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Old 12-04-2021, 03:10 PM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 34
Red face Removable roof deck or modest roof deck?

When it comes down to it, my goal for a roof deck is simply because I want to hang out on my roof with a view. Plus, having a cool wooden ladder going through the emergency exit would be pretty awesome for my buildout.

So, I came up with a couple solutions. If anyone on here is an insurance agent or has experience with something similar, I'd like to know if they'd cover me or not. I always get full coverage and seek to insure my possessions, too. So, yes I plan to get it titled as an RV in the end, but I need to get there first. With it being a bus titled as an RV and having one of the options below as a roof deck, I'm not sure how well that'll work.

Option 1: Get a large roof rack that can handle a heavy load. Since I'll have a short bus, that roof rack might cover a large chunk of the roof. Then, put Trex (plastic wood deck slats) in the base of it to stand on. The slats will be removable for when we leave camp, and to keep it simple, I'd just attach them into wider planks so I only need to put like two or three plans in every time. Who knows? Maybe I can just attach those to the roof rack permanently.

Option 2: Get swivel feet from https://www.skoolie.com/product-page...l-feet-bolt-on and those will be the only permanant part of the deck. For the deck, I'll build it out of Trex to keep it light, and make it a 8'x8' box that I just attach to the clamps with some kind of quick connect/disconnect method. (Open to ideas on that one.)

The reason I stopped being a vandweller is the inability to stand in my van. The reason I'm leaving the RV life (live in a trailer) is because of the annoyingly lengthy setup and teardown, as well as many other tedious stuff I've found that's unrelated. The reason I'm building a Mini Skoolie is because I don't want to tow stuff, I want to just drive off whenever, and I want to design it from scratch instead of fighting to make things work because they're based on the assumption that this beast will always have hookups. So, I want my roof either light and permanent, but insured, or temporary and extremely fast to set up.

Thoughts?

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Old 12-04-2021, 08:32 PM   #2
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Location: San Antonio TX
Posts: 15
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: Freightlinner
Engine: Cat 3126
Rated Cap: 5 window
Trex is not light.
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Old 12-04-2021, 08:54 PM   #3
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 34
Quote:
Originally Posted by gotjuice? View Post
Trex is not light.
I don't know how I missed that. Any ideas on something sturdy and light?
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Old 12-05-2021, 04:27 PM   #4
Bus Geek
 
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Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Dawsonville, Ga.
Posts: 10,482
Year: 1999
Coachwork: Genesis
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466/3060
Rated Cap: 77
Your insurance won't like the deck, removable or not.
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Old 12-05-2021, 08:18 PM   #5
Mini-Skoolie
 
Join Date: Dec 2021
Posts: 34
I have yet another option then. I could build the deck, and place it on "stilts" over top of the bus, and still use the deck by climbing through the emergency hatch. Effectively it could be considered some kind of garage or carport, or even an unrelated item that's insured as "personal property" and not as part of the vehicle.

As for the weight of the thing, I've looked into aluminum decking, but the biggest issue is that it costs about $15 per square foot which comes out to about $1k for an 8' x 8' deck. O.O Any suggestions? I'd like to keep the decking to around $200-$300.

The frame with probably be steel bars from Home Depot (mini I-beams) and use ceiling construction stands for the feet. (See: https://smile.amazon.com/FastCap-Sup...dp/B000067S12/ - Those hold 150 lbs each, so 600lbs weight limit for the deck, myself, and anything else I bring up there. I'll need to make sure the top stays stable, and doesn't swivel though.)
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Old 12-05-2021, 08:25 PM   #6
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: NM USA KD6WJG
Posts: 1,324
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: All American RE 40 FEET
Engine: Cummins 8.3
Make a permanent roof deck with solar panels that hinge on the outside to form a side wall. Then if you want to go up on the roof just fold up the panels and set up your lawn chair. When you are done fold them back down. Solar is okay with the insurance company but not a deck.
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Old 12-05-2021, 08:55 PM   #7
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: So Cal
Posts: 3,227
Year: 1935
Coachwork: Superior
Chassis: Chevy
Engine: 317 ci/tid / Isuzu
It's called a work around and I strongly approve--just make sure no one can fall off the roof and kill themselves. If they do you'll probably wish your Toad had been a backhoe.
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Old 12-05-2021, 09:42 PM   #8
Bus Crazy
 
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Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: NM USA KD6WJG
Posts: 1,324
Year: 1991
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: All American RE 40 FEET
Engine: Cummins 8.3
Ah yes the backhoe. I brought one out from CA when they were culling out old diesels and it has been a great help. Even used it to lift all the solar panels up at once on the bus. Never mess with a person with a backhoe and a firearm.
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Old 12-11-2021, 03:14 PM   #9
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 55
Anything removable and you've lost simplicity.
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