Too Tall for a Skoolie?

[TAOLIK]

I'm also 6'3" and am planning to live in the non roof raised bus fulltime. When the bus was stock, I was able to stand in it straight no problem. As it currently is(2.5" insulation in roof, 1" of insulation/plywood in the floor), my head rubs against the ceiling in the highest part of the bus. I have begun exercising a wide stance where my feet are a 18" apart. I will get used to this since I don't have the time or money for a roof raise on this bus.. I cannot to many yoga stances in the bus, but that is okay. Most of the time I spend in my home I'm horizontal anyway.

[TAOLIK]

I apparently missed 2 pages of discussion when I made my prior post.

I totally agree with the below post. More time, more stability=better build.

i'll probably be flamed by some folk.. but when you set goals of "im not renewing my lease!" you automatically put on the pressure that you Must find, buy, and convert a bus on a timeline.. something usually gives... the bus quality, the bus cost, the quality of the build, or ends up costing alot more because you need to source materials and / or labor / mechasnical repairs / tools, etc on a lot shorter timeline..

I also agree with the below, you can't wait around forever.

Originally Posted by briNbrendon

You are NOT wrong about the pressure or the value in taking the time to do something right. At a certain point though, you have to stop shopping, deal with your purchase, and move on!! We've been researching for over a year and shopping since September... we just keep getting contradictory information and cold feet!! I think we may just have to jump in soon or we never will!!

With my build I spent a lot of time scratchign my ass on what to do first, I definitely feel that my first bus is a "learning" bus. I expect my juicy lucy to slowly fall apart in the coming years, the next bus will be more thought out. I suppose it's all about everyones satisfaction with their current position, income, etc. For me I have eager parents waiting to become grand parents, not a day to waste!

I bet the raised roofs are nice though, I can't even comprehend what a luxury it would be to not rub my hair on the ceiling. But my wife is 4'8" so as long as she's happy, happy life.

[SDR76]

I'm 6-3, my bus is too short for me, but I'm not committed enough to this bus to do a roof raise. I know if I were planning full-timing, or even spending a lot of time in it; I certainly would not hesitate to raise the roof a foot or so. That said, if I was in the market for a bus to full-time, I would look for one that already had some headroom..

[Carytowncat]

So i have gone a little bit kore Japaneese seating style in that i keep it low pro in here. Mostly in the bus i am sitting or laying down, and when i cook, i simply have a cushion for my knees and have the stove down lower.

This began as trying to stay low enough to not get noticed living in the bus, but then just made sense. i don't walk much in the bus, and when i do i still stay sorta low and hang onto the overhead rails for support.

At least a different option, and i like anything that eliminates more work lol

Good luck!

[cowlitzcoach]

I am coming into this discussion at the end of it and I am going to say something that might cause some eyebrows to raise.

If high headroom is a must, as you look at school buses only look at buses with 12" windows and not look at any buses with the 9" windows. The buses with 12" windows generally have 4" more headroom than the 9" window buses. They are easy to tell apart--the top of the 9" windows are in a straight line with the driver's side window and the top of the service door and the top of the 12" windows are a step above the driver's side window and the top of the service door.

The 12" window buses generally have 78" of headroom in the center of the aisle.

The part of raised eyebrows come here. You may want to consider a low floor transit bus. They come with their own issues that are very different and can be more complicated than a school bus. But a low floor transit bus will have over 8' of headroom between the front of the bus and the rear axle. It will have over 78" of head room from the rear axle to the back of the bus.

Of course with a low floor transit bus there is no space under the bus for anything. As a consequence tanks and other house systems that would normally go under the bus have to be built on the floor of the bus and then another floor built over the top of the mechanicals.

At the end of the day you have to decide what type of bus will work the best for you. Each type of bus in the school bus world have pros and cons. Looking at a transit or highway coach bus will have pros and cons too. The thing is with transit and coach buses the pros and cons will cost much more to diagnose and repair than in a school bus.

Good luck and try and find the best bus for you!

[cowlitzcoach]

One other thought to consider: Don't think of this bus as your forever home!

I know one guy who is on his third bus conversion. He never got anything close to what he had put into it, even with not counting the labor involved. But he chose to look at the previous ones as learning experiences.

I know another guy who is on at least the third remodel of his bus. Part of the changes are a result of his kids growing up and leaving home. And part of the changes are a result of learning that some of what he thought he had to have he never really used and it was taking up space.

