Ultimate Dive Truck

[drrich2]

Interesting concept and it'll be interesting to see how your business model works going forward. The fear just using it will attract notice (like a safe, you see it and start wondering what's in it) is a factor. But there is cause for hope.

V.I.P. Divers has gotten good mention on the forum; their existence implies some people like a bit more 'luxury' than average.

I agree Bonaire calls to the frugal diver (especially after one gets reamed paying the airfare!), but some bring 'less diehard' travel companions with weird issues like wanting to shower off, 'freshen up' or eat an on-site snack (this is not me; for some reason I'm thinking some avid diver's not-so-avid wife).

Another option is said avid diver, or an avid diver couple, bringing a couple of kids. A family unit might like this approach. Or a pair of dive couples traveling together.

Bottom line, I suspect your demographic will be really small groups. Hope you'll let us know in time how this actually plays out. Good luck.

 

[Sam Miller III]

After a nostalgic read of the chairman's fantastic dedicated dive truck I discovered a long forgotten post on our dedicated Baja dive trailer which we used and abused on so many roads (?) and off road adventures lasting over 20 year span.
The on going unrest in Mexico created a screeching halt to exploring the unexplored and camping on virgin beaches isolated from modern civilization.
FYI


"Chairman'
From way back in my files I discovered this never published article about my Baja dive vehicles and a Baja prepared travel trailer that could and did go any where and every where we could jerk it with a 4 X 4 truck

My interest for many years was exploring the unexplored and diving the in dove of Baja California in Mexico. This romance began in December 1951 when I made my first trip to the end of the paved road which was at a Cantina called Hussong's.***

After the unpleasantness called a police action in Korea I acquired a WW 11 surplus 1942 Dodge 1/2 ton4X4 which was dedicated for use in Baja. It was highly modified; a bed frame was welded to the top as a carrier, Surplus Jerry cans were mounted on rear door and front fenders, the seats were from a civilian automobile. I (we) used this for about 5 years making trails in northern Baja where there were no trails.

My traveling buddy, Joe Mc Cabe had a WW 11 surplus 1943 Dodge 3/4 ton 4X4 which was also modified for Baja travel but had a Rix compressor installed to fill SCUBA tanks.
Joe lost his life on June 4,1960 at 200 plus feet when the tribe was recovering a huge anchor at Catalina.

After that tragedy the tribe fell apart.

Marriage and children required a certain amount of creature comfort so I acquired a 1960 VW Kombi which under went numerous modifications over its 20 year life. A full VW top rack, a bike rack in front and a Jerry can rack in back, wheel well cut outs plus many many mods to the interior to satisfy the needs of the growing family. Never the less we somehow managed to still explore the unexplored and dive the in dove of Baja California in Mexico.

We became stuck on two memorable occasions. First time in salt water marsh land in San Quintin (san Ka-teen) in Baha and the second time exploring the WW11 gun emplacements near San Pedro California,

We had a dry spell while our five children were in school, college, university, grad school, doctorates, post docs, fellowships.....finally time and money to spend.

Then off to the wilds a sleeping bag in the dirt, a sleeping bag in the van, a sleeping bag in the pickup. finally a small 13 foot "Roust a bout trailer." It was one of the 1960-70s trailers which were over built with nothing but the top of the line components therefore over built and
overpriced consequently didn't sell well.

First mod was to seal the joints of the trailer with caulking and spray generous amounts of undercoating on all the joint areas.

The tires needed replacement so 3 size over size tires, requiring the wheel wells to be cut out and rubber lashes be installed.

Then the 3 leaf springs broke, so replaced in Mexico with 6 leaf high arch springs. After 10 years of hard usage they broke, so replaced the entire spring system with all new components which were tac welded in place.

The interior items such as the toilet, the water system were replaced by marine grade items, the lighting was converted to florescent 6-12 volt and 3-110 (just in case)all the lighting was also supplemented by three solar panels.

The single propane tank was replaced by two tanks and the single battery system was replaced by a dual battery system High above the back bumper I welded a mesh rack two feet by ten feet which held a jack, Jerry cans for water and gasoline, supplies etc etc etc...

This trailer went were ever our 4X4 wanted to pull it..on the concrete or w
here the concrete ends. It would not be economical feasible for a US manufacture to market an off road trailer, there is just no market for one. The US has insidiously become a nation of RV parks and concrete. Which we have reluctantly joined , but all those golden memories of past adventures

Enjoy your wagon as we did ours

Sam Miller, 111

*** walter Hussong was a very popular and active diver in the 1950 & 1960s-- I published an article on his treasure hunting adventures many years ago sdm

 

[UltimateDiveTrucksBonaire]

I agree with @drifwood
"From my seat, I prefer to stay in the weeds and do my best to not be noticed. "
or as we say in our home "play in the mud"

We are visiting a foreign country with out the protection of the American Laws, but under the laws of a foreign nation which may or may not be compatible to US laws.

Blending is the word...

Blend in to the local community and it no way bring attention to real or imagined wealth.
A specialized custom dive truck would be an advertisement of wealth and current or future diving activities. Even though it has lockable compartments it must be recognized the occupants will be diving underwater and the truck will be unsecured for at least an hour, affording ample time opportunity for vandalism.

Since it is a dedicated "Dive truck" I question where are the universally recognized red & white dive flags? - Recalling many moons ago from a college class ": Success= Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise !

Hopefully you will apply flag (s) remember the often ignored size proportions 5 W x 4 H with I unit Stripe

Cheers and good luck from California - where it all began

Dr. Sam Miller

Good Morning Dr.

