93 E350 Ambo camper

[Shredface]

With dreams of epic road trips I caught the camper van flu and started to search for one to call my own. Where I live in Oregon you cant drive a mile without seeing a Sportsmobile, Quigley, Quadvan, or an older Pathfinder conversion so i had a lot of temptation. I know I wanted to build my own for lack of a trust fund and because I grew up working on cars, I also wanted a diesel and a year that could fit a ujoint upgrade. I searched craigslist for weeks daily until I came across an post in town for a E350 ambulance and things changed. It being just down the street from me I had to see it and take it for a spin, needless to say I bought it the next day and started questioning my mental state. I never knew they were so popular and started to feel better about my impulse buy and started to get really inspired!

I've been working on it for a couple months now so I could take it somewhere this summer so the next few posts will be catch up.

 

[Shredface]

The first thing was to get rid of the logos that weren't mine, I guess the previous owners had dreams of a mobile ad/camper but only got as for as the paint and decals.

I used to put decals on cars for a short time but taking them off is not fun in the cold. The next up was the floor, it smelled of mildew and i noticed a leak so I knew that under the linoleum there had to be a rotten floor.

And I was right, there was a leak through a antenna hole that had just been filled with roofing caulking. It ran down the wall between the cab and into the rear behind a cabinet.

So out came the cabinet and the rest of the floor with it leaving just the metal floor.

 

[Shredface]

Slow and steady...

I've been putting in time on my days off and some mornings when i work at night but seeing that its not parked at my house (because I live downtown) I wish I could get more done. Found some hidden treasure while tearing into the back.

I spent some time and a lot of patience trying to rid the compartment of the formica so I can start fresh.

When I got it there were some upper door panels missing from both rear doors and the whole side door. What I didn't notice was that the inner frame for the windows were also gone and the back two were falling out. So I took them out, resealed them and made some simple aluminum brackets.

The terrible welds on the side door handle had broken so new rivets were in order to be able to open from the inside.

 

[Shredface]

Making a ambo a home

I been doing all my "research" when I find spare moments and by that I mean trying to find the cheapest appliances on ebay or craigslist. I ordered a sink, self priming faucet, two burner propane stove, and futon. Knocked out a useless cupboard to make more work space for the counter with sink and stove. I also started to wrap the lower half in butyl tape to seal the misc holes and deaden some sound, much cheaper than fat mat and the smell is gone after a couple days even in hot weather. I read what other people have said about KO's smelling like tar but I figured it was a risk i was willing to take over the price of fat mat.

The couch showed up by freight in the rain so I did a test fitting to see if it fit.

The plan is to put the couch on sliders so it comes out and the the back will flip down, or stay up to access the bench for storage. Its just a cheap-o from Walmart but it was much less than a jackknife couch or other RV sofa beds. Next up is to cover the inside in wood. All the exterior walls are filled with foam and the wiring and then covered in sheet metal again with the exception of the where the outer boxes come into the interior. So i just screwed the wood into the inner metal wall and covered some areas into possible cupboards.

Since the wiring is all hidden behind the welded double walls i have left it all untouched. I removed all the excess oxygen pumps and regulators and the suction "puke pump". My plan is to just make it livable to take out on some short mt. trips this summer and fine tune whatever else later in the winter/spring along with planning the eventual 4x4 conversion.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Looks like you're making good progress. I've got a 97 E350, and it'll have much fewer comforts.

Will the opening behind the sink still open? I'd consider putting an opening window there... But glass can break, the big downside.

 

[Shredface]

Yes the opening will stay. I'm not sure what its previous purpose but I was thinking of making a screen for it so I can some cross breeze in there.

 

[chadlanc]

looks like a fun project, I thought about doing one before finding a used ujointoffroad van. What engine is in it?

 

[dcguillory]

I really like the outside of that ambo. Nice start

 

[Shredface]

Re-use and re-purpose everything

I decided to re-use the diamond plating that was already in place when I got it to cover the doors. Its rough but at least its covered.

I also scored some free composite floor which is also in rough shape but I imagine that it will take the most abuse in the long run so I'm not going to sweat it.

The small bonus that came with the rig was a compartment full of re upholstered head boards that I matched the couch with.

 

[Campbulance]

Nice start, looks like a solid build so far. I just joined looking to get ideas also. I am considering going down the same route of ambulance. Has it been easy to deal with the existing cabinets? How about any existing wiring?

 

[Shredface]

Now with the floor in I can set the legs for the couch to the right height, I picked up some old couch rails from the re-use it center to make them. I mounted some plywood strips to the bottom of the couch that hug the aluminum rails screwed into the bench frame for the sliders, nothing fancy.

The right side of the body must have had a close call because the vent cover and handle beside the door appear to have been ripped off. So I found a new clamshell vent cover. And covered the hole inside that holds the exhaust fan, hopefully the holes i drilled will draw enough air but I can always drilled more.

Next up is to secure the water containers in the outer box below the sink and mount the propane tank to I can run the hose though to the stove.

 

[Shredface]

looks like a fun project, I thought about doing one before finding a used ujointoffroad van. What engine is in it?

It has a 7.3L IDI. You have a great van btw how has it been you since you've had it?

 

[Shredface]

Nice start, looks like a solid build so far. I just joined looking to get ideas also. I am considering going down the same route of ambulance. Has it been easy to deal with the existing cabinets? How about any existing wiring?

Like I said I left most of the stock wiring because its harder to get at without a full teardown, and because I had no urge to mess with tracing down all the wires. It has two shore batteries and lots of lighting thats nice so there is no need remove those. As for the cabinets i pretty much just built around the existing welded external boxes and kept some of the smaller storage cupboards. They don't build these things very well on the inside so everything is easy to remove or tear out, I might remodel the upper half next time around and fully customize to my likes. I just want something haul my lady, the dog, and the bikes around in for the time being.

 

[cjken]

Looks great.
Is it a longer than standard wheelbase???

Hood River??
I spend a bunch of summers there windsurfing in the 90's
Mostly camping out of my old ford van.

 

[Shredface]

Looks great.
Is it a longer than standard wheelbase???

Hood River??
I spend a bunch of summers there windsurfing in the 90's
Mostly camping out of my old ford van.

Thanks, and yes it is the extended wheelbase. I do live in Hood River and its full of van dwelling wind junkies right now. Your ambo looks like a beast! I cant wait to get mine in the air and in some dirt but it will have to wait still saving all that $$$.