Ambulance Conversion Questions.

[Ark]

Hello Everyone,

Recently me and my girlfriend have decided to travel. We are both in the early stages of transitioning into careers that will allow us to work online and continuing our education online. We are fortunate enough to have our own home, and a rental property for monthly income as well.

However, we have decided to just go all out, and travel all the U.S. Our plan is to leave in 9-12 months, and stay out around a year boondocking, parking and hiking, sightseeing and exploring. We will be using both properties as rentals to pay our way throughout the trip, so we will be using our Ambulance as our full-time home. Our criteria were to be able to go out for at least 10-20 days boondocking, but be grid compatible to stop, recharge, refill and get back to it. 

So this week we purchased an Ambulance. It is a 1997 Ford e-350 7.3L Power Stroke. I saw it, runs and drives great, and got it for a steal. Whenever I purchased it, I wasn’t even really considering the current electrical wiring in the ambulance (Which, I should have after years of fire/ems volunteering), I just wanted a good running vehicle with a box that was sizeable for ours designs.  I figured anything else attached was extra at that point.

 

Now, part of our plans for our traveling is to continue school, and work online. We will be needing a somewhat sizeable electrical system to maintain us while we are out. We would also occasionally like to watch a movie or use some electronics since it will be our full time home.

I have started sizing our needs for our solar, however the extras already in the electrical system due to it being an ambulance raised some thoughts and questions.

The ambulance has 2 batteries. One is in the engine comportment, the other in a slide out tray compartment on the side. A 30 amp connector on the side, and a 110 amp connector by the door?

The inverter is a tripp-lite 1000w

It has a Danhard Inc 115 volt Model 50-2000 ac/heater in what appears to be 2 parts to the system, a “control board” with wiring to thermostat, condenser, heater, etc. and what appears to be the actual AC/compressor on the other side of the cab.

Both systems appear to work fine. There is also a volt and amp meter in the cab, when volts start to get low, the ambulance is currently set to idle higher to maintain the system.

That is all I really know about the system. My plan, is to ideally continue running this system off the engine and its 2 batteries and just rewire/move it. This would be my back up socket, and ac that we can run of the vehicle if needed. The rest of the electrical I am planning on running of a solar system with battery bank.

 So I have quite a few questions if anyone has time:

 

1.)    Is the AC or inverter worth keeping? Or should I plan on a new one? They seem to be dated, are they at high risk of failure? Are they going to kill the batteries very quickly if the vehicle isn’t running? Is it something worth the effort to work in my design?

2.)    Is it possible to run the AC off of both systems, were, If the vehicle is running it would run off the engine and its two batteries, and if the vehicle was off it ran from solar batteries?

3.)    A key point to our system is to have a larger battery bank, charge at campsites, and augment our daily usage by using some solar panels. Say in a large 8+ battery system, can you charge them using Rv 30  amp connectors in addition to solar? Would I be able to buy a splitter and charge both the ambulance batteries, and solar system batteries together? How long does charging this way usually take? Can the charge controller be the same used from the solar? Is there one that allows both solar and 30 amp inputs?

4.)    I have been looking for several days now, and can not find any identification markings to find the company that made the back end, any ideas?

5.)    I was told this most likely had duel alternators for both batteries, were should I look for the second one? Or is this not likely?

6.)    Is the 110 plug by the door part of the back cabs electrical? Or is it used to use the diesel engine in cold weather?

7.)     Since I am planning to keep both systems separate other than possibly the ac, is there any reason to use DC items such as lights, AC, refrigerator? Is this just because you don’t get loss in converting from ac to dc? My thinking here is to calculate the cost and if DC items are cheaper since they are more effective to use them. But if the price difference for ac is cheaper, and offsets my cost enough to expand my battery or solar panels, it may be better. Since from what I’ve seen so far, RV related appliances/equipment is often more expensive than comparable “tiny home” style regular AC appliances. Any thought?

Is there any other advice, sages to guide me to, tips, tricks, don’ts, you guys have?

Cheers,

Airrick

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums. I'll address the questions which you ask that I feel qualified to answer.

3 hours ago, Ark said:

1.)    Is the AC or inverter worth keeping?

I do not have a great deal of experience with this issue but keep in mind that power in watts is amps times volts so when you use an inverter to convert 12V-dc electricity to 120V-ac power you will need 100a from your battery to supply only 10a of 120V-ac electricity so batteries are a major consideration.

3 hours ago, Ark said:

2.)    Is it possible to run the AC off of both systems,

That isn't possible unless you have a unique air conditioning system for ambulances. Automotive air conditioning is powered directly by the engine and RV air conditioners are powered by 120V-ac electric motors. I suspect that your ambulance has only automotive type of air conditioning, but larger than most cars or trucks.

