Lurker

[Saddletramp]

Hi all, have been lurking for a while but have run out of answers without participating so I joined up.

This may well turn out to be another pipe dream, I have had plenty over the years, but bear with me.

I am an old grizzly biker, a good wrench and big fan of diesel trucks, I have over a million miles on the road on bikes over the last 30+ years and out on the road is where I prefer to be, on and off over the years I have toyed with the idea of buying or building an RV, with building being a favorite, I like the idea of a Skoolie as they are so solid, I am also considering becoming a traveller for two or three years just to get out there again and like the idea of taking my bed with me, however I am too old and beat up to sleep in a tent so the RV route seems even more attractive, I have become soft with age and need my comforts.

I figure with a Skoolie given its truck frame and generally titan construction I can do certain things that a more conventional platform would not be so good at.

If I do this I plan on building a home away from home, just for me though but with a spare bed or a couple of bunks that will be ok for occasional visitors, no TV as I have no need for one, a garage for my motorcycle.

I plan on a full size bus with a garage in the rear, I was concerned about the weight of the bike being behind the axel but reading the article on the jacuzzi it seems that the area there should handle unto 3000 lbs without an issue, I guess the seats weigh a bit so once they are gone and allowing for the weight offset in front of the axel for the living accom and there will be few issues, I would plan on making the entire rear into an opening with a drop down door that can double as a ramp and maybe a rear deck with support legs. Access to garage from inside and out.

One area of concern is interior height as I am 6'3" so I may consider raising the roof depending on what interior height I can expect, if I do that then I would plan on re-profiling the front of the roof to improve aerodynamics, even without raising the roof I would likely still re-profile the front edge of the roof, but that is the joy of steel.

I would plan on removing most of the windows and would weld steel panels in place to lose the whole bus feel and look, fit RV style windows and maybe a good large skylight.

Things that are a must are good headroom, comfort as in seating area, big bed for me, good sized shower and head, decent sized garage area for the Harley, desk area for working, I could maybe have a fold down work surface for this over a bunk bed (I have been thinking about this), good air and heat, reliability and 10mpg.

So who thinks I am mad? Anyone have any suggestions?

[Das Mel]

Originally Posted by Saddletramp

So who thinks I am mad?

We're all mad here. Sanity is relative (just ask our relatives, they tend to think we're nuts).

What you want sounds doable (it better be, otherwise we'd be in someone's fever dream and considering the walls haven't turned into cheese yet, I think we're doing okay). What kinda suggestions are ya lookin' for?

[Malkieri]

These 2 have both done a garage in back sorta thing.... and 1 did a roof raise as well.....
http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1709
http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=11053
Camel project addresses the weight issue pretty well if memory serves... he is putting a Jeep Cherokee back there (gotta be heavier than any bike you can find).
Welcome and good luck!! Where are you at, there maybe a local here for you as well.

[sdwarf36]

Welcome.
A bike hauler? Sure-no problem. If you luck out you can find a bus with a wheelchair lift + can solve the loading issue. If not, you're gonna need a long ramp to get up to bumper height. Search around-(look for posts from "Charley" He put his Harley in the back of a short bus. There was another shortie that the guy had a great flip out ramp (for the length of a bike) to put a Ducati in his bus.

[Saddletramp]

Are there any busses out there that actually have 6'6" of headroom as standard?

[bansil]

If your an ole grizzled biker...than you've shrunk over the years
Welcome
6'3 is doable in a non lowroof thomas...you won't be standing much really, let see:

Sitting=no standing
Sleeping=no standing
Cooking=bent over cooktop or burner/grill
Pooping=no standing(trust me less messy to sit)
Eating=no standing or leaned over so beer don't spill
Shower=oops....bubble in ceiling or sunken floor

So you can see that important things in life are not done standing

Once again....welcome!

[Saddletramp]

6'3" is my shrunken size, I was nearly 7' when I started.

[wmkbailey]

Welcome to the madness.

You can check out my post down below my name. I did a roof raise and was told it is better to rivet the steel over where the windows were. They work better with the flexing of the bus.

Also check out The Millicent Chronicles; two foot roof raise, big tailgate http://www.skoolie.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1709 He got me interested in a roof raise and he also has a door/ramp off the back of his bus.

My rear axle is rated for 22,000. I think they can handle the extra weight you plan to put there.

[Saddletramp]

I was wondering about the viability of dropping the floor between the frame rails just for the garage, so the floor of the bike storage is level with the base of the body line at the back, there should be enough space between the frame rails for a single bike.

[Stu & Filo. T]

A bike hauler? Sure-no problem. If you luck out you can find a bus with a wheelchair lift + can solve the loading issue. If not, you're gonna need a long ramp to get up to bumper height.

I tried a wheelchair lift once with my bike that wieghed 600 lbs dry the lift couldn't handle it, I always thought about making the whole back fold down into a ramp but I ended up purchusing a pusher

[Saddletramp]

Wheelchair lifts are not designed to cope with the length of a motorcycle so the leverage comes into play, it is not just a simple matter of capacity.

If there is enough space between the frame rails I may design and build an electric four post vertical lift to go in this space, it could be quite cool.

[Stu & Filo. T]

Just a thought, I know of a School District thats going to be surplusing ( Crushing) a bus with a elevator in it, it's if I remember right about 6ft wide has 2 swinging doors in front of it

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by Saddletramp

Wheelchair lifts are not designed to cope with the length of a motorcycle so the leverage comes into play, it is not just a simple matter of capacity.

If there is enough space between the frame rails I may design and build an electric four post vertical lift to go in this space, it could be quite cool.

With little modification it will do the job just fine. The basics are already there.

Nat