New and without a bus.

[xrolo98]

So I've been reading for a couple months and finally registered. My name is Christopher and will be building a Skoolie soon enough. I live in mid-Missouri with a roommate currently but eventually want to make to move into a Skoolie. I don't want to overhead of a house or apartment for just me. Plus I like being mobile. Goal is to build a nice place to live, can operate on shore or remotely, and can tow my Ford Focus when I'm moving about. I'm only in the planning stage so nothing specific worked out...except I don't want to deal with a roof raise.

So basically I want to find a tall school bus, I'm only 5'8 so it shouldn't be too difficult right?

And since I've been lurking for a bit, I must say I'm amazed at the creativity I've seen here.

Christopher

 

[cowlitzcoach]

Look for a bus with 12" windows instead of the 9" windows because they will have the greatest amount of headroom.

Good luck!

 

[Brewerbob]

So basically I want to find a tall school bus, I'm only 5'8 so it shouldn't be too difficult right?

Christopher

Not to be rude but why are you worried? I'm new too but from what I've seen, the standard bus is 77". At 68", you can give up a combined 9" between floor and ceiling. Overkill for insulation. I don't think AC or anything would come close to hanging lower.

I'm 6'2" and either looking at raising a roof or ditching the idea of a skoolie. I are NOT a happy camper.:furious:

 

[TheCog]

6'2" as well so height was one reason I went with a shuttle bus. Not as much real estate but plenty of head room and handles like a Ferrari...well plenty of head room anyway.

 

[EastCoastCB]

Not to be rude but why are you worried? I'm new too but from what I've seen, the standard bus is 77". At 68", you can give up a combined 9" between floor and ceiling. Overkill for insulation. I don't think AC or anything would come close to hanging lower.

I'm 6'2" and either looking at raising a roof or ditching the idea of a skoolie. I are NOT a happy camper.:furious:

Better to have the necessary headroom than to become a hunchback!

 

[Brewerbob]

6'2" as well so height was one reason I went with a shuttle bus. Not as much real estate but plenty of head room and handles like a Ferrari...well plenty of head room anyway.

Lol. Are you familiar with the Tail of the Dragon? Being west of the Mississippi there's a good chance you aren't so, ...

Tail of the Dragon is a section of U.S. 129 that crosses the NC and TN border. The area is a big time CCC construction area from the Great Depression. Anywho, the Tail part is an 11 mile stretch with 319 turns that goes up and then back down the mountains!! There is signage at both ends that says if you are driving a semi or RV, reconsider. If you have a 53' trailer, it says GO AWAY!! Might be some paraphrasing but that's the gist of it.

I was going there every year for a car event. Along the road to the Dragon is a dump truck that has been for sale for years. As I've said for years, I'd rather drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. As such, I am the only one of my group that has used a Dodge Dakota, 4x4, 4 dr, auto tranny, and 3.7L V-6 to chase down crotch rockets on the Dragon. Using the Dakota Sport with the 5.7L V8 just with a stick wouldn't be very sporting.

Chasing them with a dump truck or bus would top that. I'm also open to the idea of using a concrete truck if anyone has one.

Shuttles don't come in 40 ft lengths (that I know of).

 

[Brewerbob]

Better to have the necessary headroom than to become a hunchback!

Totally agree. Where do I find a can opener for raising the roof?:wink1:

I did see the one thread where the kid raised it 24". Except for added storage/taller cabinets that might be overkill but once you go running a can opener all around the bus, it's going to take the same effort to raise it 6" as it is 60" (not literally but close enough).

I need to do a lot more researching but is a roof raise my only option for a skoolie? Cooler than a coach and cheaper.

I'm seeing 2x4 framing used on floors. I'm guessing even the guys that are skipping the framing and using the foam board are still raising the floor roughly the same. How low are the ceiling when being insulated? Are they dropping 3 1/2" too?