Wheeled Coach built this Type 1 ambulance for KAMP (WV) Central Ambulance Service Inc. on a Chevrolet 3500 4×4 chassis with a 153-inch long patient module. (Photos courtesy of Atlantic Emergency Solutions.)

By Alan M. Petrillo

Wheeled Coach has delivered a Type 1 ambulance on a Chevrolet 3500 4×4 chassis to KAMP (WV) Central Ambulance Service Inc.

Casey Walker, regional vice president of ambulance sales for Atlantic Emergency Solutions, the company that sold the Wheeled Coach to KAMP Ambulance, says the Chevy chassis is a switch for the ambulance service, as they previously ran on Ford chassis rigs. Walker notes that the new Wheeled Coach rig is powered by a 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel engine, and has a Liquid Spring hydraulic rear suspension.

The new KAMP ambulance has a 50,000-btu CoolBar external condenser system, and all Whelen LED warning and scene lighting.

The wheelbase on the new ambulance is 171-inches, its overall length is 24-feet 7-inches, and overall height is 8-feet 11-inches.

Abel Del Rio, regional sales manager for Wheeled Coach, points out the new rig has a 153-inch long patient box, that is 95 inches wide and has 67 inches of interior head room. “We also added a four inch drop skirt at the front of the box forward of the rear wheels that allows the oxygen cylinder in the left front compartment to be lower to the ground,” Del Rio says.

The Type 1 rig has a 50,000-btu (British Thermal Unit) CoolBar external condenser system, while the interior of the patient module has a ducted air conditioning system with two plenums and eight vents in the ceiling along both the street and curb sides. AC is controlled through dual digital thermostats located in the action area and on the curb side of the interior.

The Wheeled Coach rig for KAMP Ambulance has two cameras—an external backup camera, and an internal dome camera in the patient module to allow the driver to monitor activity in the rear of the truck.

Seating in the patient box includes an attendant seat at the head of the cot that has a child safety seat in the backrest, a CPR seat next to custom cabinetry in the action area, and a single squad bench seat flanked by cabinetry holding pull-out drawers for storage of additional equipment. All seating positions are protected by Per4Max four-point seatbelt harnesses.

Del Rio notes that KAMP Ambulance’s Type 1 has a Stryker PowerLOAD floor mounting, an exterior backup camera and an interior dome camera in the patient box to allow the driver to see what’s happening in the back, and all Whelen LED warning and scene lighting.

ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Ariz.-based journalist, the author of three novels and five non-fiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. He served 22 years with Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including the position of chief.