Help! Roof fell during raise

Jolly Roger bus 223 said:
If you are getting a crane the you should get a crane operator and a rigger and if they need help then let them tell you how to help and let the rigger connect the shackles/slings if you have never messed with it before.
Not rocket science but insurance if anything mucks up.
They might decide to do the third spreader or the spreaders through the windows but I wouldn't like/agree with them putting the strap directly on a window rib?
They weren't designed for what we do with already but they definitely weren't designed to be 4-single lifting point.
Sure we would all love to have a crane to do a roof raise but we don't so the entire concept is still to spread the load out between lifting points.
Good luck,learn something new and instead of stressing have fun.
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Yeah they rigged everything for me. Bent up my gutters real good but I can hammer those out later.

It took the rest of the day to wrestle the steel around and weld the other channel
 
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So... how do we make this photo... the banner image at the top of every page in this entire forum?


I know I'm being a smart-ass. But people almost got hurt here. And "almost" is too darn close -- even if I don't know that person from Adam and never will... nobody ought not get hurt.

Again... I know I'm bragging. But this needs saying.

It comes down to this question:
Are you qualified for the work you wish to do?

And we are all only human. And we all have different talents and skills.

I have screwed some thing up in my life, please believe me. Royally. With gold braids and two oak leaf clusters.

And during my 67 years of toying with mechanical things... I have developed a pretty good ability to estimate technical things.

And I still cannot ask a lady out... without blushing and stammering and tripping over myself and making a Grand Fool of myself and going home in shame and tears.
Different talents and skills.

Bus roof... I can do.
But if I won a lottery for a night in bed with Marilyn Monroe... I would give that winning ticket to my brother as fast as I possibly could. That's just not in my tool kit, and I would get hurt.

Now... my brother, he would make good use of it. I have seen him "operate" -- in a bar, for example. He can walk in, pick the prettiest girl, and leave with her in 20 minutes. Twice on Saturdays. Nobody gets hurt.

And maybe... when somebody... who is not solidly confident in his mechanical talent and experience for such a dangerous purpose... wants to raise the roof of a bus... he should consider bringing in a "brother" with relevant skills, before somebody gets hurt.
 
Is the autopsy report ready yet? How did this go so wrong?
Was it just one weld or several? Or was it the lifting process, too much at a time on the threaded rods?
Glad nobody got hurt nut his has to be a first that I have seen go wrong.
Nice to see the recovery standing up.


John
 
BlackJohn said:
Is the autopsy report ready yet? How did this go so wrong?
Was it just one weld or several? Or was it the lifting process, too much at a time on the threaded rods?
Glad nobody got hurt nut his has to be a first that I have seen go wrong.
Nice to see the recovery standing up.


John
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Good questions. I used the all thread method, and everybody has since told me that's a risky method to begin with. Then I was using galvanized all thread which can bend easily. So what happened was the all thread bent as we were cranking it up and at some point, most of the weight of the roof was on one bracket. It also bent the hat channel the bracket was welded to, so I don't think it was a welding problem as much as a balance problem. The wind was also blowing pretty hard all day.

I just wouldn't advise using the all thread method. And now that I've done it, I actually like the crane method, especially for people who haven't done anything like this before.
 
Something was horribly amiss. I'm not the most confident person and our all thread raise went without a hitch. I'm a decent welder and we measured and carefully set up everything ahead of time.

Glad OP stuck to it and got the job done!
 
EastCoastCB said:
Something was horribly amiss. I'm not the most confident person and our all thread raise went without a hitch. I'm a decent welder and we measured and carefully set up everything ahead of time.

Glad OP stuck to it and got the job done!
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Yeah my setup was definitely to blame. Looking back, I planned to fail. I didn't stress the importance of leveling the brackets perfectly, and millimeters turned into inches quickly. I chose all thread because it was cheaper and slower than farm jacks.

My build is on a schedule so honestly I was rushing. I'm making it a point to slow down and enjoy this part of the process more. Thanks for helping me keep my head straight.
 
blissout said:
Yeah my setup was definitely to blame. Looking back, I planned to fail. I didn't stress the importance of leveling the brackets perfectly, and millimeters turned into inches quickly. I chose all thread because it was cheaper and slower than farm jacks.

