FIRST TIME OUT E450 Ambulance

[PGGRS]

Posting for 1st time here. Just picked up a '97 E450 diesel Quigley ambulance back east & drove it home to Utah. First time out in the sand. Did GREAT. I've looked at the ambulance threads & decided I'll do one. Got very lucky with this one, only 105K miles. Just designing the RV conversion in my head. I've scrapped out a couple of water damaged truck campers, so I have most that I'll need. Look for a thread soon...

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Congrads!
How was the first road trip back?
First on your to do list?
what kind of MPG did you see?

 

[Trav0302]

love ambulances! keep us posted

 

[PGGRS]

2300 miles 2 1/2 days. Made a 180 mile detour to pick up some '54 Chevy parts for a friend. 2500ish lbs of engines, transmissions & assorted crap. barely squatted the truck. 10-14mpg depending on headwind. Set cruise @ 65mph. uphill, downhill 65, only downshifted once crossing Smokey Mtns...No problem on the 9000 ft pass thru Jacob Lake,AZ either...First things will include removing/replacing some emergency lighting(illegal for red to face forward here) & a wedge up on the cab to smooth out the "brick in wind." Hoping to pick up a liitle more speed & mileage...Then, a deep breath & start (partially) gutting the about perfect interior for the RV stuff.

 

[cjken]

Looks great!!
What state did you find it in???

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

2300 miles 2 1/2 days. Made a 180 mile detour to pick up some '54 Chevy parts for a friend. 2500ish lbs of engines, transmissions & assorted crap. barely squatted the truck. 10-14mpg depending on headwind. Set cruise @ 65mph. uphill, downhill 65, only downshifted once crossing Smokey Mtns...No problem on the 9000 ft pass thru Jacob Lake,AZ either...First things will include removing/replacing some emergency lighting(illegal for red to face forward here) & a wedge up on the cab to smooth out the "brick in wind." Hoping to pick up a liitle more speed & mileage...Then, a deep breath & start (partially) gutting the about perfect interior for the RV stuff.

Great info! Thanks for sharing.
Looking forward to the build.

 

[trackhead]

I know that rig well, used to drive the same configuration when I was a Paramedic.

 

[PGGRS]

A Year later, build coming along

I spent at least 6 months in the planning stage. I didn't want the typical conversion. I cant quite understand how some throw an ARB & a portapotty on the floor & call it 'fully converted'. I have owned several class B's that I considered converting to 4X4, but the better laid out ones were gas & I wanted a diesel. My Born Free was a Powerstroke but I hated the layout. TIME TO BUILD MY OWN! I work messy, but I'm happy with the results... air dam off old Winnie & new AluminessBlocked off rear doors showing fill for 3rd tankwater heater & black tank, black dump will be inside bottomback of stove & water tank,grey tank will be belowsetup for 2 tall propane tanksOnan 2800 & 6 gal boat tankfurnacefull kitchenrepurposed cabinets above 3rd tanktruck camper wet bath in corner

 

[cjken]

Sweet. Great update!!!
Looks really well done. I came across this thread a while back and was wondering about it.

What amazes me More is the number of fully camperized rigs that just sit in people's driveways year after year because hey don't fit the reality of the owners lifestyle. The great thing about building your own is that you can set it up to fit your needs.
Many of those guys that just throw in an ARB and portopotty probably use the crap out of their trucks because it suits their needs. (NPI)
That being said. Your rig looks awesome.
Good luck with the build and your travels!!

 

[guidolyons]

Glad to see some progress. The fairing really smoothes out the cab to box transition. Do you have a walk thru to the cab or is it blocked off?

 

[tgreening]

Looks like a pretty nice build up but dude, you gotta go back in there and reformat that post or something. Looks like it had an epileptic seizure when you hit the post button.

 

[Baloo]

I love the shower install, if I didn't need my back doors to get the kayak in and out, I would do the same thing! Great Job!

 

[pappawheely]

Looks like a pretty nice build up but dude, you gotta go back in there and reformat that post or something. Looks like it had an epileptic seizure when you hit the post button.

Just be sure to leave a space between your text and your photo links. Paste the link, hit enter twice and then continue.

 

[PGGRS]

Actually the truck camper wet bath fits over to the left side. Left plenty of room for the doors to get a kayak in. That's a 50ish gal diesel tank, with repurposed cabinets above blocking the doors. My Hobie Mirage tandem is too long to go inside anyway. I like the flexibility of large fuel capacity. Between the stock rear 55 & shoehorned in van side tank's 35, this gives me about 140 gal capacity. The 2 frame tanks are set up like 90's Fords twin tanks, & the top rear is gravity fed in thru the vent tube of rear tank, manual ball valve for now as it won't get used that often. Tried to match my '01 dodge's 170. That got me from Bellingham WA to Tok AK without buying spendy Canadian fuel. Still could add a rear box/tank that I have over the new triple receiver, but that depends on how it might work with a ladder/bike rack combo idea.

I'll get some (improved posting,i hope) pics up soon. Made good progress this past week, should be mostly done for Moab Toyota event end of the month & then finish her up before Alaska in June/July.

 

[PGGRS]

A good week!

Made good progress this week. Propane & water lines almost complete. FRP came out as good as I'd hoped on inside. Need a flex hose then toilet will go in, the the Irvine Shade acordian door after that. Got the Hella's in the bumper.

Including a shot of original interior, for reference the fridge sit's right where the cut out seat was. And answering a previous question, yes, I do have the pass thru. A bit tight for me, although I use it, but great for the dogs. Also that little door is great for heating/cooling purposes. My added windows are dual pane, so with the rear 2 blocked off & insulated the box should be easy to maintain temperature. Most heat loss would be thru the cab windows & windshield. Still working on getting the curbside door window changed out to a DP.