patoz
Expedition Leader
Hi guys! I just found this thread and had no idea there were so many of us on here.
I am a Department of Defense (DoD) District Fire Chief/EMT (now retired), with 30 years of service. During that time I also worked for EMS (10 years) and was a Captain in my local VFW for 20 years. As a teenager, my dad was a member of Red Cross, Civil Defense (anybody remember that?) and belonged to our local SAR organization, so naturally I joined all of them also. One of the first CD 'activations' I can remember was opening and operating the local elementary school as a hurricane shelter when Hurricane Camille, which was a Cat 5, hit Pensacola, FL in 1969.
I have been certified as a CPR Instructor (American Heart and Red Cross both), EMT, HazMat Tech & Incident Commander, High Angle Rescue Instructor, Vehicle Rescue and Extrication Instructor (14th Hurst Jaws of Life Instructor certified in FL), Fire Inspector III, and Fire Officer IV (Fire Chief).
Whew, no wonder I'm tired and all worn out!
I have camped (mostly primitive) all of my life as a way of relieving stress, and just enjoying the outdoors. Over the years I've refined my camping system down so that it's as simple as possible, but yet I can still be comfortable. I've build all kinds of storage systems and even installed a hot water shower system, based on a marine heat exchanger on several of my trucks. It seems like every trip I went on, I came back with my head filled with ideas, but didn't have the money, tools, or resources at the time to bring them to reality. But, now I see a lot of these ideas being developed, built, and used by members of this forum, and this is fantastic!
I've been retired for about 13 years now, and as I get older the lower back pain goes up and the energy level goes down, so my days of sleeping on the ground in a tent and 'roughing it' are gone forever. I missed camping, but didn't really want to buy an 'off the rack' motorhome or travel trailer, so I decided to develop an idea I have been nursing for a long time. I always thought a 4x4 Type I or III Modular Ambulance would make a great off-road camper, so about 2.5 years ago, I started looking for one that I could afford and would serve my purpose. Eventually, I found a 2WD one that was to be auctioned off in the next county over, and I managed to buy it for near nothing. It's a 1993 model and had 320,000 miles on it. It had three previous owners, and had been rode hard and put up wet, but the module itself was in excellent condition. So, I decided to cut it in half and turn the rear part into a heavy duty off-road camper trailer.
While searching the Net for parts, I came across this forum and immediately discovered my 'Ambulance to Camper' idea wasn't really original at all, since there are a couple of dozen others on here already. With my lower back injuries, progress is slow, but I'll get there eventually. There is a link for my build thread in my signature, if you care to take a look.
Guys and gals, being a First Responder is hard enough, but these days it's even more dangerous with all of the wackos out there. So lets all be as safe as we can, and don't take any necessary chances. It's not like the old days anymore...this is a whole new world!
~ Pat
I am a Department of Defense (DoD) District Fire Chief/EMT (now retired), with 30 years of service. During that time I also worked for EMS (10 years) and was a Captain in my local VFW for 20 years. As a teenager, my dad was a member of Red Cross, Civil Defense (anybody remember that?) and belonged to our local SAR organization, so naturally I joined all of them also. One of the first CD 'activations' I can remember was opening and operating the local elementary school as a hurricane shelter when Hurricane Camille, which was a Cat 5, hit Pensacola, FL in 1969.
I have been certified as a CPR Instructor (American Heart and Red Cross both), EMT, HazMat Tech & Incident Commander, High Angle Rescue Instructor, Vehicle Rescue and Extrication Instructor (14th Hurst Jaws of Life Instructor certified in FL), Fire Inspector III, and Fire Officer IV (Fire Chief).
Whew, no wonder I'm tired and all worn out!
I have camped (mostly primitive) all of my life as a way of relieving stress, and just enjoying the outdoors. Over the years I've refined my camping system down so that it's as simple as possible, but yet I can still be comfortable. I've build all kinds of storage systems and even installed a hot water shower system, based on a marine heat exchanger on several of my trucks. It seems like every trip I went on, I came back with my head filled with ideas, but didn't have the money, tools, or resources at the time to bring them to reality. But, now I see a lot of these ideas being developed, built, and used by members of this forum, and this is fantastic!
I've been retired for about 13 years now, and as I get older the lower back pain goes up and the energy level goes down, so my days of sleeping on the ground in a tent and 'roughing it' are gone forever. I missed camping, but didn't really want to buy an 'off the rack' motorhome or travel trailer, so I decided to develop an idea I have been nursing for a long time. I always thought a 4x4 Type I or III Modular Ambulance would make a great off-road camper, so about 2.5 years ago, I started looking for one that I could afford and would serve my purpose. Eventually, I found a 2WD one that was to be auctioned off in the next county over, and I managed to buy it for near nothing. It's a 1993 model and had 320,000 miles on it. It had three previous owners, and had been rode hard and put up wet, but the module itself was in excellent condition. So, I decided to cut it in half and turn the rear part into a heavy duty off-road camper trailer.
While searching the Net for parts, I came across this forum and immediately discovered my 'Ambulance to Camper' idea wasn't really original at all, since there are a couple of dozen others on here already. With my lower back injuries, progress is slow, but I'll get there eventually. There is a link for my build thread in my signature, if you care to take a look.
Guys and gals, being a First Responder is hard enough, but these days it's even more dangerous with all of the wackos out there. So lets all be as safe as we can, and don't take any necessary chances. It's not like the old days anymore...this is a whole new world!
~ Pat
