Tailgating at Rockets football games calls for a Jambulance

The Jambulance boasts a 32-inch flatscreen TV equipped with satellite TV and video game hookups, a generator, stereo, two onboard computers, touchscreen monitors, and a full-size grill. THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH Enlarge | Photo Reprints

The Jambulance isn't just any tailgating vehicle. It is the tailgating vehicle of college athletics.

The brainchild of UT alumnus and retired Army Ranger Pat Ryan, the Jambulance is a converted ambulance believed to have once served the town of Cincinnatus, N.Y.

"Initially I found a fire truck that had a jacuzzi in the back, but then I decided that nobody wanted to see me in a jacuzzi, much less myself," Ryan joked. "So then I started thinking, 'What's a different kind of vehicle that would be great for tailgating? Well, what about an ambulance?' That kind of caught on."

Ryan found a 1993 Ford E-350 7.3L diesel ambulance for sale on the Internet and purchased it from an Army major in March, 2005, for $8,000.

At the time, the ambulance was being looked after by the seller's friend in Atlantic City, N.J., so Ryan and pal Dan Miller flew out there, got a 10-minute lesson on how to operate the vehicle and immediately headed back to Toledo in it.

"We pretty much started working on it the next day and haven't really stopped since," Ryan said.

The Jambulance has been completely refurbished, while still retaining the overall appearance of an actual ambulance. It still has working sirens, a public address system, and emergency lights, which are midnight blue and gold now.

The white body of the Jambulance is the original base color and has remained intact, but one of the first changes made to the vehicle was repainting the red accent stripe to Rocket gold in the spring and summer of 2005. Vinyl decals, including two 16-foot long Rockets, were then applied to both sides of the Jambulance, making it an unofficial but very visible ambassador for UT.

Other additions to the vehicle included a 32-inch flatscreen TV equipped with satellite TV and video game hookups, a generator, stereo system, power converter, interior and exterior LED lighting, two onboard computers, touchscreen monitors, and a full-size grill mounted on the two-inch hitch receiver on the rear of the Jambulance.

Steve Tecza, a UT graduate who studied mechanical and electrical engineering, has been responsible for many of the Jambulance's upgrades, such as switching out all of the vehicle's halogen, incandescent, and traditional lighting with LED lighting.

"It's been a fun project for me, basically because I like doing things and inventing things and making things from scratch," Tecza said. "I'm pretty happy with everything we've done on it, but especially the lighting. There's like 10,000-some light bulbs on there."

The front and rear cabs have also been remodeled with midnight blue carpet, leather seats and seat belts. The Jambulance can safely accommodate seven "crew members" on road trips.

Ryan estimates he's put "less than $30,000" worth of improvements into the Jambulance, but that doesn't begin to factor in the amount of labor that's been used to work on the vehicle.

"Every year we try to do something to improve it, add another wow factor," Ryan said, "and we're constantly trying to keep it clean. I'm real picky about that, especially for games, because I want to represent the University of Toledo.

"We're considered a mid-major, and I like to go against the big boys, at least from a tailgating perspective. And we usually come out on top. We may not always in the games, but at least we can beat them in tailgating."

The Jambulance has traveled to faraway locales such as Mobile, Ala., for the GMAC Bowl, Lawrence, Kan., and Ames, Iowa. But on most Saturdays in the fall, save for a few midweek contests like tonight's home-opener against Arizona, the Jambulance can be found on the north side of Lot 10 outside the Glass Bowl along the Ottawa River.

No matter where it's parked, the Jambulance is always the center of attention.

"One thing I think that is very telling is people don't just want to take a picture of it, they want their picture taken with it," Tecza said. "People are always coming by when we have it out."

Ryan plans to take the Jambulance to every UT football game this season, except to Boise.

"Being a retired Army guy, I like the camaraderie and getting people together and having a good time," he said. "To me there's nothing greater."

Contact Zach Silka at:

zsilka@theblade.com

or 419-724-6084.