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Old 05-05-2017, 08:32 AM   #1
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Roof Raisers: Windows?

Hey all roof raisers, after you raised the roof, what did you do about windows? Once you raise the roof the old windows won't fit anymore will they? Not unless you added skin below or above...

I guess if you bother raising the roof, and can't use the old windows anymore, getting new ones might be worth it, better insulated ones anyway.

Trying to figure out what I'd do about window ports if I raised my roof. I'd probably skin SOME spaces, but I like some window views. Also I suspect good windows are expensive.

If it came to it, I'd just add skin and frame above or below, add the old windows, and add the heat control tinted window film and privacy film, and make insulated curtain panels that fit in the spaces of the windows for extreme weather.

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Old 05-05-2017, 09:49 AM   #2
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I think that you will find that most folks that raise their roof put in RV windows.

I don't know where you are located. There are several RV surplus outfits in Indiana and there are some Ebay sellers with a good selection such as: http://stores.ebay.com/4-star-trader...nkw=rv+windows

These guys are in Oregon.
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Old 05-05-2017, 10:10 AM   #3
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I put in 7 rv windows after I raised my roof. I bought all mine from a guy that works on rv's and sells spare parts. I bought (2x3 ft roughly) big sliders for about $100 each, and then some that were about 2x2 ft for about $40 each. They have worked great. I found the guy on craiglist. I completely reskinned the opening from raising the roof and then cut the holes for the windows, this way I didn't have to find windows that were exactly a certain size.
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Old 05-05-2017, 10:13 AM   #4
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I sheet metaled the sides & put in RV windows.
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Old 05-05-2017, 10:27 AM   #5
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I went with RV windows too. If you can find some that are double pane, tinted and gas filled, they make a really big difference in how much heat goes in...or out.
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Old 05-05-2017, 03:01 PM   #6
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I'm the oddball here. I really like the light, open feeling of having windows all along the bus, so I am putting (most) of my bus windows back in. I did cover up 5 along the passenger side where my closet, refrigerator, and shower will be.

At the rear of the bus, I put the windows back in at the top of the opening, skinning underneath. This puts them high enough that I can put furniture/counters/backsplash below them and still comfortably look out when standing. At the front of the bus, I put them back down at their original height, which is the bottom of the opening. This allows passengers seated and buckled in to look out the windows while the vehicle is in motion. It also keeps the top of the windows in the front even with the top of the door and the driver's side window. My bunks are right where the transition happens, so that both the top and bottom bunk will have a window.
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Old 05-05-2017, 03:04 PM   #7
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Side note, I did also put some heat control film on the windows before reinstalling them. I don't pretend like they will ever have the efficiency that a good set of double paned RV windows would have, but I think between traveling with the weather, the heat film, and some good blackout curtains, we'll manage just fine.
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Old 05-05-2017, 03:18 PM   #8
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I used vinyl residential windows after I re-skinned mine. They look great are cheaper than RV windows and I haven't had any trouble with the double panes going from low to high altitudes or from vibration going down the road.
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Old 05-05-2017, 07:13 PM   #9
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I was considering residential windows but also thought they might look funny in a bus, RV windows would probably look better. I'll have a look at those, surely we got some round Southern Illinois somewhere..
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Old 05-05-2017, 07:49 PM   #10
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itd be woerth a trip to elkhart indiana to see what you can find.. theres a lot of RV surplus there and you arent that far away..
-Christopher
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Old 05-13-2017, 09:38 PM   #11
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good point, Indiana aint far away.

But at this point I'm thinking about not doing a roof raise. As long as I have 10 windows length, I should have enough room for all my stuff. I'm thinking about reusing the ceiling metal to cover some windows, at least half or just over, and then create insulated window panel curtains to fit onto the windows when I want it dark or warmer or cooler.

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!!! CAPTAIN PLANET 4EVA!!!
VELCRO WINDOWS BABY!!!
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Old 05-14-2017, 06:54 PM   #12
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skin question?

Still in the planning stage, my question is: on any given manufacturer whether it be BB, Thomas, ect. Are the interior skins the same gauge thickness as the exterior skins? If so that would save a lot of cost to skin a roof raise would it not?

Thanks
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Old 05-14-2017, 07:29 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by North Plains Drifter View Post
Still in the planning stage, my question is: on any given manufacturer whether it be BB, Thomas, ect. Are the interior skins the same gauge thickness as the exterior skins? If so that would save a lot of cost to skin a roof raise would it not?

Thanks
MY interior skins were an ugly textured steel. I didn't check for sure, but they were most likely 18 ga.
A lot of newer buses than my Ward used a perforated steel.
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Old 05-14-2017, 09:25 PM   #14
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On my Carpenter, the interior ceiling panels were somewhere between 18 and 20 gauge when we measured with calipers. They seemed pretty close to the same thickness as the exterior skin of the bus, and I used them to reskin all but the very front part of the bus (above the windshield). I would've used it there, except my panels weren't wide enough, and I didn't want a patchwork job, so I spent $75 and got a nice sheet of 20 gauge cold rolled steel, which worked just fine for that one panel.

The wall panels were ugly, textured steel like EastCoastCB said, and I am just scrapping those. Luckily, the ceiling provided more than enough material to reskin the back and sides of my bus, including some full walls where I didn't want the windows (behind the fridge, closet, and shower).
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Old 05-14-2017, 10:10 PM   #15
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Most recent skoolies have exterior skin that is around 16 gauge. Several use metal that is to their own weird specs. BB for example is more like 15 gauge from what I've been told. Not anything you can even buy commercially, but 16 would be close enough.
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Old 06-10-2017, 12:33 PM   #16
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So last night I was thinking, revisiting the idea of a bedroom loft in my bus. And I wondered if I'd be able to re-use the ceiling panels to simply build a loft on top, along with covering the windows I want to remove. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. Planned all along to use the panels to cover window holes, why not the loft as well?

Also, once I removed the seats I was thinking of breaking them down, scrapping the steel, or if possible reusing it to frame the bedroom loft? And as for the seats, if the seats were covered with decent leather or faux leather, I was wondering if anyone had ever used them to cover the ceiling, like a headliner?
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Old 06-10-2017, 12:59 PM   #17
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Innovative ideas. That's what I like to see.
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Old 06-10-2017, 01:01 PM   #18
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I used a couple of my 4 post seat frames as Battery Cages.. they are Heavy and wit hthe wheelchair seatbelts, hold my Boxed batteries in place..

my bus seats had old yucky vinyl... Green in the carpenter.. the bluebird has nice brown seats that are in good shape but still show alot of wear, so not sure id want to cover my ceiling.. cool idea though if it is in good shape.. SEM to the color you want and go..
-Christopher
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Old 06-10-2017, 01:03 PM   #19
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Innovative ideas. That's what I like to see.
Reduce, reuse, recycle!
AND save some cash!
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Old 06-10-2017, 01:06 PM   #20
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I used a couple of my 4 post seat frames as Battery Cages.. they are Heavy and wit hthe wheelchair seatbelts, hold my Boxed batteries in place..

my bus seats had old yucky vinyl... Green in the carpenter.. the bluebird has nice brown seats that are in good shape but still show alot of wear, so not sure id want to cover my ceiling.. cool idea though if it is in good shape.. SEM to the color you want and go..
-Christopher
Sweet! Love reusing materials and saving cash, shame the vinyl was crappy, but yeah if the bus I get has ones in decent shape I thought it might be cool.

But I still want to paint the ceiling, can you paint on vinyl? Wonder what kind would stick? Gonna have glow in the dark paint up there...
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