My next project, E350 Ambulance???

[Abitibi]

Hey guys,

I tried fighting it but it's a lost battle, the SUV thing isn't for me and soon enough I will be parting from my highly modified '93 Nissan Patrol.

I've had a few VW bus and those were the good years, also had a 4x4 Mitsubishi Delica that was a lot of fun and practical. Now I'm with the Patrol, next one will be larger. I thought of the Mitsu Fuso but that's getting a bit too much. Tempting but big $$$ and big footprint. The Syncro are also amazing but I can't justify their pricetag.

Sooooo, it's between a E350 van or the ambulance version. I'm leaning towards the ambulance as its only 4 or 6" wider, about the same length as the EB E350 and about 16" taller, tall enough so that I can stand inside (yes, I'm vertically challenged :ylsmoke the regular van would probably end up with raised roof but that's an extra cost...

Another good thing for the ambulance is that I can get them pretty cheap at the local auctions with under 180k miles for a 2001-2003 E350 7.3

Either way, it will get converted to 4x4, will run on veggie like all my other trucks and will get camperized. I usually travel with my two young boys (4 & 6), we might even have met at the last Expo in Flagstaff? That's where the ambulance body gets even more interesting as the boys do take a lot of extra space!!!

One question though. For those of you lucky enough to have already converted an ambulance, when hitting the trails is there any issues with body flex or flex between the cab and the ambulance box?

And any suggestions/advices would be greatly appreciated for this project! I'm in the planning phase right now, doing all my research, trying to figure if its better to have 4x4 with leafs or coils at the front... But the biggest hurdle has been crossed, my lovely wife disagrees with the project but still gave me the green light! :victory:

Here's a few pictures 'cause a post without pictures is worthless ;-)

My current Nissan Patrol:





And since it's Christmas...
The Patrol at our local Toy Run


And the Delica a few years ago





Now this is what a plan to work on for my next Expo rig...


Thanks everyone, cheers!
Mr. D

 

[loren85022]

I like ambos but seating for four I haven't seen. Aside from seating, windows would seem important for all. When we roll, we love the bed in van with boys in RTT. But that said, I think Chris' last Ambo was amazing. Do it.

 

[bknudtsen]

I am sure that you have already seen this thread, but just in case...

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/63380-AmboVan-Restarted?highlight=ambo

I highly recommend a leaf spring front, as most guys that try a lift on a coil front end up with some form of death wobble. Stockish ride height on coils is usually not a big deal, but leafs allow you to move the axle forward a bit which will improve turning clearance and stability. And lucky for you, our forum sponser, Chris at UJOR has everything you need.

Do you plan on keeping a dually rear, or going the SRW route? As far as rear seating goes you have many options depending on the layout and window placement. The nice thing is that the ambo bodies were built with the idea of transporting people rather then cargo, so the structure is already there. Good choice! Let's do this! I mean... go for it!

Brad

 

[Abitibi]

Hi,

What would cause the death wobble on coils vs leafs? I haven't hears of this issue on newer trucks with coils, is it the lift involved?

The back will get converted to a single. The newer wider axles can't hurt and avoid the use of spacers.

As for inspiration, it started when my german friend Felix came back from the Abenteuer & Allrad show couple years ago, all the pictures he took got me dreaming, and thinking...

Then I stumbled across some Expo member's projects... The link you posted above along with this one,
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/34160-The-Ute-amp-Intro-_-E350
I still can't wrap my head around all the work these guys have done!!! There's also the MegAmbo on Ujoint site, impressive.
http://www.facebook.com/Six13Metalworks/photos_stream

I'd be tempted to get it converted right away but it might be smarter to build the camper first so the lift could be better dialed with realistic final weight?

I'm REALLY looking forward to this new project! It will be sad to let go of the Patrol as it's an amazing 4x4...but c'est la vie!

Cheers
Mr. D

 

[ujoint]

Flex will depend on the box manufacturer. MegAmbo has a really strong box that has no flex between the box & cab, but other manufacturers may. There's a ton of info out there about the different setups, I'm not too educated on it.

As far as leaf vs coil, there are many ways to look at it. Death wobble is always a concern with the coils, a HD trac bar and trac bar mounts are a must if you go that route. I don't see much of an advantage to a coil spring setup on these vans for what they're used for. I've pulled quite a few coil suspensions from 4wd vans and replaced with my leaf setup and everyone is satisfied. The key is proper geometry, a long (52") custom made spring that is made for the weight of each van and a quality shock setup. A 6" kit will see 8" of wheel travel and rides good on & off road.

As Brad mentioned, my setup allows a larger tire with less lift and no fender mods. I push the axle forward 2" to do this and thats not possible with a coil setup unless you cut the buckets off and build new mounts.

 

[sambot]

Interesting option -E450 on ebay

This one is already converted to 4x4. A bit pricy though.
The real interesting thing is the space directly behind the drivers and passengers seats. You MIGHT be able to fit a side mounted jump seat there for the boys. If that worked, then the rest of the coach could be set up much better for camping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2006...o=1&ViewItem=&vectorid=229466&forcev4exp=true

Good luck, I've been dreaming of one, but realize that I'd be living in it after my wife kicked me out for bringing it home.

