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Old 05-09-2020, 05:10 PM   #21
Mini-Skoolie
 
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https://youtu.be/rJtELouSRrI

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Old 05-10-2020, 10:57 AM   #22
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Roof Raise

Lifting a bus roof is actually quite simple. We lifted ours with no levels or Jack's. Consider using something like a gantry crane. Google boat lift and you'll see. Keeping things level is near impossible when lifting a bus roof. I've got pictures I can dig up if you're interested. We spent very little and was comparably cheaper and easier than anything we seen. And was exponentially safer. But like I said if your interested in the exacts I'll dig up our pictures.
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Old 05-10-2020, 11:02 AM   #23
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if you use all-thread its actually really easy to keep it level while you raise.
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Old 05-12-2020, 12:22 PM   #24
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I did the roof raise on my Thomas this past weekend. I somewhat combined dzl freeks and transcend existences method. I started with taking out the windows then removing all trim. I used two air jacks with 4x4s up to the hat channel. I started cutting the hat channel over the front cap and in the rear as these were the most difficult cuts as I wanted to minimize body work. then cut the remaining hat channel 1 at a time and welded in 1'x1'x32 square tubing to act as sliders as you move down the bus. once all the channels are cut jack up till max clamp sliders then release jack and put another block under jack n go back up. repeat until desired height is reached and then welded in the hat channel extenders. mine did do a little sideways when going up because of the uneven driveway but was easily straightened back up with a ratchet strap. there was no double angle that some warn about when doing a raise on a Thomas
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Old 05-12-2020, 01:05 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by waxman View Post
I did the roof raise on my Thomas this past weekend. I somewhat combined dzl freeks and transcend existences method. I started with taking out the windows then removing all trim. I used two air jacks with 4x4s up to the hat channel. I started cutting the hat channel over the front cap and in the rear as these were the most difficult cuts as I wanted to minimize body work. then cut the remaining hat channel 1 at a time and welded in 1'x1'x32 square tubing to act as sliders as you move down the bus. once all the channels are cut jack up till max clamp sliders then release jack and put another block under jack n go back up. repeat until desired height is reached and then welded in the hat channel extenders. mine did do a little sideways when going up because of the uneven driveway but was easily straightened back up with a ratchet strap. there was no double angle that some warn about when doing a raise on a Thomas
You have any pics of your steps along the way? I'd love to see them and also the angle of how bad it actually is
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Old 05-12-2020, 02:57 PM   #26
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don't know if this worked properly but haven't loaded pics before
Attached Thumbnails
bus1.jpg   bus2.jpg   bus3.jpg   bus4.jpg   bus5.jpg  

bus6.jpg   bus7.jpg   bus8.jpg  
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Old 05-12-2020, 03:05 PM   #27
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sorry for the sideways pics and lack of detailed pics im not the best about documenting everything because to me that hinders progress but that's an 18" lift
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Old 05-12-2020, 03:11 PM   #28
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Hard to tell from the pics but does Thomas not angle in their smaller buses? That's a van chassis and the side next to the door doesn't look like it has the 6 degree slope inward at the window line.
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Old 05-12-2020, 03:36 PM   #29
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they do taper in but as long as you get a nice square cut and then clamp the faces of the hat at the cut your extender will just be a continuation of the angle. extending the angle made it much less noticeable imo
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Old 05-12-2020, 03:48 PM   #30
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Can you take a picture from the center of the rear-end looking forward, please?
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Old 05-12-2020, 04:03 PM   #31
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I can tomorrow evening hopefully. the bus is still at my friends house since we haven't finished the skins yet
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Old 05-12-2020, 04:08 PM   #32
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Thank you ... I have Thomas and am highly interested to see how that raise looks from that angle.
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Old 05-12-2020, 04:19 PM   #33
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Originally Posted by waxman View Post
they do taper in but as long as you get a nice square cut and then clamp the faces of the hat at the cut your extender will just be a continuation of the angle. extending the angle made it much less noticeable imo
As long as you get it all flush it should look good. Its the final details in a Thomas raise that make or break the aesthetics.
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Old 05-14-2020, 09:18 AM   #34
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heres the rear view and the progress on front cap so far
Attached Thumbnails
bus9.jpg   bus10.jpg   bus11.jpg   bus12.jpg   bus13.jpg  

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Old 05-16-2020, 12:57 PM   #35
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Roof raise videos

Wess Lewis has a YouTube channel that goes through his own bus, Transcendence (I may have spelled that wrong)
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