2009 Kodiak 5500 Duramax Crew Cab Ambulance Conversion Project

Brewdiak

kodiak conversionator
Jambulance - I just got a very similar rig. Did you pull the insulation out in those pics or was it not insulated between the aluminum walls? Man I hope you simply pulled it out before photographing.

he did - iirc he plans to spray foam when done. i'm reusing the standard fiberglass and have a roll to fill in anywhere it was missing in mine
 

Jambulance80

New member
Just got the truck back from the diesel shop. All the cold weather prevented me from doing anything inside really so I took it over to the shop to have them do a once through. Mechanic said that I got a great deal on it (tell my wife). Had a fuel line leak and a glow plug out along with an abs line. They couldn't fix the fuel line without pulling the cab and the box which he said there was no way in hell they were doing so they installed a FASS Titanium fuel system to bypass the factory fuel line from the tank to the engine. Runs strong and not issues. Brakes, wheels, trans, engine...all in great shape he says. Labor was more than the parts- I'm in the wrong industry.
The time away helped me to rethink a few things and how to reuse some of the existing wiring for other things like the pump for the water and some LED lights... Saved some headaches for sure. I got an ASME propane tank I'll be mounting in Box 1 and pipe in the propane from there. Box 1 will also house the water tank and the HW heater I'm hoping. At more than 7' tall, I think I should be able to get everything in there.

Once the wiring is all set up and I get all the plugs and wires set I'll hit the spray foam inside and plug up the leaks. Need to repair some of the flooring as well but very minimal. pulled all the insulation out as it wasn't very good IMO.
I got some solar panels (200W Renogy kit with MPPT) for the roof to help the house batteries and have a suitcase solar panel kit for when parked for a little extra boost. will tie them into the truck batteries with an isolator. Should work well and at very least keep them from draining.

So much to do... Hoping to make up some time with a few long weekends once the weather improves.

Cowpig- The hoseline kit is DC.

Rossiter 78- you have any pics? What are your plans- total gut and rebuild or something simple?
 

PGGRS

Observer
My rig , PL customs #1251, had the exact box layout as your's. Most usable sized exterior doors/compartments I've seen. If you're interested in layout that fits your box, see my post on my E450. Good luck with your build
 

rossiter78

Observer
Just got the truck back from the diesel shop. All the cold weather prevented me from doing anything inside really so I took it over to the shop to have them do a once through. Mechanic said that I got a great deal on it (tell my wife). Had a fuel line leak and a glow plug out along with an abs line. They couldn't fix the fuel line without pulling the cab and the box which he said there was no way in hell they were doing so they installed a FASS Titanium fuel system to bypass the factory fuel line from the tank to the engine. Runs strong and not issues. Brakes, wheels, trans, engine...all in great shape he says. Labor was more than the parts- I'm in the wrong industry.
The time away helped me to rethink a few things and how to reuse some of the existing wiring for other things like the pump for the water and some LED lights... Saved some headaches for sure. I got an ASME propane tank I'll be mounting in Box 1 and pipe in the propane from there. Box 1 will also house the water tank and the HW heater I'm hoping. At more than 7' tall, I think I should be able to get everything in there.

Once the wiring is all set up and I get all the plugs and wires set I'll hit the spray foam inside and plug up the leaks. Need to repair some of the flooring as well but very minimal. pulled all the insulation out as it wasn't very good IMO.
I got some solar panels (200W Renogy kit with MPPT) for the roof to help the house batteries and have a suitcase solar panel kit for when parked for a little extra boost. will tie them into the truck batteries with an isolator. Should work well and at very least keep them from draining.

So much to do... Hoping to make up some time with a few long weekends once the weather improves.

Cowpig- The hoseline kit is DC.

Rossiter 78- you have any pics? What are your plans- total gut and rebuild or something simple?

I'm going WAY simple compared to what you're doing. I don't want a full on RV anyway - I want to be able to sleep in it, but I don't want pressurized water or any hidden water lines. I'll probably add a sink with a manual pump and any hot water will be using a camp stove, or coffee maker :)

Question for ya - how was the long back cushion connected to the passenger side wall of the box? Was it simply a glued on?
 

