Brauns v. Wheeled Coach

[Guest]

Just wondering how many of those have used both types (Brauns and Wheeled Coach). My service currently has both. Looking for anyone with opinions on either.

[Ridryder 911]

Brauns are known for their durability.. I didn't know they still made wheeled coach..

Be safe,

Ridryde 911

[Guest]

I didn't know they still made wheeled coach.

They may or may not.....given the shape of the pieces that some crews have to drive.

[STC MN Medic]

I rank Wheeled coach on the same shelf i put zoll monitors, that shelf of stuff that you should have thrown out long ago, but haven't gotten around to it.

maybe they are capable of making a good unit, but we just took delivery of a new CitiMedic a month ago and we are already having serviced for electrical problems, the lights on the rear are already jacked up (not flashing like they are programmed), and they ae already showing wear and stress cracking.

Brauns are in my opinion, are the best box that you can get. at my Part Time job, we remount 3 times, taking our boxes to 1,000,000 miles, and at 1,000,000 miles they behave better than a wheeled coach at 70,000 miles. if you have a good Dealer/Service center, they will last for longer than just about any EMS employee.

Long Story short, brauns are mroe expensive, but they will be a solid performer for a long time with less problems than the cheap disposable wheeled coaches.

[KsMedic]

I have ran in Wheeled Coach, Marque, MedTech & McCoy Miller units and used an Excellance demo for 4 months (while the wheeled coach was down) and found so far I really like the MedTech unit.

The wheeled coach's I have used seem to get early rust spots from poor water drainage, always having electrical problems with it.

The McCoy was rough riding in my opinion.

The Marque I purchased New as a demo from the factory, very good truck for the first year and a half but it doesn't stand up to the constant vibrations of rural ems and screws are being pulled from everywhere, might make a good urban unit.

just my 2 cents worth.

[Eng542ine]

Not to buck the trend here but, well, I'm gonna buck the trend.

My volunteer fire company has a 1999 Braun Type III modular, with 40,000 miles on it... a baby, right? HA! Junk, complete and absolute JUNK!!! We had a 2 year run where it was out of service more than it was in!! This is our third Braun... and quite honestly, our last!!

The hospital I work for has almost exclusively Wheeled Coach. My current ambulance is a 2000 Type III modular with 170,000 miles. Absolutely, unquestionably the best and most reliable ambulance I have ever used!!

Needless to say... Yes, they still make Wheeled Coach and I'm personally quite glad they do!

[Dustdevil]

I've never worked in a Braun, although the service in my hometown had them for many years. Knowing many of the medics there, I heard mixed reviews of them. They were the slope-sided models, and most of the medics wish they had the extra room of a full box. Brauns seemed to have fewer workmanship problems, such as things falling apart in the box and cab. But electrically, they didn't have any less problems than any other ambulance. They ate alternators for breakfast and a/c units That's just life in Texas though. No ambulance is built to handle summers here.

http://www.braunambulances.com/

I've worked in a lot of Wheeed Coaches. Like every other ambulance I have ever worked in, they had electrical and a/c problems. There were always little annoyances like pieces of cabinet trim falling off, and things rattling that you could never pin down. And -- although this was quite awhile back and they may have improved -- dealing with their salespeople was a pain in the ass. Buying a Wheeled Coach ambulance was like buying a Motorola radio system. Instead of asking you what you want, and then making it for you, they want to sell you what they already have. Really very much like buying any new car! They want to crank a bunch of clone ambulances off the assembly line and just paint them differently for each customer. If you want anything custom or non-standard, they act like a kid working at McDonalds when you tell them you don't want secret sauce on your Big Mac. They can't seem to understand the concept of "have it your way." Excellance was very much the same way. On the good side, Wheeled Coach service and support after the sale have always been excellent. They don't mind coming in and saying, "Yeah, we screwed up. But we'll fix it fast!" And they do.

http://www.wheeledcoach.com/

[Eng542ine]

As far as the "cookie cutter" ambulance goes.... I can say our salesman that we're spec'ing our Wheeled Coach through has shown to be flexible (rare), honest (extremely rare for a vehicle salesman of any kind), and has even offered up a good number of suggestions for customization...

Just threw that out there as we're nearing the end of the spec process right now...

[Dustdevil]

I can say our salesman that we're spec'ing our Wheeled Coach through has shown to be flexible (rare), honest (extremely rare for a vehicle salesman of any kind), and has even offered up a good number of suggestions for customization...

A good salesman makes all the difference. Seems like most ambulance salesmen haven't a clue about EMS though, and sold used cars or widgets before ending up at their current job.

I know the last time I ordered from Wheeled Coach, the salesman was really cooperative and wrote up the order just like I wanted it. But then when I took delivery, it had completely different lights, siren, cot mount and captains chair from what I ordered. Yep... they put in the "standard" off the rack stuff instead. When I asked, "WTF?" they tried to tell me how much better the stuff they put on there was and that I should keep it. :roll: They fixed it relatively quick, but it was still a disappointing hassle.

At least I got a free trip to Florida out of it to pick it up!

[shookwell]

Wheeled coach sucks. Several of the hospitals around here bought wheeled coach, and they are all falling apart already. One hospital is even bringing legal action against them because of all the problems they are having.

Brauns are indestructible. We are still using 94 brauns, and they are more reliable than the 2005 wheeled coach.