This video is one of the best for raising the roof because it outlines the entire process AND the problems you had and how you worked through them! I love this! Great job! I have subscribed. I can't wait to see how you finish your build! Thank you so much for sharing your process!
This guy is incredibly creative and smart at the same time. I’ve helped somebody do this last year, but we did it the conventional way I really like his way better.
In 1964, some friends and I raised the roof on a 1959 International bus. We braced the roof a little like you did. We found that the center braces didn't quite hit the center of the roofs curve. Our roof swung left at the front and right at the rear. They bracing was strong enough for us to move the roof (by hand) into place. That build was amazing until my gal and I hit the first stop sign as we took it out of the drive. Our frig fell over and everything broke all over the floor. A buddy solved this by drilling a couple of holes and inserting a bolt that had been bent into a hook shape. It grabbed the frig-base rails and then got tightened from underneath. with a new supply of pickles and beer and whatever else she bought, we drove around for 8 years or so. Then we split - turned 30 and settled down, got real jobs - turned into stupid old farts. I am jealous!
We are 33 and 31 with two little kids and we can't wait to get on the road. We think it's the best to do this while young, but it's never too late. You can do it again now.
@@WideAwakeTravels We'll see what you think after eating the way we did. After 85 years your hands get too swollen to bend and your legs can't carry the weight. It's enough to know there are folks like yourself getting it done. Some things me and mine did - you won't be able to with young ones to tend to, but I truly am jealous of what you're doing.
Oh yeah, my friends and I raise the roof every night when we party like its 1999 🤣🤪👐🍾🍹🍻🥂🎊🎉🎈🎆🎶🎸 lol sorry I know that was a very sad dad joke but I couldn't pass it up
Yes. The only thing is when sitting down at a table, we won't be able to see out of the window, but our solution for that is to put the table on a platform since there is a wheelwell where the table is going to go
I appreciate the detail of the video, my wife and I are looking at a bus now. I’m fortunate that I’m am a metal fabricator. I like seeing the mistakes and problems so it give me i idea as to what to expect.
We're glad you like it. We want to help other skoolie builders as much as we can. Since you are still in the bus buying stage, this spreadsheet might help you. It lists good and bad engines and transmissions. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UZiHKrd7PzHH9p0sk51GDlTNvrijNJgijwfXvGVoA8A/edit?usp=drivesdk
thanks for that upclose shot of the roof raise jacks now i know how i can make some other channels just quickly skip by that so thanks. 2 years old now time to see if you have the next video out yet lol
@@kyleholmes7459 thank you, it's going well. Yesterday we worked on adding square tubing frame to the front of the bus above the windshield and to the back of the bus above the back door.
Thank you. We are working on sheet metal now. Will post a new video when we get done. Also, good luck with your skoolie build. It's a lot of work but it's worth it.
Thank you. We used the hat channels to maintain structural integrity as much as possible. We hadn't thought about it saving time. How do you think it will save us time down the road?
I love this technique! It makes so much more sense to me than some of the other ways I have seen it done. I have almost the exact same bus. Would you mind sharing what all the materials cost for this raise?
@@annalisajames6558 thank you. When we did the raise a few years ago the total cost was about $4000. That includes some tools. Sheet metal for skinning the bus and square tubing used for the front and back were $1800. 18" long hat channels were $640.
You're very welcome. We got them from skoolie.com. You can also cut a piece of existing hat channel and take it to a metal fabricator shop and ask them to make you exact replicas. That might be cheaper.
@@WideAwakeTravels I don't know what you're background is, as far as driving a bus, but if you have questions about that kind of thing ask, I'm a driving instructor and a CDL examiner in Florida.
@@artoftheflatlands the first time I drove the bus was when we bought it. Drove it for 6 hours without issues, but i definitely have questions. I need to get my class B non commercial license. I'll need some tips there. Also need tips for checking air brakes before each drive.
@@artoftheflatlands i will ask you later on when i got more time. Working on the bus now. I live in NC and here you need class b non commercial because of the weight. Thank you
Great video. I am about to do my under the window roof raise on my 2000 Bluebird 40ft RE, and this video was very helpful for me to figure out all my cuts. I have one (probably many) question. What gauge sheet metal did you use for the skin of the bus. I am trying to figure out the best and most cost effective metal for the skin. I have heard 18g cold rolled, but have also heard 20g might work. What did you use? Thanks.
Thank you. We just ordered 18 gauge galvannealed sheet metal to install in the coming weeks (will post video). It cost $1226 for 6 sheets, each is 4 by 10 feet, but they will cut each piece to sizes we need. Without them cutting to size, it would cost $1116. We think 20 gauge is too thin. Ideally you want 16 gauge but 18 will work well too, based on what people say online. We went with 18 to save on money and weight. Galvannealed is better than galvanized or the one that's not treated because it's more moisture/corrosion resistant and ready for painting. Good luck with the build and let us know if you have any other questions.
