From Freightliner ambulance to RV - we hope!
- Thread starter rossvtaylor
- Start date
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
Today's the day for trimming weight, it seems. Yesterday, I took off the front and rear bumpers. The front bumper will go back on, moved forward (and modified), after the winch is installed. This week, maybe?? As far as the rear bumper goes, I was a bit worried about adding the weight of that heavy 6x4-inch rectangular tube bumper. But, between the rear bumper I removed, and the support braces for the steps, and with the lift housing cut out, I'll end up at a net positive gain.
So, today the lift housing came out. It was welded, front and back, to angle iron or bar stock which was welded to the frame rails. Not wanting to gouge out the welds, or mess with the frame rails, I simply cut the angle and bar. It's a bit tight in there, anyway, so getting to the frame welds would have been tough. Here, the rearmost supports have been cut and the front supports are also cut, but I found a couple of tack welds hanging on tenaciously.
Free!
These drops are also welded to the frame. They were the supports, which splayed off to the rear corners to support the step bumper. They're quite beefy and will become bumper supports, but they hang down lower than the box frame now.
And, now they don't hang down.
I cut them all off, flush with the bottom of the box frame. A bit of grinding for clean-up and these will be ready for the bumper.
That's all for now...
So, today the lift housing came out. It was welded, front and back, to angle iron or bar stock which was welded to the frame rails. Not wanting to gouge out the welds, or mess with the frame rails, I simply cut the angle and bar. It's a bit tight in there, anyway, so getting to the frame welds would have been tough. Here, the rearmost supports have been cut and the front supports are also cut, but I found a couple of tack welds hanging on tenaciously.
Free!
These drops are also welded to the frame. They were the supports, which splayed off to the rear corners to support the step bumper. They're quite beefy and will become bumper supports, but they hang down lower than the box frame now.
And, now they don't hang down.
I cut them all off, flush with the bottom of the box frame. A bit of grinding for clean-up and these will be ready for the bumper.That's all for now...
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
Ah, yes, the Westerbeke... haha! I could bring my whole family and not weigh what that pig weighed.
Now that the back end is all cleaned up, and ready for a bumper, I turned my attention back to the front. I'd seen a bit of surface rust on the metal underneath, up front. I did some digging to verify it was just surface rust, where I could access it. After exposing more of the front frame, behind the bumper, I'm very happy to confirm that the insides of the frame rails up there also look fine. So, all is good with the world. And, with the bumper removed and the small crossmember below the radiator taken out, I see how to attach and extend frame rails for the winch. The Warn winch mount I got happens to be 34 3/8 inches across (inside measurements, between the brackets). The frame is 34 inches across, outside-to-outside. That means it's going to be pretty easy, actually, to build and anchor it strongly. We certainly don't want that coming off under tension...
The only real rust I've found was on that small crossmember I mentioned, from below the radiator. It's pretty thin stuff, but the bottom is about gone...
Now that the back end is all cleaned up, and ready for a bumper, I turned my attention back to the front. I'd seen a bit of surface rust on the metal underneath, up front. I did some digging to verify it was just surface rust, where I could access it. After exposing more of the front frame, behind the bumper, I'm very happy to confirm that the insides of the frame rails up there also look fine. So, all is good with the world. And, with the bumper removed and the small crossmember below the radiator taken out, I see how to attach and extend frame rails for the winch. The Warn winch mount I got happens to be 34 3/8 inches across (inside measurements, between the brackets). The frame is 34 inches across, outside-to-outside. That means it's going to be pretty easy, actually, to build and anchor it strongly. We certainly don't want that coming off under tension...
The only real rust I've found was on that small crossmember I mentioned, from below the radiator. It's pretty thin stuff, but the bottom is about gone...
rlrenz
Explorer
One nice thing about an ambulance that's based on a medium truck is that hanging winches and such is a lot easier than it would be with a smaller ambulance. Look at all the stuff you see on a commercial truck or a city truck, versus what do you ever see on a Ford 350 / 450?
Unfortunately, the Westerbeke was designed to run at least 100 years or so. It's interesting to see that Foster Ambulance builds in a 5.5 kW Onan that runs on gasoline (for lower noise than a diesel) to power their ambulance modules. Some users have commented that it's worth having a spare Onan on the shelf, usually only one per ambulance fleet. That could also be partly due to the maintenance that they get, though - air filters, oil changes, etc.
