CAMI Hydra-Terra

United States · Bus · built by Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International LLC (CAMI)

An unsinkable American amphibious tour bus for up to 49 passengers, built by CAMI on commercial truck chassis with foam-filled buoyancy compartments.

CAMI Hydra-Terra

Propulsion
Also known as	Hydra-Terra, Mighty Swan, Wonder Bus
Manufacturer	Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International LLC (CAMI)
Country	United States
Type	Bus
Status	Production
Use	Civilian
In water	Propeller
Hull	Aluminium
Engine	Caterpillar six-cylinder diesel (e.g. 3126, 7.2 litres), about 230 hp
Power	230 hp
Dimensions & performance
Length	11.9 m
Width	2.59 m
Speed on land	113 km/h
Speed on water	13 km/h
Seats	49

The Hydra-Terra is an amphibious tour bus designed and built by Cool Amphibious Manufacturers International (CAMI), a company run by John and Julie Giljam with plants in South Carolina and New York. The Giljams had operated tours on Hilton Head Island with an old 1963 LARC-V, and John, who had spent his career building specialist trucks, fire engines and ambulances, designed the Hydra-Terra from scratch so as not to depend on worn-out military vehicles and to use parts available from ordinary suppliers. CAMI has been building amphibians since 1999 and the design is protected by US patent 6,482,052.

Design

The Hydra-Terra seats up to 49 passengers and two crew. Its key feature is foam-filled buoyancy compartments below the floor and in the sides; the makers say it will stay afloat even with its drain plugs out and the engine room flooded, and that it was the only US Coast Guard-approved passenger vessel of its kind with such positive buoyancy. Standard equipment includes a driver's airbag, laminated windscreen and fire and bilge alarms; options included a toilet, roll-down curtains, four-wheel drive, flotation tyres and a waterjet with its own diesel engine.

The running gear is taken from commercial truck chassis. One 2001 example, the 44-seat 'Mighty Swan', was about 11.9 m long and 2.59 m wide, with an aluminium hull on a Ford F-650 chassis, a 7.2-litre Caterpillar 3126 diesel, an Allison automatic gearbox and a MerCruiser Bravo 2 sterndrive with propeller. A version built for Japan used Isuzu FSR truck components because they were easy to obtain there.

Use

Hydra-Terras have been sold for tourism and search and rescue in the United States and abroad. The 'Wonder Bus' in Dubai, which its operator called the first amphibious tour in the Middle East, is a 12.2 m (40 ft), 46-seat example with a steel frame and aluminium hull, powered by a 230 hp Caterpillar diesel. It is quoted at up to 113 km/h on land and 7 knots (13 km/h) on water.