Great job! I am trying to find a 31ft-with-nose or 29ft flat nose scchool bus to fit to my drive way. Can you tell the bumper to bumper length and the model of the bus?
So, I’m wondering about the channel that you added. Where did you get that? I’ve seen most people just use square tubing, but that looked really simple. We are considering an under window roof raise too, and we are trying to make figure out some of the details.
You have two options. 1. Cut a piece of hat channel from the bus and take it to a local metal fab shop and ask them if they can make matching ones. 2. Order the hat channels from www.skoolie.com/shop?page=2 First option is probably cheaper. We went with the second option because we know they have made many of these hat channels already and know what they are doing.
Just curious, what is the reason for raising the roof, isnt there plenty of head room in the bus. seems like alot of extra work. you are doing a dam good job.
Not enough head room when you add lots of insulation on the floor and ceiling and you're almost 6 ft tall. Raising the roof opens up the space so much so you feel less cooped up and also gives you more storage space. This is a 30 ft bus, unlike usual 40 ft or more, so storage space is extra needed. It's probably the hardest part of the build, but we think it's worth it.
@@farmtruck9885 once in a while you come across a school bus that has a higher ceiling, but those are not standard. Thank you, next week we will start working on it again after a month long break. We can't wait.
This was the question I came to the comments looking for thanks for breaking it down. I did not realize these busses were so short in side I just assumed they had plenty of space. Well even if there would of been enough space inside this upgrade is going to be amazing and make it feel so much larger and open and like you said only 30' bus so space is at a premium. I have often thought of using a double decker bus but they are not very common here in the states, we have them just rare but imagine all the room you could have. Oh another idea what about an articulated bus ( two busses connected to each other like a trailer) now that would be cool but probably have to have a special license or a permit to drive it on the roads. Anyway great video thank you!
@@timwegman5776 double deckers are too tall to legally drive in US. The legal limit is 13 feet 6 inches and they are taller than that. Plus you'd have issues going under some bridges. Articulated buses are a cool idea and would work but the longer it is, the harder it is to maneuver and find parking. That's one of reasons we bought a 30 ft bus vs 40 ft or more.
I love this! 😍 I want to raise my roof as well but having a hard time finding insurance that will allow that. What insurance do you use for your Skoolie?
Thank you That is something we still need to figure out too. Did you just call the general 800 numbers? There are better chances if you find a local agent. National general, state farm and farm bureau are few of the insurance companies I heard allow roof raises.
Yeah that's a good idea but we've seen it done without staggering and think it'll be fine without it. When welded well and with all the new sheet metal, it will be strong
@@WideAwakeTravels that was gonna be my question as well! At no point in the video did it ever mention needing two busses to make one. Where folks come up with some of their ideas instead of plainly listening to what others have already successfully done and just following their lead. It would make their lives so much easier!!
Hope you're mechanically inclined because schoolies are so intricate with air brakes and leaks and wear and tear! Hope you watch Bussy McBusface (Mike) vidoes, he has a 40 ft schoolie and is always doing mechanical work!
I am pretty good at figuring things out and fixing them, but maybe not all skoolies are the same. We hired a mechanic to inspect the bus before buying and he said the bus was really well maintained.
I’m curious.. would you be able to use the sheets of metal that you took off from the ceiling of the interior of the bus to fill the exterior of the bus 🤔
Those were already gone from our bus when we bought it, but I think they are thinner than 18 gauge. If they really are thinner, I wouldn't use them, because it increases chances of oil canning.
We roughly measured it and it was about 11 ft 6 inches. It shouldn't be more than 12 ft because these buses are usually 10 ft 6 inches tall before the roof raise, and we did 1 ft 6 inches raise. Adding those two gives 12ft, but our rough measurement was 11 ft 6 inches. Currently, the front tires are dug into the ground and rear tires are lifted off the ground to level the bus, so measuring the exact height is tricky. Once we park it on level ground, we will measure again and post it.
@@WideAwakeTravels I would really like to know the final overall height, as well as the interior head room as well. I want to do a roof raise and have plans for some things to be done on top. It will be imperative that I stay below the 13'6" mark, but would like to be approx 13'-13'3" to have a nice safety margin.
