Worlds Cleanest Off-Grid Solar, Electrical and Batteries in an Ambulance

[@simondabbs6053]

Really great and informative video. You attention to detail is superb.

[@Itmonolith]

Good morning! Thank you for this video and sharing your build/experience. I just picked up an older 94 F350 one and am methodically going through it from engine/cab to house. Mech first. ;-). The electrical is intimidating but as you mentioned I love how well they labeled everything. I'm going to use much of your build in my plan and again, appreciate your help!!

[@kenbartlett6838]

Wife was a medic and is a great cook! We have a toyhauler with the same brand frig 10.1 size on our solar also. She suggests to use the suction port with a tube like aquarium line tubing to suck air out of freezer zip lock bags for food in freezer or refrigerator to keep longer and like vacuum pack, will take us less room.

[@dailydestinations9416]

Hi Ken. Then your wife is in the know about these! Great idea on the suction port! Going to keep it for those high altitude trips and get a tank of o2 for a smooth transition.

[@dewaynefryback6743]

Great info thank you very much !

[@TheMbn1972]

Love the electrical system...so clean!

[@dailydestinations9416]

Thank you~!

[@LorenAlbertsProductions]

Thanks for the great video! It helped explain some things to me that I've been trying to work through

[@dailydestinations9416]

You're welcome Loren!

[@2Ply789]

Absolutely top notch Job! Thanks for taking the extra time for the details.

[@dailydestinations9416]

You're welcome

[@mroe34]

Great rig! Super job. Currently building out a 2002 Ford Wheeled Coach ambulance so thanks for all the great ideas and inspiration (and links to build materials).

[@babblingbr00kie]

Hi, fabulous job. I am sure you did a lot of research on everything you’ve installed on you rig. Your parts list didn’t list the solar panel manufacture. Do you mind sharing info on who manufactured the solar panels?

[@dailydestinations9416]

Yes it took time Brooke. The panels are Jinko Eagle 72 - 400's and you can find them on the web. I'm relatively agnostic about brands as over the decades companies come and go. LG just bowed out this year. Focus on energy density per square foot correlated to price per watt and find an intersection of the decision matrix. Space is limited on most mobile applications. Ambo's have more space and with that, more options.

[@anniewisecarver744]

Are you available for hire to do installs for others? I have an ambulance that I am converting. You do such a good job.

[@MrKeithCronin]

Annie- unfortunately, I'm unavailable. Thank you.

[@anniewisecarver744]

@@MrKeithCronin if I were to hire an electrician, do you have suggestions as to what type of experience or expertise I should consider?

[@dailydestinations9416]

@@anniewisecarver744 well, there are 2 parts: the DC wiring and the AC wiring. Often electricians have a strength on the AC side as it is more common. You could also consider seeking out someone that works in solar with batteries as a suggestion.

[@AubernsRevolution]

Excellent. Thank you. Do you have a link to the 400 watt solar panels you used? I don't see it on the list.

[@dailydestinations9416]

You're welcome. These are Jinko eagle 72 cell 400 watt solar panels that you can find through many distributors across the globe. You might see some that are 390's to 410's as when they flash test them, they might have more or less output. They are 40" x 80" approximately.

[@elaineg4921]

Wow! Amazing job. I have no idea of what's going on with electronics. I'm Starting to wonder if I bit off more than i can chew. Buying an ambulance. I'm getting nervous 😓 about getting things done. Hopefully I can learn from your videos. Thanks 😊

[@stevebrune7968]

Great video! This is helpful for planning our build. What manufacturer did you use for the solar panels? Thanks!

[@dailydestinations9416]

Thanks Steve~! Glad this will be helpful. These are Jinko 400's.

[@stevebrune7968]

Great video! Helps with out planning right now. Question, what manufacturer and where did you get your solar panels? Will be watching for future videos. Thanks!

[@dailydestinations9416]

They're in the video description Steve

[@mroe34]

Can you explain if, in the main electrical closet, you were able to break the electrical power connection from the engine for all of the items and re-direct it to take power from your batteries? It sounded like that was your comment.

[@dailydestinations9416]

That's right Mike. At about 3:59 you will see in the video where the existing red (positive) wire came from the distribution of the original ambo that powered the electrical. At that point I removed it from the terminal post and in its place, the red (positive) wire from the Victron system.

[@mroe34]

@@dailydestinations9416 That is excellent and should save me some overall time. Does that mean that somethings like siren, emergency lights, brake lights, etc. will run off your batteries instead of off the engine?

