wooden roof adition? how to?

[jasmine]

I've got an old 1965 shortie (16 ft) bus GMC that I wish to turn into an office or shop. My idea is to build a wooden roof right on to the top of the bus. The roof would a) keep it cool b) minimize leakage (there is some) and c) look super cute.
The bus will not really be on the road much, although it may get moved from time to time.
Has anyone done anything like this?
I'm looking for pictures showing clearly where to begin.
I'm not super construction savy and don"t know how to weld, but could possibly hire help if needed.
I am also willing to learn and give it a really good shot myself if it seems realistic.
TIA
Jasmine.

[Tango]

You might consider something lighter weight than wood. Up that high, added weight can be problematic. Aluminum is pretty easy to work with ( nuts, bolts & pop rivets) and could provide the cover you are looking for. The old school safari Land Rovers all came with a "second roof" a few inches above the real one for the same reason. That way...it was always "in the shade".

[ElizaHasAPlan]

I've seen a lot of decks on buses, and I've seen gable roofs on buses that had a house structure built around it, but I've not seen a gable roof directly on the bus itself. Like Tango said, that probably has to do with weight issues.

Here's the house/bus conversion with the roof I'm talking about: Our Cora Bean: Tiny House Extravaganza: House Bus Tour

[sky nighthawk]

check out a book called Some Turtles Have Nice Shells

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by sky nighthawk

check out a book called Some Turtles Have Nice Shells

I own that book.

Nat

[jasmine]

Thanks for the advice, folks. In all honesty I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.
Will check out that book though.

[jasmine]

OK, cora bean's tiny house bus is totally amazing! I'm going to have to scour that blog, do they talk about building the bus-house?

[jasmine]

And can you explain to me what you mean by "the house is built around the bus."

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by jasmine

And can you explain to me what you mean by "the house is built around the bus."

They built outside of the metal bus shell, VS building inside like most do.

The shed I live in is built outside of the 16 foot metal shell of a bus body.

Studs, insulation, and sheeting all outside of the metal.

Nat

[jasmine]

Nat, do you have pictures? I am very interested in this idea.

[rvingoffgrid]

in the early 60's GMC and MCI built double roofed buses that where shipped to places like egypt and the middle east where its all desert. the purpose was to be able to air condition them. with out the air gap between the roofs they found it almost Impossible to keep them cool. having said that, what your wanting to to isn't that. we build tiny houses on bus chassis. we strip the bus body off right behind the driver and replace it with a house. we use metal studs and framing, with metal on the roof. we use a bonding agent from 3M to bond all the pcs. together instead of rivets or screws, the reason is that the bonding agent will absorb the road vibrations and stay together where most other fasteners will work lose over time. if you want to lay a roof over the bus roof as has already been mention you have to watch your weight to prevent a top heavy un-drivable coach unless you put training wheels on it or a active suspension. it can be done and its not that problematic. need to address a couple of issues and your off. using metal studs is a great way to do it and cover it with metal tin or aluminum i have also sean a person who bonded wood shingles right to the metal roof of the bus. it was a very interesting and different look but worked well for many years and it didn't leak also added insulation value to the roof he used the same 3M product to bond the shingles to the metal where the sides meet in the middle of the bus he ran a ridge row.

[nat_ster]

Originally Posted by jasmine

Nat, do you have pictures? I am very interested in this idea.

It starts on this page.

Nat_ster's Haul All - Page 4 - Pirate4x4.Com : 4x4 and Off-Road Forum

However, I would not try building that for regular road travel.

Nat