Found at osageambulances.com:
Type III Remount E450 ambulance sold to Burbank Fire Department of Burbank, IL
Congratulations Burbank Fire Department on your recent Type 3 E450 ambulance remount! This remount was sold by Mark Clemens of North Central Emergency Vehicles
Osage Ambulance photo
Osage Ambulance photo
Osage Ambulance photo
Osage Ambulance photo
thanks Martin
#1 by Mike C on March 7, 2023 - 6:52 AM
Tom – Foster Coach is a Horton dealer. They do not make their own ambulances although if they did, they would likely do a great job. The Foster family are good peoples!
Currently, remounting saves around $100k. I just recommend being careful who does it. I have seen some pretty crappy remounts. I even saw one done where there was some cracking of the box structure that was overlooked when it was remounted onto new chassis. It later caused issues and cost the customer a ton of money to fix. Remounting isn’t just repainting. Be specific with the company who is doing your remount. Upgrade the electronics, replace the cabinets, etc. The $100k is definitely worth the saving if done right and your department can spare being down an ambulance.
#2 by Tim on March 7, 2023 - 6:34 AM
TTguy you’re correct. Orland did almost 13,000 runs last year. Not all EMS but maybe 75%, so their EMS billing pays for itself.
#3 by ttguy on March 6, 2023 - 5:29 PM
At $406k, I’d be willing to bet that there is a LARGE amount of ancillary equipment buried in the cost of this vehicle. Even at that amount, some area departments would still be able to pay this entire amount off in just 3-months using the funds collected from EMS billing each month. Granted that isn’t all profit, but it’s no secret that ambulances often pay for themselves. For comparison, in 1988, an ambulance cot might have cost $1500, but now they are $20k + for the cot alone, not including the required lift system. Similarly, I suspect that $400k ladder truck purchased in 1988 might be closer to $2 million today and generates nearly a fraction of the income that the ambulance does each month. Any many of today’s Fire/EMS personnel receive a salary that allows them to purchase those loaded pickup trucks previously mentioned. There aren’t too many “hoopties” sitting in the station’s parking lots these days. Just where does it all end? Lastly, I suspect the lengthy lead times are more chassis driven than anything, but it only makes sense that the turn-around time for a remount should be less than a new unit.
#4 by Tim on March 6, 2023 - 4:33 PM
Mike, Orland usually keep them at least 8 years. They always tried, but not always possible to order 1 new ambulance a year as they have 8 ambulances. Since they have their own maintenance facility, their rigs are usually in pretty good shape when they’re due to be replaced. And although they get a few bucks at re-sale, they’ve donated some of them to other fire depts. $406K is a crazy amount for an ambulance but, you could buy a loaded pick up truck for $100,000.
If memory serves me, Orland’s first tower ladder (1988 Spartan/LTI/Darley/Conestoga) was somewhere in the $400,000 range, just for comparison.
#5 by Tom on March 6, 2023 - 3:42 PM
Thanks Tim! I guess it’s a delicate balance between cost savings, time to completion and overall quality. Absolutely right Mike!
#6 by Mike on March 6, 2023 - 2:38 PM
Good grief tom can you imagine spending 406k on an ambulance that is gonna get replaced in 5-7 years. If they kept it 7 years it costs 58k a year or 4800 a month just to own it. That’s terrible
#7 by Tim on March 6, 2023 - 12:25 PM
Tom, Orland did remount a bunch back starting around 2014. They were sending their old Road Rescues to St. Paul, MN. They were being remounted by the old Road Rescue guys (Everest Emergency Vehicles). Orland was saving at the time about $40,000 per rig. Then they started sending them to Fire Services for remount and they didn’t do as good as a job as Everest did.
#8 by Tom on March 6, 2023 - 10:59 AM
I agree Mike! I’m curious as well of the turn around time and cost. Ambulance costs are obnoxious now a days, not to mention lead times. Hazel Crest just had a remount done. Orland used to remount occasionally. I don’t know if they still do. I just read in the minutes they ordered a new foster coach for 406k!
#9 by Mike on March 5, 2023 - 2:38 PM
I wonder what the cost and turn around time in this was. I think you are going to see more of this as prices rise and delivery times go 2-3 years. Budgets can’t support that and entities can’t wait that long for apparatus
#10 by MABAS 21 on March 4, 2023 - 9:36 PM
214?