Roof raise vs mouth slap

[Joe45]

So...


My bus' ceiling is about 6'6". I have considered a roof raise, or a partial roof raise.



But how about, instead of cutting the window pillars, adding instead another structure up top-like from a another bus?


Or...


Building a raised section in the center like the old trollies had.


This would allow me to build/add the section before cutting anything, thus keep things nice and tight and square.


I've also thought of adding the extra section on the front, cutting the top off there so that the ceiling over the driver area is lowered. This would allow about an extra foot of headroom in the loft, considering the max 13.5' height.


Just considering options.

[joeblack5]

Or lower the center section of the floor and get your self a bowling alley.
Depends how much more head space you are looking for.


Johan

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by Joe45

Building a raised section in the center like the old trollies had.

Known as "Clerestory Roof". Love to see one added to a bus. Some trolley-style buses have them.

[Joe45]

I was considering extra space to install the water tanks inside, under the floor, but it seems like a major thing to take on. I think I'd rather install the tanks below, insulate them, and add heating pads.



If I do add a loft, I can cut out some of the center and raise that part in order to store the fold-down steps.

[Joe45]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

Known as "Clerestory Roof". Love to see one added to a bus. Some trolley-style buses have them.

That may work to store the fold-down steps.

[musigenesis]

Trolley-style buses (with the raised box in the middle of the roof) are notorious for leaking badly. You'd have to build and seal it really well.

Something I'm thinking of doing is making a simple skylight that spans three "bays" between ribs. I would cut three- to four-foot sections out of two ribs, weld transverse beams across the cut ends on each side to create a rectangular frame, then covering the opening with Lexan plexiglass.

This would create a 4' x ~8' area that would give me sufficient room to stand up straight, since the plexi would be at the same height as the outside roof. For cold (or hot) weather, I would make an inside cover for it using aerogel, which gives excellent insulation with little thickness (at really high cost).

At 6'6" this would not help you, though (I'm 6'0"). I think you'll end up finding that a conventional roof raise is the easiest thing to do, especially if you're not planning on keeping the original bus windows anyway.

Somewhere here a few months ago posted an idea about bolting an upside-down aluminum flat-bottomed boat to the roof of her bus and then cutting the roof away. I'm not sure what happened with that plan.

[Drew Bru]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

Somewhere here a few months ago posted an idea about bolting an upside-down aluminum flat-bottomed boat to the roof of her bus and then cutting the roof away. I'm not sure what happened with that plan.

Ya know, I like the idea of the trolley-style roof but I LOVE the idea of an upside down boat. That's just awesomely creative.

[ol trunt]

Rather than using Lexan plexiglass, Lexane poly carbonate multiwall material gives more strength and more UV protection than plexiglass. The "cardboard box" design of the material also adds some insulating qualities. Just as an aside, the best way to attach polycarbonate sheeting is with 3M double stick tape. Entire greenhouses are so constructed.

Having used poly carbonate sheeting in my pop top, and after 5 years use I am still sold. I bought a 4 seasons down comforter and sewed it up to match the contours of my pop up securing it with snaps..Granted this took up a little head room but the instant 10 degree F increase in cabin temp (at the same heat setting) made it all worth while.

I've posted this picture before but we all know how hard it is to access info on old posts so here goes---again
Jack

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If I could find a place to store it, this is the bus I'd like to have.

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[alpine44]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

Rather than using Lexan plexiglass, Lexane poly carbonate multiwall material gives more strength and more UV protection than plexiglass. The "cardboard box" design of the material also adds some insulating qualities. Just as an aside, the best way to attach polycarbonate sheeting is with 3M double stick tape. Entire greenhouses are so constructed.

Having used poly carbonate sheeting in my pop top, and after 5 years use I am still sold. I bought a 4 seasons down comforter and sewed it up to match the contours of my pop up securing it with snaps..Granted this took up a little head room but the instant 10 degree F increase in cabin temp (at the same heat setting) made it all worth while.