Jambulance80

New member
I'm going WAY simple compared to what you're doing. I don't want a full on RV anyway - I want to be able to sleep in it, but I don't want pressurized water or any hidden water lines. I'll probably add a sink with a manual pump and any hot water will be using a camp stove, or coffee maker :)

Question for ya - how was the long back cushion connected to the passenger side wall of the box? Was it simply a glued on?

Yeah, what he said. Mine was attached with some pretty industrial adhesive Velcro. When I pulled it off, some of the panel came off with it. Not a big deal since I yanked everything out anyhow but still, super duty Velcro for sure.
 

Jambulance80

New member
project update

It's finally nice and I've been making a little progress as time and weather allows. Put a new cab gasket in to replace the old one that was rotted and had some water leaks.
Had a buddy come over and help me with the electrical. Tracing wires back to the inverter and panel box area. More outlets and useable power than most apartments.. lol I have an outlet on the drivers side from of the box for external use and one at the rear of the ambo on the pass side. Also have on in box #2 that I will use to plug in my instant hot water heater that will find its home inside box #1 along with the water tank and ASME propane tank. Working on mapping out the interior and I have about 5 different outlets inside also along with 3 12v sources and a couple switches, one that will be repurposed for the water pump.

I go two solar panels I'll mount on the roof and a suitcase panel to use in shady areas to help keep the batteries charged.

I bought a Maxxair vent fan but my box has a vent fan already installed in the back drivers side corner. works well and I won't be cutting holes in the roof. Has a high and low setting and it weather proof.

Still trying to get my final design down for sleeping and seating. Going to run the rest of the wiring and get everything situated this week, sound proof the wheel wells and boxes, spray some foam insulation and go from there. I bought a welder and a spool gun to weld up the bed/couch jack knife sleeper and the cabinet frames. Seemed easier and lighter than all the wood.

I'll post up some pics once I get rolling.

I am still torn between keeping the light bar above the cab or removing and patching holes.

So much to do but the boss wants it ready for a trip early summer... Motivation in all its glory
 

Jambulance80

New member
cant upload pics

got a little bit done this weekend.
Installed the Eccotemp I12 instant HW heater in box 1 along with my surflow pump, 30 gallon water tank and a 12.2 gallon ASME propane tank. I have some pictures but having a hard time uploading. keep getting error.
Will post as soon as I am able.
I ran the exhaust for the HW heater through the flashing light hole on the drivers side, worked out pretty well. Had enough room for everything and then some. Used the vacuum pump line wiring for the water pump and worked like a charm. Only had to rerun a little bit of wire.
Still need to do the plumbing but it's coming along pretty well.
 

Jambulance80

New member
pics

finally figured out the picture issues...will have a few more to follow.
These pictures are from the box 1 mods including the instant HW heater, the 12.2 gal ASME propane tank, the pump and accumulator and the 30 gallon water tank as it stands right now. Still not sure weather I want to try to mount the tank there or inside the box.

I also got the light bar removed from the top of the cab. Will be installing a cargo roof rack and hook up some led lights to it for some added visibility.
 

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Jambulance80

New member
well maybe not all the way. lol dam sideways pictures. They don't show up like that when I'm viewing them but as soon as I upload them...
 

java

Expedition Leader
It's an EccoTemp I12 LP instant hot. Bought it a while ago before amazon dropped the bottom out of the price on it. selling for like $219 now. Vented it straight out the back of box 1 through the hole from one of the emergency scene light ports. plugs right in to an outlet i ran. Still need to do all the plumbing and run the lp, but hoping it works out.

https://www.amazon.com/Eccotemp-I12...pID=318-Kr6gajL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Thanks! Interested to see how it works out. Mine takes a long time before hot water comes out.... like 10+ seconds, that's a lot of wasted water.
 

Coachgeo

Explorer
well maybe not all the way. lol dam sideways pictures. They don't show up like that when I'm viewing them but as soon as I upload them...
photo shows up on boards EXACTLY how they were taken. Bulletin boards; like this one, and hoards of other programs are WYSWYT (What You See is What You Took) . Phone / tablet app auto rotate things to the correct orientation no matter which way camera was facing when you took the pic. NO AUTO ROTATE on bulletin boards. More details

https://www.howtogeek.com/254830/why-your-photos-dont-always-appear-correctly-rotated/
 
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