My Adventure Ambulance - 1997 E350 Horton Mini Mod

[eporter]

The van part is a 1997 E350 with 170k on the 7.3 PSD. Possibly rebuilt E40D Auto, with a Dana 70 SINGLE rear wheel axle, with recently rebuilt LSD.

The module is a Horton Type III Mini Mod. Only has two exterior compartments, on the drivers side, for the O2 and batteries. Inside is still mostly "stock ambulance" but I've worked on the bench/bed that folds down from the pass. side wall. Real quality interior construction. Most everything is powdercoated aluminum, with minimal particleboard. Not sure what I really want to change around as it's all built so well. For now I've just been using it, enjoying it, and figuring out what I really want to change. I'd rather spend a Saturday mtn. biking than working on a vehicle...

I contacted Horton, and was able to get full documentation and a PDF of the original production order for this. It was originally bought by Mercy Flights in Oregon, and then sold to Jackson County Fire District 5. So it spent most of its life in Southern Oregon, and hopefully put most miles on driving longer distances. I've heard that Fire Depts. maintain their rigs better than EMS services, but I'm not sure.

My neighbor bought this from the Fire District in an auction. I bought this from my neighbor with ~170k and 7000 hours on it. He'd been parking it across the street from me for 2 years, so it was hard to not get curious about ambulance RV life. He replaced the Ambo with a huge RV that has a E350 front. My neighbor took it to Burning Man twice, so any bad vibes from it's ambulance days have been well cleansed...

So far I've had some work done to get it reliable.
-New radiator, hoses, & fluid flush
-Oil change and new fuel/oil filters.
-Rear axle LSD rebuilt & new fluid w/ proper additive.
-New BFG AT KO2 tires.
-Had a local Powerstroke shop check it out. They said it looks good, with just the standard oil leaks.

Slowly cleaning up the duct tape and decals. My neighbor had to cover the red lights and fire lettering to go through NV and CA. Then he left the tape on for 2 years, so it's taken some time with plastic razor blades and 3M 03618 Adhesive Remover (great stuff).

I re-engineered the folding bench/bed system inside. The goal is to have a half-bed, or double, as needed. The nice thing about the half-bed is that there's still room inside for bikes, gear, etc. More pics to come of that setup. A small dorm fridge is installed, along with a solar panel on the roof.

So for now it's mainly been used for adventure weekends hauling camping gear, MTBs, and my KLR250. Camping inside was great in the heat, stayed nice and cool in a field while everyone else was blazed out of their tent hours earlier. So far in the cold it's been a bit chillier. I got a Little Buddy heater, but I haven't tested it out yet. More insulation and propane plumbing is on the list...

I've definitely gotten some strange looks pulling into places with an ambulance...

I'll leave this link here of detailed info from Horton. Wiring, schematics, equipment info, all that. Hope it helps someone figure out their ambo.

Body exterior is 84" wide, 145" long, interior height 64"

Files From Horton – Google Drive

drive.google.com

CL Ad photo:


Maiden voyage camping:

Inside:


w/ Moto:


Roof:


River camping:


Up near Mt. Hood:


At camp:


Found a tree that matched the stripe:


Labor Day a mile high with some snow:


National Forest camping:

 

[flightcancled]

Look who finally made a thread!

The decals took me forever too. I just made pass after pass until they finally went away for good.

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[emtmark]

Love the minimod's! I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a "lunch box"


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[Bbasso]

Must be a KLR owner... who uses a single plank of wood. I love it!
I did it too when I had my XR650L lol.
Good start! Keep the updates coming.

 

[eporter]

Ha, I used that 2x6 when I was short on time and trying to get out of town. I've since upgraded to a metal ramp from Harbor Freight. Nice thing is, once I trimmed it just a bit, it fits into the stretcher/backboard slot in the ambo!

I'd like to add some utility track that I can mount a moto wheel holder in, or a quick release wheel holder type of thing.

 

[Petrolburner]

Awesome!

 

[Coachgeo]

update?

 

[eporter]

Made some changes to the couch/folding bed. This can be used single, or double. Nice to have the option if you want to sleep in the box, and keep bikes or a moto in there too.

A recent trip has me rethinking things and wanting to go with the bed rotated 90 degrees and across the back. I'd need to remove a cabinet to make it work as a double though.

 

[eporter]

August 2017 work done by some shops in PDX:

-New Upper/Lower Ball joints, new outer TRE, front rotors machined, new front L&R calipers/pads, rear brakes adjusted, front wheel bearings repacked, tires rotated, wheel alignment
-New brake master cylinder & remanuf. booster
-Some AC system troubleshooting/parts replaced, and AC now working!

