Im heading up a committee to find a suitable replacement for my Vol Ambulance Squads ageing Freightliner. We have a 97 FL60 chassis thats a pile of garbage. I shouldnt say garbage, but its the wrong chassis for an Ambulance. Its slow as dog, and bouncy to ride in. We also have a 09 E450 with the 6.0 diesel. But diesels are no longer available in the E chassis
I come to this form looking for some objective information on the F450 and the Dodge 4500. You guys are always on top of it technically and peoole on EMS forums know crap about mechanics. What are your opinions on these chassises for an emergency rig?
My preference is for any of them to be 4x4, have a Cadillac ride and be reliable as the sun with mininal upkeep.
If you guys are going BRAND new, both are incredible truck chasis', if fuel mileage is a factor at all the Ford will be better then the Dodge, replacement parts for normal wear are about the same price for either one. Ride quality is going to be about the same, 4x4 systems the Ford you should (don't quote me) should have an available rear differential locker in it. The locking front hubs is also a nice feature when you need true 4x4 demands. Our fleet consisting of 2007 F350 (6.0PSD), 2011 F250 (6.2 gasser), and the 2012 (6.7PSD) are all rock solid trucks never had any other parts other than normal wear go bad on them, but also I hang Boss V-XT 9'2" plows with the wing kits on them. if you do your own maintenance these new trucks are next to impossible with out any knowledge. Also these trucks are doing nothing but improving on the previous models. My father used to manage a fleet of 3 ambulances, before he switched positions. So I called him this evening for a little more in-site on this question he told me that in the truck chasis' they are almost identical ride to the E series.
Hope this helps ask any other questions you may have!
The county I work in just switched to Chevy 4500 Dmax's for ambulances. They had Ford before and I saw them on the back of roll backs more than I saw them driving around.
__________________
2011 Ford F250 XL 6.2. auto 4x4
dodge has the better powertrain. its just how it is. no ifs ands or buts about that. i own an auto repair shop. im a chevy guy, but when it comes to diesels. i bought a dodge. because no one can touch them,.
we have all three trucks that you ask about as amblances used in fire dept operations. We have two frieghtliners as you talk about the problem we have also seen the ride problems but for the trucks holding up they are the way to go.Fire dept Call volume 4000 calls per year 1 is 12 years old the other is 5 years old. My vol dept has an 2000 f550 4x4 6.0 motor. This truck has had all the 6.0 problems. with lots of front end work to be honest it had more front end work than my plow trucks. I think it's all due to the air ride in the rear.Air ride in the rear has been the biggest problem i'm not 100 percent on the gvw is the same as ford as they claim. It also eats tires. After the ford not working out do to excessive down time. The newest is a 2011 dodge 4500 the first lifeline built on a dodge. The truck has been good so far. The biggest down fall is the brakes. do to all the diffrent drivers it eats brakes and they make so much noise after time they just get changed to stop the noise. Dodge is unable to fix it at this time. it also has air ride again it's weak point with broken links. Overall i like the dodge the best but it's still new. If you want more info feel free to pm me with your contact info to call and talk
shawn
dodge has the better powertrain. its just how it is. no ifs ands or buts about that. i own an auto repair shop. im a chevy guy, but when it comes to diesels. i bought a dodge. because no one can touch them,.
hahahahahahahahahahah your funny.
To the original poster either one would be great. Both are using selective catalyst reduction systems. So for both you would need use exhaust fluid, and i believe fuel economy should be similar. Buy the one with a better deal spend tax dollars wisely!
There is an ambulance company in Madison WI that has been buying new E-Series with V10's and they have been great. So I wouldn't count the e-series out yet if you guys liked them in the past. Ambulances are no longer required to be diesel powered.
KKK specs say's nothing about fuel gas or diesel. The only mention is you can only have one source of fuel on board. That means no gas can or power tools that have fuel store separate from the fuel tank of the truck.
__________________
CONTACT ME BY PM,CALL 877-361-2227 EXT 47 OR Email FOR CURRENT BOSS AND WESTERN PRICINGjimc@esitrucks.com
Check us out on FACEBOOK
You can also text us- TEXT SNOW TO 27126
Thanks for the feedback. Would anyone pick a V10 gas over a diesel for a severe service vehicle with the plan to keep it for 150k?
AMR in my area has cars with the V10 just getting to 100,000 miles. they have had not as many problems with them as the fords with 6.0 motors. The crews don't care but they get filled after every shift as compared to every 24 hours with the diesels. After 100,000 miles in an emergency truck it should be replaced and moved to spare status. Those are pretty hard miles.
To the original poster either one would be great. Both are using selective catalyst reduction systems. So for both you would need use exhaust fluid, and i believe fuel economy should be similar. Buy the one with a better deal spend tax dollars wisely!
There is an ambulance company in Madison WI that has been buying new E-Series with V10's and they have been great. So I wouldn't count the e-series out yet if you guys liked them in the past. Ambulances are no longer required to be diesel powered.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 90plow
Dodge does not use def... Still has the dpf.
From what I have been hearing, DEF will be being deleted from the ambulance package trucks. To many problems with it.
__________________ Triple Threat Services Inc.
Ice and Snow Management
(815) 570-2348 - Voice
(815) 570-2349 - Fax phil@triplethreat.comcastbiz.net
They have a version of the motor used overseas by the US goverment. The change is for fire apparatus only. there have been to many times trucks have shut down due to regen during structure fires. How about that fighting a fire and you lose water because the truck needs to run cleaner!
How could they eliminate it the truck wont run without it.
Just like everything else with the modern trucks, it is all tuning. Give it time, someone will figure out how to tune it out of the comsumer grade trucks.
__________________ Triple Threat Services Inc.
Ice and Snow Management
(815) 570-2348 - Voice
(815) 570-2349 - Fax phil@triplethreat.comcastbiz.net
How could they eliminate it the truck wont run without it.
The hell they won't. Before 99% of the general public was buying the new trucks equip with the DEF Fluid the aftermarket already had tuners out which bypass the need for it and different exhaust to get rid of all the useless crap under the truck.
I know of plenty '11/12/13 trucks that are tuned and deleted, some never made it 200mi off the showroom floor before being modded. They run much better, smoother to drive, increased fuel mileage, and cheaper to run compared to being stock.
The hell they won't. Before 99% of the general public was buying the new trucks equip with the DEF Fluid the aftermarket already had tuners out which bypass the need for it and different exhaust to get rid of all the useless crap under the truck.
I know of plenty '11/12/13 trucks that are tuned and deleted, some never made it 200mi off the showroom floor before being modded. They run much better, smoother to drive, increased fuel mileage, and cheaper to run compared to being stock.
Whats it cost to delete all this stuff? I would like to get a newer one but all the emissions stuff has pushed me away.
Linear Mode
