Bobby Likis: Rick Dobbertin / HydroCar

Automotive expert Bobby talks with RICK DOBBERTIN live from the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Courtesy of Brad Bolin, freelance writer for CMS: In the early 1990s, custom car builder Rick Dobbertin of Cazenovia, N.Y. converted a stainless steel milk tanker into the go-anywhere Surface Orbiter. Dobbertin and his wife traveled to 28 countries in their amphibious motorhome, logging 33,000 miles on land and 3,000 in the open ocean. Shortly after displaying the Surface Orbiter at Charlotte Motor Speedways Food Lion AutoFair in 1995, he sold the craft and began brainstorming a more advanced form of land-sea transportation.

Construction of the new HydroCar began in 2002 and took more than 20,000 man-hours to complete. Dobbertin engineered and built every part of the unique vehicle from raw materials, including its tube-frame chassis, marine-spec aluminum hull, aviation-grade electrical system and Stealth fighter-like canopy.

Rick touts his HydroCar as being the first amphibious vehicle with a fully articulated body, which means the conversion from car to boat takes place automatically through the movement of major components.

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[mortie806]

A few years ago i seen your first one it was at the Harley Davidson In Syracuse NY that was the coolest thing iv ever see

From Mexico NY

[pisser20001]

you need to check out my home made amphibious car...i built it out of a 1991 subaru and i have less than $2000 invested and just 150 man hours to make it. It is water and road legal! It is registered as a car and a boat in NY..check out my page to see it in action!