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Old 04-08-2010, 10:12 AM   #1
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Crosswinds and roof raises

I've been looking for information on how school buses handle crosswinds, especially with raised roofs. Older posts here didn't have what I was looking for. Since I'm six-foot-five, and my shower will be next to a side wall, I want to boost the roof so I can stand up while washing up. Depending on the amount of arch in the roof, I figure that ceiling height will be almost seven feet in the middle. I want to balance my comfort with road safety, especially resistance to blowing over or having to fight to stay in my lane.

I currently have a 1976 Winnebago Class "C." It's fun to drive except in crosswinds, which make it a white-knuckle nightmare. It presents the same surface area to a crosswind, I'm guessing, as a seven-row school bus but weighs less than 8,000 pounds empty (heck, many buses can carry more weight in 10-year-olds). So I'm thinking that buses, being so much heavier, would be more stable anyway. (Not to mention that when stix-and-staples units like mine flip over....holy s***.)

I've already made up my mind on getting a skoolie some time in the future, becuase I've always thought they're cool and built like tanks.

My main question is how much difference you've noticed in your bus before versus after raising the roof. I've already found plenty of good instructions thanx to you folks on how to do the surgery while keeping structural integrity intact.

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Old 04-10-2010, 10:37 AM   #2
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Re: Crosswinds and roof raises

the winds here in Sask/Alberta have been so bad in the last 2 days that several vehicles have over turned on the highway! there was ice and snow with it to so lots of highways closed and bus service stopped. one bus apparently had the roof hatch pop off on it to! A ferry was blown off its cable and is running adrift on the river, panels from buildings have blown off, trees down, power lines knocked over, phone lines down, and lots of people stranded.

so long story short, thats when i would be worried about the crosswinds! lol

just glad the snow/ice didnt hit here!

http://www.newstalk650.com/story/20100409/31989
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Old 04-10-2010, 11:20 AM   #3
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Re: Crosswinds and roof raises

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuff
...the winds here in Sask/Alberta have been so bad in the last 2 days that several vehicles have over turned on the highway...
...and there I am on the roof of my bus installing a roof vent with a broken arm. Probably not the best day to do that!
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Old 04-10-2010, 05:48 PM   #4
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Re: Crosswinds and roof raises

ya i was gonna work on the bus... but the wind is just blah...
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Old 04-10-2010, 06:32 PM   #5
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Re: Crosswinds and roof raises


I raised my roof two feet -- no noticable difference. School buses have much sturdier suspension than RVs. Notice RVs on the road, and you will see that most of them have the tires quite far inboard from the side of the body. They are also sprung softly, to keep Granny happy. Basically, RVs are built on under-size chassies.

Remember three-wheel ATVs? They tipped over a lot, so they were outlawed and replaced with four-wheel ATVs. A good case could be made for similarly upgrading RV chassies to bus standards.
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Old 04-20-2010, 04:46 PM   #6
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Re: Crosswinds and roof raises

Thank you for the good feedback - and the links with how-to info! They will help me decide on how high to raise the ceiling. Not to mention actually getting the bus and taking a tape measure to it.

Also reassuring about the crosswind resistance of buses v. RVs.
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