Ambulance Brands

[huzzie59 75]

What Brand Of Ambulance does your service have? Pros and Cons?

[x635 4,066]

I used to be loyal to a couple of different brands, but working in some many different brands over the years has made me feel that each manufacturer has something different to offer. Also, with any brand, dealer service and support after the sale can make or break the purchase.

One of my favorite manufacturers is Excellance Ambulance . They build a very rugged and durable custom module that's life can go on through remounts several times over..

Another ambulance brand that I like is Lifeline. They build a solid module, and are able to offer several custom interiors geared towards safety, like the progressive IMS system where everything is at your reach seated.

Still, my favorite Type II "van" ambulance is the AEV Traumahawk

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Osage.

[McBuffin51 5]

Demers. Take one for a ride. Very safe too.

[antiquefirelt 994]

Demers. Take one for a ride. Very safe too.

Not to throw stones, but how does one determine a particular brand is: Very Safe? Do they offer more safety features? Do more testing? Or have you experienced firsthand the safety?

We have AEV's, specced heavily for provider safety with numerous non-standard features, but in the end we have no proof that they'll be any better or worse. I can conclusively say they cost more. But we're not looking to cut safety to save money, except that it appears the safer patient compartments are not as functional for patient care, which to me is not a place we can sacrifice.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Not to throw stones, but how does one determine a particular brand is: Very Safe? Do they offer more safety features? Do more testing? Or have you experienced firsthand the safety?

We have AEV's, specced heavily for provider safety with numerous non-standard features, but in the end we have no proof that they'll be any better or worse. I can conclusively say they cost more. But we're not looking to cut safety to save money, except that it appears the safer patient compartments are not as functional for patient care, which to me is not a place we can sacrifice.

I can answer that at least for the Osage and their dealer Cromwell Emergency, the "Easy Reach Wall" design allows any provider, regardless or riding position access to equipment without having to remove their seatbelt.

http://www.emsworld.com/article/11263945/ambulance-safety-features

Additionally, in the ambulance we literally just ordered last month, we designed it take we only have curbside outside storage, the monitor useable from the CPR and airway seat as well as angled compartments to prevent head and shoulder injuries during a collision. Other than 5 point harnesses, the Stryker Powerload system and rear facing chevrons, we tried to make this rig as safe for the people riding it is as possible.

[McBuffin51 5]

Not to throw stones, but how does one determine a particular brand is: Very Safe? Do they offer more safety features? Do more testing? Or have you experienced firsthand the safety?

We have AEV's, specced heavily for provider safety with numerous non-standard features, but in the end we have no proof that they'll be any better or worse. I can conclusively say they cost more. But we're not looking to cut safety to save money, except that it appears the safer patient compartments are not as functional for patient care, which to me is not a place we can sacrifice.

Luckily I haven't had the experience being in any crashes. Demers from what I hear builds to the higher canadian spec & actually tests their product to ensure compliance. I understand that AEV uses wood in their compartments as opposed to all aluminum that Demers (and Road Rescue) use. Not sure if AEV does testing. Demers also has the structure within the structure makeup so no individual cabinets are built into the box, so nothing can fly off in the event of a crash.

[antiquefirelt 994]

I'm by no means a fan of AEV, in fact I have little to do with speccing or using the buses most of the time. It does appear I'll have a part in the next one due to some staffing changes, so I'm interested in what's out there: safer, better, cheaper, and all that. We've been running 9 year replacement cycles for the last 4 and none have been reliable in year #9, but alas, mostly issues with the Ford chassis.

[Idlewild 0]

I'm by no means a fan of AEV, in fact I have little to do with speccing or using the buses most of the time. It does appear I'll have a part in the next one due to some staffing changes, so I'm interested in what's out there: safer, better, cheaper, and all that. We've been running 9 year replacement cycles for the last 4 and none have been reliable in year #9, but alas, mostly issues with the Ford chassis.

Depends on what your definition of safer is? Based on my experience, any manufacturer can give you 5 point harnesses, forward facing seats, custom cabinet configurations with everything facing you... Etc. My specific version of safety centers around Structural verification and Occupant safety. For that, Horton right now, IMO, is leading the pack based on the information out there on manufacturers websites and comparable info we had from the reps. The Horton also had the best ride by far.

Everyone's experiences may be different. These were just my personal views. All the main manufacturers have a Rep here in NY so you should just call everyone in and see for yourself. You might like a different one. That's the beauty of all this.

[EMT111 149]

Horton, Osage, PL Custom, and AEV. The current Horton 2007ish) is one of the worst rigs I've ever ridden in, have had everything happen from having cabinets flying open and launching their contents across the patient compartment, cabinets that lock themselves, electrical system that completely shuts off in the middle of calls and requires a restart of the rig, we even had to send it back to Horton so they could take the box off and reweld the cracking frame. The Horton we are getting rid of though (2001) is perfectly fine, no issues. Can't really anything about the PL custom yet since it's not in service yet, but the demo rig PL brought down when the truck committee was looking at rigs rode beautifully.

[sympathomedic 383]

I find PL Custom and Braun to be very good. Any builder can aquire a lemon chasis and build a nice truck on it.

Electrical systems have come a long way, especially with LED lighting taking less power. With the federal KKK requriements having expires, there are a LOT of cool efficient ans safer designs coming. DO NOT get mired in tradition; it only impedes progress.

Stuff I would focus on: Real seatbelts that are easy to use. That means the harness type that buckle in front and have room to let the crew move. Seatbelts will save you more than anything and face it, most of us just don't use them. EMS folks who die either get hit at the scene, or die in the ambulance, unrestrained.

