1999 Chevy 3500 Medtec Ambulance Dream Hauler

Hey, my name is KeithJ. Figured it is time I shared. I bought an ambulance... 79,000 miles 6.5 turbo fixed a brake line in the guys driveway and drove it home. So far I have bought 2 batteries, pads & shoes, glow plugs, fuel filter & seals, and a new harmonic balancer. Needs a hitch bolted on and I need to find where ever the parasitic battery drain is but thats about it. I think I may have bit off a bit more than I can chew with this one but its mine now so I am dealing with it. It is probably the most complete incomplete project I have ever had.

Find the parasitic drain? AHAHAHAHA

Ambulance wiring is THE WORST. I try not to look at it on mine, because the rats nest of "professional" wiring just pisses me off.

I haven't seen an ambulance (sample size: 3, I'm an amateur) that doesn't have a kill switch. This, to me, means that they all have electrical issues ;)

All that said, welcome to the ambulance owner club :)

Oh yeah I can see how this thing must have more wiring than a military aircraft in the back. Can you cut off power to the whole medical cabin as a quick fix to save you having to buy new batteries?

Nice tow vehicle, even has cool outdoor "lighting". Tow hitch should be easy, its still just a cab and chassis under the ambulance body, so the hitches should be readily available.

I love it... Look at all the room for tool storage. It's like a portable garage.

Needs new paint job. Keep the lights. Thats awesome. I wish I had that alternator. I see its just a Chevy 3500 up front. I'm sure that wiring harness is a mess front to back, though.

I wonder what all the doors on the side are for, you have to give us a picture tour of all the doohickeys on this thing

I'm with Gameboy on that. Very interested. I've always wanted to fill one up with ham radio rigs.

I recommend installing the "nurse with morphine" mod. It really made the second half of my only ambulance trip much nicer. Fun project.

That tall door looks perfect for a lav.

Sorry for the late reply I have been busy looking for a garage/apartment/job/daily driver. What I have been up to.

I'm not trying to be a killjoy, but have you researched the towing capacity?

That's not a cutaway, nor a camper. It's an ambulance package, and they are really heavy. Their towing capacity may be limited.

Depending on the rear end, I would expect the GCWR to 12,000- 16,000 lbs. If you load those boxes with mechanic tools, you will be pushing 12- 14,000 lbs before you hook anything to the back. Plus, the body already has a generous overhang at the tail- your tongue weight could translate to horrible handling if you are not careful.

What are you going to tow?

An open car trailer weighs about 2200 lbs. A race car can easily weigh another 2500. Even if your GCWR is 16,000, it wouldn't be hard to hit that.

Remember, GCWR is COMBINED weight. That's the truck, tools, trailer, race car, tires, spares, passengers, fuel, and your tush in the driver's seat.

I have done the math and it will be tight. I was worried about the tongue weight but I will have to see how it tows first before going at the back of the ambulance with a saw. In the meantime a diet plan is in the works first is to gut the MDF cabinets from the interior.

And for the record that is definitely a killjoy comment, but it is all for the sake of safety.

One of those would make a great mini camper for one person maybe 2.