Which Van is the best to use as an AMBULANCE?

[bigcawa]

Doc Otep,

The pulse ox I believe was purchased from one of the local medical supply stores in Manila, which one, I can't recall. It was not overly expensive though. The AED, like most of the major equipment in the ambulance, was supplied by International SOS. It came with spare pads and battery. Ito yata ang medyo mahal.

[OTEP]

Conrico - Ambulance Ford Everest Ambulance Conversions, Ring for best prices, 2009 - cars & vehicles for sale

FORD EVEREST Ambulance Conversion:

[OTEP]

Conrico - Ambulance Ford Everest Ambulance Conversions, Ring for best prices, 2009 - cars & vehicles for sale

FORD EVEREST Ambulance Conversion:

[cripple_rooster]

FORD EVEREST Ambulance Conversion:

This one makes me remember some old ambulances from Brazilian Army


As far as off-road capability and riding comfort go, a SUV-based ambulance can be a good option, but the internal height is not so adequated. I have already seen very few with raised roofs, using fiberglass extensions...

[OTEP]

Let's turn this into a Royal Rumble. What can you say of the following units?

Brand New:
Foton View Ambulance Package (standard wheelbase, high roof)
Foton View Passenger Van (long wheelbase, standard roof) with aftermarket conversion
Isuzu i-Van (have they released it yet?)
Jinbei Haise Ambulance Package (I think it's a standard wheelbase with a standard roof)

Brand New or Used:
Hyundai Starex new body (same as UNTV ambulance)
Nissan Urvan Escapade (current unit we have in the Volunteer brigade)
Nissan Urvan Grand Estate (current hospital unit)
Toyota Hiace Commuter or Grandia

Used:
ex-USA Ford E350 series Type II Ambulance (usually 2000 model). Around Php1.2M?
ex-USA Ford F350 series Type I Ambulance (usually 2000 model). Around Php1.6M?
Hyundai Starex Jumbo (local)
ex-KDM Hyundai Starex Ambulance
ex-KDM Kia Bongo Ambulance (automatic transmission, sometimes all wheel drive)
1997 Mercedes Benz MB100 (ours since it was brand new)
Toyota Hiace Grandia (older body with 3.0 diesel)

Thanks!

[niky]

Haven't driven the I-van (hehehe... "Ivan"), but I've sat in it and fiddled with the controls. Seems about the same as the View... or worse... really notchy gearshift and stiff clutch. Very truckish. I'm trying to get a test-drive now.

If you can believe it, interior trim is worse than the Chinese van. The mall-tour I-van has molded in air vents that are already wavy, just a month or two out of the factory... It really looks and feels like a converted truck inside... just with a stamped steel body instead of an FB box.

Good news: Huge space. Suspension capable of carrying lots and lots of equipment.

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The E-350... absolute love. Absolute beast of a working truck, and really wide, so there's space to move around inside. But crap on gas, obviously. Maybe if you make an enclosure/rack for oxygen bottles, one of them can be an LPG tank stuck to a conversion kit up front.

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New Starex is actually pretty wide and with good headroom (nowhere near as good as the E350), but I wonder if it's long enough for ambulance duty. Drives fantastic, though, even in TDiC form. Pretty practical car.

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Old Starex - Don't they still sell the Jumbo bodies at dealerships for commercial use?

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MB100 is FWD, right? Interesting choice... unlike other box-vans, it has a low and flat loading floor which should make it suited to ambulance use. As long as you're not using it in Baguio. The gear ratios are wholly unsuited to hill-climbing.

[OTEP]

Thanks for the inputs niky!

i-Van: Yep, feels like any run of the mill NKR. Not even sure if it has power door locks (something I find essential in an ambulance). The add-on trim is good by local standards but not so even by Chinese standards. The rear quarter panel also has an ungainly grille to hide the rear a/c which is also mounted kinda too low (same level as the wheels?). The swinging side door might be an issue in confined spaces (it's a big door!) unlike the swing doors on the Ford ambulances which open 50/50.

But I love the space. Enough gear not only for basic and advanced life support equipment but also for fire and rescue gear (if you intend to use it for that purpose).

