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Stage 2 roof raise

Roof Raise

Final Prep work

Following last week’s update, we continued the roof raise prep. Again, R was a great help by coming to the bus each day. When we make the roof raise cut, we need an exact measurement on how much distance each frame is raised. Measuring on the cut itself is not accurate enough since we anticipate it will likely not be straight. We used a little block of just shy of four inches to account for sharpie thickness, then marked top and bottom of the block and voila a four-inch distance was marked on each frame. Deduct four inches from the total measurement and we know how high each frame is lifted.

R making the marks

Then we precut the frames at the door and driver window. Those were the most time-consuming cuts to make since it required cutting around some of the plating we want to keep intact. Next the challenge was to figure out how to cut the back of the bus, where the engine compartment and Airconditioning unit is located. It is not possible to do the planned under the window cut there which led to more dismantling. We had to remove the air intake on the driver side and a void space on the passenger side of the bus. Now that side was ready as well, we sliced the window frames in those positions in half.

Meanwhile my happy helper climbed on top of the bus to clean up the glue and tape from the top of the first panel. That way when we put the transition plate on top of it, we can weld it all together while its nice and clean.

Bracing

Thinking about all possible bad scenarios of a roof raise, we made four braces to put between the storage unit beams and the side of the bus, along which the top of the bus would slide up. This ensured if something would happen, the roof would fall straight down instead of toppling over. (As has happened to others!)

Then Monday it was finally Go-Time! What better way to start the New Year then with a roof raise

Day of Final Prep

The whole family went to the bus in the morning to help with the final preparations. The girls helped clean up, organize, and clear the work area. We proceeded to make the initial 40 ft of horizontal cuts as well.

While doing this, we noticed that the steel started to droop inward. We pushed back the roof raise assistants one hour while we fixed the problem by getting 8 pieces of 4″x 4″ and brace the bus side to side. We left the last four frames to cut waiting for our adult re-enforcement.  

Lifting Time

Once our good friends arrived, we had the kids leave the storage unit to watch from outside. Just in case… We had our assistants man the farm jacks while Ivo made the final cut, meanwhile listening to the commentary from inside the bus like: “This is the most redneck thing I have done in a while”. I think we wholeheartedly concur with that statement. Stress levels started to rise once we heard the sound of the last sheet metal coming loose, time to get serious…

We checked around the bus one more time to make sure the top and bottom of the bus were no longer attached. The farm jacks were raised up one inch. We took measurements and everything seems to come up straight. Slowly but surely the top came up. Until we heard a clanging noise coming from the back of the bus….

One more cut

We checked and rechecked but could not spot any issues. Strange, but we decided to continue to raise. Until we heard alarming news from the front two jacks; they were completely loose from the hoisting beam!! We tried some emergency recovery with ratches and so on, but it did not work. Then one of our assistants went around the bus again. He discovered that two braces that had been above the air conditioning unit and initially thus could not be spotted, were still attached to the top and bottom of the bus!!! Oopsy, so that was that clanging noise earlier….

The gap between braces at the front of the bus was 3 inches more than at the back of the bus. Basically, the roof was looking like a speedboat in the water. And the only way to fix it was by cutting those two braces in the back, hoping that the entire roof would not be slamming down after they came loose.

After the participants unanimously elected the most dispensable person to make the two cuts, everyone went outside and waited. With not too much effort the braces were cut and after a nerve wrecking last snap, the top was now officially re-declared to be loose from the bottom. Lots of measurements and individual jacking of corners later, we had re-balanced the load again and proceeded with the lift.

Roof Raising time

Time Lapse of the raise

Once we hit 19 ½ inches of raise, we stopped. We were running out of usable farm jack clearance and one more click would bring us to 20 ½ inches. Then the inserts would not be long enough. We installed 21 out of 25 of the inserts, securing them in place with small screws. The jacks were secured and tied down in place.

Thank you to Cody Simmons, Tommy Higgins, and David Upp for coming out on your day off to provide your expertise and commentary!

On the drive home, the thought of the roof just sitting on jacks with only minimal insert support for the night wasn’t sitting well. After a quick dinner, Ivo went back to bolt in four inserts. It made for a more restful sleep.

Now that roof is raised…

The next day we bolted in all the remaining inserts that we could fit in place. We used a step bit to drill the holes for the bolts in the steel. For sure the most expensive drill bit we have ever purchased but it was very well worth the money!

But when we put some of the bus screws back into the frames, we noticed that the screws bent the inserts. A re-measurement showed the inserts were of different gauge then the original steel.

Not good that the new inserts are so easily bent

Calculations were made and the decision was made that additional steel was needed to reinforce the supports. The original supports seems to be 14 gauge and our inserts are 18 gauge. We added 1″ flat bar to the inside of the inserts.

Tomorrow we are supposed to pick up the skinning steel, which was delayed due to production at the steel supplier as well as 2 1/2″ strips of 14 gauge steel for reinforcing the outside of the support.

Seeing is believing

For those wondering why we went to all this trouble, here’s a great side by side of before and after. It really opens up the bus and makes it much more comfortable to be in when completed.

We are finally making progress!