Need help with height issue and insulation

This may be dumb lol but if we get a real thin sheet of wood for the ceiling and put it directly to the ribs, is there any concern with fire or anything? Is there a certain width or layering other then insulation that should be in there to be safe? I know they get hot and with it being such a thin layer, I don't know if that's bad. Granted, the metal is thin and much hotter, I am trying to decide on the most efficient wood cieling.
 
Speaking as a 5'8 person with a 5'10 partner who isn't doing a roof raise, we still need to consider the thickness of our floors and whatnot. We're putting down a "floating" subfloor consisting of 1/2" foam board and 1/4" plywood. The foam board should have enough compressive strength to handle being walked on. I also built a sunken shower pan and frame to support it, which sinks the shower 8" into the floor and leaves plenty of headroom for us to shower comfortably.

And I know you said that you could not do a full roof raise, but could you possibly do a partial roof raise?

Maybe only lift the area you walk around in and don't lift above the bed where you sleep or the driver's area where you spend little time standing. Or, only lift the roof in the aisle area because there's little standing to do there (would probably look weird though).

In your situation I would probably still raise the roof. If you plan to live in it full time for a long time, I think saving your partner's back would be worth it. I don't think stooping all the time would be healthy.

I use my interior ceiling panels I took down to make patches and fill deleted windows, and will be using it to skin the shower pan once it's fully installed. You could do the same to fill in your bus skin post roof raise.
My father cut some tops off of some buses to make watermelon buses and they're just laying around. You could probably come over and harvest some sheet metal and structural ribs if you ended up going that route. As for a welder, you may be able to find someone to help on here or in your circle of friends. I can weld and would be willing to help myself, but with a full schedule of classes this semester I couldn't do anything until January.

EastCoastCB is a very helpful guy with roof raise experience. Maybe he'd be willing to lend a hand.
 
WanderlustExistence said:
This may be dumb lol but if we get a real thin sheet of wood for the ceiling and put it directly to the ribs, is there any concern with fire or anything? Is there a certain width or layering other then insulation that should be in there to be safe? I know they get hot and with it being such a thin layer, I don't know if that's bad. Granted, the metal is thin and much hotter, I am trying to decide on the most efficient wood cieling.
Click to expand...

Wood ignites at 352°f, I don't think it's an issue.
 
wendysdrivethrudude said:
Speaking as a 5'8 person with a 5'10 partner who isn't doing a roof raise, we still need to consider the thickness of our floors and whatnot. We're putting down a "floating" subfloor consisting of 1/2" foam board and 1/4" plywood. The foam board should have enough compressive strength to handle being walked on. I also built a sunken shower pan and frame to support it, which sinks the shower 8" into the floor and leaves plenty of headroom for us to shower comfortably.

And I know you said that you could not do a full roof raise, but could you possibly do a partial roof raise?

Maybe only lift the area you walk around in and don't lift above the bed where you sleep or the driver's area where you spend little time standing. Or, only lift the roof in the aisle area because there's little standing to do there (would probably look weird though).

In your situation I would probably still raise the roof. If you plan to live in it full time for a long time, I think saving your partner's back would be worth it. I don't think stooping all the time would be healthy.

I use my interior ceiling panels I took down to make patches and fill deleted windows, and will be using it to skin the shower pan once it's fully installed. You could do the same to fill in your bus skin post roof raise.
My father cut some tops off of some buses to make watermelon buses and they're just laying around. You could probably come over and harvest some sheet metal and structural ribs if you ended up going that route. As for a welder, you may be able to find someone to help on here or in your circle of friends. I can weld and would be willing to help myself, but with a full schedule of classes this semester I couldn't do anything until January.

EastCoastCB is a very helpful guy with roof raise experience. Maybe he'd be willing to lend a hand.
Click to expand...

All of your roof raise ideas are doable with deep enough pockets, none of them would be as easy as a regular full roof raise. Foam board is a round 30-100PSI compression. My shoe is roughly 48si. The foam would support my foot bearing 1440lbs, or 4320lbs/sf (2 tons). That's before the compression strength of the plywood you lay on top.
 
wendysdrivethrudude said:
Speaking as a 5'8 person with a 5'10 partner who isn't doing a roof raise, we still need to consider the thickness of our floors and whatnot. We're putting down a "floating" subfloor consisting of 1/2" foam board and 1/4" plywood. The foam board should have enough compressive strength to handle being walked on. I also built a sunken shower pan and frame to support it, which sinks the shower 8" into the floor and leaves plenty of headroom for us to shower comfortably.

And I know you said that you could not do a full roof raise, but could you possibly do a partial roof raise?

Maybe only lift the area you walk around in and don't lift above the bed where you sleep or the driver's area where you spend little time standing. Or, only lift the roof in the aisle area because there's little standing to do there (would probably look weird though).

In your situation I would probably still raise the roof. If you plan to live in it full time for a long time, I think saving your partner's back would be worth it. I don't think stooping all the time would be healthy.

I use my interior ceiling panels I took down to make patches and fill deleted windows, and will be using it to skin the shower pan once it's fully installed. You could do the same to fill in your bus skin post roof raise.
My father cut some tops off of some buses to make watermelon buses and they're just laying around. You could probably come over and harvest some sheet metal and structural ribs if you ended up going that route. As for a welder, you may be able to find someone to help on here or in your circle of friends. I can weld and would be willing to help myself, but with a full schedule of classes this semester I couldn't do anything until January.

EastCoastCB is a very helpful guy with roof raise experience. Maybe he'd be willing to lend a hand.
Click to expand...

If one wants a raised roof its best to buy a Bluebird or IC/Amtran.
 
Thank you guys. If any of you are in Florida feel free to message me, I'd love to know some other Skoolies in the area.