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E350: Niky, up until recently U.S. federal regulations have mandated diesels in ambulances. Something about meeting underhood engine temp requirements or something especially when a lot of ambulances DO NOT TURN OFF their engines for days on end. It's also the reason why a lot of rigs have engine-hour meters (now standard equipment even on non-ambulance models) to augment the odometers. The E350 is powered by a 7.3liter powerstroke diesel engine made by International Navistar for Ford. Due to the semi-cab over design, working on the engine is total PITA and the passenger side footwell is so pinched. Oh and it's got dual alternators and up to 5 batteries (depending on who did the conversion). The F350 uses the same engine and might be easier to work on from a maintenance standpoint considering that the whole engine is up front.

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New Starex: I bet this one drives nicely. UNTV has 'em so I guess they are workable as an ambulance. Just have not had the chance to look inside. Some conversion companies use painfully thin and narrow squad benches to make space (at the expense of killing my *ss). I asked lui a few months back and they don't sell the old ones nowadays and instead offered a VERY basic ambulance package for the new Starex (which I think is too basic).

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MB100. Yep FWD with tons of space inside. And I know the complete history of the vehicle. We have a local unit which uses lower gear ratios (at the expense of top speed). I've used to to Baguio already and it seems to hold up quite well so long as you don't upshift to early. Other drivers don't watch the tach and play it by ear. Something you can't do to the MB100 because the engine is inherently noisy and sounds like its gonna grenade itself even if you are well within operating limits.

[vinj]

MB100. Yep FWD with tons of space inside. And I know the complete history of the vehicle. We have a local unit which uses lower gear ratios (at the expense of top speed). I've used to to Baguio already and it seems to hold up quite well so long as you don't upshift to early. Other drivers don't watch the tach and play it by ear. Something you can't do to the MB100 because the engine is inherently noisy and sounds like its gonna grenade itself even if you are well within operating limits.

I agree... never listen to the engine of the MB100. Ours used to make it up to Baguio and Tagaytay Highlands although in some areas you're redlining at 1st and 2nd gear. Binabalot pa namin yung shifter ng trapo to lessen the noise. It still one of the best vans for me in terms of space layout. Too bad reliability, when it got old, really became bad... after every long trip it would go straight to the shop for one repair or another.

[niky]

Okay. Have driven the Foton Ambulance, finally, as part of road evaluation I'm carrying out for our hospital director.

Reactions:

The interior trim is better than the i-Van. Which isn't saying much. You'll go nuts trying to adjust the aircon vents because they're very loose (though they look okay).

The gearshift and clutch are as bad as I remembered the passenger View's units to be. Definitely below L300 or KC2700 level, which are the epitome of usability in comparison. Steering and stability are about what you'd expect on a van like this with tall tires. Not any worse than the last KC2700 I drove. The power delivery is punchy, but uneven. Lags down low, then it picks up and lurches higher up.

The rear is high roofed, so headroom and working room are good, despite the narrowness.

The bad news. No ABS. And the brake bias is still very rear-heavy, like the passenger van. Remember our discussion of a while back? I think this picture will explain it all:



That's the rear tires at just 30 km/h, with noticeable drifting to one side. The driver was shocked. The security guard ran over to us and asked us if there was a problem. Me, not worried... I already knew about this...

Now imagine that's at 100 km/h. If you're driving it, Otep, no issue. You know how it is to drive with no ABS and little grip. You'll treat it carefully. But if it's your typical company driver...

We will probably change out the rear tires for grippier Japanese rubber, should help curb this problem in the dry. But I'm going to make a request for a brake bias controller through the Hospital director. In the meantime, I'm taking every single driver out in that ambulance and showing them just what happens if they drive like they own the road. Should be educational.

[OTEP]

niky,

Thanks for the heads up. Loosey goosey a/c vents are a pet peeve of mine. Same issue on our MB100. Probably turned out that way because there was no way to close the a/c vent and passengers kept fiddling with it. Can the vents of the View ambulance be closed? Btw, the View Passenger unit uses a different dashboard.

Would adjusting the load sensing proportioning valve help? That's what we do on 4x4's after doing a lift or any suspension work to retain normal brake bias.

I agree on getting better rubber.

Vinj,

Our MB100 unit is holding up well except for some overheating on top speed runs but I think its something that Jorge (my radiator guy) can work on. We no longer use it for long trips, though. Nothing wrong with it but because our schedules now preclude traveling in one vehicle. hehe.