Hi, at this point no because we spend every free moment on building our skoolie. Perhaps we will do it in the future after we finish our bus. We are always willing to answer any question though.
one thing i might had done different was to remove the rubrail and make the cut so that the rubrail covers over the seam of the new sheetmetal when you reinstall the rubchannel (the bottom row of holes could be reused but need to be drilled intoo the new metal , sandwishing the new metal in between the old metal and the rubrail ) if you can find another schoolbus bus in a breakers yard you could take off another set of rubrails and use that to cover the top seam in the sheetmetal the same way making it look even more like it came out the factory that way allways supprized that people raise those roofs by so mush , im too tall to stand up straight in a schoolbus and would only raise the roof by a few inches to be able to walk uright even with a new wood ceiling the extra heigh just makes it harder to store the bus inside somewhere sumting else i was thinking about was if there would be a way to replace the stock windows and their frames with dual pane windows from a normal home , i think it would be possible if you gleu them in with the same stuff they use to glue in car windows , think on a big schoolbus the windowframes are held in place with a strip of metal screwed over the frame holding the original windows in and could be remounted as extra security sumting i saw done on another schoolbus was removing the front entrance and stairwell (they used the stairwell space to mount a generator ) so there was a flat footwell and a spot for the passenger to sit next to the driver , they made the rv style door and new stairwell along the middle of the bus in between the wheels
That's a good idea to hide the sheet metal transition behind rub rails. We thought of that but decided not to do it. I don't remember why though. Yes you can do double pane windows. You can get them custom made to look just like the school bus windows. We plan on doing that sometime in the future. We want to preserve the school bus look so we don't want RV windows or doors or any other windows if they don't look like school bus windows. Someone got custom made ones and they look just like school bus windows.
Also we raised it so much not only to avoid heads hitting the ceiling but also for more storage space. This is a 30 foot bus so storage space is premium for a family of 4. For longer buses you might not need that big of a raise. With 18 extra inches we can have more cabinets and stuff like that.
@@bajabum7736 thank you. Us as well. There is so much work left to do, but we think the roof raise is the biggest and hardest project on the bus. Things should go quicker after this is done.
I like how you made the new supports slide into the old supports it looks strong, i am thinking of making a schoolie next year , not big like your bus but I subscribed so I can see your progress and ideas.
@@bajabum7736 we bought the hat channels already made like that. Those inserts are mainly for alignment since they are only tack welded to the hat channels. I wish they were fully welded but apparently it's not needed because if the hat channels are properly welded they will not give in at the welds and will be as strong if not stronger at the weld points because welds have good penetration and are thicker than the hat channel walls. Thanks for the sub, and good luck with your skoolie build and once you buy a bus, feel free to watch our videos or message us if you have any questions.
Most of the roof raises make the filler structure out of square tube and angle iron. Which would add much needed structure to your now really high sided bus... those pieces you used will add nothing to the structure as you are finding out and its not yet welded... im afraid that this bus will have a skinny waist line or a large one depending on how the sides bust under the weight of added weight of the skin.
These pieces are exact replicas of existing hat channels that are on the bus. How would that not add to the support when the whole bus is built with them?
@@murraymadness4674 I'm not the first to use these hat channels and some people have raised them even higher than 18 inches without issues. When welded by a professional welder, they will hold well.
William is spot on! As soon as I saw those short hat channel inserts I knew you were making a mistake. Those inserts should have overlapped the top and bottom by at least 6”. Most people use 11g square tubing combined with angle iron welded on both sides. Anyone watching this video should be VERY cautious coping that hat channel insert idea! Sorry I liked everything else in your video but you have made a serious mistake with your structural integrity.
@@lukemix6463 several years have passed and we have had no issues with the raise. Also, many other people, including professionals who have done roof raises, like skoolie.com folks, use the same hat channels and no one has reported any issues. Just wanted to give you an update.
@@WideAwakeTravels well idk exactly what you are going for but for more head room for i would have cut a hole in the roof and used a custom fiberglass tub made on a jig that way you still have all the structure of the bus still and you got the head room you wanted but again i dont know your vision of the end product
@@Friedrich-Wilhelm-1980 that wouldn't work because the hat channels go all the way around and are on the roof as well, so if we use your method we'd have to cut the hat channels on the roof and remove portion of them, and that would be structurally weaker than current setup. Also, that would create a narrower roof and we can't afford that because the solar panels we will use would then stick out on the side of the roof, and we don't want that look.
@@Friedrich-Wilhelm-1980 you’ve obviously never worked with fiberglass! Please do not buy a bus and try this cause you will fail miserably! Fiberglass is extremely heavy! If you cut a big hole in the roof, then you will lose all your structural support and there will be nothing to fold the fiberglass up! They went about this in the best and easiest way possible in order to achieve what they were looking for. Your method will be an accident waiting to happen, sorry. Quit trying to reinvent the wheel and follow the methods that have been working well for decades. Someone else already went thru the trial and error phase that your wanting to go they by cutting a hole in the roof and building a fiberglass tub. Plus if you haven’t priced out the cost of fiberglass resin, cloth, mat, then the steel needed for structural frame work, etc and I’d bet the cost would be double what the cost of this couples method would be. Your idea is going to be an engineering nightmare, sorry
We need more head room. One of us is 6 feet tall and with all the insulation, flooring and ceiling added, the head would touch the ceiling. This way it feels less claustrophobic. Also, we need more storage space. This is a 30 ft front engine bus, so mid size. Front engine means that there is a drive shaft going from front to back under the bus, so we cannot put storage under the whole bus from left side to right. Right side between front and rear tires has a big fuel tank, so no room for storage there. Left side has batteries and has room for storage between the tires, and that is where the gray water tank will go. Behind the right rear tire is where the 38 gallon propane tank will go. Behind the left rear tire is the exhaust so the storage can only be 15 inches deep there. So no much room for storage under the bus for the rest of the stuff. Roof raise will give us more storage space inside. :)
While this looks good, one must realize that a school bus is ALREADY VERY TOP HEAVY, which means they tip over more easily. Add in cabinets and rooftop a/c, and you are in elevated danger of tipping over in sharp turns or doing evasive manuevers. This roof raise where you keep the very heavy window glass is even worse. I'm all for custom/diy work, but be very well aware that you are seriously compromising safety by doing this. If you want more headroom, don't use a school bus! A box truck or motorhome uses lighter weight roofs, aka aluminun, fiberlgass.
