One of the best overlooked adventure vehicles is probably the 4×4 ambulances used in some of the rural and mountainous regions of the United States. If you check websites such as govdeals.com and municibid.com, you can sometimes find them with reasonable mileage at really good prices. Sometimes you can even find the ambulance bodies themselves without the chassis. Think of them as a 4×4 RV that you can customize to meet your own needs. They also offer a lot of great storage that can be accessed from outside of the vehicle.
(Ford E450 4×4 ambulance)
Although there are 4×4 ambulances out there, you may find it easier or cheaper to find a 2WD ambulance for your next adventure vehicle. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t convert it to 4×4, if that’s what you really want.
That was the case with this 2004 Ford E350 ambulance. The creator of this adventure (expedition) vehicle used a leaf spring solid-axle conversion kit from Ujoint Offroad. The ambulance now features a Dana 60 front axle fitted with SSBC 8-pistion calipers, Knoll Racing Powerlock, and 4.10:1 gears. Custom Atlas leaf springs provide the rig with 8-inches of lift. Keeping the ride under control is a sway bar sourced from a Ford Excursion and dual Bilstein 5160 shocks.
The rear axle is a full-float 35-spline Dana 70 outfitted with a Detroit Locker and 4.0 gears. The rear is lifted with Atlas Springs 8-inch lift springs, and also uses a floating airbag setup to keep the vehicle level when fully loaded. Twin ARB air compressors supply pressure for the bags and dual air-control valves keep the system even. The ride is smoothed out with the help of (4) Bilstein reservoir shocks.
Splitting the power between the 1-ton axles is a NV271 transfer case (2.72:1 ratio) connected to Ashville Powertrain drivelines. Power comes from a re-manufactured 6.0-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel engine. Modifications include an EGR Delete, Bully Dog programmer, updated oil cooler, dual 180-amp alternators, and a heavy-duty fan clutch.
A Ujoint Offroad front bumper houses a 15,000-pound winch and Rigid LED lights. A 100-watt solar panel is mounted on the hood, and is used to charge (6) Group 31 Interstate batteries.
All of the lenses on the exterior emergency lights were replaced with clear ones. This provides plenty of flood lighting around the outside of the vehicle at night. A Golight Stryker LED remote control searchlight was added for those times that light needs to be directed at a specific area.
A Fiamma F65 Eagle legless 3.0m awning was mounted on the passenger side and fitted with wind sensors. On the driver side, a Fiamma Eagle 66 legless awning doubles as a shower enclosure. Hot water for the shower comes from a Girard tankless hot water heater.
Mounted up high is Honda eu2000i backup generator and auxiliary fuel tank.
On the inside, a custom upholstered jackknife sofa is designed to sleep two adults. To add a bit more interior comfort, an ebonized oak laminate floor was set in place, along with hydronic radiant floor heat. There’s also a 15-inch LED flat-screen TV. Since the bed converts to a couch, there is plenty of room to move around inside.
A kitchen sink was added, and gets its water from a 65 gallon water tank. A Webasto Thermo 90 diesel boiler provides hot water to the camper as well as heat for the rear air, engine block, and floor. The interior also features a glass top stove, microwave, Engle Mt45 Fridge/Feezer, and Therford Cartridge Toilet. A Coleman Polar CUB 9,000 btu airconditioner keeps it cool on hot days.
In the event you get to far from civilization, a Wilson Electronics Cell Booster helps ensure that your phone gets a signal, and a Dish Tailgater automatic Sateliite w/ DVR ensures that there’s something to watch on the TV.
If you don’t want to spend huge money for a Sportsmobile or Earthroamer, maybe you should check out some of the government auctions for your own ambulance project.
This ambulance has been transformed in to an amazing adventure vehicle, but it would be nice to see someone paint one so it looks more like an expedition vehicle, and less like an ambulance.
Photos:
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