Thanks Neal, the pics helped a lot.

I didn't get anything done this weekend but I did take some pictures of the leveling air ride suspension.

Main Tank


Compressor (its to small for this system)


Drivers side air spring and tank.


Close up of Air Bag and leveling valve


Passenger side Air Bag

 

Geez, that thing must have NO ground clearance with that suspension on there...

 

It does hang low but there is no evidence such as scrapes or scratches that it has ever hit the ground. The lowest part is close enough the the wheel that unless your going through mud, there shouldn't be any problems. Here is a better picture showing how low it is and how close it is to the tire.

 

My first thoughts were it is low as well. It does look close enough to the wheel that it shouldn't give you a problem unless you go off-road. Are your tires low or is that ambulance body real heavy?

 

A would guess its a little of both. The tires haven't been checked in over a year but then again, it hasn't been driven more than 2 miles during that time either. I start it up about every 2 or 3 weeks but it does need a little road time.

 

Those air bags look HEAVY DUTY. I don't think you will have a problem hauling anything with that truck.

 

I don't either but I can't find any specs on them.

Some basic calculations show that each bag will hold up about 4000 lbs or 8000 lbs total if they are 8 inches in diameter at 80 psi. A 9 inch diameter yeilds about 10,000 lbs and a 10 inch diameter yields 12,500 lbs.

I need to measure the bags diameter and find out the max psi of the bags and I could easily figure out maximum capacity.


Here are a few more pictures showing the exterior compartments but there is not much progress to report. I removed the interior door panels so I could work on the door latches, redo windows and panels and eventually prep the doors for paint. I would also like to add sound deadening material eventually.

I moved the ambulance indoors to an empty shop building that is family owned. The previous tenant moved so I figured I would keep it indoors until the building gets rented again. Wasp and dirt/mud dobbers were taking over. I must have killed 50 of them.

Side door and lower rear storage


More storage forward of side door


Wiring and electronics access door



A couple more compartments

 

Hey man..truck is looking real nice! You need to make one of those compartments into a working keg fridge! and put the tap inside somewhere!!! That would be sick!

 

I have considered this. If I were to redo the interior, I might put in something that could serve both as a regular fridge and a keg fridge but dealing with the legalities of having access to alcohol in a motor vehicle, even though its in a different compartment than the driver, might not be worth the trouble. A way around this if I did want a keg for a special event, It could be left untapped for transport and then hooked up once at the destination. Otherwise the kegerator could be used as a regular refrigerator.

 

so what ever became of this