zuke
Adventurer
That would definitely get some doubletakes as people walked by!
F 450 4x4 Ambulance Build
- Thread starter Last Frontier Wrangler
- Start date
That would definitely get some doubletakes as people walked by!
zuke
Adventurer
LOL! Love that sign...
I guess being a computer engineer and very occasional volunteer firefighter has had it's advantages in wear and tear on the ole' body...
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
Quick update.
The ambulance has been performing great, and has been treating us nice on our climbing trips. It draws a ton of attention at trailheads and campsites, which is a blessing and a curse of course.
I decided my EGTs were too high, so I made the impulse decision to straight pipe it. With the 7.3, its now crazy loud. Ill be looking for a better muffler to quiet it down here soon, as Im not usually one to have an exhaust that wakes up the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, after a work trip the other day, the rig wouldnt start. Had a truck full of clients, and had to get out a brass hammer and whack the starter. Started right up, half of them thought I was a wizard. Dropped them off and drove it straight home, where it sits until I can throw a new starter in. Was thinking ill go with an aftermarket high torque unit, as Ive heard dubious things about the OEM remans.
On a side note. Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting some fellow ambulance adventurers in a campsite in South Lake Tahoe. Their rig is amazing, and they definitely gave me some ideas and goals. If you see them around, stop in and say hello, and maybe buy them a beer if youre feeling generous.
The ambulance has been performing great, and has been treating us nice on our climbing trips. It draws a ton of attention at trailheads and campsites, which is a blessing and a curse of course.
I decided my EGTs were too high, so I made the impulse decision to straight pipe it. With the 7.3, its now crazy loud. Ill be looking for a better muffler to quiet it down here soon, as Im not usually one to have an exhaust that wakes up the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, after a work trip the other day, the rig wouldnt start. Had a truck full of clients, and had to get out a brass hammer and whack the starter. Started right up, half of them thought I was a wizard. Dropped them off and drove it straight home, where it sits until I can throw a new starter in. Was thinking ill go with an aftermarket high torque unit, as Ive heard dubious things about the OEM remans.
On a side note. Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of meeting some fellow ambulance adventurers in a campsite in South Lake Tahoe. Their rig is amazing, and they definitely gave me some ideas and goals. If you see them around, stop in and say hello, and maybe buy them a beer if youre feeling generous.
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
The previous owner had the hitch receiver installed by a local fabricator shop. The receiver is all one piece, not a regular receiver with an extension welded on. So he found someone to custom make him a long one. Its definitely beefy, but I havent towed anything with it yet. Ill be towing my Land Cruiser up to Alaska here soon, so I can give you an update on that in the future.
I really want to cut the bottom aluminum step off, to improve my break over angle any way I can. Unfortunately, the receiver goes right through the middle of that section, and would continue to stick out just as far as the aluminum step did. Considering getting a hold of a torch, cutting it off, and welding it back in shorter. Just dont know how much that would compromise its integrity.
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
It came from the factory without a cat thankfully.
Whether it's done anything to the EGTs, I can't say because I haven't measured. I was going off experiences provided by other folks on forums. If you can't trust random internet strangers, then who can you trust?
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
Anyone have any tips on getting the lightbars off?
I got everything ready to take them off today, only to realize that the bolts that hold them on have nuts on the back side. Naturally these nuts are directly behind my rear heat/AC unit, and all the wiring. There is absolutely no way I will be able to get to them with everything back there. The bolts will just continue to spin until I can get something on there to keep the nut in place.
Anyone have any ideas, other than tearing out the entire front half of my cabin to get to them?
I got everything ready to take them off today, only to realize that the bolts that hold them on have nuts on the back side. Naturally these nuts are directly behind my rear heat/AC unit, and all the wiring. There is absolutely no way I will be able to get to them with everything back there. The bolts will just continue to spin until I can get something on there to keep the nut in place.