Get the best available hardware for the exterior compartment doors. Cheap hardware breaks and takes trucks out of service.

Same for interior compartments, and MAKE SURE you get harware that snaps shut hands-free when you shut the compartment door. It SUCKS to have doors banging back and forth open while driving and you are grabbing stuff. If the hardware latches self-lock, then you just push the door shut and it stays shut, like a refrigerator.

Get the thicker plexiglas interior doors, and full length handles.

PL custom makes a nice cage for the on-board O2. It allows for a very secure tank but one single easy-open latch to change the tank. Those three strap deals that self-loosen totally suck, as do the three split-metal rings that never match up and you lose the nuts when you open them.

Get LED interior lighting, a timer for doing rig checks and another timer that shuts it all off after 10 minutes of the engine being shut. No coming out after a bad job and finding your truck dead in the bay.

Why oh why do so many squads put the portable suction deep deep inside the rig? If you need it, you are OUTSIDE the rig. Mount it where you can get it while standing OUTSIDE the rig.

See if the dealer will give you a spare rig for long OOS periods. If they won't, ya gotta wonder why they won't back up what they are selling you. Ask for references you can call.

Install external speakers for your radios and put them on the bulkhead behind the driver facing forward. The folks in the cab need to hear radio traffic; for they guys in back it is just a noisy distraction.

Good luck.

Bill

[BCFire05 83]

I'm in Texas, a good majority of agencies here use Frazer. I've been working out of one for years and I personally love it. A generator ambulance is kind of love or hate, but Frazer boxes have a very good life span. We have at least 2 boxes that are on their 5th or 6th remount.

I've rode in Osage, Road Rescue, and a couple others, but for me personally, they rode horribly. That could be just how they were specced, but we're talking just hitting a small bump in the road made you feel like you were gonna break your back.

I've worked out of a Demers Sprinter, I can say as far as a sprinter goes it was nice, I just prefer the room of a full size box with access to both sides of the patient.

Most of our fleet is AEV Sprinters except the CCT trucks. The first batch of sprinters were absolute crap. luckily the company and AEV heard our complaints and the current units are far better and roomier for the most part.

I've heard good things on Horton and Braun.

Excellance isn't too bad either.

In the end, it really just comes down to preference, who can meet your needs / wants, and how you spec it. Look online, YouTube, google, recent delivery pages, see stuff that catches your interest.

Frazer occasionally highlights some units on their YouTube and Facebook page,

[sympathomedic 383]

Boxes on their 5th or 5th chassis? Holy Cow, what the heck are you guys doing to your chassis in the Lone Star State? Figuering a 3 year chassis life, are you really re-mounting a 12 year old box on it 5th new chassis new chassis? Wow!

[McBuffin51 5]

I've ridden in many brands over the years and although PL Custom looks nice but I hear about how heavy they are, which is a brake killer. A lot of interior is made of plywood too. I'd rather have a well built all aluminum interior such as Road Rescue, Braun, or Demers if involved in a crash.

While I've never been a type II fan we've all had to suffer through them working for the commercials. I do however find the sprinters much nicer to work in with the extra headroom & nicer ride.

[BCFire05 83]

Boxes on their 5th or 5th chassis? Holy Cow, what the heck are you guys doing to your chassis in the Lone Star State? Figuering a 3 year chassis life, are you really re-mounting a 12 year old box on it 5th new chassis new chassis? Wow!

Yeah they get ran. We remount every 250k miles. We do a lot of long distance transfers to Houston, our truck averages about 150-300 miles per shift (12 hours) with around 3-4 Houston / Galveston trips per week. We rack up the 250k in about 2 1/2 - 3 years. The 2 units that are on their 5th remount have been around since the previous agency, so about 12-15 years. The boxes get refurbed as well when they go in for remount. Unit 451 is on it's 5th remount, it's box has been round since 2001 or 2 and is now sitting on a 2015 Silverado HD

[Idlewild 0]

Horton, Osage, PL Custom, and AEV. The current Horton 2007ish) is one of the worst rigs I've ever ridden in, have had everything happen from having cabinets flying open and launching their contents across the patient compartment, cabinets that lock themselves, electrical system that completely shuts off in the middle of calls and requires a restart of the rig, we even had to send it back to Horton so they could take the box off and reweld the cracking frame. The Horton we are getting rid of though (2001) is perfectly fine, no issues. Can't really anything about the PL custom yet since it's not in service yet, but the demo rig PL brought down when the truck committee was looking at rigs rode beautifully.

The department I ran with back in CT before I moved to NY had an 06 and 08 F-450 from someone (Wasn't Horton I know that) and had the same issues. The 06 had a Monroe air suspension and the 08 had another system... I can't remember the name but I think it starts with a K. It turns out both air systems had caused cracks in the frame and I think both ambulances had to have their frames fixed too. Was that vehicle you mentioned an F series? I wonder if that was the cause also for your department? The squad I ride with now in NY was looking to purchase a new ambulance this year but it was tabled to 2015. We called around 30 different departments in the NY/CT/ NJ area about Horton and never heard a bad thing from anyone of them. I wonder if you were just getting some bad service or maybe the truck was a lemon?

I learned a hard lesson from my department in CT. Always send the trucks back to the dealer. We were using a local guy who really didn't know anything about ambulances and we found we were spending more per month to keep these things on the road because he didn't know how to fix them and kept throwing parts at them. When we reached out to another dealer (not the one who sold us the ambulances) they were happy to fix them but stuff always kept breaking after the fact. Turns out, the second dealer was kind of sabotaging our rigs so we would replace them and buy his. Needless to say, we didn't.

Best of luck with your new PL. If your department is the one I think it is... I saw that new rig on PL's website... looks sweet.