I understand your concern but there are many people who have done roof raises on school buses, some even higher than 18 inches, and no one has had these issues.
Why in the world would you even think about trying to do “evasive maneuvers” in a fricken school bus in the first place? Seriously?? Folks don’t buy busses to perform evasive maneuvers, they buy them to convert to an RV! Commercially built RV’s use almost an identical skeleton frame system as what a school bus does and then they have all the cabinets and windows and other luxury items installed and there is not a big issue with those just falling over. You can make any vehicle fall over if you drive like an idiotbut if you drive as the bus was meant to be then you will not have an issue at all even if you took it to the max legal height of 13’6”.
This video is one of the best for raising the roof because it outlines the entire process AND the problems you had and how you worked through them! I love this! Great job! I have subscribed. I can't wait to see how you finish your build! Thank you so much for sharing your process!
Thank you. We will be posting new videos in the coming weeks.
This guy is incredibly creative and smart at the same time.
I’ve helped somebody do this last year, but we did it the conventional way I really like his way better.
Thank you. Confidence boost is very helpful, especially when there is so much more to do on the bus.
In 1964, some friends and I raised the roof on a 1959 International bus.
We braced the roof a little like you did.
We found that the center braces didn't quite hit the center of the roofs curve. Our roof swung left at the front and right at the rear.
They bracing was strong enough for us to move the roof (by hand) into place.
That build was amazing until my gal and I hit the first stop sign as we took it out of the drive. Our frig fell over and everything broke all over the floor.
A buddy solved this by drilling a couple of holes and inserting a bolt that had been bent into a hook shape.
It grabbed the frig-base rails and then got tightened from underneath.
with a new supply of pickles and beer and whatever else she bought, we drove around for 8 years or so.
Then we split - turned 30 and settled down, got real jobs - turned into stupid old farts.
I am jealous!
We are 33 and 31 with two little kids and we can't wait to get on the road. We think it's the best to do this while young, but it's never too late. You can do it again now.
@@WideAwakeTravels
We'll see what you think after eating the way we did. After 85 years your hands get too swollen to bend and your legs can't carry the weight.
It's enough to know there are folks like yourself getting it done.
Some things me and mine did - you won't be able to with young ones to tend to, but I truly am jealous of what you're doing.
Oh yeah, my friends and I raise the roof every night when we party like its 1999 🤣🤪👐🍾🍹🍻🥂🎊🎉🎈🎆🎶🎸 lol sorry I know that was a very sad dad joke but I couldn't pass it up
@@timwegman5776 haha i love a good dad joke. Thanks
This was brilliant.... out of all the roof raising video's, I can't explain why I never even considered this. Just amazing!
Thank you!
I like the threaded rod jacks. And the windows will be at a better height now.
Yes. The only thing is when sitting down at a table, we won't be able to see out of the window, but our solution for that is to put the table on a platform since there is a wheelwell where the table is going to go
@@WideAwakeTravels problem solved. Looking forward to how you will skin it.
@@jerryrigsit5400 we are going to start putting the skin on this weekend. Should be done by next weekend, then we will post a video of the process
@@WideAwakeTravels be safe, that stuff is super sharp
@@jerryrigsit5400 thank you
I appreciate the detail of the video, my wife and I are looking at a bus now. I’m fortunate that I’m am a metal fabricator. I like seeing the mistakes and problems so it give me i idea as to what to expect.
That's a great skill to have. I had to figure everything out. Made everything take a lot longer. Good luck with the bus!
As an ironworker and welder, ya did a nice job.
Thank you. Good to hear that from a professional
Wow. Just, wow.
Such an awesome video. Thank you so much for making this!
Once I buy my bus I plan on a roof raise!
