In 2017, I quit my stable job in what appeared to be a “good career” to go see the world with my then-boyfriend. We had no idea what we were doing and very little money but we were ready for a change. Together, we learned a lot about budget travel, jumped into the world of social media and decided the next adventure to take on would be van life. Once we just started to figure things out, we came back to Canada and started exploring the idea of a van build. Now, we were in the same boat again – in over our heads with a small budget and a big dream.
So we hopped out of Pinterest, and onto Craiglist – set our price limit to $7,000 and started shopping for vans within this tiny-but-mighty budget. That’s when we came across a retired ambulance. Now, almost three years later, we have learned a lot about ambulances, van life, budget travel and living on the road in an ex-emergency vehicle.
Let’s talk about the realities of converting an ambulance into a home.
Where to Find an Ambulance
One of the biggest questions I get asked living in an old ambulance is: “where did you even find that?”. Now, if we’re being honest – it was mostly coincidence. When my husband and I were looking to buy a van in the $4,000-$7,000 range to convert into a tiny home on wheels, we were considering every option.
We bought our Chevrolet 3500 decommissioned ambulance for $6,000 CAD (roughly $4,700 USD) in 2019 from a van seller on Craigslist. At the time, we were predominantly looking on Craigslist for vans in our price range.
Since then, we’ve learned that there are three main ways to buy an old ambulance:
- Online resellers on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or Kijiji
- Directly from government auctions (as per government regulations, they are retired after a certain amount of km or miles)
- By calling private emergency service companies and asking if they have any ambulances that they are decommissioning any time soon
Pros of Choosing an Ambulance
I have never regretted choosing an ambulance for van life – but at first, I was skeptical. I had never seen anyone live out of an ambulance before, and I wasn’t sure how to plan the build. First of all, when we bought it, it was an ambulance. All of the medical equipment, seatbelts, captain’s chair, oxygen tank, everything was still in there. Secondly, all of the #vanlife inspo I had up until this point was Pinterest photos of beautiful sprinter conversions – and our layout was definitely different.
However, after learning more about my shiny new home-on-wheels, I learned that ambulances are actually fabulous vehicles for van life. This is why:
- Ambulances across North America are typically shaped like a box-truck, which makes building in them very easy as you’re working with 90 degree angles
- They also come fully insulated with electrical, dimmable lights and other features that mean you could just live in one “as is”. Most of the work is already done for you.
My husband and I stripped ours out to the bare bones and built up from there, however it’s typical within the ambulance community that many folks just use the shelving, cabinetry, hooks, etc. that are already in the ambulance. This is a more affordable and minimalist way to turn an ambulance into a tiny home on wheels.
- This one is a controversial one – because it differs heavily between what region you’re from. In Canada, ambulances are very well maintained, as the majority of them are government vehicles and they undergo strict checkups. Ours was maintained every 5,000 km with paperwork included and came with brand new brakes, tires, and fluids. However, this is not true for certain private companies throughout the USA.
Cons of Choosing an Ambulance
Well, nothing is perfect, and definitely not vehicles that you bought for less than $10,000. One of the first questions we get when we tell people we live in an ambulance is, “is it haunted?” – which, hey – maybe! Just kidding, but as funny or controversial as the question may seem, I have to admit it gets old after hearing it for the 1000th time. So, what are the real cons?
- In most cases, ambulances aren’t retired (and thus available to the public) until they’ve hit a certain number of miles or kilometers on the odometer. Meaning, they usually come with high mileage. Ours was retired at 300,000+ kms (190,000+ miles) and it’s hard to find one for any less.
- The transmission on a used ambulance will usually be the first to go, as ambulances are typically in high-stress “stop-and-go” situations and this can be pricey to repair down the line
- This will be different for every ambulance, but in the ones from our fleet, if you’re any taller than 5’8” you will not be able to stand up straight. This isn’t a problem for me at 5’3” but my husband (6’0”) definitely does a lot of knee-bending and neck-cranking.
- Ambulances can undoubtedly be gas guzzlers. That’s it, that’s all.
The Cost of an Ambulance Conversion
Our ambulance cost us $6,000 CAD to buy and $6,000 CAD to convert into the tiny home of our dreams. This brought us to a grand total of $12,000 Canadian Dollars which is $9,470 USD.
So, Do I Like Living in an Ambulance?
Anyone who knows me knows that my biggest passion in life is to travel. It’s what I feel called to do, it’s what keeps my heart pumping, and makes me learn every day. I knew that when we were getting started with our van life journey, the ultimate goal was to get on the road, see the most sights I could see, and connect with other human beings along the way.
With a small budget, we would have made it work with whatever van we could afford. Afterall, this ambulance is our travel vessel, our safe place, and home. Living the van life has been a life-changing and mind-blowing experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world, and our ambulance has been reliable, comfortable and our home through it all.
So yeah, I love living in an ambulance.
And would I do it again? Absolutely.
You can follow along with Nick & Raychel’s travels and van life tips over on their Youtube channel for weekly videos sharing their experiences!
Raychel Reimer
Author
Hello Raychel,
Thanks for the info. I was actually asking myself by curiosity where people buy “retired” ambulances, now I know 🙂
Do you think if you chose the same kind of vehicle but without it being an ambulance you could have saved on reparation costs?
Thank you