Trailer Hitch

[tjbroussard]

Anyone have any experience with putting a trailer hitch on a Type III Ford 350 Chassis with dual rear wheels? We are looking to use one to pull our mass casualty response trailer.

Thanks....

 

[fyrdog]

The first thing I would look at is how much your ambulance weighs. Most of the ambulances that I have been on are close to if not over weight already. Then find out how much your loaded trailer weighs. The towing capacity of the F350 is about 16,000 lbs. That is on an empty cab and chassis. So now add the weight of the box and equipment and the towing capacity will be less. Your best bet is to contact Ford or the company that made the ambulance.

I'm not sure what your budget is but I would try to get a large SUV and then it can be used as a field operation unit also.

 

[jordanfstop]

Your best bet is to contact Ford or the company that made the ambulance.

I'd skip going through Ford. Mostly because they're not as personal, it may take longer, and the ambulance manufacturer has all of that data on hand.

 

[hitechredneckemt]

Fyrdog has the idea a 3/4 ton or larger suv would be th way to go preferably 4-wheel drive depending on the area you live in. Squads are usually over loaded to start with adding the weight of a trailer could be dangerous.

 

[mattulance]

done it before

I own a retired 2002 wheeled coach type I that I use to tow. It can be done but it ain't easy.
most modular units have a 2ft frame extention butt welded onto the existing frame it is not too strong. On mine I mounted a regular hitch onto the stock frame and used a 16" extention, it works for my boat but not for much else.
However mine is a classV 2x2 reciever, i've been told that if you were to use a classV 2.5" x2.5" hitch with an extender it would take more weight. Not sure how heavy your trailer is. I actually worked for ford for 3 years on diesels and can tell you that you would be better off using a f-series chassis,
7.3 vans do not have innercoolers and 6.0l vans use smaller ones and have less boost and hence less power, also the 7.3l 4r100 transmission usually has a hard time in ambulances that do not tow. I would recomend a f-450,or f-550 ,7.3l s are a lot more reliable than 6.0s however the new 6.4s are wonderfull to drive and will tow almost anything they are just freaking expensive. There are companies that make"bulletproof" 4r100s that work pretty darned well even with"chiped" trucks.
The only problem I had was the electrical, believe it or not even ambulance prep package vehicles come with the same trailer brake and trailer lighting equipment as pickups. However if your rig has amber turn signals you will have to use a euro taillight converter. You would have to hookup the converter, then put some sort of restistance (I used marker lights) in parallel with the converter input (velicle harness output) to make the converter work. hope this was helpful.

 

[Anomalous]

Fyrdog has the idea a 3/4 ton or larger suv would be th way to go preferably 4-wheel drive depending on the area you live in. Squads are usually over loaded to start with adding the weight of a trailer could be dangerous.

Plus it keeps your ambulance available for other use.