Couple's Artistic Ambulance Conversion for $5,600 with Cost of Van
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Flower Friendly and Lorenzo are a couple who converted an ambulance into their comfy and artistic home called The Hippie Hospital: a Ford Ecoline 350 Diesel from 1987. They got it for $3,500 US dollars at 78,000 miles. With this type of Diesel engine well maintained, Lorenzo claims that it can go well above 500,000 miles. Ten bucks for the painting, another one hundred for the cushion and the wood, it altogether cost them only $5,600 – ambulance included.
Flower Friendly is a dreadlock artist and after working for a shop for a while, she figured out that she could do this on her own while traveling. The couple's income comes mainly from influencing on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, which they see more as a fun activity than a real task. They got their ambulance with all the storage already built in, which made it easy for them to remove brackets and replace them with a fridge, storage for the food, closets and more. In the storages accessible from outside the vehicle they keep canned food, a generator, the batteries and all the wood for heating. The spot they're keep the canned food in is even accessible from the inside.
The lights of the ambulance are extra bright, which turn out very handy on a dirt road at night. Underneath the food storage on the outside, they keep their double batteries: one for the car and one for the lights on the inside. The benefit of having an ambulance is that they come pre-stocked with two batteries already all set up. Another amazing benefit are the flood lights on both sides of the tiny home and on its back – they brighten the night like it's day and are convenient if one wants to work in the evening or at night.
Their shower consists in the back doors opening up and plucking in shower poles. Up top they have a 13 gallon water holder which they gravity fed down to an industrial water heater – just need to connect the hose and the nozzle up top and they have their shower.
Outside storage #3 hold Flower's hula hoops, yoga mats and chairs and there is still space for bigger things to store. In toutside storage #4 is fire wood and propane tank, in #5 very important spare tires. And last but not least, #6 stores a propane grill, tent and first aid kits. In front of the vehicle is a shore power hookup which allows them to use the entire electricity through the cabin without draining the batteries. On the roof are 200 watt solar panels.
The whole ambulance is painted by Flower and very colorful, it took her one full month to paint it all. On one wall, she painted the whole zodiac chart and the couple even has instruments for each element: air, water, fire and earth. The small fake plants give the van a more earthy vibe.
The floor is made out of fake vinyl. The sofa flips out and turns into a bed, with some extra storage underneath where they keep a little traveler's toilet and clothes. For their clothes in general, they have a small manual washing machine that you can spin until they're dried.
As a generator they use a Nature's Generator for $1,500 for turbine and solar energy. The battery has 60h/AMP power and their inverter is 1500 watts. Their Danby fridge and freezer is tiny and has a camera and iPad holder for them to watch TV. Some extra bungees around the fridge make sure that the doors don't open while Flower and Lorenzo are driving. The sink is gravity-fed by a five gallon water tank above it. The couple usually only uses for brushing their teeth at night, as the water gets flushed right outside, and for filling up their water bottles. Right beside the sink is their tiny kitchen area, consisting of a little burner and a water boiler. While Flower Friendly has her clients over, she covers the whole storage and fridge area with a big, beautiful fabric.
“We're all going to change, we're all going to be in a box one day and the way you leave people feeling is what is going to be left. Your legacy, who you are and how you've treated people.
We get to design our character the way we want and we get to go out there and live the way we want . Typically it's not the way you look that matters at the end, it's how you react to everything.”
Get to know the full story of the ambulance here!
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