Man turned a 1977 Dodge pickup truck into a pontoon boat
Josh Woodie of Knoxville, Tennessee, combined his passion for cars with his desire for a boat and came up with a hybrid that would make you do a double-take if you saw it on the water. Woodie is an avid collector of old Dodge pickup trucks — ranging from 1972 through ’78—according to Knox News, who interviewed the innovator.
Earlier this year he had the idea to create what he’s dubbed the “Dodgetoon” and with the help of his brother and friends he spent two months converting the 1977 Dodge D100 into a pontoon boat with a Johnson 115 motor.
“The boat, pretty much, it was already stripped down,” he said. “First we pulled the truck in the garage, and I got a lift and we unbolted it from the frame, lifted it up and pulled the truck out. … It was a running and driving truck when we pulled it in.”
Woodie replaced the seats with gaming chairs, covered the tire space to “hide all the ugliness inside” and welded some pieces together so that the boat is maneuvered through the truck’s steering wheel. The process wasn’t without its share of setbacks with Woodie sharing that initially the steering was set up backward when he first took the boat out.
Here’s a video of Woodie talking about his pickup-turned-pontoon:
With his newfound fame, his social media following has also increased with more than 7,000 followers on TikTok (@joshwoodie) and 900 followers on Instagram (@dodgetoon).
Woodie plans to continue improving the Dodgetoon including redoing the dashboard so that the gauges show the boat’s stats (right now he uses his phone to show him the speed). The vessel is registered as a pontoon and according to his Instagram bio it can be found on Norris Lake, in case any locals want an opportunity to see the watercraft in action.
While the Dodgetoon is not open to the public, hot tub boats are currently available to rent in Seattle and San Diego. But if you have several thousands of dollars at your disposal (around $54,000) you can buy a Tarzan Boat, which introduced the Jungle Boat Float last year. The company claims it is the world’s first pontoon-based trampoline boat with active waterslide.
While the Dodgetoon may never be that extravagant, Woodie has embraced the attention—even having his Instagram handle emblazoned on the windshield.
“Really, the best part is the reaction of everybody,” Woodie told Knox News. “Everybody that goes by is taking a picture of it when you’re on the lake.”