[@dailydestinations9416]

@@mroe34 That's right. There is a control panel in the center, between the 2 front chairs. Wiring is run from the main electrical box to it and inside the electrical box, there are circuit boards and relays. This means using a relay, you can turn on and off things from multiple locations.

[@KellyStJohn-vt3do]

Thanks for the great video and the thorough parts list as well. I had been planning on building out pretty much this exact same setup (mostly victron-based), but with battle born heated batteries. I am planning on purchasing all of the equipment very soon, probably looking for boxing week sales. I am also planning on installing this equipment in a bit of a non-standard location in my ambo that I don't think I've seen anyone do yet. I'm just measuring out all of the space that I'll need to make sure the placement will work before I commit to that path. I do have one question already...something I spotted early in your video. What is the DC lighter adaptor you plugged into the DC outlet in the rear of the box? I might buy a few of those.

[@dailydestinations9416]

You're welcome. Looking forward to see your creation! On the DC, are you referring to the old school "cigarette" outlet? If so, this is a dual USB insert that they sell almost everywhere from pharmacy's to gas stations and I'm sure on amazon.

[@KellyStJohn-vt3do]

@@dailydestinations9416 sort of. The DC outlets in the rear box of my ambo are not standard lighter-sized DC outlets. They are smaller. I thought maybe you had some sort of adapter that converted those to standard lighter-sized outlets.

[@dailydestinations9416]

@@KellyStJohn-vt3do Just to clarify, are you referring to somewhere in this video that you saw a DC plug for reference or only referencing your ambo?

[@KellyStJohn-vt3do]

@@dailydestinations9416 yes, I am referring to your video at the 7:30 mark. My ambulance's rear box DC outlets are not standard "lighter" sized. They are smaller than standard.

[@reubenj.cogburn8546]

So how much do you figure you had to spend on parts for the complete custom electrical upgrade? I'm guessing a lot

[@dailydestinations9416]

Reuben in the description of this video is a list of equipment used for the solar/batteries/panels/etc. with pricing and where to get them. Yes it was an investment.

[@andrewgeorge6619]

Is there a benefit to completely separating the house and truck electrical, or can I just tie in my battery on the house side if the isolator? That way my house battery can charge off the alternator on a cloudy day.

[@dailydestinations9416]

It depends upon how it is wired and it seems like the Ambo's are all a little different and have multiple configurations. Correct, there is the way to use the alternator, as depicted in the videos connecting to the Victron as it has more than one input.

[@andrewgeorge6619]

My only fear is Connecting too much power to the electronics. But I guess it’s no different than if I was jump starting the car.

[@andrewgeorge6619]

Mine has an isolator but even when I supply power from my house battery I have to trick it into thinking the ignition is on before the boards are powered up.

[@asharobinson2149]

I’m 17 and I just bought a ford e350 and it didn’t come with the other batterys only one small one in the front they took the others out but it still has the inverter and I don’t know if it’s ok if I put 12v li batteries in the place for the others in the back and does the ambulance pull from those back batteries to start or is it possible to keep them separate

[@dailydestinations9416]

Welcome to your new adventure. Without knowing the specifics it is difficult to tell. Many manufacturers did different configurations. For batteries in general, it is better to have them manufactured and out in service at the same time. Mixing and matching can provide undesirable results, like the weakest battery voltage will pull the others down to it. As for chemistry, would recommend keeping them separate from lead acid that start the vehicle. The charge controller has the ability to have an input to charge your house batteries while driving.

[@CihaPet]

Link for "Large crimp tool" doesn't go to a "Large crimp tool"

[@hogslammer3098]

soo, it does not matter if the fridge is ac and it gets sloshed around and tipped around. still working as good as a dc tippable fridge? if no different this is a no brainer.

[@dailydestinations9416]

Good question. It is secured to the wall. In the future it could fail. And for $220 it seems like a good purchase decision for the fridge alone. It is quiet and looks like it is well built. The big box retailers offer extended warranties for these concerns if you wanted to get one.

[@mallorymcguire833]

Will you install mine? LOL

[@dailydestinations9416]

Where do you live Ms Mallory?

[@mallorymcguire833]

@@dailydestinations9416 Southen CA, but I can travel. And I can also pay for help. :)

[@dailydestinations9416]

@@mallorymcguire833 I'm in SoCal as well. Send me an email and we can discuss.

[@mallorymcguire833]

@@dailydestinations9416 I'll message you through FB with my email addy. Thank you