This is a permanent 4-wheel drive vehicle with hydraulic steering and a torque converter gearbox. It has a top speed of 9mph.
The boat trailer is attached to the front of the vehicle which gives the driver a better view when launching and recovering. It has front and rear working lights and blue flashing light used in emergencies.
The lifeboat is launched and recovered using this adapted Matbro fork-lift truck (model name Teleporter), which has undergone a complete rebuild after a mechanical failure rendered it in-operable in the water (on a rising tide) after a rescue in January 2000.
It cost approximately £7,500 to rebuild this unit with all the work performed on the vehicle being carried out by our own crew members, this included being completely rewired and painted.