Raising roof or not to raise roof

BigPaul · 03-08-2016, 05:18 PM

After reading more than a few posts I can see that the roof raising is very ewll covered here. Lots of friendly advice on how to and pros/cons.

How tall is the standard ceiling? I am looking at the International AmTrans 84 passenger. Being 6'1" I thought I was ok, but now I am a little worried with insulation and after a finished ceiling I may have clearance issues.

By the way, has anyone raise part of a roof, like maybe the back half? Make sort of a Scenic Cruiser from the past.

EastCoastCB · 03-08-2016, 06:07 PM

Yep, lots of folks have done partial raises. I will be. THe rear 3/4 of my bus.
At your height, you may as well just plan to raise. I'm only 5'10 and I feel I NEED that headroom.

BigPaul · 03-08-2016, 07:08 PM

So you're saying I may not hit my head but will have that urge to duck all the time?

Funny you say that to me EastCoast, I was a submariner....lol. I have scars from watertight hatches.

EastCoastCB · 03-08-2016, 08:15 PM

I recently took a job (for three weeks) at a greenhouse. It was set up for, ahem, much shorter folks than me. I hit my noggin on something BADLY at least once or twice a day.
The pipes for the LP were bad!

I could only imagine being tall in a sub... Must've been a real pain.

Tango · 03-08-2016, 09:22 PM

I was on a carrier but the WT hatches are not much bigger than a subs. We had a chap who was 6'9 or so and after a few too many visits to sick bay, he was given special permission to wear a hard hat anytime below decks. You guys probably have similar scars.

uhall · 05-04-2016, 07:11 PM

Hey Paul, I was a submariner myself. USS ALASKA SSBN 732 Blue crew. 2008-2013.

Scooternj · 05-05-2016, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigPaul

How tall is the standard ceiling? I am looking at the International AmTrans 84 passenger. Being 6'1" I thought I was ok, but now I am a little worried with insulation and after a finished ceiling I may have clearance issues.

I'm six foot, with an '03 Amtran RE with 12" windows. I did a floor test last summer, and figured I could get away with 2.5" on the floor before I'm brushing the ceiling.

Robin97396 · 05-05-2016, 08:49 AM

You must have had cold feet during the winter.

Docsgsxr · 05-05-2016, 10:23 AM

I'm still fighting myself on this one. I am going to make the decision once I'm done reinforcing my floor supports. I am also 5'10", ceiling is 6'1". I know once the sub floor and new ceiling are in, I will most likely have the "ducking" sensation as well. My only reasonable question for mine is how much standing will I really be doing in it??

family wagon · 05-05-2016, 12:33 PM

The clearance in my bus vs my height led to feeling my hair brush the ceiling sometimes, especially when walking at a quick pace down the aisle. I had a really hard time suppressing the reflex to tilt my head sideways to duck down a little bit. If I spent much time in the bus it resulted in a sore neck that could take a while to clear up. I knew I'd be losing some height to insulation, too.

Between those and really wanting to make 3-level bunk beds to reduce the floor footprint of sleeping areas, I decided I'd have to overcome my concerns and just do the raise.

slaughridge85 · 05-05-2016, 12:42 PM

Just go ahead and do the raise if funds allow. The hardest thing about raising mine was shelling out the cash for the materials (mostly the steel sheeting)... I'd rather spend a few bucks and have a weeks worth of work than have a stiff neck and walk around like a hunchback all the time... But, Ill be living in mine full time too so take that into consideration...

EastCoastCB · 05-05-2016, 02:58 PM

Robin97396 · 05-05-2016, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by family wagon

The clearance in my bus vs my height led to feeling my hair brush the ceiling sometimes, especially when walking at a quick pace down the aisle. I had a really hard time suppressing the reflex to tilt my head sideways to duck down a little bit. If I spent much time in the bus it resulted in a sore neck that could take a while to clear up. I knew I'd be losing some height to insulation, too.

Between those and really wanting to make 3-level bunk beds to reduce the floor footprint of sleeping areas, I decided I'd have to overcome my concerns and just do the raise.

Isn't it obvious? You just need a haircut.

family wagon · 05-05-2016, 07:39 PM

Well shoot, I completely overlooked that solution! Woulda saved me LOTS of time and money!

Could you persuade my kids that when we're on road trips, being "tucked in" at night without a roof raise means lying down in a shallow drawer and the drawer then slid into the rack for the night -- and that just as soon as they fall asleep, they'll forget all about the fact that there's not even enough height to turn over? I promise I'll pull the bed-drawers back out in the morning. Some time.

Robin97396 · 05-05-2016, 08:12 PM

Yeah, I'd make em sleep with seatbelts on too.

gobygoby · 05-06-2016, 05:25 AM

I think a roof raise is totally worth it if you are going to be spending much time inside the bus. It is a LOT of work, and it mine cost about $400 (sheet metal, insulation, glue, screws, rivets, wood supports, metal beams) but there is so much more space now. Not only does this create more usable space, it also makes the a huge difference in the 'feel' of the bus.

I should note that I did not raise the entire roof, I left the front and back unraised and just built on top of them. This way I got more usable space (sq footage) and I got the vaulted ceilings that are more comfortable. I figure the cramped feeling in the unraised sections will be offset by the openess in the center.

You can see photos of my build on my blog:
TheBigBusTheory.wordpress.com

superdave · 05-06-2016, 05:41 AM

im 6', i looked for a bus with a 78" ceiling. so much easier.

Scooternj · 05-06-2016, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin97396

You must have had cold feet during the winter.

I like being comfortable, and the house I'm renting now has crap fiberglass insulation (that the landlord isn't planning on replacing) and the linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms glued directly to the OSB subfloor.

Robin97396 · 05-06-2016, 09:55 AM

In alaska I had a landlord that would turn off the heat during the day in mid winter to save money. This was in winter and it became obvious when I could see my breath inside the apartment one day when I stayed home sick. Then after leaving for a few hours I came back and my coffee was actually icy on top.
Never could rectify the situation with the landlord and eventually moved.

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