 

[Abitibi]

Thanks for the link, I never realized they came with longer wheel base? Or is it just me thinking the wheelbase is longer on that one? Too bad it's the 6.0 though, if it had the 7.3 I'd be seriously considering it.

Agreed, that space might work as jump seats for the boys although I'd be tempted to send them a bit further back. I think they'd drive me crazy fighting right behind me... That's the nice thing with that big Ambu box, loads of potential. Personally I think I'd condemn the rear doors and cut a pretty serious angle out of the overhang.

As for living in one if your wife kicks you out, isn't it a blessing in disguise? ;-)

Cheers,
Mr. D

 

[ZukiCAMPER]

The Facebook link above seems to want people to login to view my Ambo build. So here's a little more friendly link. http://www.six13metalworks.com/projects/hd-rv/

As Chris has already said MegAmbo has a very well built box... When I first started building it I re-torqued the bolts on the cab/box interface and haven't had any issues. Not even a squeak... That said MegAmbo is a Wheeled Coach Road Rescue Mini-mod body framed in 2"x2"x .125" aluminum box tubing on 12" centers and the whole body is 3/16" aluminum plate.... Not your average ambulance..

You are definitely on track with doing the complete camper conversion first and then having the springs made.. It's hard not to pull the 4wd trigger but the end result will be better.

Right front wheel is 26" off the ground, sway bar is hooked up and it would've flexed further but my forklift wasn't strong enough to pick up anymore of 6 ton MegAmbo...

 

[Abitibi]

Thanks for the info and updated link jmarquand. I've never seen an ambulance doing the queen flex ramp, pretty impressive for such a rig! Must be a challenge getting into that thing! ;-)

Seems like you got yourself a very sturdy box. The one I'm looking at has a similar construction but possibly not as over killed, here's a few interior pictures where the cab meets the box:





The main difference between this ambulance I'm looking at and most I've seen on Expo is that the edges and corners are all rounded. Makes it look a bit less boxy but might end up being more work when modifying the box. I like that the box isn't much wider than the actual cab, maybe 3" wider on each side...

I don't think I'd keep much if any of the existing cabinets, I'd strip it bare and start from scratch.

Cheers
Mr. D

 

[hobietony]

Regarding wheelbase...

Every 450-level ambo I looked at was a 158" wheelbase (the long one). I dont think you want a long wheelbase unit if you are going to actually use it off-road, and install singles on the rear. You stated that you are looking for the narrower box, and want a SRW rear axle, so what I think you are looking for is a 'mini-mod' style of ambo - short 138" wheelbase, narrower box, usually single rear wheel.

http://ambulancetrader.com/viewAds.cfm?typeCat=Mini Mods

As far as that unit you are looking at, the construction seems a bit funky compared to MegAmbo and mine, those roundy corners look more like motorhome construction,although maybe I'm just not getting a good view of it. The wheelbase looks like the long one - the plate on the door should give the wheelbase number.

I'd look around at AmbulanceTrader.com and similar, and look at the coach bulders that they list. Wheeled Coach, Taylor Made, Horton are some of the more well regarded brands

Finally, as I stated in your thread in the Truck section, if you are not looking to raise the roof, I'd try to use as much of the existing cabinetry as you can - the bench and the jump seat always have seatbelts installed, so you can strap in the passengers. Of course, if you really want to strip out the inside, more power to ya!

T

 

[Abitibi]

I've never taken a RV apart so have no idea how this particular model compares but it looked pretty sturdy. It just would be a lot easier to get it locally, have the ability to inspect it before bidding on it than buying unseen across the border plus the cost involved to pick it up... Here's a few more pictures of the interior construction. The tubes are about 1 3/4" x 3/4" welded on a sheet of approx. 3/16".



And there's no way I'm not gutting it once I get it. I'm planing some major changes and trying to use the existing cabinets would limit me too much. This is what it looks gutted:




One nice extra is that they come with a small compressor. It might be too small but I'll search for info on it...



In the next few post I'll start a list of parts I either have waiting to be installed or that I'm thinking of getting. The planing phase is just as exciting as the building one! Every vehicles I've owned we're heavily modified, this one won't be an exception...

Let me know if these pictures of the shell look sturdy enough...

Thanks again for all the inputs!

Cheers
Mr. D

 

[hobietony]

That is all welded aluminum, looks sturdy enough.

That compressor looks like it is for the vomit-sucker, so you got that going for you also.

 

[Abitibi]

Cool, thx.

Have you posted a build thread of your beast yet? I think a lot of people would enjoy it...

Cheers
Mr. D


Sent from my iPorn using Tapatalk

 

[bknudtsen]

Cool, thx.

Have you posted a build thread of your beast yet? I think a lot of people would enjoy it...

Cheers
Mr. D


Sent from my iPorn using Tapatalk

Post #3

I am sure that you have already seen this thread, but just in case...

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/63380-AmboVan-Restarted?highlight=ambo

 

[Abitibi]

My wrong, when I typed it I was thinking of the Six13 Metal one... Your threads (the two of them) were the first I looked at months ago!

When I say I'm thinking of radical mods (similar to your roof) this is what I have in mind for the back end... Or similar anyway ;-)



But in a smaller scale! Hahaha

Cheers
Mr. D