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Old 01-28-2021, 09:12 AM   #1
Mini-Skoolie
 
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Headroom apprehensive question...

Hello All,

I am still circling around a few buses in an epic tug of war between excitement and patience... I am an over 6fter so head room is an issue. When I go look at a stock bus, is the floor to ceiling the same as I can expect after tearing up the floor and replacing it? Or can I find a few inches somewhere?

Thanks!

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Old 01-28-2021, 09:22 AM   #2
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I wouldn't expect headroom to do anything but decrease, unfortunately... You'll not find any extra inches hidden in the floor and if you add insulation, which most do, you're going to lose a few. Those darn inches are wily little guys...
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Old 01-28-2021, 09:35 AM   #3
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You won't find a few inches anywhere without a roof raise. But by removing the existing floor, you will generally gain 1/2-3/4" of height. Best to look for a high roof bus. These will generally show themselves with a small step up in window height behind the driver's window when looking at the exterior.
My original bus had 6'-6" headroom fully gutted, and I'm 6'-2". I used 1" rigid XPS foam insulation and 1/2" plywood subfloor. With this and 5/16" ceiling material I had 6' 4" height.
My new bus is a bit shorter so I went with 1/2" poly-iso foam insulation and 1/2" ply and it comes in at a head grazing 6'2" with the same ceiling. Still nothing to complain about- it's a camper.
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Old 01-28-2021, 09:42 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peakbus View Post
My original bus had 6'-6" headroom fully gutted, and I'm 6'-2". I used 1" rigid XPS foam insulation and 1/2" plywood subfloor. With this and 5/16" ceiling material I had 6' 4" height.
My new bus is a bit shorter so I went with 1/2" poly-iso foam insulation and 1/2" ply and it comes in at a head grazing 6'2" with the same ceiling. Still nothing to complain about- it's a camper.

This is great info as I am also 6'2"... Not the answer I was hoping for, but always happy calibrating my expectations to realistic.
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Old 01-28-2021, 09:46 AM   #5
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Here's an example of the window step-up peakbus mentioned.Click image for larger version

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Old 01-28-2021, 10:05 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by rossvtaylor View Post
Here's an example of the window step-up peakbus mentioned.Attachment 53478

Ok awesome.... So just to clarify, we are talking about the first window after the driver's being higher than the driver window... That is indicating a step up and potentially more headroom?
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Old 01-28-2021, 10:14 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SelfGuidedTour View Post
Ok awesome.... So just to clarify, we are talking about the first window after the driver's being higher than the driver window... That is indicating a step up and potentially more headroom?
Yup, and that particular bus is selling today on GovDeals by the way...in Michigan. It's a college bus, which is also an indication that it will be a high roof bus. Notice how that second window back, right behind the driver's window, is a bit higher? So, that will probably be as high as you'd find in a stock "school" bus configuration. You could also look at the MCI bus, a cool old MC-5, discussed in another recent thread here...they're great buses and the price is fair on that one, considering the mechanicals it appears to have. It should have 6'6" headroom...or close to that.
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Old 01-28-2021, 11:31 AM   #8
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I'm 6'0", my bus is a high-ceiling International which is (was) 6'7" down the center. Floor has 2" XPS, 3/4" plywood and eventually another 1/4" of flooring; ceiling has 1.5" XPS between the ribs, another 3/4" XPS on top of them and 3/16" plywood over that. This leaves me with 6'3" of headroom which is just enough that I don't hit it with my head while walking. At 6'2" You could go with 1" XPS on the floor and 1/4" or 1/2" XPS on the ceiling and gain an additional 1.5" and probably be OK. High-ceiling Internationals aren't really all that common, though, and other manufacturers' like Thomas and Blue Bird make high-ceiling buses that are only about 6'4" or 6'5" (and they're also not terribly common).

At 6'2" you probably have to realistically do a roof raise.
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Old 01-28-2021, 11:50 AM   #9
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Not all have step up windows.
I have 78.5" but no step up on either side. Tall driver side window and giant (84" x 36") doorway both sides the top edges are even.
Its not always possible to measure. Try looking for the additional 6" between the windshield and safety lights. See below.

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Old 01-28-2021, 01:03 PM   #10
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Finally an advantage to being short
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Old 01-28-2021, 03:05 PM   #11
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Depending how cold it will be where you use the bus stock ceiling and no floor insulation, and a high roof gives you 6'6" normally. I am able to heat nicely and be cozy down to about 20. Below that and the air will be warm but floor will be a little cool for bare feet. My floor is 5/8 plywood with carpet over that.
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Old 01-28-2021, 04:01 PM   #12
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Bluebirds are difficult to tell by looking. There were three different ones. I have seen pictures of ones that had the windows higher than the door and driver side window. Mine is a tall version and the door and driver side windows are the same height as the rest.
At one time I had found a website explaining the difference but can't find it now. If I remember correctly the three major contenders all had three hts. Thomas are really easy they either have a hump up, hump down or straight across the top. I think I read that all now just make the taller models.
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Old 01-28-2021, 07:39 PM   #13
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you can sometimes also tell by the relative shape of the back windows on some buses. A low roof bus will have a more square back window where the high ones will have more rectangular windows... Combine all of the clues in this thread and you'll start to sort them out easier.
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Old 02-01-2021, 10:32 PM   #14
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I have 91" floor to ceiling but then again, I did a conservative roof raise. Honestly, if you are talented and handy, find a good bus and raise the roof. I have maybe less than $3k in materials and that figure may be inflated. Of course, I will have the added expense of dual pane RV windows but that was my original goal raised roof or not. Now I can frame down the ceiling and get some 6" of spray foam in there. My goal for the roof raise was to gain excellent insulation values.
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