Newbie w/ lots of questions...#1: Interior Height?

[Padencobb]

Hello. I’m BRAND NEW to the skoolie concept. I have been considering a tiny house for a while. A friend just suggested that I look at a skoolie instead. I LOVE the idea but I have a million questions before I get started. So here’s my first question…Interior Height? I’m 6-feet tall. Will a skoolie have enough interior headroom for me? (Someone told me that skoolies are only 72” high inside. I don’t want to have to stoop over whenever I move around.)

Any & all feedback will be greatly appreciated!

[Geo Jeff]

You need a Thomas 6.5ft or the amtram genesis. mine 78"

[Padencobb]

Thanks Jeff. I appreciate that info. I've never heard of a Thomas or an Amtram - (seriously, I just started this process 3 days ago) - but I'll research those. They both sound like great options.

I don't really think of 6' as all THAT tall. Surely there's a bus out there that will work for me. Thanks again!

[Oldmopars]

I have a Blue Bird, the interior space is fine for me and I am 6 foot tall. I haven't measured it, but I think it is about 76-78in in the center.

[New2Skool]

I believe the 72' mark is bare metal floor to bare metal roof. I am 6'4" and I was a solid two + inches taller than the interior of my bus. So, I did the researched and prepared and did a lift 16" of the roof. Now, I can walk the length of my bus with my arms extended over my head and not touch the ceiling.

I considered losing two inches on the floor for insulation.
Two inches off the top for insulation.
1/2" plywood and more for flooring itself.
Tongue and Groove thickness, whatever you pick for roof and flooring will reduce interior height.
So, I had to do a lift and from what I read more people wish they would have lifted the roof.

Now, I don't have to trim and shape cabinets to fit the curved ceiling.
I don't have to cut down shower walls. I don't have to struggle with contouring anything to fit.

My suggestion is keeping a long term vision of the project while, focusing on the small details one by one. They snowball quickly and one small detail change will effect the long term plan. Plus, speaking from my bus. Schedule triple time, a one day project will take three. A one week project will turn into a month. Don't rush, do your best and read everything you can on this site. The people here are wonderful, supportive and smart.

Have fun and enjoy, it is a labor of love.

[Padencobb]

Thanks, Oldmopars. I appreciate your suggestion about the Blue Bird. I'll check that out.

[Padencobb]

New2Skool...Thanks for the feedback & the details. I really appreciate your suggestions. I like the idea of raising the roof. That makes a lot of sense to me. But it sounds like it would be expensive. Plus I wouldn't even know how to go about that. How did you do it? It really does sound like a great solution.

[Marceps]

As mentioned, there are two standards, 72" and 78", metal to metal. You can determine the ceiling height from photographs by looking at the passenger windows. Width to height ratio will be closer to square on a bus that has 78" clearance.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Marceps

As mentioned, there are two standards, 72" and 78", metal to metal. You can determine the ceiling height from photographs by looking at the passenger windows. Width to height ratio will be closer to square on a bus that has 78" clearance.

THIS!.

look for a "tall window" bus vs a "short window" bus.. if you are out and about in your city look at the school busses as they go by.. you can see some which have short windows (wider than tall).. and others have as mentioned taller windows that look more square...

the taller window busses are usually 78". (I think wayne was an exception but not many waynes around anymore)...

some brands of busses were made in short and tall.. so dont go on whether it was a thomas or bluebird, etc.. manufacturers offered them in the 2 different heights...

-Christopher

[Padencobb]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

THIS!.

look for a "tall window" bus vs a "short window" bus.. if you are out and about in your city look at the school busses as they go by.. you can see some which have short windows (wider than tall).. and others have as mentioned taller windows that look more square...

the taller window busses are usually 78". (I think wayne was an exception but not many waynes around anymore)...

some brands of busses were made in short and tall.. so dont go on whether it was a thomas or bluebird, etc.. manufacturers offered them in the 2 different heights...

-Christopher

Thanks Chris! That's great advice, and it never would have occurred to me. I'll start taking a better look at buses while I'm driving around town. Thanks again!

[Tango]

This would be a good time to point out that is no such thing as a "standard" Skoolie. Not by year, make or model. These units are as often as not built by the chassis/body maker to order based on what any particular school district might want. They can appear with various engines, transmissions, rear ends, wheels, tires, bells, whistles ad infinitum.

Anyone doing homework on any unit would be well advised to confirm all the major components prior to buying. Forget what someones elses 1998 Carpenter or 2008 Blue Bird might have come with...the only thing that matters is what exactly is on the vehicle you are considering.

And...half the time, re-sellers as well as auction houses either don't know or simply make up specs as they see fit, so caveat emptor...buyer beware. Your homework needs to include either a personal inspection or if a long distance deal, hire a qualified technician to look it over for you. A good recent example was the seller who told someone here a bus was equipped with an Allison 2000 "standard shift" transmission. There is no such thing.

Not trying to scare anyone off of Skoolies...just be advised that once you do the deal, it is yours. Sort out as much factual info as possible before diving in.

