This is a Sherp Pro Pickup Truck, it’s a Ukrainian-built vehicle designed to be capable of traversing almost any terrain you point it at, and it has the added benefit of being amphibious – allowing it to drive across rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.
The Sherp is an unusual vehicle with an aluminum body and steel base plate that act as a watertight hull. Those large, low-pressure tires help with flotation, and provide motive power when on land or water thanks to their ridged tread pattern.
Fast Facts: The Sherp Pro Pickup Truck
- The Sherp Pro Pickup Truck is a Ukrainian-built amphibious utility vehicle designed for extreme terrain. It has a sealed aluminum body and steel base that together form a watertight hull, while massive low-pressure tires provide flotation, traction, and propulsion on land and in water, allowing it to cross rivers, lakes, snow, mud, and ice.
- The Sherp concept originated with inventor Alexei Garagashyan and was later commercialized in Ukraine by Vlad Shkolnyk during the early 2010s. Public exposure grew through international off-road shows, followed by global adoption by operators working in regions where roads are unreliable or completely absent.
- The Pro 1000 variant is the heavy-duty work-focused model, powered by a 1.5 liter Kubota turbodiesel producing 44.3 bhp and 88 lb ft. It uses a 5-speed gearbox, chain drive to all wheels, and skid steering, enabling tight turns and steady progress in confined or hostile environments.
- Riding on 63 inch ultra-low-pressure tires that double as suspension and flotation, the Pro 1000 reaches 40 km/h on land and 6 km/h in water. With a 1,000 kg payload, extreme temperature tolerance, long fuel autonomy, and humanitarian use cases, it was developed to prioritize off-road ability and remote access over speed or luxury.
History Speedrun: Sherp Pro
The Sherp Pro occupies a niche most manufacturers don’t even consider chasing – it’s a compact amphibious utility vehicle built around flotation ability, low ground pressure, and mechanical simplicity that makes repairs and maintenance in the field far easier than with most modern vehicles.
This is a Sherp Pro Pickup Truck, it’s a Ukrainian-built vehicle designed to be capable of traversing almost any terrain you point it at, and it has the added benefit of being amphibious – allowing it to drive across rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.
The Sherp concept can be followed back to the work of inventor Alexei Garagashyan, whose off-road utility vehicle design was later bought and commercialized by Ukrainian entrepreneur Vlad Shkolnyk. A Kyiv-based design and manufacturing operation was established in the early 2010s, and the Sherp all-terrain vehicle would first enter public awareness during the mid-2010s as it began appearing at international off-road exhibitions and in a handful of limited export markets to test the waters.
From there, Sherp soon developed into a global export product aimed at oil and gas operators, rescue services, expeditions, farmers, off-road enthusiasts, and logistics teams working where roads are either very rough, or completely non-existent.
The “Pro” variant is the heavy-duty, more work-focused take on the original Sherp formula. In Sherp’s current naming convention, the Pro is sold as the Pro 1000, and the underlying hardware is about as straightforward as you might expect – power comes from a Kubota V1505-T / E3B turbodiesel which has a 1.498 liter displacement, four cylinders, and it’s rated at 44.3 bhp and 88 lb ft of torque.
Drive is through a 5-speed gearbox, then out to all four wheels via a chain-drive system. Steering is skid-steer, closer to a small tracked machine than a conventional 4×4, which helps it to pivot in tight spaces.
Those huge tires aren’t just there for the looks either, the Pro 1000 runs 63 × 23 × 25 inch tubeless, ultra-low-pressure tires that function as flotation aids on water and as the primary suspension element. The Sherp has an interconnected system that inflates and deflates the tires using exhaust gases rather than a conventional compressor, and the spec sheet calls the setup a “pneumatic circulating suspension.”
On land, the Pro 1000 is rated for up to 40 km/h (25 mph). In water, the tires act as paddles, moving it along at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). It isn’t a fast machine, but it was never designed to be, it’s a deliberately slow machine that keeps moving when all others come to a stop.
Drive is through a 5-speed gearbox, then out to all four wheels via a chain-drive system. Steering is skid-steer, closer to a small tracked machine than a conventional 4×4, which helps explain how it can pivot in tight spaces even with tires that look rather oversized for the vehicle’s footprint.
Dry weight is listed at 1,750 kgs (3,858 lbs), with a 1,000 kg (2,204 lb) load capacity and a 1,300 kg (2,866 lb) towing capacity. The published operating temperature range runs from −50°C to +40°C (−58°F to 104°F), and the brochure claims it can climb 35º grades and clear vertical obstacles up to 1 meter (3.3 ft) in height.
Fuel consumption is listed as 2-3 L/h (0.5-0.8 gph), with a 56 liter (15 gal) main tank and provision for four 58 liter (15.3 gal) auxiliary canisters, a combination Sherp says can support more than 115 hours of operating autonomy in the wild.
The Pro 1000 has a steel frame and bottom that is hot-dip galvanized, paired with an aluminum cabin for lower weight. The developing-world utility of the Sherp is why humanitarian groups like the World Food Programme have used them for last-mile delivery in hard-to-reach, flood-prone remote regions.
Sherp now builds a number of models, including the Classic, Pro, Pro 1000, and N 1200. They’re being adopted in many remote regions, particularly colder northern latitudes, due to the fact that deep snow, rivers, ice, and mud can’t stop them.
The 2020 Sherp Pro Pickup Truck Shown Here
The Sherp Pro you see here is an unusual pickup truck model, offering a standard two-seat cab up front and a cargo tub in the rear for hauling gear. As you would expect from any Sherp, this one is fully amphibious and four-wheel drive.
The Sherp Pro you see here is an unusual pickup truck model, offering a standard two-seat cab up front and a cargo tub in the rear for hauling gear. As you would expect from any Sherp, this one is fully amphibious and four-wheel drive.
This vehicle was built in Ukraine and then spent some time in Florida. It’s finished in olive drab, and it has an aluminum cab with a front access door, a rooftop escape hatch, a cab trimmed in diamond-pattern tan upholstery with two black vinyl-trimmed bucket seats, and an aftermarket sound bar.
It’s now being offered for sale out of West Melbourne, Florida for off-road use only by the selling dealer at no reserve with a bill of sale. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
