M2 Freightliner Ambulance Conversion Project. 2007 Crew Cab

[Ozrockrat]

Do t need an engine just the diesel water heater. You could use a smaller Webasco heater and cover both hot water and heating but being a trailer there is not much advantage in single fuel source.

I have figured out a few uses for the Scuba holes. One already has my 110v outlet and will probably have the starboard air supply. Speaking of air supply. I don’t have much use for a CO tank. I have a 300 HP compressor with a bunch of air tanks already.

 

[patoz]

Is that compressor on-board or in the shop?

CO2 expands 450:1, so it will fill many more tires than the same size and weight air cylinder.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Onboard engine driven compressor to run the air brakes and more importantly the air horns.

 

[patoz]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Nope, you don't need CO2 cylinders! ?

 

[Coachgeo]

Yes that’s what they are. Basically a little radiator with a computer fan or 2. Glycol is used in the heating circuits.

I would of liked to go with floor heating but don’t want to lose the 3/4” that it would take.

....

Keep me posted if your looking to move few of them or have info on where to get some more. I am installing a diesel coolant heater that will be used to both warm engine and for heating Ambo box. Ambo box will also be plumbed to use engine coolant for on the road heat as well, thus could use something like these in both those scenarios. On same brain wave as you.... would rather hydronic floor heat but don't want to loose the head room.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Had a few hours to spend on the truck this weekend. Managed to get the Beta version of the fridge and freezer slides installed. Not happy with the freezer slide. As the freezer is only opened once a day I tried to use the 500 lb slides horizontally. Definitely too much flex that way for a freezer. Next weekend they will be getting mounted vertically like the fridge slide.

Also got most of the way through making up a sealed cabinet for the water heater. Came up against a hinge problem that needed an Amazon fix. But the design is there and with my ADHD that is an achievement by itself.

 

[Coachgeo]

Had a few hours to spend on the truck this weekend. Managed to get the Beta version of the fridge and freezer slides installed. Not happy with the freezer slide. As the freezer is only opened once a day I tried to use the 500 lb slides horizontally. Definitely too much flex that way for a freezer. Next weekend they will be getting mounted vertically like the fridge slide.
..[image]......

which one is on top? confused by what you describe as "slides horizontally" Do these only slide out toward exterior? If so is there a separate fridge/freezer inside?

 

[patoz]

Coachgeo, he talking about the slides themselves, and whether they are mounted vertically on the sides of the tray, or horizontally (flat) under the tray.

Since I experimented with them in the same way for my generator, I know exactly what he's doing.

 

[scooter421]

Had a few hours to spend on the truck this weekend. Managed to get the Beta version of the fridge and freezer slides installed. Not happy with the freezer slide. As the freezer is only opened once a day I tried to use the 500 lb slides horizontally. Definitely too much flex that way for a freezer. Next weekend they will be getting mounted vertically like the fridge slide.

Also got most of the way through making up a sealed cabinet for the water heater. Came up against a hinge problem that needed an Amazon fix. But the design is there and with my ADHD that is an achievement by itself.

ADHD....lol...I think a great many of us on here suffer from the same thing. Do you have access to the fridge/freezer from the inside as well? I was sitting in the ambo discussing future projects with the wife. We're trying to figure out what type of unit and how to get it in the truck.

Scooter...

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[RiderBloke]

Folks,
As a watcher wondering about the ambulance possibilities, I am curious as to why the space with both internal and external access is used for a fridge by so many. I have always thought the seat on the LHS between the rear cabinets and the bench was made for a small fridge. (In this photo just before the seat .)
Just a curiosity to me.

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[Coachgeo]

Folks,
As a watcher wondering about the ambulance possibilities, I am curious as to why the space with both internal and external access is used for a fridge by so many. I have always thought the seat on the LHS between the rear cabinets and the bench was made for a small fridge. (In this photo just before the seat .)
Just a curiosity to me. ....image...

That spot often becomes the cook top/oven combo

 

[Ozrockrat]

To answer Scooter. No we don’t have access from the inside as well as the outside. We decided that the outside was more important to us than the inside.

To Riderbloke. We use that area as it gives us easier access since we mostly cook outside. We have very little use for the fridge inside. And in this truck we don’t have the attendants seat area on the drivers side.

In general we are using 2 separate units (ARB fridge freezers) for 2 reasons.
1- We have them and they have proven to be ultra reliable in all types of conditions.
2- Having 2 units gives us redundancy if we do have a failure. The same reason we have 2 potable water tanks, 2 methods of cooking etc.

 

[patoz]

Riderbloke, if that RF compartment is set up correctly, which is what I will be is doing if there is enough room, you can access the Fridge from the inside as well as the outside by opening the compartment door and sliding the fridge out on rollers.

Edit! I just checked and my compartment is not going to be big enough, so maybe that's where the porta potty will go.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Also, if that compartment is set up correctly, which is what I believe Bevan is doing, you can access the Fridge from the inside as well as the outside by opening the compartment door and sliding the fridge out on rollers.

We will not be doing this for now. Remember that this truck will be going up in the air by about 16” or so. Since we use the fridge much more often than the freezer it needs to be the lower unit. As such the stairs restrict it from sliding inside.

On the last truck we had the fridge sliding inside and it was a PITA climbing in and out of the truck to access the fridge.

Now if we find a suitable size fridge freezer combo at Expo we may consider reworking this design. Also if I can design a drop slide we could swap the fridge to the top position and do a combined inside and outside access.

But currently we just want to get it to a stage we can make some trips this year. Changing trucks has cost us a seasons travel. Plus it’s always good to use a truck and see what works and then evolve the build as you sort out what works and what could be improved.

 

[patoz]

Bevan, we were posting at the same time when I made that post earlier. After reading what you wrote, I edited mine twice since then, but your quote is still the original post. I wonder how that happened?