97 E350 Crestline Ambo Build/Mod

[Bikersmurf]

Well after collecting and scrounging and planning for much to long, I’m finally ready to do something about the bed. I now have almost everything I need to build a Murphy bed that folds up against the passenger side wall.

There is only one thing left that I hadn’t figured out... additional seating for more passengers. First I found seats from the second row of a Ford Explorer... new takeouts from police vehicles.

Then I came across this ‘90s Ford Bench Seat”....


It’d fit three across and it appeared to be in good condition. It sits high enough above the floor for boxes, groceries, suitcases, etc to be stored underneath.


And in case you don’t see where this is going...


Change of plan.

It’ll take a bit more planning, but the seat should just about bolt straight in, seats 3, and folds into a slightly shorter Queen sized bed.

It’ll take a bit of figuring to decide where to store bike while traveling &/or sleeping, but I now can finish the camper conversion in a weekend or so... rather than needing weeks more work.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Mock-up

 

[patoz]

What did this "‘90s Ford Bench Seat" come out of, a van maybe? That color would even work for me also!

 

[Coachgeo]

.... I now have almost everything I need to build a Murphy bed that folds up against the passenger side wall....

curious of your murphy bed ideas...

 

[Raul]

As much head room as you have above the bed, you could build some leg extensions so there is more room underneath. For seating, you can build a storage box/foot rest at front.

 

[Bikersmurf]

What did this "‘90s Ford Bench Seat" come out of, a van maybe? That color would even work for me also!

90/91 Ford Standard height (on the replacement one at least) passenger van. Seat belts look OEM.... seat is commercially built, but doesn’t appear to be Ford. Colour is almost a perfect match with my front seats.

There is enough space under it to fit cases of paper &/or banker boxes. Most suitcases or backpacks would also fit under there.

 

[Bikersmurf]

curious of your murphy bed ideas...

Here's the basic Idea. However rather than fancy hardware I was going to use an industrial piano hinge (like the ambulance door hinges) for the pivot. To keep it up and safe I was going to have 1 or 2 "seat belts" at/near the top to secure it to the wall. I was planning on having it higher off the floor than pictured, and the option of a desk/counter folding down when the bed is vertical.

Other than that, a couple gas charged struts to make it easier to lift. Length and weight of the struts would come after basic bed was built and weights were determined. I've used gas struts on a hood and a hatch now... I figure I know enough about it to have them help lift.

 

[Bikersmurf]

One new equivalent -->https://waldoch.com/store/interior/...ront-center-fabric-insert-39461-09-92514.html

 

[Bikersmurf]

The kids love the ‘SOFA’... I don’t think I could ever go back to a Regular mini-van. I’m happy with my Mini-Ambulance.

BTW, the New Era model is between a mini-mod and a full size Ambulance in size. Its box is 88” wide, +/- 8’3” tall, 21’ long. Inside it is +/- 5’6” high.

 

[Bikersmurf]

Picked up a pair of 6 v golf cart batteries. I need to drill new holes for the bar that secures them. For perspective, the bar is installed where it fit for the previous batteries... about 4” lower. This year of Crestline will fit them without significant modifications. I had to tip the batteries a bit to fit them in, but not too much.

 

[Coachgeo]

[image}
Picked up a pair of 6 v golf cart batteries. I need to drill new holes for the bar that secures them. For perspective, the bar is installed where it fit for the previous batteries... about 4” lower. This year of Crestline will fit them without significant modifications. I had to tip the batteries a bit to fit them in, but not too much.

this will give you 12v at how many amp hours?

 

[Bikersmurf]

this will give you 12v at how many amp hours?

232 amp hours... although it generally isn’t recommended to go below 50%. This should mean the fridge can run 2-3 days without draining the batteries too much. Once the 100w solar panel is mounted to the roof, that should increase a lot... 7a potential should be enough to keep ahead of the fridge and get a week or more off grid.

Once the fridge is wired in permanently, I’ll be able to shut off the ‘ambulance connect’ and eliminate extra electrical drains. It’s tempting to eliminate the shutdown capability, but for the time being I’ll leave well enough alone. In the meantime, I’ll only have a couple circuits that’ll stay energized... thereby limiting the potential for parasitic drains.

 

[iggi]

>Once the fridge is wired in permanently,

hmmm... that's a good idea. I like having the ambulance connect but also want the fridge to run unless I specifically shut it down.

 

[Bikersmurf]

hmmm... that's a good idea. I like having the ambulance connect but also want the fridge to run unless I specifically shut it down.

In stealth mode, the fridge would be all that would be left. The inverter is directly wired with a remote so it also could be on.

 

[Bikersmurf]

An accident at 3:15 am took out the power to about 3000 homes for 6 hours... it was handy to have a Microwave to heat up my son's lunch for school.