International 4700 (1996)
Sale price: US $3,500.00
Click image to enlarge
First: Yes, the lights work. The siren is there but I had it disconnected because as a commercial vehicle, it"s not legal to have a functional siren and I didn"t want to get a ticket. I"m sure you could hook it back up.
This ambulance started life at the Memorial Teaching Hospital in Chattanooga, TN. It was maintained by them meticulously until it was retired from duty sometime in the 2010s. I purchased it in 2014 and drove it from Chattanooga to my business in the metro Atlanta area with no trouble.
Over the course of 2014 and 2015, I fixed and/or upgraded everything that needed any sort of repair. Honestly, I purchased two of these and they were COMPLETELY identical in EVERY way except for the VIN being a number different. I had a full-time mechanic that worked on my septic trucks, all my service vehicles, my personal vehicles, boat, etc - and both ambulances. FANTASTIC mechanic, but not the best record-keeper. I know that we put a new transmission in it in 2015 that was purchased through an official Allison dealer and that it came with a 5-year warranty. Haven"t had to worry about it, though, the trans has been solid.
We changed the oil frequently, fixed the AC, new belts, hoses, etc. and I"m sure a multitude of other little things that are constantly going to need repair if you run anything down the road with a bazillion little moving pieces that are designed to make your life better. :) Can"t list all the repairs and upgrades, but when you get in this ambulance and drive down the road, you"re not going to have to worry about how far you"ll make it. I drove it from Atlanta to Savannah just after Christmas and was leaving my wife in the dust in her minivan.
I used both ambulances as service vehicles / runaround trucks for my septic company. I had a trailer hitch added to each so that we could pull a little trailer behind, but this guy could pretty easily tow 5000-8000 lbs every day without much complaint. It"s not the most fastest thing in the world, but it drives EXACTLY like an International 4700 with an automatic transmission. If you"ve EVER driven one, you may as well have driven this one. Because of the box, it drives like its got a load on, but SURPRISINGLY fuel-efficient. Adding a bunch of people doesn"t seem to effect the fuel economy, handling, or acceleration, but if you"ve ever ridden in the back of an ambulance you"d probably rather not do it again.
If, however, riding in the back of an ambulance is your speed, you"ll like how I"ve got this one set up. It"s got a built-in refrigerator and microwave that run off of an inverter. You can plug in shore power and run the whole deal off of a generator - and you"ll even charge the batteries at the same time because it"s got a battery charger built-in too. If you want a service vehicle that you can use to double as your mobile command center, you"ll be in heaven. All the work areas are independently lighted. The ambulance module has its own complete climate control system and mood-lighting panel.
On the outside, all of the boxes are chrome-panel lined and individually lit with great work lights. They all lock electronically from inside the cabin, so you can keep it locked and secure. I took off all of the original hospital stickers and paid a nice man a lot of money to buff it smooth like he would do a boat, and it came out GREAT. I had the stickers for my business put on, but they"re VERY easy to get off and a wash/wax will have it smooth and ready for your stickers!
One of my favorite creature-comfort features of this bus is the air-ride rear. Of course it"s essential when transporting patients to the hospital that you want the smoothest ride possible. The brakes are hydraulic, and in EXTREMELY FUNCTIONAL order after I spent a bunch of money overhauling them. I even replaced the master cyl just to be safe. I believe that stopping is the most important thing a vehicle can do, and this guy is already heavy and with the option of pulling a trailer, I wanted it to be perfection. It is. You will LOVE the brakes. The suspension and parking brake are air, though. When you put it in park, the air brake button pops out automatically. Push it in to go after putting the transmission in drive, kinda like a big truck. The suspension can be dumped, also kinda like a big truck, to lower the load deck on the rear. This can be toggled from the driver seat but ALSO the rear-door!! You can flip a switch to have the rear end drop a WHOLE BUNCH while standing in the rear door, and you can toggle it to do that automatically when you OPEN the rear doors like if you were an EMT and needed it to kneel so that you could load a patient on a gurney.
My favorite way to use the dropping suspension was to keep my trailer set up on a block so that I could back up to it with the ambulance, drop the suspension, back under the pintle hook, load the suspension, get out and hook up the chains and lights, etc, and then throw the block on the trailer and go. It"s SO EASY to handle a trailer with this guy that you"ll be in love immediately. Say goodbye to all that running the jack handle around!
As you"re driving this guy, the other thing you"ll notice is that it turns ON A DIME!! I think when they did the air suspension at Horton Ambulances that they upgraded the steering and turning-radius. I have a Honda that won"t turn as sharply as this ambulance. Tires are good all the way around but one of the rear inside tires is probably going to want to be replaced before you run it full-time. I kept tires on it but for whatever reason I think we put one on the inside of the rear a while back that was kinda iffy at the time. It hasn"t gotten better.
The ambulance has sat in my driveway between Christmas and now except for once when I drove it down the road to keep the tires from getting a flat spot, and there"s only a freckle of an oil drop on the ground. I am not going to worry about it, an acorn sitting in the vicinity completely obscures it. You"re not going to lose oil out the bottom or out the tailpipe.
Look at the pictures, ask me any questions, buy this ambulance to use as your service vehicle, movie prop, unique RV, or conversation piece. I hate to give it up but I don"t run that company anymore and my HOA is tired of it being in my driveway!! :)
| Condition: | Used | Year: | 1996 |
| VIN (Vehicle Identification Number): | 1htslaal2th326289 | Mileage: | 237,198 |
| Engine Make: | International | Make: | International |
| Engine Horsepower: | 300 @ 2200rpm | Model: | 4700 |
| Fuel Type: | Diesel | Type: | Ambulance |
| Transmission Type: | Automatic | Class: | Unknown |
| Suspension Type: | Air | Tire Size: | 19" |
| Vehicle Title: | Clear | Power Options: | Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Power Locks, Power Seats |
| Number of Axles: | Single |
