Chevrolet Chassis... EMS Platform concerns

[K9kazoo]

We're finding with our new 2007 Chevy unit (manufactured by Crestline that the cabin seems tight... when seated it seems the door is riding right up against you... meaning if T-bone there is a serious risk for intrusion. The Ford chassis seemed to have some play... of several inches.

Also the seats in the cabin seem to be off set from the rest of the vehicle... the Medic is looking out the top left of the windshield not the center of it.

The pedals seem to off set as well...

The rear end is higher making it difficult to load the stretcher.

These concerns have come to the attention of the Health & Safety committee... they've come from several people off several shifts...

and finally... how is the mechanical reliability... how do they stand up against the Fords?

Looking to network with other services to discuss the pros and cons of this Chevy chassis... our next H&S meeting is mid-June.

Thanks...

B.

[web:1a9af762f4]http://www.crestlinecoach.com/ambulance_display.php?name=FleetMax[/web:1a9af762f4]

[EMS49393]

The service I currently work for has a large fleet. We have several of the new Chevy chassis with an Excellance box mounted. We also have several of the older Fords with the same box style.

Our Chevys have a larger cabin than our Fords. The big guys prefer the Chevy to the Ford for that reason. Plenty of leg room. I'm just over five feet tall, so leg room is never an issue for me.

My issue with the Chevy chassis is it's height. The ambulances we have that are Chevys are roughly 8 inches taller in the rear than the Ford ambulances. Eight inches is no big deal if you're 6'2". It's a very big deal when you can't see over the top of the floor of the box. (Well, almost.) It's difficult for me to load a patient when I have to lift them up to my neck level.

Our breakdown rate is just as bad with the Chevy as with the Ford. Our mechanics are telling us that these small chassis simply can't handle the weight of the box and the equipment, subsequently, we have a lot of transmission issues.

On a side note, one of our new Chevy units was involved in a bad accident a few weeks ago. It was a t-bone type collision, to the passenger side. The paramedic was trapped, and had to be cut out of the passenger side of the unit. He walked away sore, with no broken bones, and returned to work about a week later. When looking at the pictures of the damage to the chassis of that truck, there isn't a doubt in anyones mind that our paramedic would have been seriously injured, or killed, had he been in a Ford chassis that day.

Unfortunately, there isn't a large run on appropriate vehicles to mount an ambulance box to at this time. You have the choice between the Chevy, which is affordable, to the International and Freightliner chassis, which few services can afford. It's a same that they can't afford those large chassis. I see those big boxes as being life-savers in a collision.

If you have a picture of the Chevy your service is using, I'd love to see it. It sounds like it's vastly different from our Chevy chassis.

[emtd29]

which Chevy Chassis?? the C-3500 ( 1 -Ton ) or the heavier 4500??

[K9kazoo]

which Chevy Chassis?? the C-3500 ( 1 -Ton ) or the heavier 4500??

The lighter one.

B.

[emtd29]

My dept. is looking into the c-4500 chassis. ( with either PL Custom or Medtec) What's the word on the streets on them?