Traveling Skoolie "kids" &/or truckers... bus height question.

[Brewerbob]

What is the "perfect" skoolie bus height for navigating under bridges? I know there are single lane roads under railroads that some SUVs can't clear (especially in the N.E.). How many national/state/etc parks am I going to miss out on with a 11' 6" bus?

I thought I had my roof raise figured out but today Chev49 turned that upside down with a FLOOR raise. I was thinking a 10" or maybe 12" raise. Even with a 12" raise, I'm looking at 11 feet even to the top of the beacon light. No reason to keep it but currently it's the highest point on the bus and measures 10 feet to the tippy top of it it.

My wheel wells measure 7 1/4". My chair rails measure 9 1/4". The chair rail would be perfect for a floor raise. Weld some cross pieces and voila instant raised floor. Many places with computing do that for server rooms and labs not that I want my bus to be just like work. <shudder>

A floor raise means no pesky wheel wells to contend with. It means under floor storage. I've got storage lockers but those are outside and it's cold and rainy. First world problems, I know. Under floor storage means fewer cabinets. Fewer cabinets means more windows.

I was originally thinking of an 18" raise just for convenience of sheet metal. 24" windows + 18" raise = 48" with 3" of overlap top and bottom. Keeping with the 18", I could do a 9" and 9" raise. Or any combination adding up to 18". If I'm willing to go to 12', I'd have 24 inches to play with.

So what do you skoolie/truck kids think?

[cadillackid]

from what ive seen.. exceot when trying to travel the smaller roads / parkways of the northeast corridor.. most of the state and natrional parks campgrounds are built for standard class A RV's that can easily reach 11-12 feet.. depending on the coach.. not to mention state and national parks often have the large tour bus coaches come through which are quite tall.

in my travels ive only run across a couple areas.. namely weight related issues in rural areas with some old bridges... or in the northeast.. I was north of NYC last summer and had to navigate on the main freeways and highways because of a lot of 11'6 or 11'8 bridges... my bus is 10'8 or so. but i didnt take chances with those short bridges..

-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

from what ive seen.. exceot when trying to travel the smaller roads / parkways of the northeast corridor.. most of the state and natrional parks campgrounds are built for standard class A RV's that can easily reach 11-12 feet.. depending on the coach.. not to mention state and national parks often have the large tour bus coaches come through which are quite tall.

in my travels ive only run across a couple areas.. namely weight related issues in rural areas with some old bridges... or in the northeast.. I was north of NYC last summer and had to navigate on the main freeways and highways because of a lot of 11'6 or 11'8 bridges... my bus is 10'8 or so. but i didnt take chances with those short bridges..

-Christopher

Avoiding NYC is near the top of my list for many reasons. Bridge height is near the bottom of that list. If I'm going to/thru just about any major city, I'm doing it by interstate just to make time. Rural route 1257 (made up number) along the coast/river/back mountain road is my worry.

As for the weight, I need to get a programmable GPS/app.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Brewerbob

Avoiding NYC is near the top of my list for many reasons. Bridge height is near the bottom of that list. If I'm going to/thru just about any major city, I'm doing it by interstate just to make time. Rural route 1257 (made up number) along the coast/river/back mountain road is my worry.

As for the weight, I need to get a programmable GPS/app.

I use the Co-Pilot Truck APP.. (not cheap) but thus far it has kept me from ending up in tough areas... though the other day it did have me making a U-turn.. WTF? in a school bus???

my only real beef with that app is it tends to prefer routes with Tolls unless you tell it to specifically avoid toll roads... in a car not a big deal.. but tolls get to be a big deal fast in a skoolie..
-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I use the Co-Pilot Truck APP.. (not cheap) but thus far it has kept me from ending up in tough areas... though the other day it did have me making a U-turn.. WTF? in a school bus???

my only real beef with that app is it tends to prefer routes with Tolls unless you tell it to specifically avoid toll roads... in a car not a big deal.. but tolls get to be a big deal fast in a skoolie..
-Christopher

I'm wondering if they are too safe. I don't want to go 50 miles out of the way because a 12' bridge was entered as 10'.

Not sure but MD lists tolls by axle. I still only have 2 axles.

[cadillackid]

florida is by axle but PA was by class.. Busses were crazy... RV was less but still a total crock.. New york state was by class of some sort..

-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

florida is by axle but PA was by class.. Busses were crazy... RV was less but still a total crock.. New york state was by class of some sort..

-Christopher

This one is the one I hit frequently. No mention of commercial or class tho it looks like you can't get an EZ Pass over 3 axles? Plenty of boat trailers are dual.

