This $135,000 Old Diesel Ambulance RV Somehow Has An Entire Apartment Inside It

Just about everything seems far too expensive nowadays and RVs are no exception. It doesn’t help that spending that money doesn’t guarantee a good experience or even a shower. One alternative is something like this custom build, which still hits a mouth-watering $135,000. This one’s an old ambulance, which you might not expect much out of, but this build looks so good and somehow managed to fit more or less a studio apartment in a small space. It might be worth the price. Maybe.

I’ve said it before, but I love the world of custom RVs. The companies based in Indiana love to crank out slightly different flavors of the same boring thing but custom rigs are limited only by their builders’ skill and budget. School bus RV conversions are common as are coach bus conversions, but it’s exciting to see what people can do with other commercial vehicles and emergency vehicles.

The humble ambulance seems to be an underrated vehicle to convert into an RV. These vehicles are built to be sturdy and long-lasting, two traits you also want in an RV. They also already have nice entry doors, storage solutions, and “house” power often built right in. I’ve seen a lot of ambulance conversions over the past few years, but this one by NüAbode might be one of the most comprehensive ambulance conversions I’ve seen in a while.

The NüAbode story starts with a couple, Sheena and Jason. As Dwell writes, the couple loved traveling the country and wanted to pick up their stakes to move somewhere. But they loved so much of America they couldn’t just decide on a single place to set their lives down. Naturally, this led to an ambitious conclusion. Sheena and Jason could abandon the monotony of being stuck in one place and hit the road, making their address wherever they make it.

Sheena started this journey by trying to acquire one of many RVs she saw online, but she missed out on each and every example. Finally, she landed on an old 1975 Airstream Overlander that had been abandoned. The couple then spent 18 months turning the trailer into something new with Sheena saying she designed every inch of the RV. Mavis The Airstream was born and within short order, the stunning trailer was featured in popular RV and tiny house magazines.

The thrill of the build was enough that Sheena partnered up with an experienced homebuilder, Mark Lutes, to create NüAbode in 2017. At NüAbode, Sheena applies her touch to bring a customer’s vintage RV to the modern day. While the Atlanta-area company primarily works on customer builds, it also sells the occasional unit and that’s what we’re getting here with this 2004 Ford E-450 ambulance build.

Overlandbulance

NüAbode says this conversion was built with luxury in mind, but it also has an overland theme as well. Sadly, the company doesn’t say anything about the ambulance’s past, but NüAbode does say it took two years to build a camper out of it.

The base vehicle here is a 2004 Ford E-450, which comes from the fourth generation of the E-Series, which started in 1992 and continues today. The important part about the cutaway van underneath is that it’s powered by Ford’s infamous 6.0-liter Power Stroke V8 diesel engine. This was the engine that replaced the legendary 7.3-liter Power Stroke and while the 6.0 is more powerful than the 7.3, it is notorious for eating up its owner’s wallet. From my retrospective:

Perhaps the biggest problem with the 6.0 and the VT 365 comes from the engine’s torque-to-yield head bolts. The bolts are a sizable 14mm, but there are only four bolts per cylinder, compared to the six bolts per cylinder found in the 7.3. Unfortunately, the cylinder pressure under the head is a lot, and has been found to stretch the stock bolts, leading to an eventual blown head gasket. Reportedly, this happens most often with modified engines, but has happened with stock engines as well.

While blown gaskets are an infamous problem with the 6.0, it’s not the only source of headaches. The oil cooler is another problem child. It’s located at the front of the lifter valley and integrated into the block itself. This cooler is a critical component because it cools the oil that runs the high-pressure oil pump, the oil that runs the injectors, the oil that cools the turbocharger, the oil lubricating the engine, and the oil cooling the EGR cooler. That’s a lot of important parts that depend on the oil cooler.

Sadly, the 6.0’s oil cooler is known for plugging up, which has a cascading effect of allowing the oil in all impacted components to reach dangerous levels. The resulting temps can kill expensive components and cause a catastrophic failure. DrivingLine notes that around 90 percent of 6.0 EGR cooler failures start with a plugged oil cooler. The remedy to this problem is installing a coolant circuit filtration system, which should catch nasty particles before they plug the oil cooler.

