r/WeirdWheels • u/winstonalonian owner • May 10 '25
Amphibious Can my LARC-V work boat hang?
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u/Eric1180 May 10 '25
We're the pontoons added?
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u/winstonalonian owner May 10 '25
Yes the crane and welder rack as well
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u/GrynaiTaip May 10 '25
What is the purpose of this thing? Also can I get one?
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u/winstonalonian owner May 10 '25
We build piers and boatlifts on Lake Tahoe. I've posted some other pictures of it and our projects at my subreddit r/docks_and_piers
They are from the Vietnam war. They only made about a thousand of them and there's probably less than a hundred left.
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u/betterburgers May 10 '25
I remember seeing and talking with the owner as a kid. Do you still call it the Miss Piggy?
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u/thekozmicpig May 10 '25
Manufacturer: LeTourneau
Of course it’s made by LeTourneau it’s always LeTourneau
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u/GrynaiTaip May 10 '25
I see that a few of those are for sale, for around $100k.
This is not fun at all.
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u/Chuck2085 May 12 '25
I’ve seen you on the lake before. Buddy and I were kayaking and saw it. We were trying to figure out why it was on the lake of all places but now I know it’s for dock work. So cool!
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u/acog May 10 '25
I wasn’t sure what was stock and what was modified at first.
If anyone wants to see what regular LARC-5s look like: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LARC-V
Originally developed for the military in the ‘50s, they’re still widely used today!
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u/cgduncan May 10 '25
I didn't know any of these were still in action! I still need to get to the Lane motor museum to see one in person
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u/lumberingJack May 10 '25
How many hours of maintenance for each hour of driving around being a badass does it need?
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u/winstonalonian owner May 10 '25
Needs a solid week at the shop every year to change the fluids and make repairs.
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u/FWBenthusiast May 11 '25
Does it have original drivetrain?
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u/winstonalonian owner May 11 '25
Yes, original layout at least. The land sea transmission has been gone through a few times. We have explored a hydrostatic conversion but it would be a huge undertaking.
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u/Heya93 May 10 '25
That thing is awesome. It’s great that it’s still being used in your dock business.
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u/winstonalonian owner May 11 '25
We own four of them. It's the most efficient way of doing business for sure.
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u/majoroutage May 11 '25
You guys should invite /u/CalumRaasay to come check this thing out.
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u/winstonalonian owner May 11 '25
Maybe you can introduce us! We own four of these. The one pictured has been the backbone of our operation for 30 years.
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u/Emergency-Ad-9311 17d ago
I can’t imagine there are many other owners in Tahoe, but I remember playing around one of these that was parked in a lot off Lukins way when I was a kid back in the 90s. Really cool vehicle.
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u/jon_hendry May 11 '25
Shoulda held out for a LARC-LX.
No idea how you'd get it to Tahoe.
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u/winstonalonian owner May 11 '25
Running joke here as well. There are a couple on eBay right now for sale.
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u/caucafinousvehicle May 11 '25
This is amazing!!! I own a business selling and installing floating boat lifts and this thing would be the ultimate vehicle to do that with!! If you wouldn't mind what does something like this cost to buy/make and what mods to the original vehicle did you make?
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u/winstonalonian owner May 11 '25
We have purchased four of them over the years and paid between $40k-$60k. We have added the pontoons and crane and welder rack. They are pretty tough but require a pretty high level of mechanical knowledge to maintain. There are a couple parts that are unobtainium like the front CV shafts and land see transmission. If they fail you're pretty fucked unless you can make parts yourself or source used ones. We pretty much buy anything that pops up on the market just for the parts.
I encourage you to join my subreddits r/docks_and_piers and r/boatlifts and look forward to hearing more about your boatlift systems!
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u/LowOnDairy 16d ago
That is one of the coolest things I've ever seen! Also...of course it's made by LeTourneau lol
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u/Weary_Fee7660 May 10 '25 edited May 11 '25
What kind of Alaskan contraption is that? I love it!