pop top for extra head room?

[BlackJohn]

Your bus jack is a thing to behold. Can't imagine the work and hours it took.
Very nicely done sir.


John

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by BlackJohn

Your bus jack is a thing to behold. Can't imagine the work and hours it took.
Very nicely done sir.


John

You should use proper grammar when spelling Jacks name, it could make the difference between you helping your Uncle Jack off his horse, or helping your uncle jack off his horse.

[plfking]

Originally Posted by o1marc

You should use proper grammar when spelling Jacks name, it could make the difference between you helping your Uncle Jack off his horse, or helping your uncle jack off his horse.

Nothing wrong with his grammar OR his spelling of Jack's name. Punctuation and capitalization were off, but I'm sure every person that read his compliment understood it fully.

[cadillackid]

if you properly box in a Pop Top opening it seems like you could still have the roof strength needed and still much stronger than the roofs on standard RV's..



I do disagree about no welding on a roof raise, however most all the welding needed is behind-the-skin so the welds dont need to look nice, just hold things together.. im thinking of all the welding involved to weld the channel into the cut supports.. the skin you can rivet on.. I am thinking if you have a shop make your transition and weld it on for you that takes care of the single hardest part of a roof raise..



otherwise it to me seems like a lot of homework ahead of time to get the proiper metal pieces made and take the time to level out the bus on all 4 corners and crib it so the bus stays put when you make the cuts. ..


seeing ECCB's roof raise first-hand made me realize that with all the homework he did, and going nice n slow that its not nearly as daunting as it sounds from the beginning.



doing a below the windows roof raise is also a possibility if you want to re-use all or most of your original windows and have them fit with ease..



-Christopher

[BlackJohn]

Originally Posted by o1marc

You should use proper grammar when spelling Jacks name, it could make the difference between you helping your Uncle Jack off his horse, or helping your uncle jack off his horse.

Do you mean Jack's name speaking of punctuation?


Sorry for the typo Jack, was under the influence of Alaskan Thunder and long day. Sorting out turf's issue isn't an easy thing to do from this distance.
Thanks Doug for the vote of confidence, I will try to be better at spelling from now on so nobody like Marc gets confused.



John

[ol trunt]

I can't even properly spell my own name. Anyone notice that "Trunt" in Ol Trunt should be spelled "Truant"? I played hooky on spelling days.
Jack

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

I can't even properly spell my own name. Anyone notice that "Trunt" in Ol Trunt should be spelled "Truant"? I played hooky on spelling days.
Jack

I've always wondered what a "Trunt" is.

[Gdog 5651]

I don't know if I would have done my roof roof raise without welding at least part of it. Although if a person had custom made hat channel extensions perhaps they could be bolted in with the right hardware my concern would be them loosening during bus flex.Please excuse the grammar errors in all of my posts I think I was there for basic grammar classes,but that was a long time ago and either the lessons did not take or I forgot them. Gene

[Tanker Pilot]

Originally Posted by infamousmoose

we wouldnt be cutting into the ribs. we would put something made to fit in between so it was only cutting through the sheet metal. and we did a price check with our welder guy and he said a roof raise would be 5k to 6k. that is more than what we are paying for our bus where as we could do a pop top for under 2k and only where we would want it.

So are you talking about just doing a pop-up on a small section between the ribs? One? More than one? My ribs are only 26 inches apart for the majority of my bus. Then you still have the low clearance between even multiple sections. It sounds like a good way to let air and light in, but then you lose roof space for solar, A/C or a deck if you wanted any of those items. Interested to see what you do! Cheers, J

[Doktari]

I’ve been wondering about a similar roof modification. I have a ‘96 and ‘97 Chevy Shorty. The ‘96 G3500 is unibody frame. The ‘97 Gen 1 Express 3500 has a large frame separate from the body. Am I correct that cutting a hole and cutting some of the roof support beams in the unibody roof would affect the structural strength while doing the same in the framed vehicle would not compromise the strength?? At least not to nearly the degree. These buses seem so solid that my hunch is that a large hole in the roof is not going to be a problem. If I ever crash or roll this thing I don’t think the hole will be my only problem or main concern. In my opinion the windows have already compromised the strength. I’m planning on filling in many of them.
On a side note it is interesting how different the vehicles feel to drive. Thanks

[Blueman]

Dont folks cut the ribs to add a VW bus on the top for more space?