I know another guy who had spent countless hours designing his bus on his computer. He followed his CAD and it looked great. The only problem is that what worked on the computer didn't work at all well in the bus--he ended up tearing almost everything out except for the ceiling and side walls and started over. He was the one who told me what to do if I was ever going to convert a bus:

• Make a floor plan that contains all of the important things you want
• Lay it all out on the floor with painters tape and build walls out of cardboard to approximate where divides will be in your bus
• Use the bus several times with the tape and cardboard so you know how it will work when it is all built in and non-movable
• Go to RV shows and see how the professionals use space--there are only so many ways in which you can package a bedroom, kitchen, living room, and a bathroom in 300 square feet

Good luck and I wish you the best of luck!

[Mark_In_MA]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

Of course with a low floor transit bus there is no space under the bus for anything. As a consequence tanks and other house systems that would normally go under the bus have to be built on the floor of the bus and then another floor built over the top of the mechanicals.

I've always thought that was an interesting idea. Put the tanks and things on the bus floor, and then build the sub-floor above that with a few trap doors for access.

It might get a little complicated, but I like the idea of being able to have the tanks and everything inside the bus. No worrying about punctures or anything from road debris (or snow or salt), and they'd stay a bit closer to the interior temperature (no freezing in winter.)

I'd love to have a year-round bus, but I know that it seriously changes the way I have to design and fortify anything under the bus.

[dredman]

been wanting to get my ideas about roof raises off my chest. It seems that insulation and roof raising is almost a prerequisite for owning a schoolie, and I simply wanted to provide an alternate opinion from a full-timer - a TALL full timer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4doV...ature=youtu.be

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

I am coming into this discussion at the end of it and I am going to say something that might cause some eyebrows to raise.

If high headroom is a must, as you look at school buses only look at buses with 12" windows and not look at any buses with the 9" windows. The buses with 12" windows generally have 4" more headroom than the 9" window buses. They are easy to tell apart--the top of the 9" windows are in a straight line with the driver's side window and the top of the service door and the top of the 12" windows are a step above the driver's side window and the top of the service door.

The 12" window buses generally have 78" of headroom in the center of the aisle.

The part of raised eyebrows come here. You may want to consider a low floor transit bus. They come with their own issues that are very different and can be more complicated than a school bus. But a low floor transit bus will have over 8' of headroom between the front of the bus and the rear axle. It will have over 78" of head room from the rear axle to the back of the bus.

Of course with a low floor transit bus there is no space under the bus for anything. As a consequence tanks and other house systems that would normally go under the bus have to be built on the floor of the bus and then another floor built over the top of the mechanicals.

At the end of the day you have to decide what type of bus will work the best for you. Each type of bus in the school bus world have pros and cons. Looking at a transit or highway coach bus will have pros and cons too. The thing is with transit and coach buses the pros and cons will cost much more to diagnose and repair than in a school bus.

Good luck and try and find the best bus for you!

cowlitz: later IC, carpenter, thomas, all seem to use taller driver windows for the 12" passenger window busses.. Bluebird does not as the taller bnusses are easier to spot as like you mentioned the passenger windows are higher than the driver window..

-Christopher

[Tango]

Hey Dred --- I'm with you. And you are nailing one of the most critical aspects of any conversion.

Build what fits your needs & lifestyle.

I can see the advantages of a roof raise for some folks (Hey...I raised my old BB 19" but that was to haul loads of antiques & furniture). If you are a full timing family of four, the added storage space that comes with a roof raise makes sense. If your objective is to "get on the road" with minimal cost & time input...keep it simple.

Another factor is reselling. If you plan on living in your rig for the next 20 years, that's one thing. If your dream is to roll around the country for a couple of years and sell it off...that's another. A bus that has been dramatically modified and customized to fit one individuals particular taste has a much narrower market appeal than one that has been left pretty much stock and is still a bus.

Long story short to any would be skoolie convertors...figure out exactly what you want to do with your bus before you dive into designing it. Don't assume that just because "everyone else is doing it"...it might be right for you.

And this is from a guy building a one-of-a-kind, 1946 super short, super low roof, highly modified bus. Will anyone else want what I am putting together? Probably not. And even if they do...they'd best be under 5 foot seven!

Figure out your needs...then...DO IT YOUR WAY!

[cadillackid]

one-size fits all definitely does NOT apply here.. and that applies to drivetrains as well..

if you plan to build a bus that is on the road a lot or in tough terrain the drivetrain means alot more than it does to the guy who wants to park it on his land and only move it once a year...

dont spend money on something you'll never use... but Do spend money and effort on things you will get Value to yourself out of...

dont pay extra for a tall tinted-window Air-conditioned bus if you are going to tear all that stuff out and raise the roof...

