Any experience with these Mod's? Buying New Ambulance, Looking For Input

[22 Truck 6]

I'm chairing a new amb. Committee; looking for some input on any experience with any of the following (was it good/was it bad?, any comments?):

Looking to build a Chevy C4500 cab with a body containing MUCH customization.

We have narrowed it down to Road Rescue, Horton, AEV, and Lifeline.

Any experience with any of the above 4 would be greatly appreciated.

[ny10570 745]

I've worked in Horton, Lifeline, and AEV rigs and didn't find any real differences that weren't a result of the design process. Here's the thing to remember, any major player in vehicle construction is fully capable of putting out a quality product. The vast majority of complaints I have hear about any manufacturer are traced back to design, build inspection, and maintenance. The issue invariably comes down to what you ask for. If you're going out to bid get a professional involved and make sure you design the truck you want rather than the truck the rep wants to sell. A well maintained box will far outlast the chassis, so spend the time and money to get exactly what you want down the very last details.

[22 Truck 6]

Thank you for the reply....

With the exception of the Horton dealer, everyone is willing to build exactly what we want (and the thought process is out of the box).

Looking to put a transverse compartment in the front of the Mod. to hold 3 backboards (able to load/unload off of either side of the amb.) This is due to our vast coverage of interstate. Quite frankly, I'm tired of my people stepping into traffic on high-speed highways to grab a backboard at a MVA. This will solve that problem.

Also, will be customizing the interior pt. compartment with "Captain's" chairs instead of a bench seat on Pass. Side. Anyone else doing this? This is mainly for protection as well as comfort for main pt. provider.

We had a recent Amb. MVA/Rollover in a neighboring district and are basing much of our thoughts toward the new rig on this incident as 2 medics were seriously injured.

Please, keep the great input coming....

[firemoose827 324]

22 Truck, I have dealt with Road Rescue and Lifeline rigs, both decent. Our Road Rescue we had in my old dept when I was Captain had lasted them a good 20 years, and we sold it to a volunteer agency out of Ohio who used it for another 8 years. They are good solid rigs.

Sorry about not getting back to your question about the chasis from the other thread. Im not much for mechanics but I believe, and dont "quote" me (LOL), its a Ford F-550 deisel. I could very well be wrong, I just take care of patients and fight fires, I dont get too involved with the mechanical part of it, sorry bro!

Good Luck on your future purchase.

[RWC130 594]

Horton!

http://www.hortonambulance.com/

[Bnechis 3,961]

Also, will be customizing the interior pt. compartment with "Captain's" chairs instead of a bench seat on Pass. Side. Anyone else doing this? This is mainly for protection as well as comfort for main pt. provider.

We had that on my HRIT unit (neonates) back in 1985...it was great. Can limit the ability for a 2nd pt. but call another bus.

[Engfire 0]

Horton all the way sorry to hear that the dealer did not work well with you. Horton is a good quality product, but your gonna pay for it, we are expecting our second Horton later this year, ture I may be bias because Horton is only an hour away from our dept and any problems can be corrected by the factory in a timely fashion.

[22 Truck 6]

Good Luck on your future purchase.

Tks.

Ya, we loved the Horton Demo; I wouldn't be the least bit opposed to buying one. While traditionally I've heard that they are more expensive, the figures we were getting were honestly all with-in $4-$5K of each other between the four.

[Guest]

I'm chairing a new amb. Committee; looking for some input on any experience with any of the following (was it good/was it bad?, any comments?):

Looking to build a Chevy C4500 cab with a body containing MUCH customization.

We have narrowed it down to Road Rescue, Horton, AEV, and Lifeline.

Any experience with any of the above 4 would be greatly appreciated.

My old department in CT has been buying Lifeline since 1998. They were Braun then swirtched to road rescue for 1 and I repeat 1 ambulance. he Road Wreck we called it. The Lifeline's have been VERY good to them. The box is built to stand up to extreme duty. They do about 3000 calls a year with the ambulance, and keep them for about 10 years (5 up front and 5 as the 2nd ambulance). Send me a pm and I will give you some contact info if you are interested.

[STAT213 332]

We are about to put out RFPs for a similar truck. It'll likely be on the c4500 series chassis, with three captain type chairs in the back, and all equipment - monitor, drug box, etc - fully accessible from the seat along side the patient. The manufacturers all kinda looked at us funny, but have come back with designs that will work out, we hope...

Rob

[GAW6 66]

I've been in my VAC for 20 years and we always had Brauns until 1999 when we purchased a Horton. BIG MISTAKE - it has given us nothing but trouble, plus the dealer is not around anymore. He made numerous promises to us and he never came through. Our 1994 Braun is in better shape. The Horton is rusting out and has given us a multitude of mechanical problems. Actually, it is being serviced by LifeLine right now, and will be out of service for at least a week to complete all the necessary repairs. We did not go cheap with this bus either, if I remember correctly, I believe we paid about $140,000 back then. We purchased a 2007 LifeLine, and so far so good. The service has been excellent. It was built exactly the way we requested. It did cost us about $170,000, but well worth it!

Good Luck to and your committee Truck22. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to ask!

[Guest]

lifeline is willing to service our other rigs as well. not all companies offer this "one stop shop" deal. this could be a big selling point for us.

sorry was interupted..

anyways we have 1 mccoy miller which is a decent rig for being 8 years old. the problem is, no dealer wants to deal with this brand anymore! our other rig is a PL Custom. this one is on an '04 Ford F450 which is the year they had the problems. stuff happens, but the company did not make it easy for us. bottom line the customer service at PL SUCKS.

right now we are focused on lifeline or horton on an '08 Ford F450 chasis, but as mentioned by GAW6 lifeline is willing to fix rigs that they didn't build, that's a plus

Edited February 4, 2008 by vacguy

[smwells 7]

I've been in my VAC for 20 years and we always had Brauns until 1999 when we purchased a Horton. BIG MISTAKE - it has given us nothing but trouble, plus the dealer is not around anymore. He made numerous promises to us and he never came through. Our 1994 Braun is in better shape. The Horton is rusting out and has given us a multitude of mechanical problems. Actually, it is being serviced by LifeLine right now, and will be out of service for at least a week to complete all the necessary repairs. We did not go cheap with this bus either, if I remember correctly, I believe we paid about $140,000 back then. We purchased a 2007 LifeLine, and so far so good. The service has been excellent. It was built exactly the way we requested. It did cost us about $170,000, but well worth it!

Good Luck to and your committee Truck22. If we can be of any assistance, please don't hesitate to ask!

What are you putting on a rig for $170,000. We paid $120,000 in 2001 for our Horton including most of the bells and whistles (many of which were over the top for an ambulance, like electic window glass, leds in running boards, etc..)