Ambulance Camper/ Expedition Rig Conversion FAQ

[rlrenz]

The bulb is actually in a black base that plugs into the white socket. Yours look like 50 watt bulbs were used. Your reflector looks in good condition and should be reusable, but I have no idea which LED bulb can be used -- I replaced my entire fixture with Whelen 900 LED units. You might search on www.elightbars.com for ideas. Best of luck

 

[Bikersmurf]

Greetings,
I've read thru the forum but still have a question about replacing the exterior halogen bulbs on the sides of the van.

Here is what I'm working with:
View attachment 784359View attachment 784360
I pulled on the bulb to see if I could remove them but they seem pretty tight and I didn't want to break them.

My question is: Do these pull out?.. and can I replace them with G4 LED bulbs?
Or do I need to replace the whole assembly?

Thanks!

I believe you should be able to modify those bases to fit an LED bulb. I have information in a thread on here about which LED I used. So much better than the halogen bulbs they replaced. 5 W bulbs threw more light, and more even light than the 35 W Halogen bulbs they replaced.

 

[iggi]

I've seen people glue in new bases to match whichever LED bulbs they preferred.
Personally I've never bothered as I only use mine if I'm trying to find a campsite at night, keeping the deer at bay on backroads or trying to find things on the ground at night. For me, they are never on long enough when the engine isn't running to bother replacing.

 

[Ambolorian]

Thanks for the replies guys!
Good to know rlrenz.. I'll see if I can unplug mine.

I'll search your posts Bikersmurf. I'm using the passenger side for lighting under the awning and will have it on when when we're camping.. so I'm looking for something a little less "thirsty".

 

[Zb1994]

Looking at buying this 2000 F350 7.3 supposedly the motor and trans were recently overhauled. They’re asking 7500. Do yall think that’s too much. It’s a private owner.

 

[iggi]

Looking at buying this 2000 F350 7.3 supposedly the motor and trans were recently overhauled. They’re asking 7500. Do yall think that’s too much. It’s a private owner.

That's a decent price, especially if the powertrain has recently been overhauled. The 7.3 is of course quite durable but the trans is well known for failing.

 

[iggi]

While I'm here on the FAQ I'll add a note about the Powerstroke 6.0 in the Van chassis. I've run the Ambo Conversions Facebook group for the last 4 years and despite its reputation there have been a lot less engine failures of the 6.0 than internet lore would have you believe. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you want one in an Econoline. The cost of labour for jobs that are fairly trivial in the F series (the pickup) can be shocking. I recently had an injector failure. New injectors were 15 hours of labour. The engine mounts had to be removed in order to have enough clearance on the left side. I'm sure a mechanic with more experience on the vans could have done it faster but while my mechanic had done lots of injectors in the F series it was his first time in the van.

 

[KiwiMtnClmbr]

While I'm here on the FAQ I'll add a note about the Powerstroke 6.0 in the Van chassis. I've run the Ambo Conversions Facebook group for the last 4 years and despite its reputation there have been a lot less engine failures of the 6.0 than internet lore would have you believe. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you want one in an Econoline. The cost of labour for jobs that are fairly trivial in the F series (the pickup) can be shocking. I recently had an injector failure. New injectors were 15 hours of labour. The engine mounts had to be removed in order to have enough clearance on the left side. I'm sure a mechanic with more experience on the vans could have done it faster but while my mechanic had done lots of injectors in the F series it was his first time in the van.

So... what are your short list recommendations for picking a used ambo these days?

 

[iggi]

So... what are your short list recommendations for picking a used ambo these days?

It depends on many things.

1) how much will you drive it? People pay high premiums for diesels but unless you rack up a lot of miles or are towing then the fuel economy will likely not make up for the increased costs of maintenance.

I worked out my fuel costs, repairs and maintenance vs what a gas engined ambo would have cost me and over 4 years / 10,000 miles per year I would have been money ahead with a gas engine. If I'd had a full engine failure then I would have been really hating life as a professionally rebuilt and installed 6.0 is more money than I paid for my entire ambo. A rebuilt Vortec or Ford 5.4 or V10 are way more common and less expensive.

