My new ambulance, starting the conversion
- Thread starter carcrafter22
- Start date
McZippie
Walmart Adventure Camper
Like this picture because it shows the strength of the wall construction.
Ambo's are built a lot stronger than a truck box or class B motor homes, gives a safety margin for the two girls riding in the back.
Mamontof
Explorer
Great progress :victory:
What you will be use for insulation ? Foam http://www.airsealinsulationsystem....n&lid=1200069039&provider=google&c=1200068694
McZippie
Walmart Adventure Camper
FWIW... We use our Shuttle Bus based Rig, Ford E350 6.0 Diesel, as you described, (tow boat, camping, long trips) except have two Granddaughters.
I went around and around with converting it to 4wd, decided that rather than 4wd, we'd tow a Jeep Unlimited when taking back country trips.
With the stock 2wd, duallies and diesel I can tow at 80+ mph all day long on the Interstate to get to new areas. For me, that was more important than changing anything that may compromise it's high speed towing capabilities.
With 2wd we can get to just about any camping spot we'd want to take a Rig of this size. It's really not much fun bouncing around in a big rig on unmaintained roads. There are zillions of back roads that go to great camping spots that are accessible by 2wd.
We can unhitch our Jeep in under one minute and reattach in about two minutes. It's a lot easier and faster than hooking up a trailer.
When we see a trail that looks interesting while on a back road with the bus, we unhitch the jeep and we're off exploring.
We also found out, that we use our Rig for day trips and for around town family use, it's now the preferred family vehicle. Drop the girls off shopping, while I enjoy it's mobile man cave features.
...anyway just some thoughts, that may or may not apply to your situations.
hobietony
Explorer
Looks like you are using the existing buildout of your ambulance a LOT more than me - I think you will be using yours well before I am.
BTW, counting on pulling a 4wd rig around for off road exploration eliminates the ability to tow anything else, sounds like you have a boat you want to pull.
I kept the dualies because I wanted the widest possible track for stability, but I am also conviced that mostly these ambos need a much more robust rear suspension than you would think - I am going to add another leaf to my rear springs before I install the airbags Chris sent. I am pretty convinced that much of what I thought was steering/tracking problems can be corrected by eliminating wallow in the rear end. So with a wide enough spacer, you can get a pretty wide rear track, and maybe not need dualies (more off-center force on the rear bearings, though). So what am I saying? I am keeping the DRW, but if they become a problem off road, I think I can manage the percieved stability issues with the right SRW setup
BTW, counting on pulling a 4wd rig around for off road exploration eliminates the ability to tow anything else, sounds like you have a boat you want to pull.
I kept the dualies because I wanted the widest possible track for stability, but I am also conviced that mostly these ambos need a much more robust rear suspension than you would think - I am going to add another leaf to my rear springs before I install the airbags Chris sent. I am pretty convinced that much of what I thought was steering/tracking problems can be corrected by eliminating wallow in the rear end. So with a wide enough spacer, you can get a pretty wide rear track, and maybe not need dualies (more off-center force on the rear bearings, though). So what am I saying? I am keeping the DRW, but if they become a problem off road, I think I can manage the percieved stability issues with the right SRW setup
Why do you want to convert it to SRW? I think you will loose stability by doing that. I have had both DRW and SRW vehicles. My F350 DRW handled like a sportscar. You have a very nice build by the way.
carcrafter22
Adventurer
I am using standard insulation like they use in a house, its R25 rated.
Goog thoughts but I dont plan on towing anything but my boat with this thing and when we go on long road trips like to alaska later this year we will not be towing.
Thats exactly why we want 4x4, for those times that its the only way to get where we want. I dont ever plan to try to take this monster on any real trails but when there is a little snow or ice or some mud then it will be gret to be able to put it in 4wd and push through.
We are thinking the same way but its not making my choice any easier for single or dual wheels. I wonder how it would be with a single wheel axle up front? Hmm....
Thanks, its mainly due to money and looks, yeah I know stupid reasons. I'd like to run an 18" wheel and 33" tires, cant find any for a dually that look decent. The other reason is cost of tires, 4 is definately cheaper than 6.
I may just wind up getting some 17" dually wheels and putting on some bfg a/t 33" tires, at least I know that works for the most part.
I do think the ambulance needs some extra support in the rear like air bags, added shocks, extra leaf spring or something.
naterry
13 Cheeseburgers
"Stability" in itself is a general term, and to quantify whether or not one configuration is more or less stable than another requires a look at the entire suspension system. So things like track width, spring rates, damping rates, tire stiffness, and the geometry of every "member" needs to considered if you want to make a valid claim.
That said, you can make conservative assumptions, base your purchases off of these, and end up with a great handling rig without diving into a kinematics calc and/or modeling/optimizing the suspension by solving second-order differential equations for displacement as a function of time with a given geometry and damping rate, yadda, yadda, yadda.
My experience with no sway bar on the rear and the single damper setup was fine for 99% of the driving I did. I did realize that I needed to stiffen the rear when I was on Usal Rd going over "whoop-dee-do's" at ~35mph. This overwhelmed the setup, but note that I pushed the rig.
My plan was to double the rear dampers and add a rear sway bar and I'm convinced that this would have resolved the issue by sufficiently stiffening the rear.
The roll-over aspect is only a matter of track width.
Note that we're not comparing normal vans to the amby boxes, that would be apples and oranges.
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carcrafter22
Adventurer
Nate, again you bring up great points. Everyone keeps bringing up stability but my thought is if I run a 285 width single tire with a track width as wide or wider than the duals then why wouldnt it be as stable?
Stumpalump
Expedition Leader
My E350 is single wheel. I wish it were duel. With the weight and wind profile of it there is a lot of pressure on the rear. Maybe thats why it calls for 80PSI in the rear tires and why the rear tires ware a little faster than the front. What single rear tire are you planning to use?
hobietony
Explorer
It is the same axle - You just have an adapter to create the offset to run the dually wheels
I say keep the duallies. I think mine look **************':sombrero:
naterry
13 Cheeseburgers
Well yes and no. We could safely say that your tipping angle is the same if you were in a static roll-over scenario (tilting until it rolls over) if you matched the track width of the DRW setup. All things being equal, the major variable that governs stability in this situation is the height of the CG. Installing the suspension lift, and raising the CG on these vans has the largest effect on stability, DRW or SRW.
Tire wall stiffness is also a wash when comparing DRW to SRW because the outer wheels define the track width, and thus tipping angle for both setups. That said, the appropriate tire rating is imperative.
