pop top for extra head room?

[Doktari]

I have similar questions about a pop top conversion for my 4 window cut away van/bus. I was going to do a 4’x8’ caboose style roof raise but wondering if I’ll regret not doing a pop top.
I did a 4’x18’ caboose style roof raise on my Isuzu Motorhome. So far so good but it’s sitting in limbo/storage still. Only time will tell if it holds up well.
I’m extra tall at 6’6” and have been considering in specializing in conversions for tall people. Thee must be a lot of other people with the same conundrum. It’s more of a necessity than a luxury for us.
Has anyone any numbers how much a pop top cost them. Is it lofty, pun intended, numbers to have someone else do it? Are any pop top kits available?

[RolesvilleMarina]

I've saw a random post on a FB where a skoolie had affixed a pop up caravan
on top of the school bus instead of a deck.

I wish I could find the pic. But my understanding there was a ladder and they went through the escape hatch and the kids had the entire upstairs

and pop up campers are cheap, a stout tree and some rigging to hoist her

[Doktari]

Good idea! I have a old pop top camping trailer I could hoist on top of my bus but I think it would be a bit heavy. My bus is only a 1-ton and only has a Chevy 5.7L engine. I’d like to use it as a tall blind for watching wildlife, birding, and photography. It would be great for looking over the cattails.

[RolesvilleMarina]

Originally Posted by Doktari

Good idea! I have a old pop top camping trailer I could hoist on top of my bus but I think it would be a bit heavy. My bus is only a 1-ton and only has a Chevy 5.7L engine. I’d like to use it as a tall blind for watching wildlife, birding, and photography. It would be great for looking over the cattails.

well it depends...
if you gut the camper of cabinetry and stuff, as well as the tires and axles etc.. you might be surprised...

at this point you would have basically a couple hundred lbs of aluminium and canvas only...

be like a huge empty room, with two extra beds

[BeNimble]

So the decks on buses seem nice, although with a roof/shade do you really want to be up there, and then they take up solar panel space. So a popup would solve both, put the solar panels on the popup, then you get shade for your upper deck. Don't know about making it part of the inside of the bus, all the heat would go there, not where I'd want to sleep, and in the winter, no insulation from the tent structure. Maybe in Hawaii, it would be perfect.

I'd also like to point out that stuff on your roof really effects your gas mileage, although apparantly nobody really cares about that? Or the ecological effects of propelling 16,000 lbs around the country spewing diesel particulates. :ducks