aluminum displacement-type hull that houses the axles and running gear. A special thru-hull bearing carrier keeps the water out. For safety, the hull consists of three water-tight compartments, each with its own bilge pump and water alarm. If you prang one compartment, the remaining two will keep you afloat. Since this motorhome will never scorch the water with its 6- to 7-knot top speed, there is no point in trying to fold up the wheels to reduce drag.  The Terra Wind is powered by a single, rear-mounted 330-hp Caterpillar diesel and an electronically controlled 6-speed Allison automatic transmission. This combo will move the coach along smartly at speeds up to 80 mph on land. At the rear of the engine is a live PTO that turns a separate marine transmission. On land, the marine trans spins in Neutral. A power splitter on the transmission feeds the twin props that rotate inside a tunnel hull. The PTO, with a rated capacity of 330 hp, is the limiting factor in engine selection. Optional arrangements include a midengine (up to 500 hp) for the highway, and a second rear-mounted marine engine to drive the props or jets. As for amenities, the Terra Wind delivers all the goodies: two slideouts, plasma-screen TVs, polished teak interior, inlaid marble floor, sculpted carpets, whirlpool tub and all-electric residential appliances. Push the beads on your abacus, and it all adds up to $1.2 million. A bit steep, you say? Not to worry, Terra Wind prices start at a mere 800 grand. For that, you get a 38-ft. coach with the same powertrain, no slideouts or marble, and propane instead of electric appliances. It takes about nine months to build one. In addition to cobbling up amphibious motorhomes, the folks at Cool Amphibious also tackle custom conversions. Now, before you start pestering them to &amp;quot;amphibutize&amp;quot; your Yugo or 1967 VW Beetle, understand that this company works only on large vehicles (giant amphibians, remember?). Its bread-and-butter machine is the Hydro-Terra-a custom-built, 49-passenger amphibious tour bus. The Ford Excursion shown above is one of the smallest vehicles the company has converted to amphibious status. This truck was designed both as a yacht tender and for exploring. The owner, who will be traveling around the world on his yacht, wanted a vehicle he could drive off his boat and take anyplace, wherever he landed. To that end, a stock Excursion was integrated into an aluminum hull. The front end was stretched for additional flotation and to help the front end to lift--not plow--in heavy seas. The vehicle uses a monocoque construction, so there is no separate frame. A series of rollbars wraps the Excursion for protection in case the surf rolls it onto the beach. The stock drivetrain is fine for land use, but the customer wanted a separate marine drive. Filling the bill is a 240-hp Inmar turbodiesel coupled to a jet drive that will move the Ford at up to 8 knots in the water. It&amp;#039;s all neatly packed in the lower hatch area, leaving plenty of room above for groceries and supplies acquired by trading with the local natives. An Excursion conversion takes between 90 and 120 days, and costs about $115,000. For more information, check out www.terrawind.com. It puts a whole new spin on &amp;quot;off-roading.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a188/1277261/>