[saftyliner1997]

Originally Posted by infamousmoose

no its cool, i totally dont think your trying to argue, but yes only in the open spaces inbetween the ribs. and just as a small space for a little extra head room when we're in bed, we plan on doing kennels under our bed so our head space will be around 3 ft. adding a little pop up seemed to be the cheaspest easiest route

You wouldn't believe how easy it is to raise the whole roof without losing any structural strength amazing when I was showing how!

[EastCoastCB]

yeah, I cut the roof off a bus and we raised it. they're overbuilt. roof raise is not as hard as many think.

[infamousmoose]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

My bus came with a ready made boxed in opening in the roof so I went with a pop up.
Jack

.


.

this looks too cool!awesome job!

[infamousmoose]

Originally Posted by Tanker Pilot

So are you talking about just doing a pop-up on a small section between the ribs? One? More than one? My ribs are only 26 inches apart for the majority of my bus. Then you still have the low clearance between even multiple sections. It sounds like a good way to let air and light in, but then you lose roof space for solar, A/C or a deck if you wanted any of those items. Interested to see what you do! Cheers, J

mostly this poptop area would be for our bed, were doing a raised bed for kennels and storage under and were thinking of doing a poptop just for that. as far as solar goes i believe we will have more than enough space and if theres some space left over we might wanna do a roof deck but i doubt we will go that direction

[Ohregano]

Originally Posted by infamousmoose

we would only need a couple well placed and could be put down or up easily as needed (mostly head space from our raised bed or living room for spacial openness)

If you're just worried about headspace for your bed, and it's in the back of the bus, it probably wouldn't be the end of the world if 1 rib was cut. I wouldn't cut more than one and I wouldn't cut it anywhere but in the very back of the bus.

[Tstege]

Just wanted to see if there is any follow up on this subject? Or if you ended up not following thru with it? I am in the same boat and I am looking at either purchasing the complete pop top off a Westfalia I found for about $1000 or for about $2000 shipped its the Turret Top older ones that match the curved roof buying a new one from the link posted on here earlier and that’s with shipping. I think the exchange rate is favorable still. https://www.spaceroofs.co.uk/gallery.php

My pre school 2001 Chevy gets 13/14 mpg and I would like more head room. That’s the main reason I want to do it. I like that my bus is low and does not have dual rear wheels. I also like the mpg’s But it lacks headroom. If I wanted a taller bus I know I could roof raise or buy a dually bus that’s 6 6” on the inside. I already had one and sold it. This is purely for travel, and not for living in.

I plan on removing 1 or 2 ribs in the middle and then reinforcing the edge with 1 1/2” square steel tubing. I know everyone just cringed, but having gutted mine and seen how solid it is compared to a normal van or camper I’m not worried.

[Tstege]

Found this site not sure if anyone has used them or anyone else like them yet. They make a ton of different ones including universal ones with all hardware included and shipped it works out to a little over $2000 for several of there models.

http://www.poptoproofs.co.uk/index.php

[jimburke77502]

I'm actually working something similar into my build. Designing it along the lines of a hard top pop up camper. Working off of a roof top deck with strategically placed post supports that will house the lift post system. I think a better way to describe it would be, kind of like a car lift. Only with cable operation and not hydraulic.(2 12 volt winches synced to lift.) The only modification would be to one of the roof hatch openings, making it longer for stair access to the 2nd floor. Stair design is still in the works.

[Suzie]

I am checking for any updates to this conversation. I am such a newbie- this is my first post. i am still shopping for the bus. The dream vehicle will be a short school bus, maybe 24 passenger size. Sleeping quarters will be tight for the three of us, myself, husband and son. I had hoped to install a pop top bed to take care of that problem. My question is this- Are some models better suited to a pop top than others? Any recommendations? Cutting into the roof scares me a lot, and I might pay to have it professionally installed. Thanks in advance for your help!