Roof-raising costs

[Barryslaw]

I have seen you on here & seem like the most knowledgeable.

So I was wondering: is it a lot easier to cut the ceiling back behind the 2nd or 3rd rib (behind the front door) & fade it in on the roof raise, than it is to cut off the whole face of the bus?
I am mainly doing this to make full size bunk beds for my kids rather than just half isle beds.
While I was at it I figured may as well take it further.

I really don't need the raise in the driver's area anyway & also in the back I plan to leave the far rear at the same height & just cut before the last rib & sheet it in, rather than cutting around the whole bus like a tin can.

I've seen it done both ways and I think that having the front & rear original may make it more solid.
Obviously it depends on the person doing it but this being my first, I wonder what your thoughts are on this?

I included a pic of the bus. 2001 bb am re.

Thank you for your time.

[EastCoastCB]

I just like the look better. Its not any easier... either way you go will involve a similar amount of labor. To me a sensible raise with a well-thought out aesthetic looks a lot more original than the big forehead look.
But its just a matter or personal taste.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

I just like the look better. Its not any easier... either way you go will involve a similar amount of labor. To me a sensible raise with a well-thought out aesthetic looks a lot more original than the big forehead look.
But its just a matter or personal taste.

Somewhere a beluga is feeling sad.

[krazykrivda]

Late to this party, but I found skoolie.com does it for ~8500 for any non-thomas bus, and 9500 for thomas. This includes completely deleting windows and basically any reasonable height raise.

Skoolie.homes also offers the service. They're prices scale based on the amount of sheet metal used as they mention it is in short supply at the moment. It might be cheaper for a short bus, but it quickly became 10k+ for a larger bus, and then i think ~50/window deleted. I dont recall their exact pricing, sorry.

[ewo1]

Originally Posted by krazykrivda

Late to this party, but I found skoolie.com does it for ~8500 for any non-thomas bus, and 9500 for thomas. This includes completely deleting windows and basically any reasonable height raise.

Skoolie.homes also offers the service. They're prices scale based on the amount of sheet metal used as they mention it is in short supply at the moment. It might be cheaper for a short bus, but it quickly became 10k+ for a larger bus, and then i think ~50/window deleted. I dont recall their exact pricing, sorry.

$8,500...WOW... I just did an 18" raise along with a transition on the front...Wonder how much extra for the transition...

Oh yeah, and are these prices pre-covid or post covid everything going up thru the roof pricing?

[krazykrivda]

Originally Posted by ewo1

$8,500...WOW... I just did an 18" raise along with a transition on the front...Wonder how much extra for the transition...

Oh yeah, and are these prices pre-covid or post covid everything going up thru the roof pricing?

I had heard that this was about ~5k ish 2-3 yrs ago, but with costs of materials going up, and demand because of covid, I'm sure I'm getting hit double.

My understanding was the transition is no extra. And both of these are pricings based on conversations in the past month. I tried reaching out to Colorado coachworks as well but never got ahold of anyone there.

I'm a sucker and am going this route and made a deposit this week (they are booking into October at the moment).

My welding skills are non-existent and when it comes to the structural integrity of the vehicle, I'm not at all comfortable doing it on my own, or some person that generally knows how to weld doing it, being that this is the roof of my soon to be moving home, that will also support a ceiling mounted bedlift system I'm designing, as well as solar and roof deck at some point.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by krazykrivda

My welding skills are non-existent and when it comes to the structural integrity of the vehicle, I'm not at all comfortable doing it on my own, or some person that generally knows how to weld doing it, being that this is the roof of my soon to be moving home, that will also support a ceiling mounted bedlift system I'm designing, as well as solar and roof deck at some point.

In terms of structural integrity, school bus bodies are designed to stay intact during a rollover event (as long as it's not the Mythbusters doing the rolling over with a 747). This is a higher standard than just holding up a bed inside or supporting solar panels or a roof deck. Your big concern would be maintaining that crash-proofing, which would require proper design and excellent-quality welding (something you might or might not get from these pro shops). If you don't have passengers riding underneath the raised roof (and in any bus, for safety all passengers should be in forward-facing seats with three-point restraints, not free-ranging in the back) you can be less concerned about the structural integrity of the raise.

FYI roof decks are not allowed by any insurance company in the US. Wood stoves are also not allowed, which makes it interesting that so many skoolies have roof decks and wood stoves (Canadian insurers apparently allow wood stoves because all Canadians are born already knowing how to handle fires).

Edit: with that $10K price tag for a roof raise, you would be far better off financially to buy a mig welder, take a welding class at a local community college, and do the raise yourself. As a bonus, you will then own a welder and know how to weld.

[mmoore6856]

we did a 16 inch on a bluebird 40 foot dognose with a transition just behind drivers seat got about 2 grand in it doing all the labor our selfs

[Mavdad]

Who did this work for you I would love to know I am in Medford and I have a bus that is a city bus I am about ready to pull the trigger on a build with. I would much rather have a school bus with a raise the roof for many different reasons but looks like we’re in the same neck of the woods and I’m in this predicament of trying to find somebody who can do a roof raise.