3 hours ago, Ark said:

7.)     Since I am planning to keep both systems separate other than possibly the ac, is there any reason to use DC items such as lights, AC, refrigerator?

The reason that RVs have lights that operate on 12V-dc power is to allow them to be used without any connection to shore power (120V) and avoid the need for an inverter. The same is true for the RV type refrigerator except that they also are able to use propane as a primary energy source. Today, more and more RV builders are putting in a household type refrigerator and an inverter to power it because they have become far more power efficient. Most RVs still have a water heater and furnace that use 12V power for their control systems and propane for heat. Many RV water heaters are also capable of powering from 120V for heating and there are aftermarket add-on devices to use 120V for heat from a furnace but both still use 12v to power their controls. 

4 hours ago, Ark said:

Is there any other advice, sages to guide me to, tips, tricks, don’ts, you guys have?

Before you go any farther, take the time to read Mark Nemeth's article The 12V Side of Life.

[Devilishjim]

Make sure you keep the defibbilator hooked up

 

[Ark]

Kirk, Thanks for the reply and info. The link is also very, and answered a few side questions I had as well.

From my continue research, the inverter and ACs generally used in ambulances last about the life of the bus depending on the abuse but were really made for that purpose. I read they also have high surge protection because it is a medical grade inverter and sockets. Also, the AC is custom made automotive style unit, just about 3 times as large for the unit in the back of the cab, then a regular AC unit from ford in the front.

Do to this,
What I've decided to do is just keep the existing batteries, AC, plugs, and inverter. I will move them so the inverter, AC unit, and inverter are all in one compartment, and the "back cab" battery will just be in the compartment with my "solar" batteries for proper venting and storage. This will allow me to use the AC in the back as intended off the engine and cab batteries while in motion and give me an "emergency" plug or two that can be used from the engine at the cost off diesel while high idling.

I will just have 2 shore hook ups. One for the cab, and its two batteries that is already installed. The second, will be used to plug into my solar system while on grid.

I am debating on purchasing a small RV Air conditioner, or just using a small stand up unit, for really hot days in the south that could be used from the solar. Is this extra hassle worth it? I could easily attach to the existing air ducts. But I don't know if the amount of diesel while idling would be to much, or what limitations on running during the night, or for 2-3 hours at a time are at camp sites, parks, boon-docking locations, etc. Any insights? I watched a video and one guy said it uses less than .5 a gallon per hour while idling even with the high idle does this seem correct?

Devil, unfortunately it didn't have one. Did get some new pillow cases, and the spit suction still works

[Erika]

Hi there, im finding it really hard to find ambulance conversion forums so I hope someone reading this may be able to help. I have a 2009 Chevy 3500, duramax 6.6 and have a question. How do I disable the door open indicated light on the dash? I want to park and leave the doors open but there are 2 lights, one for back door and one for side door, and they're pretty big for dash lights! I don't want anything draining the batteries, I want to conserve all the power I can.

Any suggestions appreciated!!

[lappir]

On 7/20/2021 at 9:15 AM, Erika said:

Hi there, im finding it really hard to find ambulance conversion forums so I hope someone reading this may be able to help. I have a 2009 Chevy 3500, duramax 6.6 and have a question. How do I disable the door open indicated light on the dash? I want to park and leave the doors open but there are 2 lights, one for back door and one for side door, and they're pretty big for dash lights! I don't want anything draining the batteries, I want to conserve all the power I can.

Any suggestions appreciated!!

Most likely there is a switch that pops out when you open the door turning on the light. All you have to do is find something to hold the button in and your light should go off. It may not be easy though. Finding the fuse to that light might work but it may also shut off something else that you don't want to shut off. Removing the bulb is another possibility, but again might be more work than it's worth.  

 

Good luck, 

Rod

[Kirk W]

On 4/29/2018 at 6:33 PM, Ark said:

I watched a video and one guy said it uses less than .5 a gallon per hour while idling even with the high idle does this seem correct?

Sorry to have been so slow in responding, but I was on the road for more than a month and missed your post. If you are still checking in, the answer is that the half gallon per hour at idle is likely true as most RV generators use no more than 1 gallon/hour under full load.

[mptjelgin]

2 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Sorry to have been so slow in responding, but I was on the road for more than a month and missed your post. If you are still checking in, the answer is that the half gallon per hour at idle is likely true as most RV generators use no more than 1 gallon/hour under full load.

Really slow. You answered a post from 2018!!