Bob the Campulance. E350 Crestline with Roof Raise. V3 in Progress.

[iggi]

@Abitibi Pretty awesome being able to shoulder check out the side door window now.
Followed your lead and added soundmats and insulation to the cab ceiling. That helped.

 

[Abitibi]

Well done, the ceiling is one of the best place to add insulation to help with heat or cold. If you have time and material to do your doors it will make a big difference in noise!

What's next?

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[iggi]

Well, once I'm done winterizing my parents house then I'm hoping to:

- Cover up all the stuff I exposed with removing the wall
- build some storage shelves in those blank spaces I opened up.
- Build a composting toilet
- Build an insulated and heated thermostat controlled battery box for the lithium pack
- Winterize my water tanks (route heated air over them plus heating pads
- Ski rack in the side cabinet
- Rack inside for my ice climbing gear
- Fix my heater (seems the motherboard went out)
- Curtain for between cab and camper
- Insulated window coverings.
- rebuild my limited slip rear diff.
- box for my tire chains above cab
- box for shovels/recovery gear above cab
- install fold down steps on side so I can get up high enough to sweep snow off the solar panels.
- insulate cab doors

(Winter is a ********** in Alberta lol)

 

[Abitibi]

Always nice to have a plan

I'll be using one of those aluminum truck box on a custom rack above the cab for similar purposes as yours. I had a big Pelican case on my last ambo but going aluminum this time. I have 2 in case you need one...

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[keane]

Are you still happy with the heater placement in the closet behind the drives seat still.

 

[iggi]

Yep. Not that I've had much call for it over the past few months. I did run it a little in July when I was camped up fairly high.
I've been sleeping with my head towards the rear of the ambo so installed in the closet was both convenient and places me almost the furthest possible from the heater noise.

Are you still happy with the heater placement in the closet behind the drives seat still.

 

[iggi]

Wow, over a month and not that much progress on my to-do list.
I did build something interesting. In order to preserve the limited amount of counter space I have, I built a drawer for the stove.
Still need finishing, as does my new counter but figure I'd bring myself back from page 6.

Currently deciding whether to convert the old Coleman to propane or use the Flame King cooktop.
Advantage with the Coleman is it already has a heat shield in place.
With the Flame King I'll have to fab something up.
Also, I think the Coleman looks cooler. lol

 

[iggi]

Mostly done the interior climbing gear rack. It all fits into what was just hidden space behind the panel above the side seat.
with the industrial carpet padding the gear only rattles enough to be heard on the biggest of bumps, but then everything rattles then so it's no big deal. I will be putting the protective sleeves on the ice screws as they will get dull if left to rattle against each other.

 

[iggi]

I also rewired things slightly. Now my panel is powered through the Solar Charge controller instead of direct from the battery. Now I can see both real time and cumulative power use through the controller and the phone app. It's much easier to test the power draw of the various accessories this way. The inverter is still direct to the batteries though. The controller is only rated to 20 amps.

With my electric cooler, vent fan and all 11 ceiling lights on it draws just over 7 amps. The lights draw 4 of those so I can see going to a more efficient lighting setup to be in the future. What's really cool is that I've got the parasitic power loss down to essentially zero. (less than .01 amps)

 

[Abitibi]

Good idea on the drawer for your stove. I have something similar planned but I'll also have a lid on top to double as countertop extension. And nothing wrong with the Coleman



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[iggi]

Took some time off from work and family stuff to think about campulance stuff.
Decided I am tired of struggling to adapt the original ambo interior to fit my requirements.
Even more so, I am tired of hunching over inside (it's 68 inches and I need a minimum of 71") Armed with a Sketchup for Dummies book and full of inspiration from @Abitibi , @TheRealPapaK and many others I spent a few hours getting my many ideas laid out on a basic model.

Main design requirements:

Modular - able to add and remove components to adjust for season, trip length and number of passengers
Full time shower/toilet.
Queen size bed
Enough room under bed for bike storage (without wheels and on storage tray)
Enough floor space for yoga, stretching, etc.
Internal room for larger items like surfboards, snowboards, etc.

Still lots to measure and figure out but this is where I'm at so far.

 

[Abitibi]

Good plan!

Curious, do you really need a queens size bed? That takes a lot of real-estate.!

And have you considered making "rooms" double purpose? I know for myself I'm not a fan of full time shower... but as you mentioned we all have our own needs

Looking forward with how it will turns out but glad you're going ahead with the face-lift!!!

Cheers
David

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[TheRealPapaK]

Awesome! It’s a lot of work but I’m sure you will be glad when it’s all done and you have a rig exactly how you want it. I recall you’re in Alberta right? I’m new at this but I’ve learned some lessons along the way already so feel free to reach out if you have any questions I might have learned the answers to the hard way.

 

[iggi]

Good plan!

Curious, do you really need a queens size bed? That takes a lot of real-estate.!

This will make you laugh; I initially laid it out with a double bed but was surprised at how much extra room I had. So, why not go with a queen size? I'm a sprawler and my sleep is important! Well.. back to the lots of space thing. I double checked my measurements and I drew my box 10 inches too long! I suspect that bed will be shrunk back to a double after all. Now if I just had a long box like yours.

And have you considered making "rooms" double purpose? I know for myself I'm not a fan of full time shower... but as you mentioned we all have our own needs

Yes, definitely have our own needs and preferences. When I started this adventure I hadn't really considered the impact of personality on the design. What's right and reasonable for one person can drive another to the brink of madness. While the full time shower isn't space efficient I know that fussing about with shower curtains or other stuff will annoy me greatly and a large portion of my camping season is not that conducive for outdoor showers.

Thanks for the feedback David!

 

[iggi]

Awesome! It’s a lot of work but I’m sure you will be glad when it’s all done and you have a rig exactly how you want it. I recall you’re in Alberta right? I’m new at this but I’ve learned some lessons along the way already so feel free to reach out if you have any questions I might have learned the answers to the hard way.

Thanks for the offer, I appreciate it!