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Old 05-21-2019, 12:01 PM   #1
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Roof raise amtran

planning on doing the roof raise soon.
Adding a transition from the very front slanting up to the 2nd rib.
I’m thinking of going with 18 gauge sheet metal. Probably just stainless steel or either galvanized .
Also I wanted to tack weld from the inside instead of riveting now. If possible. . I just don’t get how the laps would look .
Well I heard the ribs of amtrans are 14 gauge. Now I’m wondering what the hat channel is? 14 also or 16 ?
Or even 18?

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Old 05-21-2019, 12:07 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusT View Post
planning on doing the roof raise soon.
Adding a transition from the very front slanting up to the 2nd rib.
I’m thinking of going with 18 gauge sheet metal. Probably just stainless steel or either galvanized .
Also I wanted to tack weld from the inside instead of riveting now. If possible. . I just don’t get how the laps would look .
Well I heard the ribs of amtrans are 14 gauge. Now I’m wondering what the hat channel is? 14 also or 16 ?
Or even 18?
The hat channel IS the rib.
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Old 05-21-2019, 12:11 PM   #3
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The hat channel IS the rib.


BusT- What are you referring to as hat channels?
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Old 05-21-2019, 01:35 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusT View Post
planning on doing the roof raise soon.
Adding a transition from the very front slanting up to the 2nd rib.
I’m thinking of going with 18 gauge sheet metal. Probably just stainless steel or either galvanized .
Also I wanted to tack weld from the inside instead of riveting now. If possible. . I just don’t get how the laps would look .
Well I heard the ribs of amtrans are 14 gauge. Now I’m wondering what the hat channel is? 14 also or 16 ?
Or even 18?
welding the hat channel to the skin from the inside will create an exterior striped surface at each weld line that attracts rust and will require extra sanding, filling and prep before painting - something to think about
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Old 05-21-2019, 01:40 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusT View Post
planning on doing the roof raise soon.
Adding a transition from the very front slanting up to the 2nd rib.
I’m thinking of going with 18 gauge sheet metal. Probably just stainless steel or either galvanized .
Also I wanted to tack weld from the inside instead of riveting now. If possible. . I just don’t get how the laps would look .
Well I heard the ribs of amtrans are 14 gauge. Now I’m wondering what the hat channel is? 14 also or 16 ?
Or even 18?
welding the hat channel to the skin from the inside will create an exterior striped surface at each weld line that attracts rust and will require extra sanding, filling and prep before painting - something to think about
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bus bluebird raise 1.JPG  
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:00 PM   #6
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Man I thought the ribs were the square tubing underneath the ceiling . I guess that makes sense. Wel I 2nd guessed myself and thought that by cb saying ribs it could be that.

.....
Well check out this one done. Looks clean the picture is small but my bus is the same length and I’m thinking about that front piece transition and how good it looks.

So also this should help the aerodynamics correct? Most 18 wheelers have that front scoop.
I heard the other day people
Saying most of the drag is cussed from the back and doing it like this wouldn’t help mpg at all?
It would just be a bonus to me if so because I’m already pretty committed.
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:08 PM   #7
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Couldn’t I just prime those spots after welding to help out on the no rust build
Up?
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:09 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post


BusT- What are you referring to as hat channels?
I call hat channel hat channel.....

But calling them ribs is ����
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:13 PM   #9
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:30 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusT View Post
Man I thought the ribs were the square tubing underneath the ceiling . I guess that makes sense. Wel I 2nd guessed myself and thought that by cb saying ribs it could be that.

.....
Well check out this one done. Looks clean the picture is small but my bus is the same length and I’m thinking about that front piece transition and how good it looks.

So also this should help the aerodynamics correct? Most 18 wheelers have that front scoop.
I heard the other day people
Saying most of the drag is cussed from the back and doing it like this wouldn’t help mpg at all?
It would just be a bonus to me if so because I’m already pretty committed.
That's the style of transition I did.
I just like the looks better.
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:32 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BusT View Post
Man I thought the ribs were the square tubing underneath the ceiling . I guess that makes sense. Wel I 2nd guessed myself and thought that by cb saying ribs it could be that.

.....
Well check out this one done. Looks clean the picture is small but my bus is the same length and I’m thinking about that front piece transition and how good it looks.

