Need help with height issue and insulation

[Rivetboy]

"Could you maybe sketch out your idea? It sounds interesting but it’d help us get a better idea of what you’re talking about."



This is roof hatches for the rich and famous but is nice equipment.

https://www.westmarine.com/boat-hatches-portlights

Also finding donor boats for items is pretty easy

[SteamBus]

Originally Posted by o1marc

Just seems so impractical and probably can't be done esthetically pleasing.
Why don't you give it a shot and post your results here?

Originally Posted by WanderlustExistence

Im curious about that. I know the white color is suppose to help with the heat, as well as a roof deck, which we plan to have in half the top.

I wouldn't know how to insulate on the outside other than that though.

You should try something like Henry's Tropi-Cool on the roof. It's definitely more expensive than plain old white paint but it's worth it. It really helps with the thermal transfer. That's what I used on my bus's roof. Quite impressed with it although it is a bit difficult to work with.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by SteamBus

You should try something like Henry's Tropi-Cool on the roof. It's definitely more expensive than plain old white paint but it's worth it. It really helps with the thermal transfer. That's what I used on my bus's roof. Quite impressed with it although it is a bit difficult to work with.

I'm just trying to picture in my mind how this would look the way he proposes. Doing the walls and ceiling to there full capacity with foam is going to be more than adequate. Yes, some are going to argue their's is better than other's. Sure they can get the inside cooled to 40°, but why the hell would you want to? Most cases if you're 20° different than the outside temp you will notice a huge difference inside and out. We can spend the money to get to 200%, but why when we only need 50% to get the job done.
I have Henry's TropiCool in Tan for my roof. I'm concerned because it is 100% silicone. I'm thinking no other paint will stick to it, so I have to use it as a top coat on the other color.

[jjhwick119]

Go with the foam board over the cotton candy stuff. It helped greatly in my bus. As I'm still building and do not have real world experience with it yet, I will say that I did use furring strips so that the ceiling panels were not touching the ribs, and there wouldn't be any thermal transfer. I did it that way from reading other peoples builds and comments about it on here. I have the high headroom model though so i had the extra room, but not much as I am also 6'3".

I even got a template of where I scored the foam to get it to make the curve in the roof. I fit two layers of 3/4 inch board which was right about level with the ribs

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by jjhwick119

Go with the foam board over the cotton candy stuff. It helped greatly in my bus. As I'm still building and do not have real world experience with it yet, I will say that I did use furring strips so that the ceiling panels were not touching the ribs, and there wouldn't be any thermal transfer. I did it that way from reading other peoples builds and comments about it on here. I have the high headroom model though so i had the extra room, but not much as I am also 6'3".

I even got a template of where I scored the foam to get it to make the curve in the roof. I fit two layers of 3/4 inch board which was right about level with the ribs

I used 3 layers of 1/2" cut slightly wide and "press fit" the pieces between the ribs. The 1/2" bends easy and holds it's shape from the "press". I'll need o check the price difference between the 2.

[Mike_T]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

If one wants a raised roof its best to buy a Bluebird or IC/Amtran.

EC, please elaborate,

"If one wants a raised roof its best to buy a Bluebird or IC/Amtran."


Mike

[jjhwick119]

Originally Posted by Mike_T

EC, please elaborate,

"If one wants a raised roof its best to buy a Bluebird or IC/Amtran."


Mike

Probably because the walls are straight, and thomas walls angle inward above the window line, making it more difficult to raise because of the angles

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by jjhwick119

Probably because the walls are straight, and thomas walls angle inward above the window line, making it more difficult to raise because of the angles

BINGO! You win!

Thomas is the hardest to raise, and definitely the hardest to raise and make it look good.

I believe its 6 degrees bend from the bottom of the window line.


I've had 2 Thomas buses and they're fine. But I like the way IC's are put together the best. they're easy to raise and they don't have the individual window louvers like Bluebirds. So IMO an IC is the best if a roof raise is the plan.

[o1marc]

While a BB is flat side it is still tapered in the rear.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by o1marc

While a BB is flat side it is still tapered in the rear.

aye, yet another reason I think AmTran/IC is the way to go.

My high headroom Thomas is pretty sweet, but if I wanted BIG headroom I'd just do a raise on our IC.

[hughanglin]

I haven't started a bus build, but in preparation for doing so, I bought spray foam insulation from Foam It Green and did the overhead in my shop. It was cheaper than the quotes I got from local installers, didn't take very long and the results were great. It only off-gasses for a few hours. Preparation is more time consuming than installation, but once I had the floors covered and everything masked off with painters drop cloths and tape, it only took about 2 hours to do 700 square feet.