Buying bus Tomorrow!! Roof raise (I've searched)

[o1marc]

The angle is a lot less than people make it out to be 6-8" raise may only be out of square by 1/4-3/8"

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by asquarecan

Would this not make a "staggered" look?


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This is obviously a horrible illustration, but would I not end up with something like this if I went above the windows?

That's correct- raise below the window line.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Every Thomas.

C2s are even worse than the older models in terms of wall slope, aren't they?

[Brad_SwiftFur]

Originally Posted by asquarecan

Would this not make a "staggered" look?

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This is obviously a horrible illustration, but would I not end up with something like this if I went above the windows?

Yes, it would be staggered if raised above the windows. Choose wisely.

[jassr1]

Where at in the PNW are you? I rasied my roof 13", I wish I would have gone up about 4 more. I wouldn't waste your time on a roof raise if you are only going up 6 to 8". If you're going to raise it, raise it. For the amount of work and cost it just doesn't make sense, trust me, you'll never say "gosh I wish my roof raise was shorter"!

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by jassr1

Where at in the PNW are you? I rasied my roof 13", I wish I would have gone up about 4 more. I wouldn't waste your time on a roof raise if you are only going up 6 to 8". If you're going to raise it, raise it. For the amount of work and cost it just doesn't make sense, trust me, you'll never say "gosh I wish my roof raise was shorter"!

I think many will disagree with this. There are more negatives for going too high, than raising it specifically for headroom.
I have heard more than once builders saying if they did it again, it would be lower.

[jassr1]

I've never heard of any.

[capnron]

Originally Posted by o1marc

I think many will disagree with this. There are more negatives for going too high, than raising it specifically for headroom.
I have heard more than once builders saying if they did it again, it would be lower.

I would totally agree. If you never have to deal with heavy crosswinds, fine. But a roof raise will catch a lot more wind. The Skoolie I had didn't have a raise, and you still had to hang on tight in a cross wind.

[jassr1]

Originally Posted by capnron

I would totally agree. If you never have to deal with heavy crosswinds, fine. But a roof raise will catch a lot more wind. The Skoolie I had didn't have a raise, and you still had to hang on tight in a cross wind.

I guess if your bus is your RV, but Im moving into mine in march and will be living in it fulltime. Space is more valuable to me, there are plenty of things cruising down our highways that are bigger than me that contend with wind daily, for me I'll take my chances on the small amount of time that I'll have to deal with it.

[whiskey runner]

i hope you get it figured out.. i raised mine 14" and almost wish i had of gone even more.. because of the year my bus is, the roof was very curved .. so the head room is not good in the shower.. when i did mine i cut out the metal on the sides then added a 14'x3' slide-out, replaced the rest of the sides with aluminum and more modern windows.. it was well worth the extra work in my opinion

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by Brad_SwiftFur

With this in mind, you have 3 choices.


1. Buy a different bus that's not a Thomas ...
2. Skip the roof raise ...
3. Raise the roof "above the windows" ...


Of course you could be a glutton for punishment and raise the roof from the bottom of the windows too, having to compensate for the slight slope and all that goes with it....

Seems to me that raising it under the windows would solve the problem. might have to do something at the front and add some to the bottom of the back door.


Is the taper still a problem at the front?

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by jassr1

Where at in the PNW are you? I rasied my roof 13", I wish I would have gone up about 4 more. I wouldn't waste your time on a roof raise if you are only going up 6 to 8". If you're going to raise it, raise it. For the amount of work and cost it just doesn't make sense, trust me, you'll never say "gosh I wish my roof raise was shorter"!

Going under trees, country gas stations, or my favorite...trying to leave the shop after the roof raise only to realize the door was too short, LOL

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by kidharris

Seems to me that raising it under the windows would solve the problem. might have to do something at the front and add some to the bottom of the back door.


Is the taper still a problem at the front?

Yes. The whole bus is shaped that way.

[sr41056]

Here are a couple of videos of somebody raising the roof on a Thomas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYAFtz3_wqo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRtm-3vowOo

[EastCoastCB]

Yeah they did it the "wrong" way.
They kept the amount of raise minimal which will help hide the change in geometry.
Also- with Thomas raises you hardly ever see a fully finished roof raise and when they are pictured they don't like to get in on the detail.
I've seen a couple nice Thomas raises but they usually take a lot of care.
Of course- most of what I'm hung up on is aesthetics.

[sr41056]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Yeah they did it the "wrong" way.
They kept the amount of raise minimal which will help hide the change in geometry.
Also- with Thomas raises you hardly ever see a fully finished roof raise and when they are pictured they don't like to get in on the detail.
I've seen a couple nice Thomas raises but they usually take a lot of care.
Of course- most of what I'm hung up on is aesthetics.

Like you, I'm a stickler for aesthetics.



Here's another video showing the painting of the bus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpMuOMTj2x4

At around 5:35 you can get a pretty good look from the rear and I think it looks quite good.

[EastCoastCB]

I think with a reasonable amount of raise most of the ribs can be bent/tweaked into a reasonable surface to rivet/screw to.
I just sorta chuckle as it seems 90% of folks who raise their roofs start with the hardest brand to do.
As always- you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette!

[o1marc]

More susceptible to hitting low hanging branches.
Possible bridge clearance issues.
More room to heat and cool taxing the systems. Fuel mileage decrease due to added drag.
Control issues in high winds.
Reduced availability of parking.

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by jassr1

Where at in the PNW are you? I rasied my roof 13", I wish I would have gone up about 4 more. I wouldn't waste your time on a roof raise if you are only going up 6 to 8". If you're going to raise it, raise it. For the amount of work and cost it just doesn't make sense, trust me, you'll never say "gosh I wish my roof raise was shorter"!

Hmm...... I raised the roof on my first bus 8" and I thought it was perfect.

Different strokes...

[RoadsideJourney]

I know a lot of people here don't approve of this method, but my dad and I raised the roof of my Thomas bus by 24" at the windows. He welded in 1x2 tubes in the hat channels with 1" angle iron on either side for the sheet metal rivets. We overcame the 6-degree bend by replacing all the upper sheet metal and the way we welded in the replacement hat channels.

A few reasons why we raised 24":
1. I wanted to replace the windows with dual-pane ones, so we didn't need to worry about putting the windows back.
2. I was going to do a 20" raise, but decided to raise it 24", we wouldn't have to cut the sheet metal down.
3. We decided to put the water tanks inside the bus floor to heat/cool them easier. I want a lot of water for boondocking, so I have two 100 gal freshwater tanks. We are going to raise the floor of the bus to cover the tanks so they don't interfere with the layout, and the rest of the extra space will be for running the electrical conduit, plumbing, or floor storage.