Your ideas/opinion on roof raise

[rabiznick]

After looking at several busses, I have come to the conclusion that at
6'-4" tall there is no real comfortable way for me to enjoy a stock height skoolie. So I am asking for input on raising the roof.

What I have in mind is to completely remove the roof starting at the first joint behind the front cap. I would be cutting the horizontal plane at the top of the roof posts just below the drip cap. I would completely remove the rear cap in the process. I could have this done at a local scrap yard just a mile away.

I would then add the height I want to the existing roof posts, adding a new top rail to both sides. New steel rafters and rear end framing would complete the basic raise. A 6-6 to 6-8 flat ceiling height is my goal.

Here is where I could really use some brain storming. What to cover the roof with and how to attach it to the steel rafters and get it weathertite.
I am currently thinking about a light plywood skin with a one piece rubber roof or perhaps a metal skin secured over the plywood?

I know this is a group with many talents. Looking forward to your suggestions.
Thanks! Russ

[Eric von Kleist]

This is from a purely hypothetical vantagepoint, as I have no personal practical experience...

Have you considered just puting the same old roof back on? In surfing around looking at such things, that seems to be a common approach. The window posts are just lengthened, more or less, by splicing in more steel. Then the extra surface area along the sides of the bus is covered with sheet metal. The back of the bus stays in place, and sheet metal is installed front and back to bridge the height between the rear and front and the higher roof.

It sure would save a lot of work over constructing (and waterproofing) a new roof.

Just a thought. It may not be suitable for your purposes.

I can tell you from practical experience that once you get into a bus project, you will be glad for every labor/time saving "innovation" you can come up with!!!

Oh, yeah, remember that overall height is going to be important to you. Not just the height of the new roof, but the height of the new roof PLUS anything up top: racks, A/C units, decks, vents, smokestacks, anything you put up there. You're probably not planning on raising it to the height of a double decker, obviously, but there are not a few overpasses, bridges, etc. in the US that are less than the 13 1/2' minimum clearance on the Defense and Interstate Highway System. There used to be a steel frame bridge with 11 feet of clearance near me, but it fell down...not really, but it was about to, so the highway department closed off the only road crossing that river for about 50 miles so that they could spend a year replacing it...with a concrete bridge with no superstructure.

[rabiznick]

I have looked at most of the roof raises that are posted on owners sites. The thing I don't like is all the messing around with jacking up that heavy old roof. I also really want a flat ceiling to mount my cabinets against. I also figured that I would end up with a taller roof if I raised the stock one, as I want to leave some insulation/wiring space.
Thanks for the input.

[busone]

I am in the same boat as you as far as height. I also don't like having to deal with a curved roof inside. I have thought long and hard about making an all new roof and front cap. In the end I have decided that will not be a good idea for me because of all the cost involved. I would rather raise the existing roof and then make a false flat ceiling inside. I can run A/C ducts, wiring, and lots of insulation in the "attic." Since schoolies are not tall buses like an MCI or Prevost I don't worry about making the roof extra tall. Here is a link to a guy that raised his own roof.

http://busweb.freeservers.com/raising.htm

[Dan-O]

You may have seen this site already but I'll post it anyways:

http://trx.punknet.org/geeklog/publi...olieConversion

He has done the roof pretty much like the way you would like it I think... could maybe be a bit more descriptive, but you may get some Ideas from this.

[rabiznick]

Thanks for the info Anybody want to hazzard a guess as to what the weight of the roof section on a 66+ passenger bus might be?

[Bullwinkle]

Originally Posted by rabiznick

Anybody want to hazzard a guess as to what the weight of the roof section on a 66+ passenger bus might be?

I'd estimate around 500 lbs with the interior ceiling stripped out, maybe 900 if you left it in.

There's some pics of my roof-raising project here: http://www.goinmobile.blogspot.com/

-A. Moose

[busone]

Here is a link to a site with some roof raising info. Plus lots of other good stuff. You will hvae to scroll down a ways to see the roof raising part.

http://users.cwnet.com/~thall/fredhobe.htm

[Jarlaxle]

Do you REALLY think messing with a structural panel that big is a good idea?

[busone]

Even if the roof raise was not done the best it still would be safer than a stick and staple. Think of all the professional conversion that have a raised roof. If the welds are better than what carpenter did I would not worry.

[trx]

Trust me, building a newer, taller roof is a considerable amount of work! I currently do not see myself doing it again anytime soon. I spent over $400 just in the new steel framing (that includes the back ramp) and that was before the jump in steel prices. You should also plan on getting a tan from all the welding you will do. I took the old roof off in 3 sections and I can tell you personally those roofs are not light. I can guarantee my new roof doesn't weigh nearly as much. It may not be as strong as the old roof but is still a tank compared to regular RV's. If you do decide to take the plunge you will end up with a more useable/workable interior and it will feel more like a real RV inside. You'll also have the opportunity add better insulation. From the windows up and the ceiling I used 2" R-10 polystyrene insulation. Having a good roof covering is important. In an attempt to control costs I decided to use the same corrugated steel they use on pole buildings. I ran them lengthways on the roof for aerodynamics but I have one seam in the middle (they were 16' sheets) and the water must run off the front or the back. Not perfect but it's working. It's screwed on with pole building screws that have the rubber washer. I also put sealant over each one as an extra precaution. I did look at a plywood/rubber roof solution but just that would have been easily over $500 (from what I found out). I think the best solution would be to have slightly curved roof supports and cover it with 1/4" plywood and one huge sheet of sheet metal. Not sure where you could find a sheet large enough but seams are your enemy. You'd also have to get it prepped and painted immediately. It all depends on how much you want to spend and how much work you want to put into it.

Chad

[Elliot Naess]

Hi!
New guy here, jumping right in trying to be helpful.

I work for a trucking company and we have our own shop. Once in a while, we put a new roof on a 53 foot semi-trailer. That roof is a single sheet of aluminum, about .050 thick. It is 102 inches wide and more than 53 feet long. Comes rolled up so it is not too difficult to handle. No, I don't dare guess what it costs, but I'm sure the Utility dealer can tell you.
I'm learning a ton from this forum; sure glad I found you guys!
Most cordially,

[soused moose]

Chad I was checking out your great pics on your site .
Can you tell me how you attached the exterior wall on the steel framing you constucted ?
Thanks.
Michael

[trx]

Originally Posted by soused moose

Chad I was checking out your great pics on your site . Can you tell me how you attached the exterior wall on the steel framing you constucted ?
Thanks.
Michael

I screwed 1/4" plywood to the posts then covered the plywood with 24" wide prepainted aluminium (sold as 24"x50' trim coil at home improvement stores). 2x2's were attached behind the seams in the plywood. I used contact adhesive to attach the aluminum to the plywood. This gave me a smooth exterior with no visible screws or rivets. 1 1/2 years and so far so good. Well we did have a bad hail storm last month that covered the drivers side in dents. It even took out the back window.

[soused moose]

Thanks for the info…. I’ve been wondering how folks went about attaching plywood to steel framing/bracing for some time now.
I typically through-bolt everything on our buses, which is pretty durable …but I don’t like having the nut sticking out on the inside. (Makes attaching interior walls a pain )

I’m cutting our bus body down to only approx. 8-1/2 feet so I’ll just go with wood framing instead of steel for the sides and new roof …but it is nice to find out how to attach wood to steel without having to use through-bolts all the time.
Thanks Chad