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

[rlrenz]

Just when I'm convinced I'll never track down the official owner's manual for the truck---- I find that the gent who was the Medic Master Chief Engineer when the company closed down has all the build records. I believe he also has the capability to re-program the VMUX systems. I just ordered a set of PDFs for my buggy from him - price, about $275.

Then, By accident, I find a guy who lives only 30 miles from the FD who used to have my truck. He's going to snoop around and see if the builder's manual is still hiding on a shelf somewhere.

The world is very small, isn't it?

 

[rlrenz]

It cost me some bucks, but I now have the complete build package of drawings for my ambulance -- framing, cabinets, compartments, electrical schematics and wire lists, and a full set of American LaFrance's wire color codes and numbering conventions. I started plowing through them tonight, and many questions I've had are being answered. I've attached the ALF wire numbering / color codes for anyone else with a Medic Master. I also have a full set of electrical schematics for a VMUX Medic Master that I'll scan in once the US calms down a little.

 

[Ozrockrat]

Thanks Bob. I will be printing this one out and keeping a copy in the truck.

 

[rlrenz]

In case anyone's curious, here are drawings for the curb side, the road side, and the roof for my Medic Master

 

[rlrenz]

Been chopping into some cabinets. I need to install my 12 volt marine refrigerator and a Broan electric heater. The Broan is rated at 1500 watts, but I'm only going to run it at 750 watts. That will give me about 2500 BTU, which will be plenty for my non-winter usage.

The refrigerator's challenge will be to figure wire size. I have to factor in the wire length, voltage drop, running current, and starting current. The numbers put it on the border of 12-10 gauge, but since I'm a retired engineer, I'm going to test first. I'll grab the right length of 12 gauge, and measure the starting current and voltage drop. I have clamp current probes, and a dual trace oscilloscope.

Overkill? Yup. But my curiosity is fired up. Maybe that's also because I ran a test lab? Whatever....

 

[rlrenz]

If anybody has halogen warning lights, and you convert to an LED bulb (Amazon, ebay), remenber to save your halogen bulbs. Why? These little bulbs sell for about $35 new, and used for $5-10 each. If you plan to convert down the road, your existing halogen fixtures aren't designed for an LED bulb, and your light output will be a lot less.

 

[FDM2012]

You mean size matters?

Been chopping into some cabinets. I need to install my 12 volt marine refrigerator and a Broan electric heater. The Broan is rated at 1500 watts, but I'm only going to run it at 750 watts. That will give me about 2500 BTU, which will be plenty for my non-winter usage.

The refrigerator's challenge will be to figure wire size. I have to factor in the wire length, voltage drop, running current, and starting current. The numbers put it on the border of 12-10 gauge, but since I'm a retired engineer, I'm going to test first. I'll grab the right length of 12 gauge, and measure the starting current and voltage drop. I have clamp current probes, and a dual trace oscilloscope.

Overkill? Yup. But my curiosity is fired up. Maybe that's also because I ran a test lab? Whatever....

 

[rlrenz]

If you want lights, radios, and anything with a motor to operate correctly, it needs to have 12 volts AT THE ITEM. The factors affecting this are the amperage needed, the length of wire, and the size (gauge) of the wire. If my refrigerator was installed next to the fuse panel, I could probably use 16 gauge wire to connect it, but because its 15 feet from the panel, I will have to include the voltage drop in the wire. When I run the numbers, it looks like I can use 12 gauge wire, and still have enough voltage at the refrigerator to start the compressor. The drawing shows what I mean.

For help on this, check out the Blue Sea web site (www.bluesea.com). They have a wire size calculator that does a good job of sizing wiring. For lighting and similar, you can probably figure with 10% voltage drop, but if you're running a motor, you might want something like 5%.

If you see a chart for marine use, remember to include the return wire as well as the supply. For example, a motor located 15 ft from the panel, with the negative lead returning to a panel negative location, would have 30 ft of wire total.

Do some Googling to see more data on voltage drop.

 

[FDM2012]

Good call, Bob.

Not sure what I did with them, but I thought the same thing when I converted my scene lights to LED's.

If anybody has halogen warning lights, and you convert to an LED bulb (Amazon, ebay), remenber to save your halogen bulbs. Why? These little bulbs sell for about $35 new, and used for $5-10 each. If you plan to convert down the road, your existing halogen fixtures aren't designed for an LED bulb, and your light output will be a lot less.

