What is a skoolie roof raise?
A
You may be interested in raising the roof of you bus for a few reasons, like:
- Personal height
- Additional storage
- More roomy feel
- Upgrade of windows
- Better floorplan options
The goal of this blog is to be a resource for someone interested in raising the roof of their bus and to guide them to make the best decision for them based on the budget, timeline, and personal height requirements they have.
Listed below is information to assist you in going the DIY route or finding a professional to assist you in your tiny home bus renovation.
How high is an unmodified school bus roof?
The interior height in the center of the bus (the highest part of the bus) will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but it is typically between 6’2″ to 7′ high.
Factors that will affect the interior height of your completed school bus conversion will be any additions to the floor (like furring strips, insulation, sub-flooring, finish flooring) and to the ceiling (like insulation, furring strips and finishing pieces like shiplap).
During our build, we estimate that we lost 3 inches in the floor and 3-4 inches in the ceiling. The interior height in our
How much does a skoolie roof raise cost?
Paying a professional to raise your school bus roof can cost upwards of $10,000, making it one of the most expensive upgrades you could pay for on your
The cost of supplies is relatively affordable, at approximately $1,000 for purchasing all new items.
If you are considering doing a roof raise yourself, then this will be the most cost effective route and your price range should be below $4,000, assuming you pay at least one person to help with labor. If you are a one-man-show, then you should only have the cost of any supplies you need.
Additional considerations and ancillary costs in raising the roof are replacing windows and to do a full or partial roof raise. You may need to remove all windows during a roof raise. In doing so, will you put them back in or upgrade for more weather tight options like RV windows or custom windows.
Cost & Materials Case Study
Check out the Skoolie Roof Raise: Cost and Materials vlog by Artsy Reclaimed where he talks in detail about his costs to perform his 16 inch
What supplies will you need to do a school bus roof raise?
Simple Supplies & Materials list
- Sheet metal (16 or 18 gauge) or other metal sheets
- Personal protective equipment
- Angle grinder
- Air hammer with chisel tip
- Bottle jack
- All the rivets, self-tapping metal-to-metal screws or bolts
- Metal or wood support posts
- Gear to replace existing or upgrade new windows
- Welding kit
- Tin snips
- Metal bender
How do you lift a school bus roof?
Simplified roof raise process
- Expose the hat channels and remove the windows. You may need an air hammer to assist at this stage to remove rivets.
- Cut the steel hat channels supporting the
skoolie roof with an angle grinder or similar tool and temporarily support the roof on some sort of posts or pillars. - Use bottle jacks* to evenly raise the disconnected roof to your desired height.
- Once your desired height is reached, you’ll weld new steel supports to bridge the gaps you created and then remove the temporary supports and jacks.
- Attach new sheet metal panels to cover the gaps you created during the roof raise.
*A car jack isn’t recommended since it may raise the roof at an angle, rather than straight up.
What skill level is needed to do your own skoolie roof raise?
This activity is not for the faint of heart. This is a big bus conversion project and the entire process can be daunting for someone with an intermediate skill level… or even an expert! Your entire roof literally needs to be suspended above you and then welded back together safely.
Advanced or expert skill is recommended.
Is a school bus roof raise worth it?
It really depends on your budget and personal height requirements.
If you’re 6’8″, then the answer is a solid yes for head comfort alone; however, for those shorter than 6’2″, you could probably live without a roof raise, the price tag that comes with a
My husband is 6′ and I’m 5’10.” We did not raise the roof and it has never affected the functionality of living in our bus. The only place we would have preferred a little more space would be in our children’s bunk area; however, they only sleep there so it is not a big problem (more of a preference).
Consideration items
Some other factors to consider if you raise the roof are:
- The additional heating costs in cold climates due to increased square footage
- Doing research prior to travel to avoid low bridges
- Do the pros of a higher roof outweigh the
skoolie roof raise cost? - Will you do a partial roof raise, like only in the kitchen area?
- What is the maximum height so as to still accommodate additional items like solar panels or a roof deck?
- Should you hire a welder to assist?
- Should you pay someone to help you raise the roof?
- Do you have a metal supply yard nearby? We couldn’t find sheet metal at our local Lowe’s and Home Depot.
Where can you learn to do a skoolie roof raise yourself?
It’s time to raise the roof!
There are a number of owners of school bus conversions that have done a DIY roof themselves, rather than outsource to a trained professional.
They have done a wonderful job documenting their roof raise process on their
Below, I’ve listed some resources that you can look into if you’re planning to do a
- HOW to Raise to the Roof on a Skoolie – The details step by step tutorial (Converted Bus) by Team Bassett – Living & Building Tiny
- San Francisco Skoolie Roof Raise by Transcend Existence
- Welding, Cutting & Jacking ~ The Skoolie Roof Is Raised With Help by Chris Travels
- Bus to Rv conversion Part 4 by dzlfreek
- Skoolie.Net Forum
Skoolie roof raise kit
I would love to say that I found a kit for you. At the time of writing this blog, I have not! If you have any place that you can recommend, please let me know in the comments.
Pay a professional to do your school bus roof raise
If raising the roof yourself on your tiny home isn’t your cup of tea, there are plenty of professionals out there.
To see a full list of school bus conversion professionals, read this blog!
In my own internet research for this blog, here are a few vendor(s) I came across. I have no affiliation with these people or companies. This is simply a resource to help you save time.
If you can recommend any vendors in the comments, I would be happy to include that feedback for readers.
Roof raise vendors
Transcend Existence – He has a number of YouTube videos documenting his work on other
Skoolie.net (Henderson, NC) – they specialize in roof raises and
To see a full list of professionals that can help you at all stages of your school bus conversion, read this blog!
Does raising the roof affect skoolie insurance eligibility?
It depends state to state. We had a lovely experience applying for insurance in Florida for our school bus conversion. In short, our insurance agent was not concerned about additional modifications done to the school bus.
Our insurance rates are very reasonable with good coverage. You can see exactly who we insured our bus with, recommendations for our area and download our exact policy in this blog.
Conclusion
I hope this blog has thoroughly answered any questions you have about what a
Thanks for following us on our journey. If you’re curious about where we started, check out this blog. – Ingrid & the HildeFam
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