Installing an Ambulance Aluminium Box onto the back of a Mitsubishi Fuso Chassis?

[TheNomadicArchitect]

Hello all!

So I'm currently in the process of designing out my future off grid home on wheels. I have fairly steep endeavors planned out for a full off grid work from home living system capable of all seasons and regions.

Currently I am planning on building off of a Ford 7.3 Powerstroke E450 Ambulance platform. I've done thorough research and frankly am a little concerned as to the wiring systems an ambulance makes up. I'm seriously nervous that if I spend $10k+ on a vehicle, I'm going to pull a set of wires out that I shouldn't have making the vehicle inoperable. I have a couple degrees in Architecture and have worked construction for much of my life so that side of things I don't have a doubt in my mind I can work wonders, but as far as the electrical system, I'm starting to realize that gutting out an ambulance may not be the best of ideas. Along with that, there are other downsides I'm seeing from an E450 chassis, mainly turning radius and ease of access to engine work.

So, I've been seriously considering looking into a Mitsubishi Fuso Chassis and mounting an ambulance box on the back. If the Fuso chassis works perfectly without the box attached, there should be no reason I can't completely gut the ambulance box down to the studwork and rewire it up in a 12v system, in an easier fashion than having to be super careful not fully gutting a working E450 ambulance. With this, the short wheel base of a Fuso chassis would allow for a much easier city driving experience, as well as allowing for easy engine access for needed repairs.

So with this, has anyone attempted anything of this sort? Most Fuso overland rigs I've seen have had custom made boxes on the back, I can't seem to find any examples of someone mounting an ambulance box directly to the frame. If you've done this, how was the mounting process? Any major downsides you didn't consider at first? How well were you able to have the box fit over the wheel wells and such?

Looking for any advice, thanks.

 

[ARDOR]

You'll have better luck posting here: https://expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/japanese-heavy-truck-mitsubishi-and-isuzu.72/

 

[Joe917]

If you go the Fuso route, make your life easier and ditch the ambulance box. Go with a composite panel build, Total Composites or similar.

 

[Hodor]

I've considered this exact idea heavily. I have an ambulance box and a fuso. Main takeaways are this -

My fuso is 2012 and the first year of a total redesign, so i can only speak to these versions and there are 3 main issues
1. Fuso =6' wide ambulance=8' wide so the pass through for the cab is wider than the cab you're putting it behind, plus significant hang over on each side

2. Fuso framerails= 32" wide vs ambulance @ 42" wide. This makes the rear axles much too narrow for the wheel wells designed into the rear box. This would require cutting and welding work to the bottom of the box to accommodate the fuso rear axle, as well as changing the engineerd intent of the weight distribution and COG for the entire setup.

3. Fuso framerails extend 4' behind the cab to cover the transmission and then drop 12" for the remainder of their length. This would mean significant cutting and welding on the underside of the front of the box UNLESS you plan to ride the box on top of some bed above the frame rails.

Approaching with this intent raises the bottom of the ambo box - typically less than 16" above the ground- to almost 3' and the 10 foot truxk becomes 13 or 14' tall. Too tall for global travel imho.

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

8ft wide is too wide for Oz, can't speak for much of the rest of the world.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome