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Old 03-02-2020, 05:56 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Blue bird chassis loft?

I've been manifesting a bus for years and finally just got my hands on a 2002 Chevy blue bird 4 windows.. silly me hasn't done enough research in time I read here I cannot build a loft on top of a chassis? I really hope that's not really true.. I have 2 kids and definetely need a loft for our bed for space underneath for them to play.. please help. Maybe I should try to get my money back need answers asap
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Old 03-02-2020, 05:58 AM   #2
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Just measure it out and see. If by "loft" you mean bunk bed I'm sure it can be done. Or you can have a loft with like a foot or two of crawl space.
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:02 AM   #3
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Sorry what I meant by loft was building it over the roof of the bus a place for a big bed
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:08 AM   #4
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Blue bird chassis loft on the top?

I've been manifesting a bus for years and finally got a 2002 Chevy blue bird which has a chassis... I planned to build a loft on the top of it like in the pictures included for our bed.. now I am reading it is impossible on a chassis bus.. is this true? I may need to try and get my money back asap..
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:14 AM   #5
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Uh, all buses have a chassis, not sure what you think that word means. You could build something like that loft on your bus.

A bus with a fiberglass body (instead of steel) would present serious problems, but that's not the type of body your bus has.
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:14 AM   #6
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So weird- I'd responded and you'd responded to my response. Now its all gone?!
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:18 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by EastCoastCB View Post
So weird- I'd responded and you'd responded to my response. Now its all gone?!
The site seems kind of glitchy since yesterday. The "Is this bad?" thread (rusty MN bus) kept disappearing from the recent threads list and giving me an "Invalid link specified" page.
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:19 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by musigenesis View Post
The site seems kind of glitchy since yesterday. The "Is this bad?" thread (rusty MN bus) kept disappearing from the recent threads list and giving me an "Invalid link specified" page.
I've never seen two posts go through then disappear. Oh well- wasn't much.
Thread had a different title, IIRC.
Its almost as though the OP has mod-like editing powers.
Quote:
Calidoscopelove has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled - Blue bird chassis loft? - in the Short-Bus Conversion Projects forum of School Bus Conversion Resources.

This thread is located at:
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f27/b...-new-post.html

Here is the message that has just been posted:
***************
Sorry what I meant by loft was building it over the roof of the bus a place for a big bed
***************
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:22 AM   #9
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Somehow my original thread dissapeared so I made a new one..
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Old 03-02-2020, 06:32 AM   #10
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How to go about a Bedroom loft on top of the bus

So recently I finally manifested a 2002 Chevy bluebird bus with four windows.. my plan is to build a bedroom loft on the top of the bus.. were going to need to hire someone to do it.. who do I call? What needs to be done in order to recreate somthing similar to the blue bus in the pictures I've included.. the only difference is I probably wouldn't build it hanging off the back like that unless is that necessary? I would like to have space for a small deck on top that I could sleep outside on the roof if I want maybe crawl out the window of the loft.. but I also need room for solar panels and want to have a sunroof on top of the loft.. I really need to know how and who should do this for us so that it is safe for driving... I'm also wondering if the bus will still be able to go uphill.. I plan to drive the bus around daily if need be.. thanks!
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Old 03-02-2020, 08:26 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calidoscopelove View Post
Somehow my original thread dissapeared so I made a new one..
I see 3!......
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Old 03-02-2020, 08:29 AM   #12
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I've seen a few pictures of buses with a pop-up camper body graphed to the roof. Pretty cool idea to get lots of space up there. Granted, they were on full sized buses, but the idea still could work on a short bus.
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Old 03-02-2020, 08:39 AM   #13
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What? wait- so now this thread is back? site's glitchy today!
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Old 03-02-2020, 10:58 AM   #14
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Unless you are planning on doing a roof pop up your bedroom loft is going to be more like a Japanese sleeping tube what with the 13' 6" to 14' (ca) maximum vehicle height regulations. You will also need to take into consideration the structural integrity of your bus once you begin removing sections of the roof to access the loft. It's fun to dream though!
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Old 03-02-2020, 11:27 AM   #15
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Personally I wouldn't do it, those van cutaway chassis are overloaded from the factory and a roof deck would just make things worse unless you used super lightweight materials like aluminum.

I found someone that made a roof deck out of recycled aluminum bleachers, looked really well done imo.
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Old 03-02-2020, 11:42 AM   #16
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I also wanted to do this. I was going to make a pop up like a big Westfalia. What stopped me from proceeding was the insurance company. Nothing on the roof except solar panels.
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Old 03-02-2020, 12:14 PM   #17
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How do I delete these extra two?
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Old 03-02-2020, 12:17 PM   #18
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That's what I heard about van chassis and was wondering kinda dream killer but okay. So cant be done I geuss.... hope I can return the bus now and give up cause without that I wont have enough room...
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Old 03-02-2020, 12:51 PM   #19
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I briefly considered a rooftop popup tent like this when I found one on Craigslist for under a grand: https://www.amazon.com/TMB-Motorspor.../dp/B07G2T5ZWC, but as with many ideas of mine, I eventually realized it would be a lot of work and expense for something I would rarely if ever use.

FWIW I don't think your project is doomed because of your bus. There's a tendency for people just starting out on a skoolie to latch onto one particular weird idea or another, when there are perfectly viable (and much easier) alternatives to achieve whatever goals you're trying to achieve.
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Old 03-02-2020, 01:44 PM   #20
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Well, what about an enclosed fold out porch? There are companies that make awnings with wall kits. Maybe the back door becomes a sliding door, the bed folds off the back to become a platform and then the roof pops up?

I want that too
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