Added a Ventline VP 543 Vanair Roof vent, 100CFM, 1.5A draw. This fit perfectly into the existing roof vent hole in the rear of my ambo.

http://ventline.com/i/u/6148923/f/rv_lit/vanair_vent_11-11.pdf

I also added a sink with pump faucet and clean/gray water jugs. This is in the area behind the pass. seat. In the future I may move all this over to the drivers side "inhalation panel" area, with the jugs in the outside 02 compartment. But it's nice by the pass. box door as I can stand up in the footwell area and use the sink.

I had the jugs, so ~120 in amazon parts. $57 for the pump faucet. WELL worth it for a reliable pump.

-Moen 2200 Series 22 Gauge Single Bowl Drop In Sink, 15 x 15, Stainless Steel
-Whale Water Systems Mark 6 V Pump,
-LDR 501 1800 Three in One Bar and Prep Sink 2'' Drain Set Stainless Steel Construction
-Camco 37420 Flexible Camper Drain

Got all that work done just in time for a 1000 mile road trip to Burning Man! The ambo was a good spot to camp in the hot desert.

 

[eporter]

Here are some pics of the sink I added into the cabinet area by the door:

I cutout some plywood for the "counter" and bolted it into angle brackets that bolt into channels in the cabinet. This small sink needs the counter to be 3/4" minimum. I used 1/2" as it's all I had around. I'll likely go back someday and use 3/4, and screw the pump faucet directly into the plywood, or bolt through some added blocking. I then re-used a piece of trim that used to be a door stop at the top of the cabinet when there were two cabinet doors that closed against it.

I would've attached the bottom bent aluminum shelf in a similar method, but I have no idea what the right fastener is that will slot into the track in the cabinet in just the right way. I've looked at a ton of fastners, but haven't found the right match. I think Horton used weld-in tubing inserts or something kind of random that just matched their track. So... for the time being I used some 2x4s that fit real snug and don't move. Bottom shelf is spaced to clear a Thetford 92859 Porta Potti 260B Portable Toilet below. This way I can be fully "self-contained" if needed.

In the future all this may get relocated over to the driver's side "inhalation cabinet" area, with some type of fresh/grey water tanks probably located outside, in the bottom of the oxygen tank compartment. Then I can take out the whole pass. side cabinet & partition, and add a swivel to the pass. seat. AND actually have some legroom on the pass. side!

 

[tmo2460]

Nice work with the sink! Simple and effective.

I removed that cabinet right away, and it really opens up the space in the module. More light from the cab area makes it feel bigger too. Removing that cabinet and adding a passenger seat swivel are really the only interior mods I've done so far, and they've made a huge difference in terms of livability in the rig. I'm trying to brainstorm a flexible use for that space behind the passenger seat for my complete redesign that can be deployed/stored away to keep the openness but not waste the valuable floor space, and also utilize the only spot in my ambulance that I can stand up straight.

 

[tmo2460]

Also I saved the fasteners that go into those tracks when I got rid of mine. I think I found the right ones. PM me your address and I'll get them to you!

 

[eporter]

Simple and effective is sometimes what the time schedule calls for! Someday I'll take that cabinet and wall out. Do you have any pics up of your interior and that area? I've thought of some kind of fold down heavy duty brackets for a cooking/area there someday. Would be cool to see what I'm up against from the Horton factory.

 

[tmo2460]

Simple and effective is sometimes what the time schedule calls for! Someday I'll take that cabinet and wall out. Do you have any pics up of your interior and that area? I've thought of some kind of fold down heavy duty brackets for a cooking/area there someday. Would be cool to see what I'm up against from the Horton factory.

That's what I'm thinking too. I actually am considering some kind of fold away chair too. I keep my spare tire there, and with a blanket on top and a bouldering pad against the wall it's actually more comfortable than the crew chair in the back. On the road trips I've taken where our group was three people it's been great because it gives the third person a place to sit where they can still talk to the driver/front seat passenger.

I'll take a picture tonight when I get home and post it tomorrow, the cabinet actually comes out fairly easily, and it just sits against the aluminum wall "studs" and on top of the plywood sub-floor. I can get a shot of my battery that you asked for in my thread as well.

It's great having another person with essentially the same vehicle... you're collection or Horton documents has helped me a bunch so I'm glad to return the favor.

 

[tmo2460]

Shots of the cabinet space.... I forgot to take a picture of the battery box again.

Spare tire mode:



Empty:


Pass Turned Around:



I've been having an issue with my module disconnect lately that I'm curious if you also have.

If the engine is not running, and you have the module powered (disconnect switch on) after 4min 45sec the module disconnect solenoid will automatically pop off. You have to re-cycle the module disconnect switch on the front panel to get it to come back on. It does this even when using shore power. Its pretty frustrating if I'm out working on something or hanging out in the back while parked. I tried a bunch of different options on the System 2000 with no luck. I'm wondering if yours does the same thing, and if its just the way the system is set of from the factory. If I can't figure it out I'm thinking about adding a separate physical switch in parallel with the module disconnect solenoid to force the module to stay powered on when parked with the engine off.