2012 F550 4x4 Ambulance mid build

BryantKnives

New member
2012 Ford F550 XLT 4x4 Ambulance Expedition Base

Located in Northern GA, I plan to be at the Starke Overland Expo in March in it

18k GVWR 14 ft long box 6 ft headroom

225k miles 42 gals Fresh 16 gray

$55k

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I purchased this ambulance in July, drove it home and began work on a conversion. I will continue to work on it until/if it sells, but I really see myself in an LMTV (I may regret this). I have purchased an LMTV already, and think that’s the route I want to take moving forward. I drive this truck about 200 miles weekly if the weather is decent, about 50 if not. I recently went Super Singles, Founders 36 ish on 19.5’s, I’m having 2 new rear tires mounted this week giving 2 spares. 2.5” lift in front to accommodate this. I'm slated for an alignment as soon as I can work out the scheduling. DV8 winch bumper on front, 12k winch installed but not yet wired (trying to decide on fuse block location). Scene lights on all 4 sides. Each door except the former battery box is capable of electronic locks (hooking them back up is my next project).

This was originally ordered by Kansas City FD and when I bought it from the dept in rural KY they had taken immaculate care of it. There is no frame rust that you commonly see on the Midwest trucks. I did speak to the FFs and the Capt in charge of this unit and they had nothing but good things to say of it. I have their maintenance records going back to around 2016 ( I think). It is a 6.7 diesel, Deleted and liiigghhhtly tuned. The motor, transmission, and transfer case were all recently replaced. I currently have a small oil leak from the dipstick O ring, but will be replacing the dipstick as soon as I can get it inside for a day. I planned to use the DEF tank as aux diesel for the diesel heater. Rear has a self leveling Air ride system by Link.

Currently, it’s mid conversion. Walls insulated with thermal breaks to ~R15, Ceiling mostly insulated (final number R20) Floor is 1” at R5. Subfloor down, bench seat built, bed installed, electrical 70% done (need to run outlets after cabinetry is finalized), Plumbing routed to point of pressure and a temporary faucet installed. Plans for a recirc system for heated water in place. Front and rear walls are left open for wiring of lights and finalization of rear camera placement.

Solar consists of 2-200 ah AM Time batteries, a 3kw Sungold Low Freq inverter (9K surge, runs a 120v welder or 9" metabo easily), 2 100-50 Victron Solar controllers, Smart Shunt, Lynx Bus, solar disconnects, and 2 440 watt bifacial panels. I haven’t had it in full sun much (it’s rained all winter) but it does seem to perform well. There is a secondary inverter wired to Truck batteries to use the AC charging function going down the road.

I cut down and welded back the 2 rear compartments, Pass side is slated for tools, Driver side for a 12v freezer and the welder and generator. I left a full height compartment that will accommodate a few snowboards, skis, etc. This compartment also has a pass through to access toilet plumbing when installed. There are a total of 8 compartments on the outside for storage. One really large pass through into the underside of the kitchen cabinet area should prove very useful. One I have slated to be a inside/outside closet.

Currently there’s a decent bar fridge mounted, but I’m unsure if I like the placement. It runs about 4 days on the batteries with no input. Truck is plumbed for a coolant driven water heater already in the front corner of the box.

I have designed this layout to have most of the wiring and plumbing accessible from inside cabinetry. Hopefully I’ll never have to work on it, but the option is there without removing wall panels. I’ll be happy to provide my thoughts/rationale on the systems to a potential buyer. I have a separett tiny I’d be willing to include as well if buyer desires.

Most of the pics won't attach. I'll figure that part out soon.

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tj4861

New member
can you post pics or send of the outside cabinets? hard to tell from the pics which ones are still usable.
how much storage is there still under the bed?
 

BryantKnives

New member
Oh yes, all of the boxes on the outside are still usable. It wouldn't let me attach enough pics. Here are some more if they'll go through. There is approximately 4 feet by 5 feet of storage under the bed left. I had intended to put drawers in the open space that were about 18" deep. The only box that was actually removed entirely was the passenger forward upper box. My intent is to turn that into a full size closet accessible from inside or out.
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hoodlum

Member
You have a killer shop.!! Thinking about the LMTVs for a while myself.
Guessing the rear is airbag suspension.? Pics of underneath would help.
Looks like the rear of the rig needs a lift to level up.
Do u know the weight as it sits.?
Deleted…what’s ur mileage like on these 200 mile drives also what feels like a comfortable speed on the highway.?
 

BryantKnives

New member
You have a killer shop.!! Thinking about the LMTVs for a while myself.
Guessing the rear is airbag suspension.? Pics of underneath would help.
Looks like the rear of the rig needs a lift to level up.
Do u know the weight as it sits.?
Deleted…what’s ur mileage like on these 200 mile drives also what feels like a comfortable speed on the highway.?
Hood, I wish that were my shop. I do get to use it after hours but it's mostly a warehouse. I have an LMTV with less than 300 miles on it, so it's hard not to want to build it.
The rear is a Link Mfg air system with an auto level and kneel and all that jazz. Oddly when I park it on level concrete and measure the whole thing is level. I have plans to rework the air cutoffs or put on slightly taller bags. The guy I got the singles from suggested trim the box to be more visually appealing and let the rig stay "true Level". Always a compromise, I hate messing with the air as I can ride down the road with an open redbull on the counter and it remain unspilled.

I don't usually drive it 200 straight, but work is about 20 miles from home and I drive it nearly every day and then to lunch as well most of the time. I usually drive 60 or so because that's the tire rating, but I just got a new set of rears that are rated at 68(?) so I'll take it up a notch when I go to the expo in Starke. Before the Singles, I drove it 70+ on I75 headed back home just fine, and 65 on the 400 here in NGA. I haven't hand calced since the singles (need to download some app to track mileage) but before them I was seeing 11.5 ish pretty much all the time. I probably got a little better a few times, but 350 on a tank is pretty normal. I have plans to turn the DEF tank into a backup diesel tank giving me more like 500 range.
 

BryantKnives

New member
installed cabinets and a sink this week. Changed my plans of going to the expo, so I'll continue to work on it this weekend.
 

hoodlum

Member
And the weight as is.?
225k miles and they replaced trans, motor n t-case, why.?
Records on the install.?
Thanks
 

BryantKnives

New member
I haven't weighed it lately, but an educated guess would put it at 13 ish. The weight before stripping interior was 13,500.



I have planned to weigh it and haven't gotten down to the interstate to a scale.



I believe the replacement was due to regulations on ambulances from speaking with the Capt. I have the records at work, I'll try to get the appropriate pages pulled out and go over them a little better, I will also take a picture and send it to you if you'd like.
 

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