We're glad you like it. We want to help other skoolie builders as much as we can. Since you are still in the bus buying stage, this spreadsheet might help you. It lists good and bad engines and transmissions. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UZiHKrd7PzHH9p0sk51GDlTNvrijNJgijwfXvGVoA8A/edit?usp=drivesdk
thanks for that upclose shot of the roof raise jacks now i know how i can make some other channels just quickly skip by that so thanks.
2 years old now time to see if you have the next video out yet lol
Thanks. I've had a bunch of videos since then
Nice job. This will help me when I raise mine, thanks.
Glad to hear that!
Good luck with the raise
Can’t wait for more! Raising the roof on a bluebird TC1000 in the coming weeks.
Good luck with the raise. We will start working on putting the sheet metal this weekend and post new videos soon
Can’t wait! I hope it’s going well.
@@kyleholmes7459 thank you, it's going well. Yesterday we worked on adding square tubing frame to the front of the bus above the windshield and to the back of the bus above the back door.
@@kyleholmes7459 hows your roof raise coming on the bluebird buddy, did you get started yet?
Awesome!! Looking forward to what you do next! I definitely want to do a build in the next year or so and looking forward to learning.
Thank you. We are working on sheet metal now. Will post a new video when we get done. Also, good luck with your skoolie build. It's a lot of work but it's worth it.
Thank you so much. You are so intuitive in checking your work. Very instructuve and informative. I can't wait to see the rest of this project.
Thank you! Glad it's helpful. We will definitely keep posting videos as we progress with the build.
Thank you so much for this great video!
You are welcome! More will be coming soon :)
Great job. Like the hat channels idea. Saves time further down the road
Thank you. We used the hat channels to maintain structural integrity as much as possible. We hadn't thought about it saving time. How do you think it will save us time down the road?
Nice job 👍
Thank you
This brotha over hur making a double decker bus all by himself this mans must be protected at all costs for the mad max apocalypse 😅😎🙃
Haha i kind of wish it is a double decker but it's only an 18" raise
Very cool !!!
Very good
This is awesome 👌
Thank you
I love this technique! It makes so much more sense to me than some of the other ways I have seen it done. I have almost the exact same bus. Would you mind sharing what all the materials cost for this raise?
@@annalisajames6558 thank you. When we did the raise a few years ago the total cost was about $4000. That includes some tools. Sheet metal for skinning the bus and square tubing used for the front and back were $1800. 18" long hat channels were $640.
Where did you get those nice hat channels? Does someone sell them or did you have them custom made? Thanks so much for this awesome helpful video!!
You're very welcome. We got them from skoolie.com. You can also cut a piece of existing hat channel and take it to a metal fabricator shop and ask them to make you exact replicas. That might be cheaper.
Really love this video! Where did you get your inserts?
Thank you. We bought the 18" hat channels from skoolie.com and the alignment inserts came with them.
Thank you. :)
Great job
Thank you
great video! Thanks for sharing. you got a sub out of me for this. I look forward to more of your build.
Thank you. Next weekend we will start working on it again and start posting some more videos
@@WideAwakeTravels I don't know what you're background is, as far as driving a bus, but if you have questions about that kind of thing ask, I'm a driving instructor and a CDL examiner in Florida.
@@artoftheflatlands the first time I drove the bus was when we bought it. Drove it for 6 hours without issues, but i definitely have questions. I need to get my class B non commercial license. I'll need some tips there. Also need tips for checking air brakes before each drive.
@@WideAwakeTravels ask away. I was not aware you needed a class b "non"cdl. didn't even know that was a thing. where are you from again?
@@artoftheflatlands i will ask you later on when i got more time. Working on the bus now. I live in NC and here you need class b non commercial because of the weight. Thank you
What's the significance of the chime that sounds during your time lapse music sequences?
idk, It came with the song, which is just a royalty free song we found online.
Awesome
Will there be more windows at the level of the raise? Very interesting 👍😎
No windows there. If we did that, you'd see our knees from the outside. We will cover the gap with sheet metal.
Great video. I am about to do my under the window roof raise on my 2000 Bluebird 40ft RE, and this video was very helpful for me to figure out all my cuts.
I have one (probably many) question. What gauge sheet metal did you use for the skin of the bus. I am trying to figure out the best and most cost effective metal for the skin. I have heard 18g cold rolled, but have also heard 20g might work. What did you use? Thanks.
Thank you. We just ordered 18 gauge galvannealed sheet metal to install in the coming weeks (will post video). It cost $1226 for 6 sheets, each is 4 by 10 feet, but they will cut each piece to sizes we need. Without them cutting to size, it would cost $1116. We think 20 gauge is too thin. Ideally you want 16 gauge but 18 will work well too, based on what people say online. We went with 18 to save on money and weight. Galvannealed is better than galvanized or the one that's not treated because it's more moisture/corrosion resistant and ready for painting. Good luck with the build and let us know if you have any other questions.
Great job! I am trying to find a 31ft-with-nose or 29ft flat nose scchool bus to fit to my drive way. Can you tell the bumper to bumper length and the model of the bus?
