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And the boat motor is mounted to the back of the deck/ back of a pontoon boat.

It kind of seems to me like anyone could make one of these boat/camper RV units.

The way they set it up, they put the trailer under it all so that the wheels of the (2-wheel trailer) sit between the two pontoon boats.

The company (Aqua-trail) made around 35 units of these in the Sacramento area.

Tin can tourists explains how you launch them: “The trailer was designed to be used both as a houseboat and camping trailer. It is totally self-contained. When brought to lake the sides are lifted and the pontoons slide out and are secured. The entire craft is then released to roll into the water. It has a top speed of 7 knots and is easy to control.”

The RV has all the amenities normal RV trailers have: bathroom, shower head, kitchen, furniture, table,

Tin Can Tourists

The day defiance won! Remembering when Pakistan became nuclear

Remembering the day when a rare moment of defiance changed a nation’s history forever

Vitriolic abuse was the order of the day hours before May 28, 1998. The president of United states, Bill Clinton, was on the hotline from his oval office, urging Nawaz Sharif, who was in his second term as the Prime Minister of Pakistan to not to make a move he and his people would come to regret in the long term and simply put that infamous switch back to a place, where it can never see the light of day again and roll back a program so that the nation is ushered in an era of progress, the likes of which it has never experienced before.

However these are the moments that remind us every now and then that despite the old adage “beggars can’t be choosers” more or less fits our domestic and foreign policy, there have always been certain flashes of defiance and that when push comes to shove, we are an unpredictable nation – both on the cricket ground and in our daily lives.
The event that brought the Muslim world together and on the same page in regards to the celebrations was something that is a rare sighting these days. It didn’t matter if you were a French Moroccan (or maghribaine as they call arab french people) or a small-time vendor in the streets of Cairo, or a Sheikh driving a luxury car on his way to the cosy confines of the high life, or a relocated Afghan who longs to return home some day or a taxi driver roaming the streets of Islamabad slowing down his car every now and then to see if a pedestrian would like to pay for a ride that could put food on the table for his family when he calls it a day.

It could have been entirely different had chaghi not played host to one of the biggest events of 1998 that sent reverberations around the globe and Pakistan could have been the source of Schadenfreude for many of the onlookers.
The day the Ras Koh Hills were shaken to the core and later gifted us the fourth largest gold mine in the world, also marked the day when an eternally struggling nation become a strip of land that had a big red dot painted on its back, while also giving strength and hope to millions of Muslims worldwide at the same time.
This more or less sums up Pakistan and its people in general. Unlike most nations that have crumbled under intense pressure, only this land has the audacity to win glory when there is none in sight.
Indeed, when the whole nation was cornered, its brightest minds had a plan to wiggle its way out of a tricky situation. When India flexed its nuclear missiles, it had become clear that the time was ripe for Pakistan to show something similar in nature if it wanted to avoid a conflict that it couldn’t afford. However, it was never going to be a straightforward job for Pakistan with its history of backing down under foreign influence. This time though, it appeared that the script was going to be unique in nature as Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission braced itself for perhaps the heist of the century.
Doctor Abdul Qadeer Khan, a man who might not get enough credit for his efforts to make Pakistan a nuclear power, was the architect of this particular heist and saw a plan he brought forth a couple of decades ago, come to life.
Aware of the fact that things will never be the same, both for the country and its people, in a rare turn of events, the decision makers chose to become completely oblivious to the easy way out and took a path that was going to test the resolve of its people for years to come.
On May 28, 1998, Pakistan became the first Islamic nuclear power and those who were old enough to experience the scenes, would agree to the fact that never before since the turn of the 20th century, have Muslims all over the world celebrated a success in such unison. It didn’t matter if you were not from Pakistan. All that mattered on that day was the fact that a Muslim country had finally wielded a bargaining chip that it was prevented from acquiring for so many years.
After being briefly taken aback by the events in Chaghi, the international community delivered on its unsaid promise and bombarded Pakistan with multiple sanctions in hope that the sentences would eventually force the nation to roll back its nuclear program.
Many people from all over the world blamed Pakistan for showing its proclivity to conflict by testing its nuclear weapons and chose to become blind to the overtures of India on the other side of the border.
Things could have panned out in a different way had Pakistan not taken such a bold stand. The Kargil conflict for instance, could have turned from a skirmish to an all out war.
Deterrence is the safest way out for a country if it happens to be in a region that is surrounded by conflict and today, being nuclear power is perhaps the best antidote for a country that cannot afford to boast an ‘armada of conventional weapons of conflict’.
As Pakistan celebrated its 17th nuclear anniversary last month, there are still people out there who feel that the decision makers could have done things differently. It could have done things differently perhaps but then again, why sell your soul to the devil when you have the strength to weather the storm?
There are only a few things that genuinely make us feel proud to be Pakistanis and regardless of the fact that it receives vacuous criticism for having Weapons of Mass Destruction, we are proud to be custodians of a weapon that may give our nation a Dystopian outlook but swells our chests with extreme joy whenever we talk about the day that changed the course of our history.

