Medium Duty Rigs and Remounts

[bahnrokt]

My agency has a loathed 1997 Freightliner FL60 rig with a McCoy Miller box. It is slow as a dog, breaks far too often and some members are not great at maneuvering a large truck. Our CON has a lot of steep hills and the 195hp engine does not cut it for an Ambulance. We more or less use it only for highway calls and stand bys where we know we dont need to worry about clearances and the extra space is helpfull. The majority of our medical calls are covered by our 2010 E450 Type 3. On the plus side the squad bench is nearly the size of a twin bed, it has air horns which are endlessly fun and it has the storage capacity to triage and package a small MCI( it currently carries 6 back boards. Why? Why not?)

After a series of ill-timed and costly mechanical failures I am working to put it on the fast track for replacement. Since the box is mint, I am looking at doing a remount on a newer chassis. Im looking for some input from anyone that works on a newer Freighliner chassis or any medium duty rig for that matter. Also if anyone has any experience with any remount companies, Id love to hear your experience.

Our rig looks a lot like this:

 

[shfd739]

Is there a reason/need for a medium duty? As you are seeing repairs and maintnance are exspensive along with the replacement chassis cost.

You might be able to have the box reconfigured and remounted onto a new 550/5500 series chassis. They are at the GVW that medium dutys were in the late 90s and can handle the weight.

Or sell that one and start from scratch with a type 3 or new type 1 on a smaller chassis.

 

[bahnrokt]

The old guard that bought it 10 years ago thought a giant rig was cool. Since then its been an arms races as other nearby agencies bought topkicks, internationals and a Kenworth. Right now we have nearly spent as much in repairs on the FL60 as we have on payments for the E450.

But if the cost of mounting the box on a new chassis is less than the $130k for an all new rig and the newer chassis and engines are an easier drive, it may be a viable option.

I doubt this box would mount on a F550. It is much bigger than the Wheeled Coach box on our E450.

 

[Medic Tim]

you may want to look at what Braun has to offer

 

[shfd739]

The old guard that bought it 10 years ago thought a giant rig was cool. Since then its been an arms races as other nearby agencies bought topkicks, internationals and a Kenworth. Right now we have nearly spent as much in repairs on the FL60 as we have on payments for the E450.

But if the cost of mounting the box on a new chassis is less than the $130k for an all new rig and the newer chassis and engines are an easier drive, it may be a viable option.

I doubt this box would mount on a F550. It is much bigger than the Wheeled Coach box on our E450.

The box itself wont fit as it is now but it may be able to be stripped down to the frame and rebuilt to fit a new chassis. From when Ive seen it done it's cheaper than paying for a new, built from scratch box.

For cost it may get close. Figure a new F550 or Dodge 5500 at $40kish plus box refit and you may be ahead cost wise.

 

[Tigger]

Lifeline is now offering even their largest module on an F550 chassis, saw one in person yesterday, it would seem that the F550 has grown a bit over the last decade. Given this, I think your box would not stress the capacity of a new F550, though mounting it could prove more difficult.