Thank you so much for your response! That little trick about how to tell if a bus has more headroom is REALLY going to come in handy as we will most likely have to buy a bus online. I think the 5 window is a little short for what we want to put in...I have made a few scaled drawings with the major components we want in our bus and it looks like 18ft behind the driver's seat would do it. Good to know about the Thomas ceilings!

Thanks again for your help! I look forward to seeing your bus updates

Hey There,
Sorry for not responding sooner. I didn't see this until now. Our Thomas Vista (5 window)has 14' behind the driver's seat. I'm 6'2 and so also trying to maintain every 1/8" of height. I'm using 5/16" T&G pine for the ceiling and put down 1" foam and 1/2" ply for the floor. Looking for thin flooring- hopefully cork. If I end up with 1" of head clearance I'll be happy!
Look for a bus that has a small rise from the driver's window to the rear ones- they have more headroom. I like the Thomas because the ceiling was screwed on rather than the Blue Birds that use rivets- easier to demo.
Have fun!

Hi! I just tried to follow you on here, not sure if it worked. My nephew and I are getting ready to buy a shorty (hopefully this spring). We are trying to figure out what kind/how long we want and I was wondering if you could tell me the length from the back of the driver's seat to the back of the bus? I remember reading on the shorty conversion thread that it's 6'6 in height....which we really need, bc my nephew is 6'3 already and only 15. Thanks for your time and please keep posting about your progress!!