C4500 Ambulance Camper

[cjken]

Just thought I’d share my project.
Not sure I’ll update this much or have the time to provide too many details, but here are the basics.

2007 “Kodiak” C4500 4x4 McCoy Miller Ambulance
Pre-DEF 6.6 L Duramax

My current ambulance camper is great, but I have been looking at Kodiak’s for a while. I could not find exactly what I wanted and even considered finding a cab and chassis then swapping a box onto it or getting a 2wd and trying to convert to 4x4 using a donor truck.
Realistically I would be hard pressed to find the time to do either.

Then this happened

So I flew to CA and drove it back.

One of the selling points was that it is a 12’ box. From what I can tell that is rare. Most Kodiaks have 14’ boxes. You May think that it is crazy that I would want a shorter box, but this is replacing my Mini-mod. I did not want to be much longer than my current truck.

I’ve had a pretty busy summer so have not made much progress on the new truck. I’m actually camping in the old truck right now.

I’ve started to sort the electrical out a bit, done a bit of demolition on the interior.
Taking my time and trying to think things through as I go.

 

[java]

Nice new rig!

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[jlcanterbury]

Looking forward to seeing this build!

 

[Brewdiak]

excellent, another one of 'us'

I like the shorter box - that was one reason I went with the truck I have even though it's the longer kodiak box it's still only about 25' total OAL which is I think a good compromise for twisty switchbacks and maneuvering without a crazy overhang departure angle. Even then I had (briefly) considered trying to chop the back/bottom to get a better departure angle when I first got mine and it was still on 19.5's ... but then I put it on the 40+" singles and that problem mostly solved itself. I also put a 15k hitch on so if anything hits that should get the damage first. Anyway I'll be interested to see what you do with it. I don't blame you re; pictures and frequent updates - i briefly had a build thread but gave that up about 2+ years ago .... somehow documenting my almost imperceptible progress made my almost imperceptible progress even more painful! plus I'm bad about stopping to document everything, once I get some momentum I try and ride it without interruption. enjoy

 

[mog]

then I put it on the 40+" singles and that problem mostly solved itself.

I agree with Cowpig, once you get some large wheels/tires on it, the approach and departures are very respectable. I have an 11' flatbed (on a crewcab), so I am just under 24 feet (OK, the damn winch bumper adds 10", so just over 24 feet) and am limited in the rear as I have the rear fuel tank, so I can not go higher in the back because of that. And it is very comparable with other 'off-road vehicles'
The first column is on 42" tires, the second column is stock.

OK, width-wise we are scr*wed, but with a17-19,500 GWVR, what do you expect?

.... somehow documenting my almost imperceptible progress made my almost imperceptible progress even more painful!

AMEN to that!

 

[cjken]

Not much to report, but:
Got it registered as an RV

Put a window unit in for AC
It was the simplest solution

Cut pass through and stripped cab.

 

[rlrenz]

You're lucky with your're state's requirements -- hrre in MN, I need to have an outside power connection, a refrigerator, a sink & water, and a separate not-from-engine-heat heater in the module

 

[Railvan]

Was your minimod box too small for you? How is the turning radius of the new truck?

 

[Brewdiak]

nice you're rocking already! are you going to install the accordion seal or did you remove it from the pass through? if you do i'd be interested in knowing how you do it / how easy it is - mine is in good shape but it's one of those 'probably will need one someday' items

Rubber Accordion Seals : Uni-Grip Rubber and Plastic Seals

uni-grip.com

 

[cjken]

Was your minimod box too small for you? How is the turning radius of the new truck?

Not really. Just needed a new project.
Turning radius is amazingly great. Kodiak has a 152” wheelbase mini-mod has 138” wheelbase, but Kodiak out turns the Ford.
Has a much larger wheel cut.
Kodiak does not fit well in a normal parking spot however!!

 

[cjken]

nice you're rocking already! are you going to install the accordion seal or did you remove it from the pass through? if you do i'd be interested in knowing how you do it / how easy it is - mine is in good shape but it's one of those 'probably will need one someday' items

Rubber Accordion Seals : Uni-Grip Rubber and Plastic Seals

uni-grip.com

Installing this week.
Will let you know!!

 

[cjken]

Accordion material went in smoothly.
Had to remove rear windows in cab. Then I filled space with diamond plate. I will eventually finish it off nicer, but now I have a legit pass-through.

 

[cjken]

Question for the guru’s

Air ride seats.

The bases are great, but the seats I have suck.
I want to find seats that will be compatible with the bolt pattern of the air ride bases that I have.
Any suggestions?

Rough measurements
11” front to back
11-1/4 side to side.

 

[Brewdiak]

Nice job the pass through looks exactly like how wheeled coach did mine!

seats - I didn’t find a lot of options. I replaced mine with some National seats with bottom lumbar and back air bolsters ... but I still can’t say if they’re any good as I’m still at least a few weeks from getting back on the road

 

[quickfarms]

That looks like a national low profile base

What do the old seats look like?

The national seats are firm and you need to put air in the base.

I have old nationals recovered in my RV

The new truck has brand new national ensigns in it on old low profile bases

The national captain has a lot more features than the ensign but it is 1” taller