Thank you. 30ft. 2002 international 3000ic
So, I’m wondering about the channel that you added. Where did you get that? I’ve seen most people just use square tubing, but that looked really simple. We are considering an under window roof raise too, and we are trying to make figure out some of the details.
You have two options. 1. Cut a piece of hat channel from the bus and take it to a local metal fab shop and ask them if they can make matching ones. 2. Order the hat channels from www.skoolie.com/shop?page=2
First option is probably cheaper. We went with the second option because we know they have made many of these hat channels already and know what they are doing.
@@WideAwakeTravels sweet! Didn’t even know about that website! Thanks
You're welcome. Let us know if you have any other questions
@@WideAwakeTravels thank you so much for the information and the video please so keep making more
@@ketsiabella4657 thank you. we will make more videos, but won't it happen until second half of July since that's when we can work on the bus again
Just curious, what is the reason for raising the roof, isnt there plenty of head room in the bus. seems like alot of extra work. you are doing a dam good job.
Not enough head room when you add lots of insulation on the floor and ceiling and you're almost 6 ft tall. Raising the roof opens up the space so much so you feel less cooped up and also gives you more storage space. This is a 30 ft bus, unlike usual 40 ft or more, so storage space is extra needed. It's probably the hardest part of the build, but we think it's worth it.
@@WideAwakeTravels Gotcha, for some reason I thought there was more head room than 6 feet. alot of thinking went into that, good job.
@@farmtruck9885 once in a while you come across a school bus that has a higher ceiling, but those are not standard. Thank you, next week we will start working on it again after a month long break. We can't wait.
This was the question I came to the comments looking for thanks for breaking it down. I did not realize these busses were so short in side I just assumed they had plenty of space. Well even if there would of been enough space inside this upgrade is going to be amazing and make it feel so much larger and open and like you said only 30' bus so space is at a premium. I have often thought of using a double decker bus but they are not very common here in the states, we have them just rare but imagine all the room you could have. Oh another idea what about an articulated bus ( two busses connected to each other like a trailer) now that would be cool but probably have to have a special license or a permit to drive it on the roads. Anyway great video thank you!
@@timwegman5776 double deckers are too tall to legally drive in US. The legal limit is 13 feet 6 inches and they are taller than that. Plus you'd have issues going under some bridges. Articulated buses are a cool idea and would work but the longer it is, the harder it is to maneuver and find parking. That's one of reasons we bought a 30 ft bus vs 40 ft or more.
I love this! 😍 I want to raise my roof as well but having a hard time finding insurance that will allow that. What insurance do you use for your Skoolie?
Thank you That is something we still need to figure out too. Did you just call the general 800 numbers? There are better chances if you find a local agent. National general, state farm and farm bureau are few of the insurance companies I heard allow roof raises.
Shouldn't you have staggered the cuts in the vertical ribs to give the raise a stronger structural integrity?
Yeah that's a good idea but we've seen it done without staggering and think it'll be fine without it. When welded well and with all the new sheet metal, it will be strong
As long as your welds are good then it doesnt matter where you cut It at all!!! The weld will become the strongest point in that wall
@@1982MCI i agree. The weld is now thicker than the rest of the hat channel. Good penetration.
So if I buy two buses to be able to do this, how much would you charge to come to Texas and do this for me?
@offairhead why would you buy two buses? You only need one
@@WideAwakeTravels that was gonna be my question as well! At no point in the video did it ever mention needing two busses to make one. Where folks come up with some of their ideas instead of plainly listening to what others have already successfully done and just following their lead. It would make their lives so much easier!!
can I also raise the roof on a rear engine and raise it at the windows
Yes
Hope you're mechanically inclined because schoolies are so intricate with air brakes and leaks and wear and tear! Hope you watch Bussy McBusface (Mike) vidoes, he has a 40 ft schoolie and is always doing mechanical work!
I am pretty good at figuring things out and fixing them, but maybe not all skoolies are the same. We hired a mechanic to inspect the bus before buying and he said the bus was really well maintained.
I’m curious.. would you be able to use the sheets of metal that you took off from the ceiling of the interior of the bus to fill the exterior of the bus 🤔
Those were already gone from our bus when we bought it, but I think they are thinner than 18 gauge. If they really are thinner, I wouldn't use them, because it increases chances of oil canning.
@@WideAwakeTravels oh I see! Gee you weren’t kidding with the quick response !! Thank you :)!
@@DrawdownTrader you're welcome 😁
Can you list the parts used to make those tiny jacks?
I bought them from skoolie.com you can find them on the website and look at the photos
Also what was the height of the bus after when you were done ?