MdTA toll rates: Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, Fort McHenry Tunnel and Francis Scott Key Bridge

Cash/Base Rates:

Axle CountCurrent Rates
2-axle $4.00
3-axle$8.00
4-axle$12.00
5-axle$24.00
6-axle+$30.00

E-ZPass Maryland Rates:

Axle CountCurrent RatesCommuter
$1.40*2-axle
$3.003-axle
n/a4-axle
n/a5-axle
n/a6-axle+

[cadillackid]

I used my EZpass in my bus and didnt get Busted in PA for doing it.. nor did i get any toll violations...

I just wish all the 'pass' people coukld get their act together so we could just have ONE!.. right now I have 3!! an EZpass, a Peachpass, and a SunPass..

and the crappy thing is if you Happen to go through someplace that supports both.. and you have both slapped on the window... thye BOTH will toll you.. and you have to go on the other's site and enter the transaction ID from the toll and it will remove the toll... grrr!

-Christopher

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I used my EZpass in my bus and didnt get Busted in PA for doing it.. nor did i get any toll violations...

I just wish all the 'pass' people coukld get their act together so we could just have ONE!.. right now I have 3!! an EZpass, a Peachpass, and a SunPass..

and the crappy thing is if you Happen to go through someplace that supports both.. and you have both slapped on the window... thye BOTH will toll you.. and you have to go on the other's site and enter the transaction ID from the toll and it will remove the toll... grrr!

-Christopher

Paying tolls on federally funded hwys should be illegal in the first place. I pay taxes on gas. Why am I paying again?

[Tootalltechie]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I use the Co-Pilot Truck APP.. (not cheap) but thus far it has kept me from ending up in tough areas... though the other day it did have me making a U-turn.. WTF? in a school bus???

my only real beef with that app is it tends to prefer routes with Tolls unless you tell it to specifically avoid toll roads... in a car not a big deal.. but tolls get to be a big deal fast in a skoolie..
-Christopher

Have you tried the free version of the app?

Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk

[cadillackid]

the free or low cost version isnt bad.. but it doesnt do the truck routes i dont think.. so far it has the best traffic-jam rerouting of others too... I often run 3 GPS units on a trip.. Co-pilot truck, Google Maps and WAZE
-Christopher

[Dixie Bushcraft]

I used a Rand McNally GPS for truckers when I drive OTR 18 wheelers.
Can program your length and height, and weight yourself.

MOST bridges will take a 13; 6" high truck.
If there is a low bridge, my GPS will route me so I miss it and there are no U-turns needed.

[HazMatt]

Originally Posted by Dixie Bushcraft

I used a Rand McNally GPS for truckers when I drive OTR 18 wheelers.
Can program your length and height, and weight yourself.

MOST bridges will take a 13; 6" high truck.
If there is a low bridge, my GPS will route me so I miss it and there are no U-turns needed.

Thank you! That answers one of the many questions I need resolved b4 saddling up & hitting the road.

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Fly slow. Stay low.

[cadillackid]

I carry a truckers atlas and I also have a Trucker GPS (mine is Co-pilot Truck). I enter in the specifics of my vehicle.. weight / height / length, number of axles..

I have a profile for each bus (they are very different). so far its never steered me wrong
-Christopher

[HazMatt]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

I carry a truckers atlas and I also have a Trucker GPS (mine is Co-pilot Truck). I enter in the specifics of my vehicle.. weight / height / length, number of axles..

I have a profile for each bus (they are very different). so far its never steered me wrong
-Christopher

It's not too amazing to me that I find all sorts of helpful info in old threads.

Finding the time to peruse is my major limiting factor, being hip-deep in the midst of selling/disposing,& loading out the remainder of my worldly goods. And, in this case, going to the Play Store to look it over.

That's some very helpful gouge, Christopher, thank you!

Speaking of gouge, is that a subscription service?

It must be an incredible app. Do you have to be in cruise control when it's steering you right..? [emoji57]

Matteo~

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Fly slow. Stay low.

[Twigg]

If you are looking for a GPS to help, the Garmin Dezl 770 is very popular.

It has a 7" screen and is designed for truckers, so you can ask it to calculate truck routes that work well.

[cadillackid]

yeah cruise is on so I can get up and cook my lunch and take a break from driving..

[family wagon]

Oh, the good old days of asphalt-finished Interstates with inadequate base beneath them. If your vehicle's track width fit the ruts just right it was as good as autopilot.

[HazMatt]

Originally Posted by Twigg

If you are looking for a GPS to help, the Garmin Dezl 770 is very popular.

It has a 7" screen and is designed for truckers, so you can ask it to calculate truck routes that work well.

I'll look into that. It is nice having a device that's tasked for GPS only. Saves wear & tear, not to mention heating from continuous charging, on the cell.

Thanx for the input on the output!

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Fly slow. Stay low.

[HazMatt]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

yeah cruise is on so I can get up and cook my lunch and take a break from driving..

Dang! That feature alone makes it worth the price for the full-bore app.

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Fly slow. Stay low.