 

[rlrenz]

My warning lights and scene lights are either Whelen LED, or Tecniq LED. Because my rig is used to support the USCG Auxiliary, I needed amber warning lights, but I wanted clear lenses. I was able to track down what I needed through my ambulance electrician friends, so the cost was a lot less than list. Tecniq offers a lifetime warranty, and they're made in Michigan. They're available from many emergency vehicle builders and through their dealers. Even better, they run about half Whelen's price.

 

[rlrenz]

Reality raised its ugly head, and I decided on PLAN-B for my fridge -- since the correct size wire is a toss-up between #12 & #10, and since I have rolls of each, I can use either. Number 10 won out.

One question I've been asked is if the scene lights should be kept, or replaced with a different light. Scene lights are intended to light up an accident scene. If you want to throw light farther, you'll probably need to replace them. I have some Tecniq D30 loading lights that will be on each side, between the scene lights - they primarily light down and out at about 45 degrees. They are a much more humane light in a camping area.

 

[Bravo4niner203]

Hello everyone, I'm new here. Recently purchased a 2003 Freightliner FL60 American LaFrance Medic Master ambulance. My intention is to turn it into an RV and a tow vehicle for a 26 ft cabin cruiser. I recently finished catching up with this thread. It has been extremely helpful. My rig comes with cabin A/C (works great), rear 12 volts Hoseline A/C and a roof top A/C unit that runs on shore power (works great). I purchased it at a government auction. All the nodes were removed therefore I can't control the rear A/C. I'm researching how to rig a control unit for it.

 

[Bravo4niner203]

It cost me some bucks, but I now have the complete build package of drawings for my ambulance -- framing, cabinets, compartments, electrical schematics and wire lists, and a full set of American LaFrance's wire color codes and numbering conventions. I started plowing through them tonight, and many questions I've had are being answered. I've attached the ALF wire numbering / color codes for anyone else with a Medic Master. I also have a full set of electrical schematics for a VMUX Medic Master that I'll scan in once the US calms down a little.

This is great news. I’m converting a 2003 FL60 Medic Master with removed VMUX nodes and all this info would probably save my marriage. Keeping my fingers crossed for your scans.

 

[rlrenz]

This is great news. I’m converting a 2003 FL60 Medic Master with removed VMUX nodes and all this info would probably save my marriage. Keeping my fingers crossed for your scans.

Someone needed the VMUX data more than I did, and they went down the road before I ever got them scanned (they were physically large drawings, and I was squeaking over the per square foot scanning price I'd been quoted). BUT, it you have a Medic Master, you can still be in luck. The ex-chief engineer for Medic Master saved all the build data, and is willing to dig them out for you and convert them to PDFs. He charges $100 or so per hour, but the end result is PDF drawings of your unit that are correct, versus something that's close. I bought a full set, including cabinets, compartments, proposal, and electrical drawings, and spent about $250. I had them printed at Kinko's as B size (11x17"). You should be able to get just the electrical drawings for a lot less. I believe he can also revise the programming on VMUX equipment.

His name is Buck Bevers; his email is buckstar56@gmail.com
He lives in Florida. He would need the build date, the build number, or the customer. In my case, I didn't have a build number, but he was able to track my data down from the year and the customer

Look for Facebook sites for people who are converting ambulances to RVs - they usually strip out the insides and all the wiring and start over. If you post that you need some VMUX nodes, you should be able to track some down at a decent price (EBAY usually runs about $100 per node). AMBULANCE CAMPER CONVERSIONS is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/amb...11239&ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_mention.

As an example of the drawing detail he has, I attached a JPEG of the power drawing page.

 

[rlrenz]

I haven't posted for a while -- I'm still alive, but up to my tuccus in alligators. Been doing lottsa home stuff, (plus getting my HAM license), but still planning and stocking supplies for the build. The refrigerator and Broan heater are still happening, but since they are literally next to each other, both have to happen simultaneously. I also need to install the water tanks and the house (deep cycle) batteries right afterward.

The water tanks have come in. I bought a pair of 10 gallon RV water tanks that will be installed on the bottom of Compartment-1 (directly behind the driver). The house batteries will be mounted directly over the water tanks in a set of battery boxes.

More as I get back into the truck.