The issues continue from there with injector failures and fuel injection control module (FICM) failures. Thankfully, there are known fixes for much of this. You can trash the factory head bolts for far stronger head studs, saving you from blowing the 6.0’s head. You can also install a coolant circuit filtration system to reduce the chance of plugging up the oil cooler. The 6.0 has been out long enough that the aftermarket has stepped up to the plate with improved cooling parts and even improved FICMs.

This is called “bulletproofing” in the diesel world and NüAbode claims this engine has been rebuilt and then bulletproofed. So, you should be able to enjoy the better power and response offered by the 6.0 Power Stroke, but hopefully not worry about breaking down on the side of a highway. Assuming there hasn’t been a tune installed you’re looking at 235 HP and 440 lb-ft of torque with backup coming from a five-speed automatic transmission.

In terms of suspension, you’re looking at a twin I-beam with coil springs up front and leaf springs in the rear. NüAbode says this van wears BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tires, but the vehicle is still just rear-wheel-drive. The company offers a 4×4 conversion for an unspecified amount of money.

Continuing with the base vehicle, the factory bumper has been replaced with a Move truck bumper with a mount for a winch, but no winch is present. The rear of the ambulance has a new bumper with a tow hitch plus two RotopaX cans for that overland look. The ambulance is finished in Toyota Lunar Rock paint and something I like about the exterior is that it’s not trying to be a stealth rig. NüAbode added some opening windows so the thing feels a bit less like the cold metal box it is.

The interior is perhaps the coolest part about this ambulance. While many “ambo” builds use the vehicle’s existing shelving and infrastructure, NüAbode went its own way, crafting the interior out of CNC-cut birch. There’s a ton going on here, so I’ll just quote the listing:

Interior Comfort:
– Heated floor
– Washer/dryer
– Wrappon toilet with a plastic bag system that seals waste at the push of a button; eliminates the need for a black tank.
– Full custom shower with pass-through to cab.
– Convertible sofa/bed with a power reclining sofa that transforms into a pre-made bed at the push of a button—no daily bed-making required!
– 40″ Projector with two locations for viewing in both sofa and bed mode.
– Roku setup.
– Headboard with charging ports and reading light.
– Multi-zone dimmable LED lighting throughout.
Tea/coffee bar and ice maker.

Utility and Comfort Features:
– 4-stage water filtration system.
– Diesel heater with hydronic floor heat and water-to-air heat exchangers.
– Dometic RTX 2000 12-volt air conditioner.
– Artic Tern windows with built-in shades and screens.
– On-board air compressor.

Power and Electronics:
– 500 watts of rooftop solar panels.
– Four 100 amp-hour AGM batteries.
– 3000-watt inverter charger with smart shunt and solar controller.
– Second alternator for house battery charging.
– 4 security cameras with dual monitors in cab and living area.

I’m not too sure about the shower being the pass-through between the cab and the camper. However, it’s still pretty cool the builders were even able to fit an indoor shower in the camper portion despite the lack of space. Many ambulance conversions just shove a water tank and a shower head outside, so this is pretty neat.

Also really neat is the addition of a washer and dryer combo. Again, ambulances don’t have a ton of space for RV conversions, so I can’t even remember when was the last time I saw an ambulance RV with a washer and dryer.

Other nice touches include a kitchen with a refrigerator, sink, and induction cooktop, plus a video camera system and custom badging. NüAbode also says it went as far as to add more insulation to the cab so the vehicle feels less like a retired ambulance and more like the RV you want it to be.

Like most ambulance conversions, this is best for the solo traveler or for a couple. Adding more people or too many pets will likely make it way too cramped.

Now we arrive at the big question. Is all of this worth $135,000? This RV conversion has been for sale for about a year, so the answer may be that it’s a bit too expensive. As I said, you could get a whole house for this price. That said, I’m not sure what a proper price would be for this rig. If you think you’re a potential buyer, click NüAbode’s listing here.

What I will say is that I totally dig the style, ingenuity, and creativity on display here. I could see someone buying this over something built in Indiana. Sure, this ambulance may be down on space compared to other RVs, but at least the roof is unlikely to rot out a few years from now.

Images: NüAbode