So also this should help the aerodynamics correct? Most 18 wheelers have that front scoop.
I heard the other day people
Saying most of the drag is cussed from the back and doing it like this wouldn’t help mpg at all?
It would just be a bonus to me if so because I’m already pretty committed.
There's probably a good reason they show that bus unpainted. Its got a slight funkiness to the sides if you look. They didn't do that one right, its a Thomas. Its structurally fine but you can tell they took a 6* angle and cut it in half and stretched it. IDK why anyone wanting to raise a roof would pick a Thomas.
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Old 05-21-2019, 07:45 PM   #12
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If you look down at the profile of the rib it is in the shape of a hat. From the back side it looks square but has the hat brim flats for securing the skin to. They are one piece from floor up over and back to the floor.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:03 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
If you look down at the profile of the rib it is in the shape of a hat. From the back side it looks square but has the hat brim flats for securing the skin to. They are one piece from floor up over and back to the floor.
On my Genesis they were two pieces joined on top.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:04 PM   #14
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On my Genesis they were two pieces joined on top.
Not on my Genesis.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:08 PM   #15
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Couldn’t I just prime those spots after welding to help out on the no rust build
Up?
a bit of wire brushing right away and then priming with rust preventing primer would alleviate it - but for a professional looking paint job there would still be some work to disguise the weld marks - rust preventative primer doesn't stand up to the weather very long, so you'd need to top coat before too much delay - why not stick with rivets to match the rest of the bus?
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Old 05-22-2019, 06:44 AM   #16
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a bit of wire brushing right away and then priming with rust preventing primer would alleviate it - but for a professional looking paint job there would still be some work to disguise the weld marks - rust preventative primer doesn't stand up to the weather very long, so you'd need to top coat before too much delay - why not stick with rivets to match the rest of the bus?
Yeah really man I could just do the rivets ...
Well my delay in thinking of just going with rivets is that I’m not sure how to go about overlapping my sheets. Should I just leave 2 inches overlap one sheet on top of another or should I buy some pieces of channel where both sheets slide into these channels then get riveted through each other?

Also I’ve seen people use tek5 screws on the roof transition part. I think some big rivets would be a better way to go .
And for rivets is there special rivets used to make the bus . I don’t seem to see a hole where the needle was in the bus’s original rivets. Are they and is there such thing as bell rivets where the head has no hole . Or are they standers and the paint just covers the hole.

Wel I didn’t know the ribs where hat channel looping from the sides to the ceiling and down again. Pretty cool I guess . Makes sense actually I thought it was square tubeing but now that seems kind of weird
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Old 05-22-2019, 06:46 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by o1marc View Post
If you look down at the profile of the rib it is in the shape of a hat. From the back side it looks square but has the hat brim flats for securing the skin to. They are one piece from floor up over and back to the floor.
Are these dimensions you used or just random for an example?
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Old 05-22-2019, 06:57 AM   #18
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That's the style of transition I did.
I just like the looks better.
What build thread do you have so I can see?
Roll your own or roll another one? Lots of pages to scan through trying to find yours
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Old 05-22-2019, 08:56 AM   #19
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Yeah really man I could just do the rivets ...
Well my delay in thinking of just going with rivets is that I’m not sure how to go about overlapping my sheets. Should I just leave 2 inches overlap one sheet on top of another or should I buy some pieces of channel where both sheets slide into these channels then get riveted through each other?

Also I’ve seen people use tek5 screws on the roof transition part. I think some big rivets would be a better way to go .
And for rivets is there special rivets used to make the bus . I don’t seem to see a hole where the needle was in the bus’s original rivets. Are they and is there such thing as bell rivets where the head has no hole . Or are they standers and the paint just covers the hole.

Wel I didn’t know the ribs where hat channel looping from the sides to the ceiling and down again. Pretty cool I guess . Makes sense actually I thought it was square tubeing but now that seems kind of weird
some buses use screws instead of rivets - model how to overlap from how the manufacturer did it - if using rivets, use the closed ones - you don't want any holes
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Old 05-22-2019, 01:28 PM   #20
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What build thread do you have so I can see?
Roll your own or roll another one? Lots of pages to scan through trying to find yours
There's a Roll Your Own link at the bottom of all my posts.
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