Ultimate Dive Truck

[driftwood]

Work right now? Probably not. As Ford, VW, Rivian,Tesla and others move forward with competitively priced trucks we will see affordable models in the “low range” versions. Low range equals less expensive, less weight and faster charging. Bonaire doesn’t need 400 mile range.
As for batteries, nobody is putting “old” vehicle batteries in the dump. They are far too valuable and sought after. 10 year old Prius batteries no longer functional for vehicle use are in demand for photovoltaic systems where they can function for many years.
My intention with posting was about not seeing the forest for the trees. I’m sure we all want to see the oceans healthy for ourselves and future generations. Every liter of gas and diesel burned is hurting our planet, that’s a fact. I’m just advocating for burning fewer liters.

Last year I replaced an '04 Nissan Frontier. Never considered a full sized PU. Just don't need to haul that much metal around on every trip I make.

At a certain point reality meets the plan and reality always wins. As has been pointed out EV's as rentals are unworkable on Bonaire. Your dream solar powered EV's is sunshine and lolly pops.

Sorry, but solar cars will always remain a romantic sci-fi fantasy | WIRED UK

Wish all the best for the Ultimate Dive Truck and am pretty sure that they will find that niche market.

 

[michael-fisch]

In Germany you can install a solar array on your roof, but:
It must be hooked up to power into the electrical providers system, private use of your own electricity before the meter is prohibited
and the power you draw out of that system to charge your EV costs an average of 30Euro cents a kilowatt which is considerably higher than the equivilant cost of gasoline.

Sure the state gives you a great tax advantage on annual road taxes and helps out by kicking a few thousand Euros in when you buy an electrical car costing under 40000 Euros, but unfortunately, with current electricity prices it costs a lot more to use electricity per 100 km than using gasoline even without looking at the extra purchase price of an EV.

EVs in Germany will remain a tiny % of the market, bought only by dreamers since they cost more, cost more to operate, and the network of charging stations is too small to comfortably plan trips over 100km from home.

Michael

 

[DustyC]

I have to be honest....this engagement has been very interesting and appreciated.

Let us be clear: We are not trying to "take over the market" and replace or disrupt the traditional pick up trucks.
That will likely be the predominant market for years to come for those who can dive manual transmission and don't mind balancing their equipment on the tailgate of the truck one at a time......

We are simply desiring to contribute to the dive community here on Bonaire by providing a small fleet of luxury dive trucks so that divers can enjoy the experience more by setting up their equipment simultaneously while the tanks are secured in an upright position.

I fail to understand why you think it's a one at a time thing for regular trucks. We do two at a time without issue, while our third (and if present) fourth, go scout the entry path, and we set their gear up while they're doing that. When they get back, we help them into their stuff. If any of us get out of the water earlier than others, we reset before stowing so it's even quicker next time.

 

[UltimateDiveTrucksBonaire]

Plan ahead and assume that someone will try to drive around with their gear clipped into the "set up" areas. Are the roll-control tank clips sufficient to prevent them losing their whole kit while bouncing around the marine park?

This is a legitimate question.....but
If someone decides to leave their gear on the tanks....they are assuming the risk for their gear (or loss of gear) and we would not advise it.

As for the roll control clips being sufficient enough to hold tanks (I already answered the gear issue above) for the Marine Park or on Bonaire bumpy roads:
We are fans of safety straps and there are safety straps integrated into the set up areas. As long as they are used, this truck will take the divers where they want to go without any concerns for "run away" tanks.

Thanks for your insight and thoughtful question!

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

There's significantly more to the amenities than just a lock box and shower....t
I've personally found that the roll control upright tank positioning provides a boat dive set up which is much more comfortable and convenient (not to mention, possibly saving you from dropping a tank on your second stage out of the back of a tailgate).i
Plus, all divers can set up simultaneously without waiting.... it's a significant time savings.... especially if someone is doing multiple dives....

Maybe you'll decide to give it a try at some point....

Thanks so much for your interest in this thread..... Happy Diving

Absolutely at some point, but this trip i’ll Be diving/driving solo (unless someone wants to buddy up and crawl around a dive-site with me at a snails pace) and I also dive dual sidemount, so neither of those things are really an issue for me

 

[octostudio]

When do you propose to charge this electric vehicle?

You don’t charge directly from solar panels (perhaps a trickle charge), either feed a grid and pull back off it or independently store in batteries and charge off that. Charge anytime you want.

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

You don’t charge directly from solar panels (perhaps a trickle charge), either feed a grid and pull back off it or independently store in batteries and charge off that. Charge anytime you want.

Sorry, I was a little unclear with my question. It was not a theoretical question. It was meant to be a real life practical question.

Today, in Bonaire, when do you propose to charge the vehicle? And from what?

 

[UltimateDiveTrucksBonaire]

NA

 

[woodcarver]

Just got back from Bonaire last week. Had the opportunity to go diving with Eric and Stacy for a day in the Ultimate Dive Truck while we were there. This is a slick setup. Think boat diving from shore. Pairs of tanks in all 4 corners for setting up and plenty of room in the bed for the 5 tubs we had (5 divers). The shower hose in the bed is really handy for rinsing off. Better than the juice jugs we use in my brother's truck for sure.
The locking bins above the wheel wells on both sides are pretty roomy. Solid construction out of heavy gauge aluminum with good t-handle locks. Thieves would have to bring some tools.
Definitely a huge improvement over the typical rental truck! It did inspire my brother to let me modify the shelf he has in his truck while we were there.
Just for the record, we got to go dive with the Scuba Duo because they are friends of my brother. Eric had also been informed of the attitude that keys develop while in my possession, so I was not allowed to handle the keys or drive the truck. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the fleet next year!

 

[ijdod]

That’s a great idea, given the gas prices on the island. My first trip there when I pulled up to the pump I was thrilled about the gas prices. Then I saw that they measured their fuel in liters

Funny, coming from the Netherlands, I'm still thrilled about the fuel prices, in liters.

...and don't mind balancing their equipment on the tailgate of the truck one at a time......

One at a time? We've regularly done 2, and 3 is doable.

One of the things I learned from diving with Bas is the value of some water in the truck to rinse off with after the dive.

We had some 1 gallon jugs of water in the back for just that. We kept refilling those as needed.
--
I've had the pleasure of seeing much of the island (and divesites) from the comforts of one of the local F150s. Very comfy, especially compared to our own rental Chinese truck. That said, I have some doubts how it would fare when exposed to, well, non-stop divers (the usual target audience). And while you can get in everywhere, there was a markable size difference between the F150 and, say, Wingle 5. I've had some experiences where we couldn't park the F150 where the smaller truck would still have fit. ymmv.