Antarctic IDI Build

chillman88 · Oct 16, 2017

Thatoneguy said:
Assuming you could find the bolt pattern... Or am adapter...

I work at an industrial fabrication plant. If I can't find the adapter, I can have it made lol

Thatoneguy · Oct 16, 2017

chillman88 said:
I work at an industrial fabrication plant. If I can't find the adapter, I can have it made lol

Well there you go. Unfortunately ever since I moved, I've been kinda on my,own as far as machine work goes. Man I miss having hommie hookups lol

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Thewespaul · Oct 16, 2017

IMO duallies are terrible for off-road, rocks get stuck between your rear tires and destroy your sidewall not to mention all the clay and hardened mud that gets packed in there, some people like the look but I would only want a drw in a 2wd highway towing vehicle

Thatoneguy · Oct 16, 2017

Thewespaul said:
IMO duallies are terrible for off-road, rocks get stuck between your rear tires and destroy your sidewall not to mention all the clay and hardened mud that gets packed in there, some people like the look but I would only want a drw in a 2wd highway towing vehicle

Ya that makes sense. I guess it would depend on how much the owner actually plans on taking that thing off-road. Honestly, it's way too huge for any crawl trails or anything, so the most in my opinion it's practical for is 4wd as you need it on bad and rough roads leading to the trailhead... In which case I think it being dually would be great for the better trailering.

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chillman88 · Oct 16, 2017

I actually toyed with the idea of one 33x12.50 or maybe wider on the back of my dually. I just have better things to spend money on lol

theSHERPA · Oct 16, 2017

Glad to see The Sherpa is getting the help it needs. After meeting Wes and his family, I know my IDI is in capable hands, and looking forward to the point where it is fun to drive and not a white knuckle experience.

Some back story--this ambulance started life as a 4wd cab and chassis and got upfitted (with a twin) by Wheeled Coach for arctic duty in Antarctica. Pictures I have located on the internet show it in use in Antarctica. Somewhere around 2010 both Ambo I and Ambo II (my truck) were swapped for a couple upfitted 4wd red E450 ambulances and the old IDI's were shipped back to California and sold. I purchased mine around 2012 from a guy who found it on Craigslist, flew out to San Diego, and drove it back to Texas. All lights/sirens work!

It originally had some 40 inch tires, but I had some HMMV double beadlocks recentered and it currently rides on E rated HMMV BFG Baja 37x12.5. I did a Reverse shackle swap up front with Superduty V code springs. Although designed for a regular F250/F350, we made it work with the cab/chassis frame.
The front bumper won't fit anymore due to the front spring mounts--with some additional work, I can get the original bumper to fit, and I am looking at getting a JB Fabrication weld it yourself winch bumper kit in the future, and making it work. I also swapped out the mangled hood and fenders for some cheap Craigslist OEM metal. I also stripped out the old ambulance interior, POR 15'd any surface rust, applied sound deadened to floor and cab roof, and reinstalled a decent 40/20/40 ***** red front seat and interior. Gathered up a bunch of parts, and then ran out of time and energy--about the same time I got married and had a kid!

The goal is a reliable truck I can take semi-remote camping, tow my rock crawler or F100 race truck, and also serve as pit/chase truck for my fledgling desert racing team as well as a couple Class III early bronco teams I support.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

Thatoneguy · Oct 16, 2017

theSHERPA said:
Glad to see The Sherpa is getting the help it needs. After meeting Wes and his family, I know my IDI is in capable hands, and looking forward to the point where it is fun to drive and not a white knuckle experience.

Some back story--this ambulance started life as a 4wd cab and chassis and got upfitted (with a twin) by Wheeled Coach for arctic duty in Antarctica. Pictures I have located on the internet show it in use in Antarctica. Somewhere around 2010 both Ambo I and Ambo II (my truck) were swapped for a couple upfitted 4wd red E450 ambulances and the old IDI's were shipped back to California and sold. I purchased mine around 2012 from a guy who found it on Craigslist, flew out to San Diego, and drove it back to Texas. All lights/sirens work!

It originally had some 40 inch tires, but I had some HMMV double beadlocks recentered and it currently rides on E rated HMMV BFG Baja 37x12.5. I did a Reverse shackle swap up front with Superduty V code springs. Although designed for a regular F250/F350, we made it work with the cab/chassis frame.
The front bumper won't fit anymore due to the front spring mounts--with some additional work, I can get the original bumper to fit, and I am looking at getting a JB Fabrication weld it yourself winch bumper kit in the future, and making it work. I also swapped out the mangled hood and fenders for some cheap Craigslist OEM metal. I also stripped out the old ambulance interior, POR 15'd any surface rust, applied sound deadened to floor and cab roof, and reinstalled a decent 40/20/40 ***** red front seat and interior. Gathered up a bunch of parts, and then ran out of time and energy--about the same time I got married and had a kid!

The goal is a reliable truck I can take semi-remote camping, tow my rock crawler or F100 race truck, and also serve as pit/chase truck for my fledgling desert racing team as well as a couple Class III early bronco teams I support.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

Your truck is awesome sir. I'm Luke, the guy that you also met out at Wesleys ranch briefly. If you're interested, I'm a welder by trade and have a fab business... PM if you want and we can talk about maybe a custom bumper for the sherpa? I'll hook you up man [emoji41]

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Thewespaul · Oct 16, 2017

theSHERPA said:
Glad to see The Sherpa is getting the help it needs. After meeting Wes and his family, I know my IDI is in capable hands, and looking forward to the point where it is fun to drive and not a white knuckle experience.

Some back story--this ambulance started life as a 4wd cab and chassis and got upfitted (with a twin) by Wheeled Coach for arctic duty in Antarctica. Pictures I have located on the internet show it in use in Antarctica. Somewhere around 2010 both Ambo I and Ambo II (my truck) were swapped for a couple upfitted 4wd red E450 ambulances and the old IDI's were shipped back to California and sold. I purchased mine around 2012 from a guy who found it on Craigslist, flew out to San Diego, and drove it back to Texas. All lights/sirens work!

It originally had some 40 inch tires, but I had some HMMV double beadlocks recentered and it currently rides on E rated HMMV BFG Baja 37x12.5. I did a Reverse shackle swap up front with Superduty V code springs. Although designed for a regular F250/F350, we made it work with the cab/chassis frame.
The front bumper won't fit anymore due to the front spring mounts--with some additional work, I can get the original bumper to fit, and I am looking at getting a JB Fabrication weld it yourself winch bumper kit in the future, and making it work. I also swapped out the mangled hood and fenders for some cheap Craigslist OEM metal. I also stripped out the old ambulance interior, POR 15'd any surface rust, applied sound deadened to floor and cab roof, and reinstalled a decent 40/20/40 ***** red front seat and interior. Gathered up a bunch of parts, and then ran out of time and energy--about the same time I got married and had a kid!

The goal is a reliable truck I can take semi-remote camping, tow my rock crawler or F100 race truck, and also serve as pit/chase truck for my fledgling desert racing team as well as a couple Class III early bronco teams I support.

Looking forward to seeing the progress.

Thanks man, sure would love to see those pictures you found of it in service at Antarctica!

theSHERPA · Oct 16, 2017

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