By Taimoor Khan

Volkswagon “Phoenix Van”

Created in the late 1970’s, this is a Volkswagon “Phoenix Van.” It’s a DIY fold-out tent vehicle with interesting lines and weighs in at only 2,000 pounts — much lighter than most vans.

Fuel economy is around 25mpg. It’s light and small and has good gas milage. This was a bit out of the ordinary in the 1970s. Even the Volkswagon Campmobile was around 3,200 pounds, and other Volkswagon vans weighed around 2,500 – 2,800 pounds. T

Those are gullwing doors. Nitrogen-cylindar-assisted ones. The cab is low, and has two bucket seats in the front and two bench seats along the sides of the rear. There’s storage in the bench seats.

The tent measures 12 feet wide across the bed area, and each bed (one along each side) is 72 X 59 inches.

Across the rear there are applicances (above the engine cover), including a two-burner propane stove, a sink, a mirror-face ice box. There is a 9-gallon plastic water tank in the ice box.

But besides all that, it has a quite interesting look, don’t you think? Have you seen it in a movie somewhere?

Enjoy the photos:

Image 1 Image 2 Image 3 Image 4

This Volkswagen Doubleback Campervan Design

This is a Volkswagen Doubleback Campervan, class-B motor home, and it’s build from aircraft-grade components. It is the from Doubleback, Ltd (UK), and was developed by the founder and principal engineer of Doubleback, Craig McCormack.

It’s based on the VW T5. VW vans have a pretty large slice of the camper van market. This is another innovation in that area. It has a large pop-up roof and a back end that extends back over six feet. Six feet of living space that weighs just 280 lbs. The Campervan is has been fitted out with the latest technology to enhance the driving experience, through media like a rv backup camera to make parking a seamless process.

Fuel economy: 30 MPG, easily surpassing many in the same class, and a number that seems pretty competitive when looking at motor homes and other RVs. Downside: the removal of the middle pair of seats, leaving just the pilot and co-pilot seats. Price: almost $90,000. Available in the US? Not known yet.

The T5 isn’t an RV you’ll see much in North America, actually. Really its market is Western Europe, Turkey and Singapore. In America, the vehicle is classed as a light truck. That means it gets chicken taxed when its imported to America – an extra 25 percent. Perhaps for this reason, the van is the worst selling in the whole North American market in 2003. That was the last year Eurovans were sold in the US. After 2003, Eurovans were replaced with VW Routans, which are build by Chrysler. I guess you could use a Routan to do something like this campervan, perhaps.

There are conversion packages available for Routans RVs. They also work on other vans like Dodge Caravan, Chevrolet Uplander, and Honda Odysee. But these are just cloth additions that you put on the back, and set your table and chairs outside — not hard slide out extensions like this VW built by Doubleback. It has a range of camping amenities, including a burner and sink combo, TV, storage area, fridge with ice box, removable swivel table.

Chevrolet Viking Short Bus Converted Into A Mobile Bedroom

Do any of you remember the 1959 Chevrolet Viking short bus?

Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes

Flowers on a cupcake, and the flowers are marshmallows, and the marshmallows have sprinkles! Well, worth a look. These cupcakes are EASY to make look professional.

The 30-Foot Trailer House: Bring Your Home On The Road

A great investment for those who move a lot to and from different places, due to the demand of their work or just for leisure, trailer houses are now in demand and we are seeing some interesting variations.

The W Series Kenworth — Over 50 Years And Still Going Strong

The W model survives as a production model in part by popularity. The T600 and others are more aerodynamic, but the older W900 still gets bought.

The standout feature: the long nose. They also have delicate external doorhandles, larger ventilation windows in the doors, chrome grabhandles on the radiator, “bulkhead style” doors, big front windows, and fiberglass roof panels.

The W900 was introduced into the market gradually. Started in 1961 and was sold alongside other Kenworths of the time.

These are built in North America and in Australia.

They’ve come with 18, 13 and 10 speeds. The wheelbase is usually around 285 inches (7,200 millimeters).

For engines, they come with 180-600 Cats, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, and PACCAR motors. The long nose can house up to a 625 hp engine. 9 to 16 liters.

The axles are rated for 12,000 to 22,000 pounds in the front and 23,000 to 58,000 (tandems) in the back

Even though they started building these more than 50 years ago, not much has changed on them.

Oh, and do you know what the “W” stands for? “Worthington.”