Skoolie Conversion Roof Raise

To Raise the Roof or Not?’

In July, we decided to undertake a roof raise on our skoolie conversion.  We have a mid-size flat-nose BlueBird that is approximately 28 feet long. After weighing the pros and cons of a roof raise, we decided to go for it!  When I asked Richard to share his thoughts about it, he replied, “It was a riveting experience!”.     Truthfully, everything we did was new to us (and by us, I mean him) other than drilling holes.  Most importantly, we learned by watching some YouTube videos and just jumping in.  The roof raise also involved Richard’s welding, which is new for him, but his skills improved significantly during the process.  

Readying for Our Roof Raise 

So, what exactly did we do to prepare for our skoolie roof raise?   I’ll try to recap our skoolie conversion roof raise in a way that makes some sense.  First, as I mentioned before, we watched YouTube videos and developed our plan for how we wanted to execute the raise.  Richard decided he wanted to make his cuts on the bus for our roof raise in alternating spots to make sure his welds were varied so that there wouldn’t be one weak spot.  We’re not sure that matters, but it was the way we chose to go.

Roof Raise Supplies

Then we began making our supply list.  We bought almost everything we needed from www.skoolie.com.     From skoolie.com we ordered:

• 1600 rivets (they come in boxes of 100 for approximately $56, so we spent about $1000 on rivets alone, after tax and shipping)
• 1 set of roof raise jacks (approximately $200)
• 26 hat channels ($22 a piece, so $572)

We ordered our metal from a local metal shop.  We ordered:

• 7 pieces of 18 gauge galvanized metal in different sizes to create the “skin” on the bus (approximately $1575)
• 4 pieces of 11 gauge steel squared tube for miscellaneous uses (approximately $220)

The compressor we had wasn’t suitable for our needs, so we purchased a new compressor from Harbor Freight.  When doing this, we needed 90 PSI consistently, which warranted the need for a new compressor.  The compressor we used for our roof raise was a Fortress 200psi/5.1 scfmm@90psi/1.6hp Air Compressor, which currently sells for $460 at Harbor Freight.   Other Harbor Freight purchases included:

• an air gun
• suction cups

Misc. Supplies and Tips

Other tools and equipment we needed, but already owned were a scissor jack for the roof raise, scaffolding to help place the sheet metal (we found that we needed more than just a ladder), some lumber for support, some sealant/glue, and WD-40.   The pro tip that we can share about the WD-40 is that is perfect for when you are drilling holes for your rivets.   Here is how Richard describes this hack he stumbled across. “WD-40 was a huge help!  I didn’t even use an entire can.  I would put some WD-40 into a small receptacle, dip my drill bit into it, and then drill a quarter-inch (9/32) hole.  It was slightly bigger than 1/4″ rivets, so it was possible to almost always get the rivet into the holes.” Lastly, we needed something to bend the metal that went around the corners of the bus.  We ended up using our cardboard mailing tube as the bending tool, so if you order supplies from skoolie.com, save that cardboard canister-it might just come in handy!

Prepping for and Making the Cuts

The initial prep involved the obvious things like removing the original windows and some rivets around specific places. Before we could cut the but apart, we had to weld in our skoolie.com roof raise jacks.  We chose four spots on the bus that created balanced and wouldn’t tip toward one another. As I mentioned above, Richard made the cuts on our bus ‘ribs’ in alternating spots.   Essentially he would cut one rib at the top, the next one in the middle, and the one after that on the bottom.   There was a definite order to how he planned these, it wasn’t just willy-nilly, and it did seem to give a sense of balance.  For the cuts, he used a SAWZALL reciprocating saw.   With the skoolie.com roof raise jacks in place, 

Raising the Roof!

On the day of the roof raise, we enlisted the help of our 72-year-old neighbor.  He’d been offering to help and finally, the day had come!  We found that having at least 3 people proved to be beneficial, although having a fourth person would have been even better.  We made it work, though!   One person (Richard) manned the jack.  He would jack one end of the bus up slightly, watching the progress the entire time.  The other two helpers (me and Neighbor) would adjust the lift kit as needed.  This was a pretty precise process and I know I was worried I would mess things up.  Once we got the lifts where they needed to be, Richard would move the jack to the other lifting spot at the opposite end of the bus.   We would then repeat the same process, until little by little we’d raised the roof to the 12″ we had decided on.   It felt surreal to see our bus cut in half, but immediately we loved the height it gave and knew we’d made the right choice.

Adding the Skin

When it was time to add the sheet metal to the bus to fill in the space where we’d done our roof raise, we solicited help from whoever we had available.  We’d watched a helpful YouTube where a skoolie owner had used moving straps to help hold the large sheets of metal, so we employed that pro tip.   Richard and whichever helper we’d found for that day (shout out to our sons and neighbors who were passing by and stopped to help) would add some sealant/glue to the top edge of the metal and then lift the sheet into place.  I was on the inside of the bus using a rubber mallet to wedge between the ribs of the bus and the metal so that it would bow out enough to slide up under the metal on the bus.  Imagine sliding a piece of paper under a clipboard clip (that’s a great example, but it’s the best I can do right now).  Once the sheet was situated at the top, we could release it and it would slide back into the bottom portion of the bus and sit evenly.   We did this one piece of sheet metal at a time and wouldn’t move on until we had that particular piece riveted in.

A Riveting Experience

Once the sheet metal was in place, it was time to drill the holes for the rivets.  This is when the WD-40 trick was discovered.  Hole after hole after hole was drilled.  Using an air gun, Richard added over 1000 rivets to the bus!  I have to admit that I was inside painting our kitchen when he did all of this because it was HOT.  We were doing this roof raise during a Texas summer, which seems crazy now, but we wanted it done.

Post Roof Raise Rain

Once the roof raise was complete and all sheets of metal (skin) were installed, it rained.  After weeks of drought, the sky opened, and rain poured down.  We considered this a blessing for many reasons, but mostly because it helped us identify places where the bus could leak.   We did not want that happening, so we bought some ‘Pookie” as Richard calls it (it’s Sika Construction Sealant), and used it to seal every single rivet.  It was a huge pain in the butt, but I’m glad we did it.  I hope it helps. 

Next Steps

As I write this, it’s now November, so it’s been about 3 months since we raised the roof of our skoolie.  We’ve been working on the inside of the bus, but the next steps involve adding RV windows back into the skoolie.   We wanted to nail down our layout and decide where windows should go.  We’ve finally gotten those ordered, and delivered, and we are moving towards cutting holes in the sheet metal ‘skin’ to make a place for the windows in our bus. 

Final Thoughts

Reflecting on the process of doing a skoolie conversion roof raise, there are a few things that come to mind.  First of all, we are glad we did it.  We love having the extra space and it didn’t change the aesthetic of the bus in a noticeably negative way.  I like that the bus is still flat in front and the raise isn’t so high that it looks off balance.  I wish we had had more help as we did it.  If you have people who can help you with a roof raise, don’t be afraid to ask them to join you in this process.  If we had had just one more person who was adept with an air gun or a drill, I do believe the process would have gone faster and smoother.  I’m in awe of everything Richard can do on his own.   Make sure you have all the tools you need and don’t be afraid to spend money on things that will make your life easier, safer, and less stressful.  It’s worth it in the end.  Lastly, I am sure I have forgotten something important or overlooked a crucial piece.  I will revise this as needed, but for now, I wanted to get this posted.  We know that the steps we followed aren’t perfect or right for everyone, but for now, we do feel like they were great for us! Good luck with your skoolie conversion roof raise!  Let us know how it goes! Cheers, Macy and Richard