Ambulances for Nomads?

[WanderingCanuck]

I happened across a 2002 E350 Super Duty ambulance parked outside an auction house today.  It isn't exactly "stealthy", but it's got a ton of space, lots of pre-wiring and rear heat.  There's probably a high output alternator and perhaps an inverter and more batteries.

It seems a little old to me, though 300,000 km (~186,400 miles) on a 7.3L turbo diesel doesn't strike me as that bad.  I would assume these are well cared for to increase reliability, no?

I'm considering going to the auction to see what it sells for.  Ballpark, what would you pay for such an animal?  I'd appreciate some tips on what to look for and inspect.

Thanks!

 

[highdesertranger]

here's the one I would look for,



highdesertranger

 

[225digger]

i have been looking at ambulances as well, that one has some miles, but a big thing to consider is most of them have alot of idle time, where they are just left to run for hours/day on end, and that can have some impact on engine internals...but if you can get it cheap and know the risk it might be a good score as most of them are well maintained

 

[Dgorila1]

Most ambulances are driven hard, as in "drive it like you stole it" hard! The ones I drove as a medic in the city weren't retired until they were pretty much all but dead.

 

[WanderingCanuck]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll still go to the auction just to see what a few things go for. But after thinking about ambulances a little more, there's one critical feature that's missing for my climate: insulation. I'd have to gut the interior to install enough insulation to suit my needs, so it ceases to make sense right at that point for me. I'd be better off with a clean slate, and an empty box.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

This EMT tech camped with us in CO and we picked his brain and toured this rig. I believe there is another thread on here discussing this. Large city vehicles are not ideal but the ones out in the country, rural areas can be cherries. This rig sat mostly and he had another for sale like it. He bought this retired unit for like $3k iirc. And they might be insulated if in cold climates.

 

[rvwandering]

Have you seen this thread by Baloo-" My ambo ..."  https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=9569

 I think there's another forum member with an ambulance but I don't know if they have a build thread.

 

[Ballenxj]

Have you seen this thread by Baloo-" My ambo ..."  https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=9569

 I think there's another forum member with an ambulance but I don't know if they have a build thread.

Haha, you beat me to it. I think he has now got other forum members thinking Ambulance now. Baloo did a "lot" of work on his though.

 

[WanderingCanuck]

Have you seen this thread by Baloo-" My ambo ..."  https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=9569

 I think there's another forum member with an ambulance but I don't know if they have a build thread.

Yes I have, thanks. It's without doubt a great build. However, as I keep having to remind myself and sometimes others, what I'm trying to accomplish is fundamentally different than the majority here. I'm going for a rig that's somewhat unobtrusive, comfortable in a southern Canadian winter, and a daily driver. It's a tall order but the plan is coming together for me.

I've checked some local ads and there are more old ambulances around than I thought. Many of them are very cheap, which may or may not be a good thing depending on the why.

 

[White+Nerdy]

I've pondered an old ambulance as well for many of the same reasons - built-in storage, pre-wired in the rear... From the videos I've watched, the box on the back is made of lightweight materials with a strong steel roll cage for protection. There's space between the ceiling and the outside roof. A great deal of wiring is run through here, and it looks like you could stuff a bunch of insulation in there as well.

Of course, one part of the appeal for me is that it's already pre-wired for two-way radios - an excellent mobile amateur radio station!

 

[WanderingCanuck]

Something higher priority came up and I decided not to attend the auction. However, some of the results were posted online and it looks like it went for CDN$1500.

That seems pretty cheap to me, but I have no idea the actual condition. It was sold "as is".