D.O.A - 89 Chevy Ambo Build

[zuke]

If I had as much of the Maroon as .5 does, I think I would have to do something about it too , but you were planning to get rid of a lot of the padding already, I thought?

I was worried about using dye on the maroon, with the color already so dark, I figured I'd have to go with an even darker dye, and the interior would start to feel like a deep dark cave.

I think on .5, I'd maybe recover the upholestery with a terry cloth or microfiber grey, or light blue, But if you get a lot of dirt in there it probably wouldn't work out so well.

 

[AmbulanceRV]

Great look right there

I had not considered the wood floor look but you have me rethinking it now lol

Great job!

 

[patoz]

John,

My walls are already a light grey, so I was going to use a medium or a little darker grey for the trim. The attendant's seat has been removed and the couch/bed will be new also. The area where the CPR seat is now is most likely where the sink will go, so all of that padding will be removed also. So other than a couple of slimmed down pads over the doors, and the ceiling trim, there won't be much to re-cover.

I do have about a 12" maroon stripe that runs all the way around the perimeter just above the baseboard area, that I will need to change to medium gray. It is actually laminate which is the same thickness as the light gray and butts right up to it, so I'm hoping I can just find some thin medium gray roll laminate almost like contact paper, and cover it instead of spray painting, which I don't think would look right and would be a pain to do in place. Brushing or rolling it is not an option as far as I'm concerned.

Another advantage to it being a trailer is, I can use portable seating, i.e. an office chair at the comms/computer desk, lawn chairs, or even folding chairs. The same thing with a small table. This gives me flexibility, and I'm not locked into a specific arraignment like I would be with mounted chairs.

 

[zuke]

Wow, I didn't realize the maroon on .5's walls was actually separate pieces of laminate, I figured it was a vinyl decal.

Knowing that, I would agree the best bet is probably contact paper, Prepping that stuff for paint is nearly impossible, even getting contact paper to stick to it might be tricky.

What upholstery you have is mostly smooth at least, versus the tuck and roll that DOA has, you might be able to get some kind of slip covers made for it with an elastic band on the back, that way it would be easy to take off and throw in a washing machine, But some of the upholstery, like the window surround, couln't be done that way...

 

[patoz]

That stripe is going to be mostly trial and error, but I'll figure out something.

The maroon cushions and window surround are all going away. I'm shooting more for something like this but in gray...



This is a jackknife couch which pulls out to make a bed.

 

[zuke]

Interior Decoration was the focus this week;

As I threatened Pat with, I went full on retard with the Red and Maroon!

Installed Bamboo Blinds, Rugs, a Sofa Cover, and a little artwork;

Daytime mode, When the dogs will be in the Ambo if not outside

Night Time, privacy mode

All the items are pretty self explanatory for install, but if anyone wants more detail on the installs, ask away.

Here are links for those who want to check the items out;

Bamboo Blinds;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H0RE4I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Couch Cover;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HQD21VY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rugs;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005T7IPME/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Art Work is a Sailor Jerry Tattoo Print, That came in a gift pack I got for my Birthday;

http://www.housepr.com/a-good-gift-for-bad-people-is-back-and-making-an-appearance-this-christmas/

 

[patoz]

Yep, you did! You need to send me your address, because when I get all that horrible maroon stuff out of mine I'm going to send it to you! :sombrero:

All kidding aside, that looks great! You found a way to make the maroon color work for you instead against you. I like the mini-blinds because you can let in a little light or a lot, but the bamboo blinds look pretty good also, especially with the rest of your decor.

Good job!!

 

[zuke]

I like the mini-blinds because you can let in a little light or a lot, but the bamboo blinds look pretty good also, especially with the rest of your decor.

I like mini blinds better too, they can be better adjusted to let in air as well as light, But I went with the bamboo because they are easier to stow when the dogs are in the camper unattended.

 

[Coachgeo]

hmmm.. with the maroon along with Red couch cover and blinds you can easily go the Indian way like this

In all seriousness, though the heavy maroon and a dark cherry wood would go well together. yes there is cherry wood in that picture.

 

[zuke]

I actually kinda like all the color in that one, but not sure I could take it the morning after a hard nights drinking,,,

 

[zuke]

A few things accomplished last weekend and last night;

I installed a heat duct register in the back corner of the ambulance, this corner is open to a vent hood on the back of the ambulance, and by using the lowest profile register I could find at Lowes, I can now open and close it when I want. The Blue Glow from the cabinet above is a set of twelve volt plugs and a usb charge port I installed in the cabinet, that along with the coat hook next to the register will allow me to place the fan clipped to the cabinet in front of the register to move air in or out if I need to.

I Got a set of 1157 LEDs from Amazon (LINK to Bulbs on Amazon) (Sorry for the fuzzy picture), Original interior Incandescent on the left, new LED on the right;

If you're interior lights are using standard 1157 Bulbs (These are automotive Tailights) I Highly recommend this solution at $1.40 a light...

Fixture on the left has one of the LEDs, and the two fixtures on the right still have the incandescents;

And here we have the lights on "High" with all the LEDs installed.

These are not quite as bright as the incandescents, but I think that's actually a good thing, They are plenty bright on high, and comfortable for reading or relaxing on low.

This reduces both power use and heat output from the lights significantly, Going from 216 watts down to 12. Using a targeting thermometer, I checked heat, With the ambient temperature at 62°, The incandescents at 5 minutes were 83° and at 30 minutes were 124°. The LEDs on high at five minutes were still at Ambient, and at 30 minutes were 72°

 

[patoz]

Those look pretty good!

That's probably what I'm going to do, especially since mine are recessed above long translucent light panels. If they're not bright enough, I can always add or change to the square LED pads and stick four of them on each light base.

 

[Coachgeo]

A few things accomplished last weekend and last night;

I installed a heat duct register in the back corner of the ambulance, this corner is open to a vent hood on the back of the ambulance, and by using the lowest profile register I could find at Lowes, I can now open and close it when I want.....

.....

Is there enough room behind that register to install a computer fan?

 

[zuke]

Is there enough room behind that register to install a computer fan?

Unfortunately, No, I actually had two computer fans I'd hoped to use for exactly that purpose, but by the time I open the register, there is less than half an inch between the back of the fins and the outer aluminum panel.

I tried a non-closing vent panel, that I put the fans behind, but with that arrangement I actually noticed I was losing a lot of heat out the vent even with the fans off and figured I wanted to be able to close the hole more than have the fans for now.

I have a couple small squirrel cage fans I might be able to use in the wall somehow, but they aren't reversible, so I could only move air with them in one direction. I'll probably play with those at a later date. (Like summer, when it starts getting really hot inside there!)

 

[Coachgeo]

Maybe build a Trim of 1x1's around hole with register over that. Should be space out enough for fancs then. Heck a lot cheaper/easier than cutting into roof and installing an RVvent and fan.