Our Ambulance Conversion! Part One

We’re absolutely thrilled to reveal our next special project, here at Love Campers. We’re converting an antique ambulance! Did you know that company Directors, husband and wife team, Darren and Clara have been without a campervan of their own for the best part of a year?! A travesty that needed to be fixed!

Clara and Darren have been wanting to put some time aside for a personal project for a while now, but with the growing demand for our handcrafted campers skyrocketing over the last year, everyone has been extremely busy getting campers finished to a precision level for our valued clients.

When one of our pre-scheduled, pro-bono projects got postponed, we all seized the opportunity to fit in a camper project like no other!

This ambulance conversion will be part of the Love Campers fleet of show vehicles, to help our clients understand and experience the high-quality interiors we offer. It will be a testing ground for some of our most innovative design ideas, ahead of making these available to everyone.

Who knows, one day we may even sell this rare beauty!

Finding the perfect base vehicle

Darren had been looking for a vehicle for a while, always hoping to find something extra special and unique. The family wanted a vehicle big enough to fit a range of innovative new features that Darren had been dreaming up.

On top of sleeping a family of three, the van needed to house bicycles and electric skateboards to boot!

Darren scoured far and wide to find his dream van, with a desire to find a vehicle that was elegant and rare.

After a lot of searching Darren hit the jackpot when he discovered a German ex-military Red Cross ambulance, manufactured by Mercedes-Benz 507D in 1989.

Unbelievably, the antique vehicle had been stored inside for the majority of its 33 year long life, having only clocked up about 28,000 miles, despite having served as an ambulance back in the ‘90s. Its original paintwork has been pristinely preserved, and it was spotlessly clean, inside and out! This vehicle is a true one-of-a-kind, and is sure to be a show-stopper at any antique vehicle show.

The vehicle specs

Measuring at 20 foot long, 9 foot 6 inches high, and 6 foot 6 inches wide, the vehicle is a fantastic size for Darren’s vision for a family camper!

It features an engine which is known as the Million Mile engine MO616, considered to be one of the most reliable engines ever produced. These engines are a popular choice for alternative fuels such as waste vegetable oil, making it an interesting prospect and a potential eco vehicle of the future!

The ambulance came with lots of its original features such as its first aid kit and heater.

The ambulance conversion design – our vision!

The conversion will include a fixed main bed at the rear of the vehicle with a small child’s room below. There will be a metal locker inside to store Darren’s electric skateboards which are worth a lot, especially in sentimentality! There will also be a hidden garage compartment to store an electric cargo bike so that Clara and Darren can get out and about with their four year old daughter. As the whole family loves to be as active as possible, this van will help them get out into nature and onto their bikes and boards. The family hope to take the van to some wild swimming spots over the summer.

The small snug room is going to be specially designed with a fixed bed below the main bed, and a curtain to make it into a child’s den. There will be some lights inside so she can enjoy being in her little den while she reads her books and does her colouring-in!

What is special about this van conversion?

The van has been fitted with double sound proofing and insulation with a sound deadening vapor layer. The electrics have been put in and a huge inverter has been fitted. The veneered ply wooden cladding and flooring has also just gone in.

The van has an impressive, stylish kitchen with a retro coffee machine, oven, grill and three hobs. It has a large fridge and a beautiful copper coloured sink with oak worktops.

The electric system is a unique feature of this van and has been designed with this family’s hobbies in mind! The van has powerful solar panels, a lithium battery and a powerful inverter, so that electric skateboards, bikes and laptops can be charged, all completely off-grid.

Housing this high-tech functionality is stunning cabinetry and a dining area in birch ply and oak, built by the highly skilled carpentry team at Love Campers.

A fully functioning kitchen will be built, with a large Dometic fridge, Thetford oven/grill and stunning copper sink. On top of this, there will be a dining room area with a table and chairs.

The big reveal!

Our next blog post will document the finishing touches and interior design options. We’ll describe all of the chosen materials in detail so you can be inspired for your own future campervan.

The cutting edge design used on this ambulance will be offered as part of our newest venture: The Campervan Lab – a space where luxury, innovation and sustainability combine, to create the camper vans of the future. Watch this space!

Make sure you’re signed up to our Love Campers Newsletter so we can share the finished product photos with you. We’ll let you know when we post our next blog!

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