Buying & Building a Medium Ambulance into an RV – The FAM-BULANCE

[Srex]

New fl60 medic master

Hi , I am new to the forum. I have been reading all about the builds and conversion here. They are great source of info. I just bought my first ambulance. A fl60 medic master 2007, I will be flying to DC to pick it up and drive it back to Michigan. My plan is to convert it to a motorhome. I currently have 1978 bluebird wanderlodge and wanted something abit smaller. I am sure I will have loads of questions for the panel of experts here. I will be checking in occasionally here. But for now I would like to thank everyone that posts here for there inputs. Thanks Scott

 

[rlrenz]

Welcome to the club!

Try to get the Medic Master manual that came with it if you can - it helps.

Otherwise, if you buy one with the VMUX digital panel (touch screen), I have a manual for a Medic Master with digital controls. It won't be perfect, but the same electricians wired all of the Medic Masters, so it should be close. I can have the drawings & diagrams scanned into PDFs.

 

[rlrenz]

By the way - on a Medic Master, the AC really does better if the front panel HEAT/AC switch is turned on. The module is in charge of heating & cooling, so set the module's temperature for a littrr cooler than you want the AC to run at

 

[RiderBloke]

Hi , I am new to the forum. I have been reading all about the builds and conversion here. They are great source of info. I just bought my first ambulance. A fl60 medic master 2007, I will be flying to DC to pick it up and drive it back to Michigan. Thanks Scott

Scott,

I am in Sanford MI next to Midland and would love to see your rig at some time or if you need help send me a message. I hope to get a similar rig and use it as a stand alone RV, toy hauler, & tool chest as well as TV for my RV.
Hope the journey home goes well for you. Let us all know and also about the dealer (if you bought from a dealer).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Srex]

That would be great if you have the manual. My medic master doe sent come with any manuals unless there is one hidden somewhere. I will find out when I pick it up on Tuesday . Should be a learning experience driving it home! I will try to take a lot of pictures to document my build. I live on the west side of Michigan. Close to Manistee.

 

[rlrenz]

Here's another one for your notebook - Freightliners have a battery disconnect switch on the floor to the left of the driver's seat (just in from the door). The truck's wiring is usually set up so if the switch is on, the truck marker light over the cab will always be on. Turn the switch off when you park the truck. The GOTTCHA is that the switch doesn't turn everything off - some of the circuits in the module (the ambulance portion) are always on, and the resultant parasitic drain can flatten your batteries within a week.

If it will sit for a while, plug the truck in to a 120 volt cord so the battery charger can do it's thing. If you have the Vanner charger, you may want to set it for low charge instead of high charge. I installed an Iota 55 amp charger that's a bit smarter than the Vanner.

 

[Srex]

Yea . I here you about the marker lights. I picked the ambulance up yesterday and had no ac on the whole trip back from dc . I tried turning the module ac on setting temp low but still no cold air in cab. When I got home I looked at the motor. And there is two ac compressors on the motor? I also have 120 volt , and 12 volt on the hose line ac in module. When I plug the unit in to hose current. I get ac in the module without engine running. It has condessing unit under module. I also have a 12volt medi-kook refrigerator that will come on , but does not get cold? Any suggestions?

 

[patoz]

I'll let Bob cover the details, but basically you have two separate A/C Systems that are intertwined together and share a few common parts, like the thermostat, fan blower, condenser fans, etc. One system is 12VDC operated and is the vehicle and patient module system when the engine is running. The other system is the 120VAC system and is only for the patient module when the vehicle is plugged into shore power. Mine has a separate 30A male receptacle just for this.

The Medi-kool refrigerator is for drugs and will normally get down to about 34°, but will not freeze. If it's running.look for a thermostat and check it's setting.

 

[rlrenz]

It sounds like you may have an electrical problem, or else you msy need a bit of Freon R134A added to the truck's AC systems. The most common cause of no AC is low refrigerant. There are pressure switches that will shut down the system if it's low, but measuring the suction pressure with the system shut down will answer that question quickly.

 

[rlrenz]

Things are where you find them - I saw a Fire Department Equipment For Sale listing that showed a pair of Whelen Pioneer LED light mounting buckets for $20/each. They are now in my garage. The light pocket in them is 4 1/4" x 9" x 2" deep, so they'll fit int he side of my ambulance just fine.

 

[patoz]

 

[rlrenz]

As summer comes to an end here in MN, I'm gradually getting all the winter-prep stuff done, and getting ready for a winter of accomplishment on the buggy.

A few weeks ago, I fell into four Whelen scene lights - the new LED M9 scene lights. Each is rated at 36 watts, and they will go nicely in place of my Whelen 97, 50 watt halogen scene lights. They were a take-off from a fire engine, but they all work fine. They may be a little overpowering in a campground, though....

The photo shows one coupled up to one of my 12 VDC power supplies


As I've already mentioned, I lucked into a Zico folding step last winter - the price was great, probably because it didn't have a control module. I thought about building a control module, which would require five relays, with four of them rated at 70 amps (for durability). I could also buy the current solid state control module from Zico. The Zico control module doesn't require limit switches - it only operates the step linear actuator for 4 seconds, or until the amp draw reaches 12 amps for 100 milliseconds (basically, it senses when the actuator reaches the end of its travel). As a result, there aren't any limit switches that can get stuck.

I decided a long time ago that I only want to build something once if I can - so I whimpered a little, then bought the Zico control module -- $230.00! The steps will be installed this winter.

 

[patoz]

Yep, that's the same controller I have also.

 

[rlrenz]

I believe that this is the newest version. They used to have a different INPOWER controller that used a plug-in connector, but the current version appears a lot more durable.

 

[patoz]

Well, after looking at mine again, it is the IMC-01-SPC77 and your's is the IMC-01-SPC326.



I wonder what the difference is?