Regardless how many times you do it, racing a lumbering 4x4 into deep water just feels wrong, every time.
Which is why, when the salesman arrived, I was barefoot in deep mud, using a stick to gauge the depth and my toes to find – with unerring accuracy – the larger submerged rocks that could crack a differential cover.
He yelled at me not to bother. “You’ll only get bilharzia …and this truck stuck in that muck. You need to find a spot to launch her fast and deep!”
"This truck" was one of three amphibious pick-ups in SA, coming with either a full cabin, double cab or open top from Beijing Automobile Works.
CAM – for China Auto Manufacturers – imports the open-top model to South Africa as the Hippo.
I was risking bilharzia to test CAM’s claim that the Hippo is safe on land and water, trusting in the Hippo’s thick sidewalls - which are filled with a type of foam rubber that is lighter than water - to make it unsinkable.
A lifebelt, mounted in place of a spare tyre on the nose, did not inspire much confidence.
"Its there by law, all boats have to have them, and this bakkie is mos a boat also," explained Mr Salesman.
Like most Chinese one-ton pick-ups, the Hippo is built on a previous-generation Isuzu chassis, with a Chinese version of the 1987 Isuzu 2.8 turbo diesel under the hood.
Designed to lug eight troopers over China’s vast rivers and bogs, it was never going to be fast – 80 km/h is about its limit on dry land, but it is quite capable on dirt.
On terra firma, the ride is typically 1980s-Isuzu, pliant to the point of being soft; an attribute CAM believes will make the Hippo the ideal tourist transporter.
The Hippo’s long nose, which houses an air-intake on top to allow water to drain past the radiator, combines with six seats on the rear to make the vehicle a tad top heavy. The long chassis nevertheless straddled axle-benders with ease, although a 45-degree slope proved too steep for the wheezy old 120 Bhp turbo-diesel.
“We aim to sell this vehicle exclusively to private game farms. It is not locally homolugated for use on public roads and is unsuitable for long distances, but just think of the unique photos one can take from this when the game comes down to drink at dusk,” said the salesman.
Before storming the waves, one first has to engage 4-H and the propeller. Selecting 4-H is the same as in a Landy, linking the propeller is even simpler; just pull up the gear-lever in the centre. The propeller links directly to the drive shaft, to turn it faster you have to gear up.
To steer, just turn the steering wheel, it follows where the front wheels point.
Shifting from 4H to neutral to take the torque of the front wheels eased the steering and to my surprise, I found skippering the Hippo on water was exactly like driving it on land. I geared smoothly up from first to fifth to reach its top speed of about 5 knots, (about 20km/h) and steered elegant circles past the ducks that waggled their bottoms at us.
When I got blas̩ enough to play with the red and green nautical lights and fiddle with the oars, the salesman asked me to stop the Hippo. I automatically stepped on the brakes and Рnothing happened.
Grinning evilly, he lectured me on the difference between driving and skippering: “You have to coast to a standstill and depending on the current, may have to give yourself wide berthing space when you aim for land.”
To exit the dam, you first have to find a firm spot, as 5 knots do not provide enough momentum to push through the deep mud. Cruising the Hippo far out to build up speed, and engaging 4-H to grip the mud at 20km/h, I aimed its blunt nose towards the boat launching ramp, water streaming out of the bilges.
“So whaddya think?” asked the salesman.
“I think this Hippo will change the booze cruise as we know it for ever,” I replied.
(First published in Farmers Weekly in 2008.)
Which is why, when the salesman arrived, I was barefoot in deep mud, using a stick to gauge the depth and my toes to find – with unerring accuracy – the larger submerged rocks that could crack a differential cover.
He yelled at me not to bother. “You’ll only get bilharzia …and this truck stuck in that muck. You need to find a spot to launch her fast and deep!”
"This truck" was one of three amphibious pick-ups in SA, coming with either a full cabin, double cab or open top from Beijing Automobile Works.
CAM – for China Auto Manufacturers – imports the open-top model to South Africa as the Hippo.
I was risking bilharzia to test CAM’s claim that the Hippo is safe on land and water, trusting in the Hippo’s thick sidewalls - which are filled with a type of foam rubber that is lighter than water - to make it unsinkable.
A lifebelt, mounted in place of a spare tyre on the nose, did not inspire much confidence.
"Its there by law, all boats have to have them, and this bakkie is mos a boat also," explained Mr Salesman.
Like most Chinese one-ton pick-ups, the Hippo is built on a previous-generation Isuzu chassis, with a Chinese version of the 1987 Isuzu 2.8 turbo diesel under the hood.
Designed to lug eight troopers over China’s vast rivers and bogs, it was never going to be fast – 80 km/h is about its limit on dry land, but it is quite capable on dirt.
On terra firma, the ride is typically 1980s-Isuzu, pliant to the point of being soft; an attribute CAM believes will make the Hippo the ideal tourist transporter.
The Hippo’s long nose, which houses an air-intake on top to allow water to drain past the radiator, combines with six seats on the rear to make the vehicle a tad top heavy. The long chassis nevertheless straddled axle-benders with ease, although a 45-degree slope proved too steep for the wheezy old 120 Bhp turbo-diesel.
“We aim to sell this vehicle exclusively to private game farms. It is not locally homolugated for use on public roads and is unsuitable for long distances, but just think of the unique photos one can take from this when the game comes down to drink at dusk,” said the salesman.
Before storming the waves, one first has to engage 4-H and the propeller. Selecting 4-H is the same as in a Landy, linking the propeller is even simpler; just pull up the gear-lever in the centre. The propeller links directly to the drive shaft, to turn it faster you have to gear up.
To steer, just turn the steering wheel, it follows where the front wheels point.
Shifting from 4H to neutral to take the torque of the front wheels eased the steering and to my surprise, I found skippering the Hippo on water was exactly like driving it on land. I geared smoothly up from first to fifth to reach its top speed of about 5 knots, (about 20km/h) and steered elegant circles past the ducks that waggled their bottoms at us.
When I got blas̩ enough to play with the red and green nautical lights and fiddle with the oars, the salesman asked me to stop the Hippo. I automatically stepped on the brakes and Рnothing happened.
Grinning evilly, he lectured me on the difference between driving and skippering: “You have to coast to a standstill and depending on the current, may have to give yourself wide berthing space when you aim for land.”
To exit the dam, you first have to find a firm spot, as 5 knots do not provide enough momentum to push through the deep mud. Cruising the Hippo far out to build up speed, and engaging 4-H to grip the mud at 20km/h, I aimed its blunt nose towards the boat launching ramp, water streaming out of the bilges.
“So whaddya think?” asked the salesman.
“I think this Hippo will change the booze cruise as we know it for ever,” I replied.
(First published in Farmers Weekly in 2008.)