We roughly measured it and it was about 11 ft 6 inches. It shouldn't be more than 12 ft because these buses are usually 10 ft 6 inches tall before the roof raise, and we did 1 ft 6 inches raise. Adding those two gives 12ft, but our rough measurement was 11 ft 6 inches. Currently, the front tires are dug into the ground and rear tires are lifted off the ground to level the bus, so measuring the exact height is tricky. Once we park it on level ground, we will measure again and post it.
@@WideAwakeTravels I would really like to know the final overall height, as well as the interior head room as well. I want to do a roof raise and have plans for some things to be done on top. It will be imperative that I stay below the 13'6" mark, but would like to be approx 13'-13'3" to have a nice safety margin.
@@keithhogan6997 we will post the heights here when we measure them
#75 Woo Woo!🤗
Thank you
nice!!!!!!!
Do you help do skoolie builds?
Hi, at this point no because we spend every free moment on building our skoolie. Perhaps we will do it in the future after we finish our bus. We are always willing to answer any question though.
one thing i might had done different was to remove the rubrail and make the cut so that the rubrail covers over the seam of the new sheetmetal when you reinstall the rubchannel (the bottom row of holes could be reused but need to be drilled intoo the new metal , sandwishing the new metal in between the old metal and the rubrail )
if you can find another schoolbus bus in a breakers yard you could take off another set of rubrails and use that to cover the top seam in the sheetmetal the same way making it look even more like it came out the factory that way
allways supprized that people raise those roofs by so mush , im too tall to stand up straight in a schoolbus and would only raise the roof by a few inches to be able to walk uright even with a new wood ceiling the extra heigh just makes it harder to store the bus inside somewhere
sumting else i was thinking about was if there would be a way to replace the stock windows and their frames with dual pane windows from a normal home , i think it would be possible if you gleu them in with the same stuff they use to glue in car windows , think on a big schoolbus the windowframes are held in place with a strip of metal screwed over the frame holding the original windows in and could be remounted as extra security
sumting i saw done on another schoolbus was removing the front entrance and stairwell (they used the stairwell space to mount a generator ) so there was a flat footwell and a spot for the passenger to sit next to the driver , they made the rv style door and new stairwell along the middle of the bus in between the wheels
That's a good idea to hide the sheet metal transition behind rub rails. We thought of that but decided not to do it. I don't remember why though. Yes you can do double pane windows. You can get them custom made to look just like the school bus windows. We plan on doing that sometime in the future. We want to preserve the school bus look so we don't want RV windows or doors or any other windows if they don't look like school bus windows. Someone got custom made ones and they look just like school bus windows.
Also we raised it so much not only to avoid heads hitting the ceiling but also for more storage space. This is a 30 foot bus so storage space is premium for a family of 4. For longer buses you might not need that big of a raise. With 18 extra inches we can have more cabinets and stuff like that.
How much weight was added to the bus by just added material to raise the roof?
About 300 lbs
Haw much would the total cast of the same roof rising your doing
@@DannyoffireAwaken about 4000 to 4500 USD and that includes some tools
Looks good but that’s a lot of windows it would be cool to cover that space with metal
Those are not the windows at the bottom row, just the gap after the raise. We are in the process of putting sheet metal there.
Sweet I can’t wait to see it finished
@@bajabum7736 thank you. Us as well. There is so much work left to do, but we think the roof raise is the biggest and hardest project on the bus. Things should go quicker after this is done.
I like how you made the new supports slide into the old supports it looks strong, i am thinking of making a schoolie next year , not big like your bus but I subscribed so I can see your progress and ideas.
@@bajabum7736 we bought the hat channels already made like that. Those inserts are mainly for alignment since they are only tack welded to the hat channels. I wish they were fully welded but apparently it's not needed because if the hat channels are properly welded they will not give in at the welds and will be as strong if not stronger at the weld points because welds have good penetration and are thicker than the hat channel walls. Thanks for the sub, and good luck with your skoolie build and once you buy a bus, feel free to watch our videos or message us if you have any questions.
Where did you buy your widow deletes from if you don’t mind sharing
www.skoolie.com/product-page/window-deletes
Thank you very much I like your idea on the window deletes so thank you I want to get them for our Thomas thanks again
@@philipgardner787 you're welcome and good luck with the build!
did you make a 2nd floor?
No second floor. It's not tall enough for that. The inside ceiling is only 7.5 ft tall.
✊
👍👍👍👍👍
Most of the roof raises make the filler structure out of square tube and angle iron. Which would add much needed structure to your now really high sided bus... those pieces you used will add nothing to the structure as you are finding out and its not yet welded... im afraid that this bus will have a skinny waist line or a large one depending on how the sides bust under the weight of added weight of the skin.
These pieces are exact replicas of existing hat channels that are on the bus. How would that not add to the support when the whole bus is built with them?
@@WideAwakeTravels Because you have added 18 inches of LEVERAGE for all that roof and window weight.
@@murraymadness4674 I'm not the first to use these hat channels and some people have raised them even higher than 18 inches without issues. When welded by a professional welder, they will hold well.