[deftone]

I'm 6'3" and can comfortably stand upright in my International RE3000. I believe the height is 6'6"

[Geo Jeff]

My genesis is 77.5 or 78 inches to the top of the regular roof to the stock floor. I wasn't sure what metal to metal mean in a earlier post. I assumed it was striped out floor to stripped out roof.

Its such a big deal I would not being doing this project with out the extra space as i didn't want to do a roof raise. I read in good news buses blog that she said the one thing she wish's they would have done is raise the roof.

They need a ton of storage so i wasn't certain of the reason. I will say putting on roof air conditioners takes up- head room as they come down in the bus to get to the controls etc. I wouldn't use them, when its hot and you need them to work you don't want your air conditioning unit to put where a solar panel would work best. Use a home heat pump and put it under the bus or in a cabinet with intake and exhaust air through the floor so it doesn't matter where the bus is parked. Thats how the new RV's are and they say it makes the air conditioner 40% more efficient. Makes since the coolest place in your home when its ho0t is the crawl space and the attic you may not be able to breath in from the heat.

[New2Skool]

My roof raise not very expensive.
I borrowed two bumper jacks from work.
Used old 2x10's for the lift frame work.
Bought four 3 foot lengths of all thread.
Bolts, a couple of angle irons and round steel tubing from menards for a lot.
Way more expensive buying 3 or 4 foot lengths from menards than the local steel company.
I bought a 30' 1.25 inch square tube for about $40, cut to length for the lift.
Cut the ribs, used the jacks to lift, tightened bolts on all threads to 16 inch raise.
Hammered the 1.25 tubing into the rib or hat channels.
Weld them in place and done. Safely, cheaply easily lifted.

[rossfree]

I'm 6ft and my Ward bus is about 6'3" metal floor to metal inside ceiling. When I put in hardwood flooring I will loose 1-1/4". This height is in the center so it will be less near the sides but I am comfortable moving about and rarely feel cramped as the sides of the bus are intended for sitting or cabinetry or toilet, etc. Movement in the bus is generally down the center aisle (for a school bus).

Welcome!

Ross

[Padencobb]

Thank you to everyone who has replies to my question about height. I appreciate all of your feedback and suggestions. I really like the idea of raising the roof, but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew on my first project. I might just have to learn to live with the shorter ceiling for a while.

Thanks again!

[WhiteWhale]

I am 6' as well and we have a high headroom AmTran (Aprox 6' 6"). Its perfect for me even with a layer of 1/2" foam board and 3/4" plywood on the floor. Well worth it to take the time to find a high headroom bus and avoid the roof raise project in my opinion. Good luck!

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Tango

And...half the time, re-sellers as well as auction houses either don't know or simply make up specs as they see fit, so caveat emptor...buyer beware. Your homework needs to include either a personal inspection or if a long distance deal, hire a qualified technician to look it over for you. A good recent example was the seller who told someone here a bus was equipped with an Allison 2000 "standard shift" transmission. There is no such thing.

I can't tell you how many auction listings I have seen that listed things like:

5.9 Cummins and 8.3 Cummins in the same ad. (Make up your mind)

T444 6 cylinder diesel. (What happened to the other two?)

TC2000FE Rear engine bus (pic showed an FE bus)

5ES Spicer Automatic (What is that extra pedal on the left for?)

Caveat Emptor

[cowlitzcoach]

As you peruse ads for buses it is pretty easy to determine which ones have the high headroom and which ones don't.

The high headroom buses have 12" split sash windows. The top of the windows are above the top of the driver's window and the top of the service door.

The other buses have 9" split sash windows. The top of the windows are even with the top of the driver's window and the top of the service door.

Except for Crown Supercoaches and Gillig Schoolcoaches. Almost all of the Crown and Gillig buses were built with single sash windows and headroom of at least 78" in the middle of the aisle. The top of the windows will be even with the top of the driver's window and the top of the service door. But the bottom will be lower than the buses with 9" or 12" split sash windows. The last models of the classic Gillig Schoolcoach had split sash windows with about 16" of window opening. The bottom of those windows were considerably lower than any other school bus.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by cowlitzcoach

As you peruse ads for buses it is pretty easy to determine which ones have the high headroom and which ones don't.

The high headroom buses have 12" split sash windows. The top of the windows are above the top of the driver's window and the top of the service door.

The other buses have 9" split sash windows. The top of the windows are even with the top of the driver's window and the top of the service door.

Except for Crown Supercoaches and Gillig Schoolcoaches. Almost all of the Crown and Gillig buses were built with single sash windows and headroom of at least 78" in the middle of the aisle. The top of the windows will be even with the top of the driver's window and the top of the service door. But the bottom will be lower than the buses with 9" or 12" split sash windows. The last models of the classic Gillig Schoolcoach had split sash windows with about 16" of window opening. The bottom of those windows were considerably lower than any other school bus.

only on a Bluebird are the top of the tall windows over the driver window... Thomas, Carpenter, Wayne, and IC all used a taller driver window for the taller bus... AMTRAN (if they made a tall version then) kept the same driver window, bluebird kept the same driver window..
-Christopher