In a pickle here...

[Mako]

Hello all. I have a few questions for you. I'm 6'2" and my bus stripped down is about 6'8". After I put the subfloor, flooring, ceiling, etc. back in, I might have 2 inches of clearance at the highest point. Doable, but I really want to do a roof raise. I initially had Wes from Transcend Existence lined up to come down in December to do it but his plans changed. I have looked into Blueridge Conversions but for some reason their website and info. are down. The next closest place that I know of is in Tennessee. I basically know how to do a raise but my wife doesn't trust my welding skills and I can't really blame her. I have tried several metal fab shops and custom rod shops here in Central Florida to no avail. Either nobody wants to touch it or they physically don't have the space to do it. So first question, does anybody have someone, preferably in my general area that could do a roof raise? Second question. I currently have the floor prepped and ready to put in the subfloor, but should I wait until after the raise or would it be ok to have it in there. Thanks everyone.

[Ronnie]

I would leave the floor primed but not painted or any plywood on it. No need to worry about welding sparks that way.

[musigenesis]

Do the raise the yourself. Get some scrap metal and practice the exact type of weld you'll need until you can do it decently. Anybody you hire is just going to turn you upside down and squeeze all of your money out of you; if you're lucky they'll also be competent and do a good job (on the raise, not the squeeze).

[magnakansas]

you are in florida.... find a place that refits steel boat/ships. Hire a weldor that has certifications... guys that do nuclear powered ships, submarines. Also guys that do pipelines. You might even be able to park in dry dock area while welding is done.....

william

[magnakansas]

or find a person that teaches welding or take welding classes and have a professional weldor check your practice work. Vertical welding is not the easiest, but with a mig welder is not the most difficult either.

william

[tobeamiss]

All good advice. You can do it.

[Mako]

(on the raise, not the squeeze)

That's funny...

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by Mako

I basically know how to do a raise but my wife doesn't trust my welding skills and I can't really blame her. I have tried several metal fab shops and custom rod shops here in Central Florida to no avail. Either nobody wants to touch it or they physically don't have the space to do it. So first question, does anybody have someone, preferably in my general area that could do a roof raise?

Learning to weld is not that hard.
We helped a friend raise her roof up 18". my son and I did the cuts and welded up 3 supports on each side just to hold up the roof.

My son taught a 24 y/o girl (bus owner) how to mig weld the rest of the supports. Believe it or not she did AWESOME considering it was the first time in her life that she welded anything at all!

I see you are in central Florida, I am in Miami.
If you are open to the idea of coming on down to Miami one saturday We'd be happy to show you the basics of mig welding. I still got some welding to do on my bus, actually gonna try to finish putting up the skins this weekend...

Bottom line, it is not hard and you will save a ton of money if you do it yourself!

[EastCoastCB]

What part of central FL you in?

[Mako]

What part of central FL you in?

North of you in Deltona

[Mako]

you're definitely right I will be saving a lot of money. convincing the wife is another thing. I'll work on her...

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

what part of central florida?
you are surrounded by experienced skoolie people.
and some have already asked where you are out and some have already offered help.
you dont have to give them your address just tell them what area.

[mmoore6856]

lots of collective advice here from those of us that actually did a raise. a raise starts before you even buy a bus as some are easier than others. my wife drilled over 1,000.00 holes in the new skin and even tore the seats out with a angle grinder. it was only me and her on xmas break (i drive otr) in iowa that cut and raised the roof under the tarp. bolted 6 tubes in to keep it stable while welding the rest in. she was a nurse with no experience but dug right in. as stated take welding instruction one last note our combined age is 129 years. plan it carefully pm people that have the same bus

[mmoore6856]

also when drilling holes cobalt is your friend throw all your other bits in a box and hide them. we used three 3/16 bits to drill the 1k holes in the ski for the 3/16 carriage bolts we replaced the rivets with

[BeNimble]

You are welcome to drive out here to Sacramento at my shop. I would help you raise the roof. I'm certain someone else can help you locally. A big issue for a business. which happens a lot with car repairs, is someone who leave the bus there and not pick it back up. They take up so much space, the cost of dealing with that is as big as the bus.

[Mako]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

what part of central florida?
you are surrounded by experienced skoolie people.
and some have already asked where you are out and some have already offered help.
you dont have to give them your address just tell them what area.

Sorry, I thought I already mentioned it. Central Florida. About 45 minutes North of Orlando.

[Woodnut36]

Please use caution on the down website. I got taken by a popular company on materials for my roof raise on my newest bus. Are you up to drive to Tn sometime?

[FrugalFannie]

Drive to Wess. He's in KS and doing raises there.

[Bear Borg]

How long does it generally take to do a roof raise?

[Bon Voyage]

I bolted and riveted my roof on. No welding at all. If you bolt and rivet it then your shoddy welding can be icing on the cake. With a sheetmetal skin riveted to the upright supports it becomes structural as well. My roof isn’t going anywhere unless maybe I flip over on the freeway... but I suspect most raised roofs would fail in that instance with the longer sides being the weakness. Either way they’re much stronger than a motorhome structure.