[3e] Terra Wind RV

[Phaelen Bleux]

Terra Wind Amphibious RV (TL7)
If you can't decide on a motor coach or a houseboat, buy the Terra Wind RV--it's both! By placing the road transmission in neutral and the marine transmission in gear, a single engine powers the vehicle on road or in water. Although not considered ocean-worthy, the RV can withstand winds of up to 40 mph and waves of up to 3' without foundering.
The hull is made from aluminum, the chassis is steel, and the sidewall and roof or made of fiberglass reinforced plywood. It has two slide-out room extensions (with sponsons for balance in water) that create a 13' living room to port and bedroom to starboard. They can be extended both on land and in the water. Other amenities include a 22.5 cf refrigerator, trash compactor, convection/microwave oven, electric stove, dishwasher, clothes washer and drier, 42" plasma TV, DVD player, sound system, satellite TV dish, local TV antenna and an in-dash LCD screen.
The Terra Wind seats six and sleeps four. It burns 8.6 gallons of diesel per hour at routine usage. A full tank of fuel costs $180.

Subassemblies: Body +5, 6 wheels +2.
Powertrain: 246-kW improved wheeled drivetrain with 246-kW improved diesel engine, 246-kW light screw propeller, 18-kW improved diesel generator, 8,000-kWs lead acid battery.
Fuel: 150 gallons diesel in standard tank (Fire 9).
Occupancy: 1 RCS, 5 RPS (superior access for all).
Cargo: 140 cf.

Armor
All: 3/5

Equipment:
Body: Receive-only radio; 4x sound system (TV, DVD, CD, satellite dish); airbags (RCS and RPS); 6-man environmental control, GPS, navigation instruments, searchlight, small computer with terminal, galley, 110-gallon standard tank for fresh water, 55-gallon standard tank for gray water, 55-gallon standard tank for black water, hitch, four bunks (includes laundry, wash and toilet facilities) with superior access.

Statistics:
Size: 42.5'x8.5'x12.5' Payload: 3.4 tons Lwt.: 16.5 tons
Volume: 2,400 cf. Maint.: 32 hours Price: $386,178

HT: 12. HPs: 6456 Body, 464 each Wheel.

gSpeed: 85 gAccel: 3 gDecel: 15 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 4
Ground Pressure High. 1/6 Off-Road speed.
wSpeed: 8 wAccel: 2 wDecel: 10 (11) wMR: 0.1 wSR: 5
Draft: 3.5'. Flotation Rating: 75 tons.

Design Notes:
Body is 2,400 cf; wheels are 240 cf. Structure is Extra-Heavy, Standard. It has improved brakes. Armor is Expensive metal. Mechanical controls. Waterproofed. No Hydrodynamic lines. Empty weight is 28,230 lbs.
The design ran very light despite the extra-heavy frame and generous body volume. Design loaded weight was 28,089 lbs., this was increased 15% to the historical value. Design gSpeed was 62 mph, design wSpeed was 8.5 mph, and design draft was 2.1'. Real-world values are all shown above. List price in 2004 was $1.2 million.
Although the armor is a split between expensive metal and cheap composite (which are nearly identical in cost and weight anyways), it was all treated as expensive metal for ease of design.

Variants:
Future models of the Terra Wind will include 2 engines for better waterborne balance (one forward and one aft) and improved power. Expected output is 373 kW for road travel and 224 kW for marine use.

http://www.terrawind.com/terrawind.htm