S250 Military Shelter Camper conversion on military trailer

[WayOutWest]

What excellent work! The electrical work in particular, I always admire people who can set up a whole electrical system. It looks very solid, sturdy, neat. Aesthetically it is not my taste, I would want something in wood rather than metal and more artsy and rustic looking, but for those whose priority is functionality, in terms of accomplishing your storage and sleeping and cooking and fridge needs, this is really very well done.

 

[coultergeist]

Great build, great write-up. Just curious as to the interior height of the ambulance itself?

If I remember correctly, it’s 68 inches high, about 7 1/2 feet wide and 9 or 10 feet long. It’s actually a larger area than the shelter. It is still all original with four litters. Two on top of benches that run down each side. Two more are on slides above them and can be moved up and down. They normally ride next to the ceiling to give as much free space as possible.

 

[coultergeist]

What excellent work! The electrical work in particular, I always admire people who can set up a whole electrical system. It looks very solid, sturdy, neat. Aesthetically it is not my taste, I would want something in wood rather than metal and more artsy and rustic looking, but for those whose priority is functionality, in terms of accomplishing your storage and sleeping and cooking and fridge needs, this is really very well done.

Thanks. I suspect it will acquire some more colors on the inside once my wife gets her hands on it. I’m trying to keep the outside as close to original military as I can to match up with the LSSV and my HMMWV once I get that project completed.

 

[Gofar]

Mounting the solar panels was a bit of a challenge. I wanted to maximize the amount of solar power for times when the camper would be completely off-grid. Six 100W panels covered the roof almost exactly. I didn't want to drill into the roof, so I made an external unistrut framework to mount the panels and rear equipment to. The panels mount to the frame on top. They then go to a solar combining box at the right rear of the panel. Each panel can be individually switched off by its circuit breaker. There is a master breaker and short circuit disconnect. The picture on top was taken with the first two panels in place. All six are mounted now. Also the Charge controller remote panel was mounted near the bed in order to easily verify power and battery level.

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I had solar panels on my roof and used double sided strong tape to hold them in place. Worked like a charm. Can't remember the brand of tape, but got the idea from a long-forgotten forum where someone else used it. I covered the little brackets attached to the panels under which the tape went with grout to keep the tape dry.

 

[Thomas]

Beautiful work. How long have you been tinkering on this build?

 

[coultergeist]

Thanks. I’ve had the trailer and shelter for about a year. Got things moving seriously about three months ago. Probably 90% has been done in that time. Part of the delay was parts. I ordered the batteries back in June and they didn’t all show up for months due to supply shortages. Couldn’t build anything else until they were in place. Also, I work out of town a lot, so it limits how much I can get done at a time. If everything had been on hand or readily available, it probably would have taken about two months to get it to where it is now.

 

[coultergeist]

I had solar panels on my roof and used double sided strong tape to hold them in place. Worked like a charm. Can't remember the brand of tape, but got the idea from a long-forgotten forum where someone else used it. I covered the little brackets attached to the panels under which the tape went with grout to keep the tape dry.

I looked at a bunch of different options. I like the tape idea for weight reasons, but I didn’t want to permanently attach them in case they need to be replaced later. Also, I can use the frame that I built to attach other things as needed.

 

[coultergeist]

Had a chance to work on the shelter a little more. I added a shelf to the front to hold three water cans. The black mount on the upper left was added to hold the Joolca instant hot water heater.