The 4 kW Onan that I'm installing weighs 180 Lbs, plus probably about 60 Lbs in the mounting frame/slides that I'll be building. It won't last as long as the Westerbeke, but it retails for about $3200 +/-, which is probably about 1/3 the cost of a Westerbeke. It will be installed in a compartment with a 750 Lb capacity per shelf.
Unfortunately, the Westerbeke was designed to run at least 100 years or so. It's interesting to see that Foster Ambulance builds in a 5.5 kW Onan that runs on gasoline (for lower noise than a diesel) to power their ambulance modules. Some users have commented that it's worth having a spare Onan on the shelf, usually only one per ambulance fleet. That could also be partly due to the maintenance that they get, though - air filters, oil changes, etc.
The 4 kW Onan that I'm installing weighs 180 Lbs, plus probably about 60 Lbs in the mounting frame/slides that I'll be building. It won't last as long as the Westerbeke, but it retails for about $3200 +/-, which is probably about 1/3 the cost of a Westerbeke. It will be installed in a compartment with a 750 Lb capacity per shelf.
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
Bob, that Onan sounds like a nice unit - they make great stuff. Speaking winches, I left our big winch alone for a few weeks and look what happened... like rabbits, these things are... :Wow1:
rlrenz
Explorer
Considering the size of the alternator and the battery package, an electric winch probably makes the most sense. A straight PTO mechanical or hydraulic just aren't justified based on the (hopefully) limited usage that a winch would see on a vehicle like this.
Yes, Ross - I do really appreciate my Onan generator. It's on the list for installation as soon as I get some other things completed.
Since Onan is built here in Minneapolis, Onan is very common on CL, but I happened to see an ad by a retired Onan employee who had apparently been stocking up for years when the company had one of their periodic employee auctions. He had purchased a literally unused 15 (+/-) year old 4000 watt RV generator that had only been used as a convention / trade show display at one of the auctions, and sold it to me for $700. Starts and runs just fine.
He added the 1-gallon gas tank so he could demonstrate it to possible buyers - I bought it about 3 hours after he listed it, though.
Yes, Ross - I do really appreciate my Onan generator. It's on the list for installation as soon as I get some other things completed.
Since Onan is built here in Minneapolis, Onan is very common on CL, but I happened to see an ad by a retired Onan employee who had apparently been stocking up for years when the company had one of their periodic employee auctions. He had purchased a literally unused 15 (+/-) year old 4000 watt RV generator that had only been used as a convention / trade show display at one of the auctions, and sold it to me for $700. Starts and runs just fine.
He added the 1-gallon gas tank so he could demonstrate it to possible buyers - I bought it about 3 hours after he listed it, though.
rossvtaylor
Adventurer
Hi Pat,
The "baby" one is a Warn P2000 - that might also be an ATV winch, as it's got a 2000 lb capacity. I can't find much info on it. The P indicates it was a "portable" winch, I understand (from the prior owner), and it originally came with a carrying case. But, it came with a cute little roller fairlead (unused) and it's got mounting bolt holes. So, this will get mounted under the rear for raising the tire/wheel off the ground. And we'll also use it to lift the occasional heavy thing into the back (boom to be mounted over the door). Or, even, to get a canoe onto the roof.
The front winch is also a Warn, an M12000. It's not as big as many recommend, but we think it will work for our needs.
And, here's what she looks like after the weekend. Without the stripes, and with the bumpers off, Kara noticed how much different it looks. From here, it's just going to get better.
By the way, it took SIX Whizzy Wheels to get all the stripes off. And I used them down to the nub...
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
That would be difficult with a front engine rig. The front one would need to be in front of the radiator/condenser/inter cooler.
patoz
Expedition Leader
Just carry a couple of snatch blocks and an extension section of cable or synthetic winch line and you'll OK.
Ozrockrat
Expedition Leader
patoz
Expedition Leader
Don't worry about the winch size it's only for other people.
Your frame of mind is correct, but as well all know, there isn't a vehicle made that won't get stuck given the right (or is that wrong) circumstances!