William is spot on! As soon as I saw those short hat channel inserts I knew you were making a mistake. Those inserts should have overlapped the top and bottom by at least 6”.
Most people use 11g square tubing combined with angle iron welded on both sides.
Anyone watching this video should be VERY cautious coping that hat channel insert idea!
Sorry I liked everything else in your video but you have made a serious mistake with your structural integrity.
@@lukemix6463 several years have passed and we have had no issues with the raise. Also, many other people, including professionals who have done roof raises, like skoolie.com folks, use the same hat channels and no one has reported any issues. Just wanted to give you an update.
Hi
i feel like you did this the hard way
What would be the easy way? Not below the windows?
@@WideAwakeTravels well idk exactly what you are going for but for more head room for i would have cut a hole in the roof and used a custom fiberglass tub made on a jig
that way you still have all the structure of the bus still and you got the head room you wanted
but again i dont know your vision of the end product
@@Friedrich-Wilhelm-1980 that wouldn't work because the hat channels go all the way around and are on the roof as well, so if we use your method we'd have to cut the hat channels on the roof and remove portion of them, and that would be structurally weaker than current setup. Also, that would create a narrower roof and we can't afford that because the solar panels we will use would then stick out on the side of the roof, and we don't want that look.
@@Friedrich-Wilhelm-1980 you’ve obviously never worked with fiberglass! Please do not buy a bus and try this cause you will fail miserably!
Fiberglass is extremely heavy! If you cut a big hole in the roof, then you will lose all your structural support and there will be nothing to fold the fiberglass up! They went about this in the best and easiest way possible in order to achieve what they were looking for. Your method will be an accident waiting to happen, sorry. Quit trying to reinvent the wheel and follow the methods that have been working well for decades. Someone else already went thru the trial and error phase that your wanting to go they by cutting a hole in the roof and building a fiberglass tub. Plus if you haven’t priced out the cost of fiberglass resin, cloth, mat, then the steel needed for structural frame work, etc and I’d bet the cost would be double what the cost of this couples method would be.
Your idea is going to be an engineering nightmare, sorry
What's up
The roof
Why ?
Why did we do a roof raise?
@@WideAwakeTravels Yes Thanks for asking. 😊
We need more head room. One of us is 6 feet tall and with all the insulation, flooring and ceiling added, the head would touch the ceiling. This way it feels less claustrophobic. Also, we need more storage space. This is a 30 ft front engine bus, so mid size. Front engine means that there is a drive shaft going from front to back under the bus, so we cannot put storage under the whole bus from left side to right. Right side between front and rear tires has a big fuel tank, so no room for storage there. Left side has batteries and has room for storage between the tires, and that is where the gray water tank will go. Behind the right rear tire is where the 38 gallon propane tank will go. Behind the left rear tire is the exhaust so the storage can only be 15 inches deep there. So no much room for storage under the bus for the rest of the stuff. Roof raise will give us more storage space inside. :)
@@WideAwakeTravels Excellent answer/reply!👍
Every time you put your fingers between cut metal i cringe ... eeekkk
Haha surprisingly i didn't get cut on it, but I did get cut by the grinder itself at one point. Should've worn gloves.
While this looks good, one must realize that a school bus is ALREADY VERY TOP HEAVY, which means they tip over more easily.
Add in cabinets and rooftop a/c, and you are in elevated danger of tipping over in sharp turns or doing evasive manuevers.
This roof raise where you keep the very heavy window glass is even worse.
I'm all for custom/diy work, but be very well aware that you are seriously compromising safety by doing this.
If you want more headroom, don't use a school bus! A box truck or motorhome uses lighter weight roofs, aka aluminun, fiberlgass.
I understand your concern but there are many people who have done roof raises on school buses, some even higher than 18 inches, and no one has had these issues.
That’s good to know. Do you help build Skoolies?
Why in the world would you even think about trying to do “evasive maneuvers” in a fricken school bus in the first place? Seriously??
Folks don’t buy busses to perform evasive maneuvers, they buy them to convert to an RV! Commercially built RV’s use almost an identical skeleton frame system as what a school bus does and then they have all the cabinets and windows and other luxury items installed and there is not a big issue with those just falling over. You can make any vehicle fall over if you drive like an idiotbut if you drive as the bus was meant to be then you will not have an issue at all even if you took it to the max legal height of 13’6”.
@@1982MCI RVs don't use steel skeletons or steel roofs. Are you 12 years old and have never driven a car and not understand how OTHER people drive?
@Thomas Gayer Sure you can 'fix' the problem by making your 20,000 lb RV into a 36,000lb RV. Great solution for less waste and energy savings. NOT
is the roof heavy? how.did you jack it up?
It's in the video.
solid work!!! good job
Thank you
what is the highest the roof can be...12.5 feet 13 feet?
13.5 ft legally