2) Do you need/want 4x4? If so, how big of tires do want? Converting the van based units to 4x4 is pricey. Lifting it enough to run 35's or bigger is pricey. UJoint 4x4 conversions are roughly $30k. It can certainly be done for less but only if you're doing the work yourself and possibly cutting some corners. With the F series based it's no big deal to run 37's or bigger. the Kodiak can run 42's without even needing a lift kit.

3) how much of the maintenance and repairs will you do yourself? A lot of people report that's it's challenging to find a shop that will work on a diesel econoline.

So, if you need 4x4, plan to tow and want 4x4 then I'd go with a Type1 (pickup based) or the GM Kodiak.

If you don't need 4x4, want a bigger pass through, and shorter overall length then any Type 3 cab and chassis is roughly the same but stick with a gas engine unless you a) need the diesel or b) are prepared for the extra costs.

Of course if you want to be impractical because it's fun then buy whatever you like, just be prepared for the expenses. When mine isn't in the shop it's a ton of fun and despite the costs I am planning a 4x4 conversion but if I was doing it all over again with what I know now I would have chosen differently.

Hope that's useful to you!

 

[KiwiMtnClmbr]

It depends on many things.

1) how much will you drive it? People pay high premiums for diesels but unless you rack up a lot of miles or are towing then the fuel economy will likely not make up for the increased costs of maintenance.

I worked out my fuel costs, repairs and maintenance vs what a gas engined ambo would have cost me and over 4 years / 10,000 miles per year I would have been money ahead with a gas engine. If I'd had a full engine failure then I would have been really hating life as a professionally rebuilt and installed 6.0 is more money than I paid for my entire ambo. A rebuilt Vortec or Ford 5.4 or V10 are way more common and less expensive.

2) Do you need/want 4x4? If so, how big of tires do want? Converting the van based units to 4x4 is pricey. Lifting it enough to run 35's or bigger is pricey. UJoint 4x4 conversions are roughly $30k. It can certainly be done for less but only if you're doing the work yourself and possibly cutting some corners. With the F series based it's no big deal to run 37's or bigger. the Kodiak can run 42's without even needing a lift kit.

3) how much of the maintenance and repairs will you do yourself? A lot of people report that's it's challenging to find a shop that will work on a diesel econoline.

So, if you need 4x4, plan to tow and want 4x4 then I'd go with a Type1 (pickup based) or the GM Kodiak.

If you don't need 4x4, want a bigger pass through, and shorter overall length then any Type 3 cab and chassis is roughly the same but stick with a gas engine unless you a) need the diesel or b) are prepared for the extra costs.

Of course if you want to be impractical because it's fun then buy whatever you like, just be prepared for the expenses. When mine isn't in the shop it's a ton of fun and despite the costs I am planning a 4x4 conversion but if I was doing it all over again with what I know now I would have chosen differently.

Hope that's useful to you!

If you were doing it over again... what would you do?

 

[iggi]

If you were doing it over again... what would you do?

Good question.
With my Current use case being just weekends and holidays, plus life becoming a lot busier since 2019 I would lean very heavily towards a Toyota Tundra with a slide-in camper. It would be a toss-up though over whether a small trailer would be a better choice. That's a tough call for me as when I'm on a road trip I really like having just a single vehicle to manage. With weekend and extended weekend trips then I usually go to a single destination and in that case, being able to drop the trailer at camp while driving to the climbing crag or mountain bike trail is an advantage.

With my previous expectations of living part time in it, then a full size van makes more sense but choices depend on budget. With budget not being a major concern I'd lean to a Transit AWD. With a budget I'd probably go with a used full size 1 ton truck and a large slide-in camper.
A big part of my bias towards a truck is the 4x4. There's lots of great 4x4 access camping here in Western Canada, however there are few stock van platforms that I feel are both durable and low maintenance enough to for a steady diet of forestry roads and such. If my use was mostly pavement then my choices would be different.