Hello all,
Long time lurker in the early stages of my build. Thought it might be time to say hello and start seeking some guidance/ideas.
The rig is a 2005 Sprinter 2500 ambulance DRW. 170k miles. I bought it from the paramedic company in West Virginia and drove it home to the Tahoe area in May of this year. Other than needing an alignment I was very pleased with the condition of the vehicle. It handled the long drive home with out any issues what so ever. Extremely impressed with the little 5 cyl diesel engine. I got slightly over 20 mpg for the trip, definitely felt the weight in the high mountain passes, but cruised at 70 in comfort most of the trip. It came with a 3 inch stack of maintenance logs and the direct phone number to the supervisor of maintenance for the company I bought it from. It's been helping out on some home renovation projects the last few months and still no significant issues to report. I had been searching all along for either a 4wd truck or a Ford E platform for a future conversion, but the price on this one was right. I convinced myself the MPG's will be useful as we figure out what we want in an adventure vehicle. No one ever keeps their first one right?
I'm a pretty handy person, but there are some aspects to this that are new to me and therefore a bit overwhelming and intimidating. I handle the majority of work on my other vehicles which also happen to be German imports. I also handle the majority of the remodel work on the house. This project is certain to combine and challenge my abilities in both areas. The plan for this rig is to become both a mobile shop (bicycles/skis), and a base camp for the adventures with my girl friend and two labs. I plan to go with a GFC rooftop tent because fitting a sleeping area in what is to be a shop seemed like too much. I would like it to have a functional sink, and heat for when it's being used to camp in. I've started stripping the decals on the outside and plan to "dip" it Nardo Gray when it warms back up. I realize the dip isn't very durable, but it's cheap, and will give me an idea if I want to make it permanent or go a different route. I've spent the last few months struggling with the decision to utilize the very well built interior storage, or gut it and build it to suit my needs. I'm leaning heavily towards gutting it. The few panels I've removed so far are incredibly heavy and over built for my needs so losing the weight will help and the storage while nice, ends up being wasted in some areas.
The help...
I've never owned a DWR vehicle before, and I can't even see where to inflate the tires. It's going in for an alignment, but that's a few weeks away. I plan to ask them to install extended valves, but is this normal?
The ambulance aspect of this is the most intimidating. SOO many switches, wires, an entire electrical panel... Yikes!! The lights on the outside, specifically the lenses are old and yellowing. I would like to retain them and keep the ambulance vibe, but maybe switch the red lights to blue. Is there a source for lights like these? Are there specific ambulance parts places? I think the box was built by Medix, is that a thing?
It needs brake pads, and the suspension is super soft. I assume those are normal Sprinter 2500 parts?
Thanks for any information. Looking forward to joining the community.
Long time lurker in the early stages of my build. Thought it might be time to say hello and start seeking some guidance/ideas.
The rig is a 2005 Sprinter 2500 ambulance DRW. 170k miles. I bought it from the paramedic company in West Virginia and drove it home to the Tahoe area in May of this year. Other than needing an alignment I was very pleased with the condition of the vehicle. It handled the long drive home with out any issues what so ever. Extremely impressed with the little 5 cyl diesel engine. I got slightly over 20 mpg for the trip, definitely felt the weight in the high mountain passes, but cruised at 70 in comfort most of the trip. It came with a 3 inch stack of maintenance logs and the direct phone number to the supervisor of maintenance for the company I bought it from. It's been helping out on some home renovation projects the last few months and still no significant issues to report. I had been searching all along for either a 4wd truck or a Ford E platform for a future conversion, but the price on this one was right. I convinced myself the MPG's will be useful as we figure out what we want in an adventure vehicle. No one ever keeps their first one right?
I'm a pretty handy person, but there are some aspects to this that are new to me and therefore a bit overwhelming and intimidating. I handle the majority of work on my other vehicles which also happen to be German imports. I also handle the majority of the remodel work on the house. This project is certain to combine and challenge my abilities in both areas. The plan for this rig is to become both a mobile shop (bicycles/skis), and a base camp for the adventures with my girl friend and two labs. I plan to go with a GFC rooftop tent because fitting a sleeping area in what is to be a shop seemed like too much. I would like it to have a functional sink, and heat for when it's being used to camp in. I've started stripping the decals on the outside and plan to "dip" it Nardo Gray when it warms back up. I realize the dip isn't very durable, but it's cheap, and will give me an idea if I want to make it permanent or go a different route. I've spent the last few months struggling with the decision to utilize the very well built interior storage, or gut it and build it to suit my needs. I'm leaning heavily towards gutting it. The few panels I've removed so far are incredibly heavy and over built for my needs so losing the weight will help and the storage while nice, ends up being wasted in some areas.
The help...
I've never owned a DWR vehicle before, and I can't even see where to inflate the tires. It's going in for an alignment, but that's a few weeks away. I plan to ask them to install extended valves, but is this normal?
The ambulance aspect of this is the most intimidating. SOO many switches, wires, an entire electrical panel... Yikes!! The lights on the outside, specifically the lenses are old and yellowing. I would like to retain them and keep the ambulance vibe, but maybe switch the red lights to blue. Is there a source for lights like these? Are there specific ambulance parts places? I think the box was built by Medix, is that a thing?
It needs brake pads, and the suspension is super soft. I assume those are normal Sprinter 2500 parts?
Thanks for any information. Looking forward to joining the community.
