Saw a good sign for Ambulance companys today

[Gonzo 1066]

Went past a ambulance upfitter today. They used to have only Ford cab chassis waiting to be outfitted. Today the outside lineup of CCs waiting had LOTS of RAM CCs. I suppose that the reliability of the P/S diesel had a lot to do with this decision?? Would for me. Oo.

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

Fords have been used mostly because they have always been cheaper up front, but the hard reality is that downtime while the cab is off for some minor repair is more costly in the end for a lot more than just financial reasons.

Glad to hear about the Ram CC being in the mix more, but the sour taste from the 6. 0 and 6. 4 having troubles when they are needed the most is a likely reason why private ambulance services, city, and county governments are looking at other viable options. Also the addition of DEF from the other two might just be one of the things being considered when companies or local governments make the decision to upgrade or add an addition to the fleet.

My ex-wife (and still best friend) is currently going out on a cardiac and I sincerely hope the Ford will make the trip once more...

I've also noticed a staggering number of previously 'Ford only' companies in other industries making the switch... Wonder why??

 

[Simplysmn]

Calif has a lot of the Dodge Sprinter van's being used as a Wamblance

 

[Grizzly]

It's about time they use a good truck with a good engine for a reliable Ambulance.

 

[d6c]

ANY emergency services rig is going to suffer with all the emissions stuff under them... . idle time is a necessary evil of the service... .

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Last summer I had a 80 mile ride to the Billings Mt hospital for possible stroke. The fact that I was being transported in a 6. 0 POS Scared the CRAP out of me, i had images of sitting on the side of the road with steam coming out from under the hood!!!!!

 

[AMatsonIII]

Not sure how many but FDNY just ordered a bunch of them Crew Cabs. I hate to say this but We have a Chevy 4500 ambulance at work and on the D)*&^ax Diesels you can manually turn on the exhaust overide feature to clean it.

 

[HBarlow]

Last summer I had a 80 mile ride to the Billings Mt hospital for possible stroke. The fact that I was being transported in a 6. 0 POS Scared the CRAP out of me, i had images of sitting on the side of the road with steam coming out from under the hood!!!!!

That would be a scary trip knowing arrival at the hospital is critical for your future and you're depending on a Sick. Ohh Furd to get you there.

 

[HBarlow]

Not sure how many but FDNY just ordered a bunch of them Crew Cabs. I hate to say this but We have a Chevy 4500 ambulance at work and on the D)*&^ax Diesels you can manually turn on the exhaust overide feature to clean it.

I hate to say it also but I wish our Rams, at least the commercial version ie C&C, had a feature to allow manually activating a regen when I know I am going to transition from steady driving to slow speed stop and go.

 

[AMatsonIII]

I think it would be a great way to keep things from getting clogged up. On the dash you see a green light come on that means that it is in passive regen (while Driving) orange means get out on the highway and run it out for a few or until light goes away. Being an ambulance in the city I find that dropping it in second and keeping the RPM's up for a while will take care of this. And finally the red symbol. Means pull over and Manaully force a regen, which means OOS for at least 20 minutes. If you dont take care of red symbol you have to go to dealer as it puts it into a limp mode

 

[AEdelheit]

I have a friend that is a dispatcher for Ambulances, she said all there new ones are gassers because of the ****ty 6. 0's and for whatever reason they want to stay with ford. Sad

 

[jgillott]

I've worked 20 years now as an EMT/Medic/Firefighter for several companies both volunteer and paid. This particular news story is about what happened to a new Ford unit at one of the local companies in our area.



Fire Destroys Ambulance Inside Mount Pleasant Station - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh





I've never worked for that company specifically, but I know many of their members and have been involved with training, assists calls, etc. over the years with them many times. From what I understand, they aren't the only service that has been effected by this type of problem out of a Ford unit in the last few years.

 

[HBarlow]

I have a friend that is a dispatcher for Ambulances, she said all there new ones are gassers because of the ****ty 6. 0's and for whatever reason they want to stay with ford. Sad

They probably got burned so bad by the Sick. Ohh Furds they blamed it on diesel platforms instead of understanding that it was Furd and Navistar that burned them.

Their fuel costs will be higher and their maintenance costs will be pretty steep replacing engines and transmissions. I don't think the gasser GMs engines or transmissions will hold up very well with all the weight of an ambulance, equipment, crew, and victim to haul around at high speed and idle for long periods.

Its too bad buyers and decision makers weren't wise enough to buy new Ram 4500s or 5500s.

 

[MLee]

I think it would be a great way to keep things from getting clogged up. On the dash you see a green light come on that means that it is in passive regen (while Driving) orange means get out on the highway and run it out for a few or until light goes away. Being an ambulance in the city I find that dropping it in second and keeping the RPM's up for a while will take care of this. And finally the red symbol. Means pull over and Manaully force a regen, which means OOS for at least 20 minutes. If you dont take care of red symbol you have to go to dealer as it puts it into a limp mode

How would it be--If the vehicle went into re-gen on the way to the hospital and it had to be drive around till it stopped--------or limp mod. I can see an inexerienced operator/driver wondering what should be done next.

 

[AEdelheit]

They probably got burned so bad by the Sick. Ohh Furds they blamed it on diesel platforms instead of understanding that it was Furd and Navistar that burned them.



Their fuel costs will be higher and their maintenance costs will be pretty steep replacing engines and transmissions. I don't think the gasser GMs engines or transmissions will hold up very well with all the weight of an ambulance, equipment, crew, and victim to haul around at high speed and idle for long periods.



Its too bad buyers and decision makers weren't wise enough to buy new Ram 4500s or 5500s.

Agreed, My friend said there fuel bills are double and its all because of the 6. 0

 

[JBallou]

One of the main reasons most have switched from Ford is that there is no more diesel option in the E-series chasis, those are the bread and butter of the Aid car and Medic unit biz in my area. The E-series van front keeps the over all lenght shorter, and turning radius short. Gotta remember that the 350 and 450 rigs weight in the area of 9500lbs.



Some have gone to the duramax in the chevy van, but it is derated as far as hp is concerned. Others have gone even larger and use a 5500 international chasis with air bag suspension. Silly thing is as big as a fire engine and doesn't fit down tight driveways, and the ride is got to be less than pleasant. I really wouldn't want to work out of a sprinter van, but then again if no other choice.....



Gas rigs of the E-series is not where we want to go. No gas tank is big enough.

 

[Flying_gage]

I will be interested to see how the Dodge's hold up. Especially with the regen process and inner city type responses.



I know that my dept will be switching into the medium duty chassis market in the coming purchase cycle. As stated above, they are really all that is left (diesel) unless you want to go the Sprinter route.



They aren't too bad for those facing the same. Spent a fair amount of time in two different environments in this chassis. Will say with a 400hp cat/3:30ish gears cruising at 100 mph is not a problem :-laf



In 19 years though, I can't complain about the service the 6. 9-7. 3/6. 0-6. 4 has given ME. I must have just been blessed and/or very lucky!

 

[AMatsonIII]

Alot of our drivers don't understand what the symbols mean. They just know When the REd one comes on it is OOS. When you drive it when it is regening it will just stop when in park. and pick up from there. IF it needs to be done immediately. Oh well just get to the hospital with the patient and deal with it. Since we have had them we have not had one problem with the emmisions. Almost 50k on them and that is a lot of idling.