DO buy it if that bus comes in at a nice low price anyway..

-Christopher

[Stu & Filo. T]

Originally Posted by briNbrendon

Hello! My boyfriend and I are in the market for a bus for a skoolie conversion, but are having trouble finding one that my 6'3" boyfriend can stand in! We are apprehensive about raising the roof, but willing to do it if left with no other options. We've heard mixed things about the structural integrity of the bus post-roof raise and have also heard that flat front buses are more difficult to work on/get parts for. It seems to us, those might have a taller interior height. We are feeling a little confused, needless to say, and welcome any advice on the subject!! Thanks!!

If your wanting to maintain the structural integrity of a School Bus than don't do anything, leave all the seats & windows in, do not change a thing

[dan-fox]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Thomas builds good buses as well but they have an extra bend to the sides and rear that makes a good raise a bit trickier.

???? There have been a few Thomases raised on this forum; I either don't remember or don't understand what you mean here. Could you point at a pic from a post, or "2 minutes into the video look there" or something?

I know it's work, but I'm guessing that this conversation will greatly benefit from some visual aids. Thanks in advance.

[EastCoastCB]

Thomas buses tilt in at the windows, right above the top rub rail.
Makes it trickier to do the "standard" roof raise on them.
Can't find a good pic, but go look a a Thomas and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.






BB's and IC's have the standard "bread loaf" shape with the sides being straight up and down, and parallel.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Thomas buses tilt in at the windows, right above the top rub rail.
Makes it trickier to do the "standard" roof raise on them.

sounds like a candidate for a below the window raise?
-Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

sounds like a candidate for a below the window raise?
-Christopher

It would have to be!

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Thomas buses tilt in at the windows, right above the top rub rail.
Makes it trickier to do the "standard" roof raise on them.
Can't find a good pic, but go look a a Thomas and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.






BB's and IC's have the standard "bread loaf" shape with the sides being straight up and down, and parallel.

someday when I grow up in Bus-dome I want one of those modern space-age looking Safety-Liner-C2 busses... I love the look of them!!
-Christopher

[30kdays]

Originally Posted by briNbrendon

Thanks so much! We are planning in living in it full time so we probably will want to raise it... it's just so intimidating! If we only raised it about 16" (as opposed to the max height) that would save us some money and surely be enough room! What material did you use? Did you weld it? There seems to be too many options to wrap my head around!

Check out the "Transcendence" project on here. He has some great YouTube videos on his roof raise.

[IWC Bus]

Originally Posted by briNbrendon

Hello! My boyfriend and I are in the market for a bus for a skoolie conversion, but are having trouble finding one that my 6'3" boyfriend can stand in! We are apprehensive about raising the roof, but willing to do it if left with no other options. We've heard mixed things about the structural integrity of the bus post-roof raise and have also heard that flat front buses are more difficult to work on/get parts for. It seems to us, those might have a taller interior height. We are feeling a little confused, needless to say, and welcome any advice on the subject!! Thanks!!

Don't listen to those doubting Toms. I am in the process of looking for a rig also and I have been in and out of allot of them. I stand 6' 4.5" tall well that what my Doctor's said last visit. I have room to move around until I move around the window area. The only thing I worry about is what I am going to do with the floor.

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

[New2Skool]

I am 6'4 and once, I had everything removed and was walking on bare metal flooring with expose roof ribs. I still had to slouch and duck to walk, it was unacceptable plus I didnt want to have to cut cabinets, deal with a window bulk head at five feet tall.

The lift was easy enough, nerve rattling but easy other all. It is all about prep work. Planning, gathering and preparing materials, then doing it as planned. The easiest way that I found was using guides, all thread and bolts and jacks. It is what I did and it worked very well.

I reinforced the ribs with 2' tubing inside of the hat channels, cross sections, a few here and there at 45 degree angles. The thing that made all the difference for me was the ability to weld. My little $100 menards 110AC Buzz Box stick welder has saved my bacon so many times, I should have paid five times as much for the honor haha.

Now, that it is raised I can walk down the center of my bus with my arms extended fully over my head without touching the roof. I am about 4 inches short of a standard 8 foot interior. So, that is great. I dont have to modify hardly anything, i dont have to cut cabinets in half, shower stall, or hardly anything to the wasteful extent most untouched buses require. So, if I can do it, you can certainly do it. This is the right place to get advise and see examples.

Have fun and be safe.