My build is on a schedule so honestly I was rushing. I'm making it a point to slow down and enjoy this part of the process more. Thanks for helping me keep my head straight.
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All thread has more fine adjustment that can be made. That's why I went with it. Farm jacks have notches.
Glad you illustrated the roof raise problems, though. Gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette! It was worth it!
 
blissout said:
I may be the first guy to fix a fallen bus roof!

Granted, I'm the first to have one fall, but whatevs
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I can promise you're not the FIRST to have one fall or fail. Just the first one honest enough to post it.

FWIW I had a friend do the welding as my confidence was pretty low at the time. I was so nervous I treated the roof raise like a NASA project or something.
 
blissout said:
Good questions. I used the all thread method, and everybody has since told me that's a risky method to begin with. Then I was using galvanized all thread which can bend easily. So what happened was the all thread bent as we were cranking it up and at some point, most of the weight of the roof was on one bracket. It also bent the hat channel the bracket was welded to, so I don't think it was a welding problem as much as a balance problem. The wind was also blowing pretty hard all day.

I just wouldn't advise using the all thread method. And now that I've done it, I actually like the crane method, especially for people who haven't done anything like this before.
Click to expand...

A number of us have used the all thread method with great success and safety.

I would be looking closely at the materials sizing and attachment methods.

Asetechrail built the all thread Jack's that we used on mine.it was SOLID!.

I would not hesitate to use a good solid rig like this one too raise additional buses. Maybe there is a road trip to MT in my future??????

IiRC: The Jack's that Kent built used 1" alltrhead, 1" tube and 1/4""plate. Take a look at my build thread, there are good pictures of the Jack's and the lift process.


Stay safe.
 
I was working at a shop once and a mechanic was doing a motor or tranny swap or something (I forget). Somehow he mistakenly managed to jack the vehicle up off the overhead automotive lift using 4 screw jacks.:facepalm: One moment it started to sway while he was underneath.:eek: He was sweating for an hour afterwards!
 
Mountain Gnome said:
I was working at a shop once and a mechanic was doing a motor or tranny swap or something (I forget). Somehow he mistakenly managed to jack the vehicle up off the overhead automotive lift using 4 screw jacks.:facepalm: One moment it started to sway while he was underneath.:eek: He was sweating for an hour afterwards!
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Was he a contestant for the Darwin Awards?
 
PNW_Steve said:
Was he a contestant for the Darwin Awards?
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He was not a trained mechanic, just a parts swapper. An alcoholic with a serious drinking problem. Wouldn't show up for days sometimes. Lived in a long-stay motel because he couldn't keep a life together enough to have an apartment. Another tech went to find him there one day...shaking and in total DTs with empty bottles of vodka all over. Sad. He was a super nice guy.


Not sure how he got a job at the shop. My boss (the owner) was a great guy with a big heart; the kind who would take in a stray (that's how I got the job:whistling:, but at least I had tools and a little experience). His big heart was his downfall, methinks. His son died in his arms from an asthma attack, and then his heart started to fail, and he had several heart attacks. They would not give him a transplant, because he wouldn't stop drinking beer or smoking cigs. He passed on within a year of me leaving for Hawai'i.
 
Mountain Gnome said:
He was not a trained mechanic, just a parts swapper. An alcoholic with a serious drinking problem. Wouldn't show up for days sometimes. Lived in a long-stay motel because he couldn't keep a life together enough to have an apartment. Another tech went to find him there one day...shaking and in total DTs with empty bottles of vodka all over. Sad. He was a super nice guy.


Not sure how he got a job at the shop. My boss (the owner) was a great guy with a big heart; the kind who would take in a stray (that's how I got the job:whistling:, but at least I had tools and a little experience). His big heart was his downfall, methinks. His son died in his arms from an asthma attack, and then his heart started to fail, and he had several heart attacks. They would not give him a transplant, because he wouldn't stop drinking beer or smoking cigs. He passed on within a year of me leaving for Hawai'i.
Click to expand...

I worked with a guy called 'Shaky Louie' - he shook so much some mornings that our painter's scaffold rattled - I refused to work high with him after he set his paint down and walked off the end of the ladder plank when he saw the beer delivery in action across the street
 
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