I've posted this picture before but we all know how hard it is to access info on old posts so here goes---again
Jack

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The asymmetric pop-top is very slick an relatively easy to fabricate. I don't think that the trolley-style Clerestory roof will save much money/time compared to a full raise.

[musigenesis]

Is it correct that the polycarbonate multiwall stuff gives more of a diffused translucence rather than true transparency? I'm going to consider it since I don't really plan to look through my skylights very often. Being a lot cheaper than the plexiglass is certainly an advantage.

I would feel kinda weird having a skylight that was only stuck on with tape, but I assume you can't really drill through this stuff.

[ol trunt]

Sure you can drill----but it'll leak. I tested "all" the usual stickems like silicone, Silka flex etc and all failed to stay stuck under load for more than a week. After much reading on the 3M site I tried their best quality double sided tape--5 years later it is still holding just fine with no leaks. I should mention that I did seal up the open ends of the poly carbonate with clear silicone to keep bugs and dirt out.
Jack

[Joe45]

That's some truly cool stuff!!!

[Frogpondfoug]

Raise it in center on Windows, you won't regret it

[captnredbeerd]

I installed a square of lexan plexi on the roof to make a skylight. drilled right through it to attach it via bolts (and silicone washers) to the outer roof (did this while the inside ceiling was down), but not before applying a mess of silicone caulking to the overlap area and to the outer bolt heads. Have had no problems with leaks.

[TheRollingBones]

Love open air and blue sky? Just want to know if you have ever considered taking the pillars and roof totally off and replacing the roof with a thick canvas cover or awning? Yes, a convertible bus. . .

[TheRollingBones]

Something like this but on a Bus. . .

[Joe45]

Originally Posted by Frogpondfoug

Raise it in center on Windows, you won't regret it

Not sure what you mean.
Please clarify.

[Doktari]

I’m about 3/4 done with a clerestory roof addition. It’s 19’ long, 4’ wide, 16” tall. It’s all aluminum epoxy glued and riveted together. Hopefully in a few days I’ll be ready to coat it with Liquid Roof EPDM roof coating.
I built the walls on saw horses then assembled the rest on the roof. After climbing up the ladder onto the roof so many times it would be nice to build the entire thing on saw horses then lift it into place with a forklift or hoist of some kind.
I have a big 50” x36” aluminum boat hatch that I’d love to have on top but hesitate to cut a hole in my new roof. Now would be the time to add it before the roof coating.
I sure hope this Liquid Roof stuff works like advertised as there’s hundreds of rivets that will leak. There’s G Flex epoxy by West systems for sealing rivets. Heat the rivet with a hot air gun or torch then drop on the epoxy and it sucks into the rivet. Is there an easier less expensive way to seal rivets??
Or I could tape over all the riveted seams with roof tape then apply the coating. This sounds better. Thanks.

[o1marc]

FYI
LEXAN is a brand name for poly-carbonate sheet. Plexiglas is acrylic. Both can be drilled. Plexi is much more brittle than Lexan and will snap when bent, and can crack easily. Lexan on the other hand, 1/4" will stop a 22 bullet. Can be bent and formed unlike plexi. Lexan was required in our race cars as windshield, plexi was forbidden, because the Lexan will stop a bumper coming through, plexi won't. If you get a crack in plexi, the way to stop it from spreading is to drill a 1/8" hole at each end of the crack.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by o1marc

FYI
LEXAN is a brand name for poly-carbonate sheet. Plexiglas is acrylic. Both can be drilled. Plexi is much more brittle than Lexan and will snap when bent, and can crack easily. Lexan on the other hand, 1/4" will stop a 22 bullet. Can be bent and formed unlike plexi. Lexan was required in our race cars as windshield, plexi was forbidden, because the Lexan will stop a bumper coming through, plexi won't. If you get a crack in plexi, the way to stop it from spreading is to drill a 1/8" hole at each end of the crack.

You can bend plexi with a heat gun and patience. I've put right angle bends in it with a sheet metal break, although it's easier to cut two pieces and glue them.