So far, after being out the a while last night, I think we are going to extend the space where the roof emergency exits are to double the size on each one. Then get a customs skylight type thing. That way he has a lot.more head room in those places. Again, just an idea we thought of. So far it seems the most doable.

We are going to keep the original foot panels. Just going to wash them up real good, put in New insulation, and flatter screws.

Has anyone used Cellulose blown in insulation? Seems to be a healthy and efficient option.

In regard to the floors - We also found this stuff at Lowe's that is suppose to be both a vapor barrier and slight insulation. I'm kinda torn because I would like a thicker insulation, but my partner (and the people at Lowes) are trying to save the space and thinks that the one we found will work ok, along with our subfloor.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/FloorComfort-100-sq-ft-Premium-1-5mm-Flooring-Underlayment/1000195249

That's the stuff. Based of its description and what I've read it seems great but I'm worried it won't be enough.

We aren't going to be in freezing temps often. We will likely chase better weather... So Idk. What do you guys think?
 
WanderlustExistence said:
Thank you guys. If any of you are in Florida feel free to message me, I'd love to know some other Skoolies in the area.

So far, after being out the a while last night, I think we are going to extend the space where the roof emergency exits are to double the size on each one. Then get a customs skylight type thing. That way he has a lot.more head room in those places. Again, just an idea we thought of. So far it seems the most doable.

We are going to keep the original foot panels. Just going to wash them up real good, put in New insulation, and flatter screws.

Has anyone used Cellulose blown in insulation? Seems to be a healthy and efficient option.

In regard to the floors - We also found this stuff at Lowe's that is suppose to be both a vapor barrier and slight insulation. I'm kinda torn because I would like a thicker insulation, but my partner (and the people at Lowes) are trying to save the space and thinks that the one we found will work ok, along with our subfloor.

https://m.lowes.com/pd/FloorComfort-100-sq-ft-Premium-1-5mm-Flooring-Underlayment/1000195249

That's the stuff. Based of its description and what I've read it seems great but I'm worried it won't be enough.

We aren't going to be in freezing temps often. We will likely chase better weather... So Idk. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Cellulose is a poor choice. Buses sweat like humans inside and its best to got non-organic for insulation.
 
EastCoastCB said:
Cellulose is a poor choice. Buses sweat like humans inside and its best to got non-organic for insulation.
Click to expand...

How different is it from "cotton candy" type insulation? We don't wanna do spray foam, so our options are the cellulose, cotton candy, or foam board, but we have heard foam board in the roof can be difficult to fit and can lead to moisture issues as well.
 
WanderlustExistence said:
How different is it from "cotton candy" type insulation? We don't wanna do spray foam, so our options are the cellulose, cotton candy, or foam board, but we have heard foam board in the roof can be difficult to fit and can lead to moisture issues as well.
Click to expand...

Foam isn't organic and if you get closed cell foam it doesn't soak up water.
Foam board all the way.

"cotton candy" is also horrible in a bus. Its not organic but it wicks up moisture and molds.
 
My AmTran is a high roof (6'6"). Here is my plan for a floor, 1/2" polyiso, 1" pink rigid with grooves cut for pex floor heat, vapor barrier and then the snap together laminate. With that down I still have 6'-4.5". After adding up to 1/2" thickness for ceiling and I still have 6'-4" finished height.
 

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WanderlustExistence said:
So far, after being out the a while last night, I think we are going to extend the space where the roof emergency exits are to double the size on each one. Then get a customs skylight type thing.

...

That's the stuff. Based of its description and what I've read it seems great but I'm worried it won't be enough.

We aren't going to be in freezing temps often. We will likely chase better weather... So Idk. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Could you maybe sketch out your idea? It sounds interesting but it’d help us get a better idea of what you’re talking about.

As for the floor situation, putting a good skirt on your bus in extreme temps would probably help. And hot air rises and cold air sinks, so the floor is not as big a concern as the walls, windows, and ceiling when it comes to heat loss.
 
To save roof height, we only insulated the roof only to the thickness of the ribs which left the rib face open. Now that we can feel the heat radiating through the ribs (burning hot), I decided they need something between them and the panelling. I am putting vinyl foam tape. It is thin and seems to stop a LOT of the heat from passing through. the camper mounting tape is 1 1/4" wide and the pipe wrap insulating tape is 2" wide. It should also avoid any rubbing or rattling of the ceiling panels against the ribs.
Just an idea.
 
I am actually putting the same flooring into my 2 bedroom house right now. It is a pain to put in. The panels are 4 feet long and wobble while you are trying to fit pieces into the grove. And end pieces don't want to go together. Hint: tape a part that you get in the grove, fit in the rest of the plank, and put a small piece of tape there, too.
 
I raised the roof 14" two weeks ago on the Bluebird the total cost (channel spacers skin structural tubing rivets and assorted hardware) was 705.00 which included 8 49"x109" new aluminum skins this price does not include new RV type windows which I have yet to install.The roof raise was not that difficult I did it mostly by myself in two days and will have about two more days in finish work pics to come soon. Gdog
 
'Doesn't make much sense to me either. Just sounds like a crutch bandaid to an issue.'

That is because you are not thinking outside the box.
Build a square tuping frame as for a deck.
Fill the voids with expanding foam.
Be really clever and sheet the top of the bus with plastic so the foam does not stick.
Set a length of PVC pipe inside the frame and have place for long item storage.
Run some duct inside inside it for your AC.
Trim it and skin it with sheetmetal.
Paint it white and mount some PV's up there.
Finally, build a small deck up top and throw a couple of lawn chairs and watch the sunrise.
Look at the flat nose skoolie in the logo at the top of this page for some more inspiration.
 
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