Anyone have any ideas, other than tearing out the entire front half of my cabin to get to them?
patoz
Expedition Leader
A lot of people just leave those brackets and mount a shelf or basket on there to carry small stuff. You can't load them up with a lot of weight, but they should hold 20 - 30 lbs. distributed across both of them.
The only way I can think of to remove them without doing any damage to anything is to grind the bolt heads off, if you have room to get a small grinding wheel in there. I would NOT just start ripping things loose as some have done, and there is a market for any of the emergency equipment that can be salvaged.
The only way I can think of to remove them without doing any damage to anything is to grind the bolt heads off, if you have room to get a small grinding wheel in there. I would NOT just start ripping things loose as some have done, and there is a market for any of the emergency equipment that can be salvaged.
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
Well the front light bar is off. The brackets remain on for now. Until I can get the bolts off that is.
The rear remains on for now. I have two of the bolts off, and now the search for the other two begins.
The rear remains on for now. I have two of the bolts off, and now the search for the other two begins.
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
The previous owner, or one of his employees, backed into something. No other damage, just a dent in the light bar.
Last Frontier Wrangler
Climber
Okay, so its been a little while since I have updated this thread.
I leave for a trip up to Alaska in less then a week. Once I get there I will be going full time in the ambulance until it gets too cold to do so. Ive been working on mostly mechanical issues here and there, preparing the truck for the trip.
I also decided very last minute, to change the layout of my bed design. I spent some time in the back, and decided I would rather have the bed permanently set up, running width ways across the back doors. This meant removing / attempting to remove the cabinets from the back corners, and adding a bed platform in the back. In the future the platform will have pull out drawers underneath, that can be accessed by the back doors. Considering I decided to begin ripping things out of the back, a week before I leave, I have left the bed up for the time being in hopes of having it functional if I cant finish the platform build in time. I know its been said before, but damn these things are built solid. It took me an entire day, just to get the wood portion off the back right cabinet, leaving the welded diamond plate to be tackled another day. I am extremely limited by my inability to work on cars in my apartment complex parking lot, so that is killing productivity.
All the lights have been removed / whited out with plastidip that can hopefully be cleanly removed if I want to.
From the looks of it, the insulation is a little on the sparse side, but it is cotton material instead of fiberglass. I may beef it up while I have access to these areas.
The yellow crowbar was the ultimate champion in the fight against this cabinet, as I was only able to use power tools sparingly to avoid drawing the landlords attention.
Ill keep working away at it, and then Ill be on my way North starting Sunday. Ill be stopping along the way to climb in Oregon, Washington, BC, and Central Alaska.
I leave for a trip up to Alaska in less then a week. Once I get there I will be going full time in the ambulance until it gets too cold to do so. Ive been working on mostly mechanical issues here and there, preparing the truck for the trip.
I also decided very last minute, to change the layout of my bed design. I spent some time in the back, and decided I would rather have the bed permanently set up, running width ways across the back doors. This meant removing / attempting to remove the cabinets from the back corners, and adding a bed platform in the back. In the future the platform will have pull out drawers underneath, that can be accessed by the back doors. Considering I decided to begin ripping things out of the back, a week before I leave, I have left the bed up for the time being in hopes of having it functional if I cant finish the platform build in time. I know its been said before, but damn these things are built solid. It took me an entire day, just to get the wood portion off the back right cabinet, leaving the welded diamond plate to be tackled another day. I am extremely limited by my inability to work on cars in my apartment complex parking lot, so that is killing productivity.
All the lights have been removed / whited out with plastidip that can hopefully be cleanly removed if I want to.
From the looks of it, the insulation is a little on the sparse side, but it is cotton material instead of fiberglass. I may beef it up while I have access to these areas.
The yellow crowbar was the ultimate champion in the fight against this cabinet, as I was only able to use power tools sparingly to avoid drawing the landlords attention.
Ill keep working away at it, and then Ill be on my way North starting Sunday. Ill be stopping along the way to climb in Oregon, Washington, BC, and Central Alaska.