We are Americans ourselves, so I totally understand your position on the legalities. Laws are very similar when it comes to the punishment of thieves. That is why it is very much a crime of quick....and I mean quick opportunity. Smash a window etc. These dive trucks locking boxes would require much more time, and therefore, we believe, much more chance of getting caught for these young thieves. Not worth the risk or chance. Our experience: Bonaire is the safest Caribbean island we have been on, which is why we chose to live here.....But, all that being said, we can certainly not guarantee anything, right?

We have a dive flag incorporated into the logo, along with a compass......but, no dive flag simply because there is no room now that our bed is all aluminum.

We sure hope to have many American guests as we continue to grow this very niche market.

Thanks for your feedback and engagement with our new business!

 

[UltimateDiveTrucksBonaire]

What's with the pickup and drop off times? That would be a deal breaker for me, and along with it not being a full four door truck. I'll stick with a beat up Hilux.

Good Morning Andy!

We are a new business, so we are going to learn a lot as we go. Which is why we love this forum....getting feedback is great from a community we love: The dive community
We are trying to work with the flight schedule from USA:
Houston, Atlanta and Miami arrive/depart to work with this schedule, but there may have been flights we missed.

If you ever decided to give us a try and need to work with the drop off and pick up times.....just let us know.
We will always do what we can to accommodate.

Warm Regards, and thanks for your feedback.

 

[UltimateDiveTrucksBonaire]

Your website is up and running!

Love the idea but I question your pickup and drop off times. To get one full diving day's use out of your rental, you have to rent it for two days.

Might be part of your plan and $750 for a week seems reasonable.

Lot of other problems with the security features.

Thanks for the thoughtful response:
We are not making daily our focus, but wanted to offer the option, so yes, to obtain a full day with the current drop of/pick up schedule requires a 2 day reservation. This is something we may consider to change to 24 hours....time will tell.
We are in the learning process on this. My guess is we will be renting this out weekly for the most part....and when we have gaps in our reservation calendar, a few daily rentals here and there.

Hope to see you sometime on Bonaire!

 

[driftwood]

Thanks for the thoughtful response:
We are not making daily our focus, but wanted to offer the option, so yes, to obtain a full day with the current drop of/pick up schedule requires a 2 day reservation. This is something we may consider to change to 24 hours....time will tell.
We are in the learning process on this. My guess is we will be renting this out weekly for the most part....and when we have gaps in our reservation calendar, a few daily rentals here and there.

Hope to see you sometime on Bonaire!

I really see your most probable market are families that rent a house for a week or two. Talk with some of the property management companies and see if they can give you a hand.

Also, when you really think about it, the volume that needs to be highly secure isn't that large. If you could find a secure hotel room safe and mount it to the truck frame that might do the trick. The larger locked bins are great for in town use, but I question leaving them alone for a hour while you are diving.

 

[UltimateDiveTrucksBonaire]

Ok, so here is an update on the Ultimate Dive Trucks.
Officially on the island and being used by us and other PADI professional divers so we can obtain feedback (positive and constructive). I for one have found that I can't put my BCD into the roll control clips when attaching because I use a short tank (yep, I'm a short, petite female with a 60 cubit tank). However it was great for the 80 cubit tanks.

The shower is incredible: especially after a sandy dive site so you can rinse your feet and any sand on wetsuit between dives. Keeps things so much cleaner.

Locking storage: we are so used to not bringing valuables that it was used for towels, and prescription (progressive)masks and sunscreen which kept the stuff out of the cab of the truck.

The shelf over the locking storage was Fantastic for: fins, masks, camera to set while gearing up.

Most importantly, we all loved the bumper for a small spot to put wetsuit on.

As for gearing up: we all did this simultaneously which is where the real value is....time saving for sure which keeps everyone from overheating.

Hoping that this video link to my dropbox is working.
If not....you can see the video on Ultimate Dive Trucks Facebook page and Instagram page.

Dropbox - UDT Clip.mp4 - Simplify your life

So far, we are having fun checking it out.

 

[octostudio]

Ultimate dive truck should address the climate change hurting our oceans. Ford and VW are working on a joint electric platform for midsize trucks and vans. Meanwhile heavy gas guzzlers are counter intuitive to a plan that is forward thinking. Luxury doesn’t have to be bigger, thirstier, meaner to the environment.
I heard there are a couple electric mini mokes on the island, if they are getting charged with photovoltaic then I think they are the best Bonaire dive trucks. And best for Bonaire dive trucks.

 

[driftwood]

Ultimate dive truck should address the climate change hurting our oceans. Ford and VW are working on a joint electric platform for midsize trucks and vans. Meanwhile heavy gas guzzlers are counter intuitive to a plan that is forward thinking. Luxury doesn’t have to be bigger, thirstier, meaner to the environment.
I heard there are a couple electric mini mokes on the island, if they are getting charged with photovoltaic then I think they are the best Bonaire dive trucks. And best for Bonaire dive trucks.

Just one little thingy, where does all the dive gear for four (4) people go?

Absolutely as unworkable as a dive truck. If there was an "unlike" option, you would have earned it from me.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Just one little thingy, where does all the dive gear for four (4) people go?

Absolutely as unworkable as a dive truck. If there was an "unlike" option, you would have earned it from me.

I see no market for that just as I see no market for the luxury truck that’s the subject of this thread. My prediction is that the Bonaire beater will continue to rule for a long time. But we shall see. Who knows.