I am starting an H3-41 Project.
I need to either: Raise the roof, or lower the floor.
Has anyone ever done the latter.
Also, anyone have pictures of raising the h3 roof. Everyone I can see is far more sane than me and starting with a XL
I'm looking at R&M caps but they don't have pictures....
Thanks for ANY help.
JASON
I have an H3-40, basically the same coach. Question is why raise the roof? You won't be able to put roof airs on or even a low profile satellite dish. I have both and I'm right at 13'4".
Lowering the floor will be tough because the bus frame below the floor is all stainless steel. Very hard to cut weld and drill! If you DO choose to lower the floor, keep in mind you will be taking away your large bay space!
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Can't lower floor on XL because the frame is only 1 inch below the plywood floor. Yes a XL actually has a frame.. Not been in to a H structure. Bob
Ace nailed it. Bob nailed it.
Cannot even begin to imagine why anyone would want to do that.
The interior height on a 2014 seated H3 is 77 inches. Not real short, but not great either. (A 2014 conversion H3 has 83 inches.) The OP probably wants more interior height and I hardly blame him.
Belfert he said it was an H3-41. Surely not gonna be a 2014 model! Probably a early 90's midel
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They never built a VIP in the H-41 with the level floors I ever saw but lowering the floors is not that big of a deal in the H's is the dumb baggage compartments and doors
I helped Chad do his H-41 years back and he said he would never do it again he would by a Vip shell the next time we did find out the doors on the H-45 ViP would work but Prevost was very proud of those so he found a wrecked 45 VIP and bought the doors
There are some H's around the roof has been raised I forgot their name but one lived in Texas and a outfit in Virginia raised the roof on his H-40 I always wondered how much it changed the driving characteristics raising the roof on a H as they are a load to handle in high winds in NM to start with BTDT ;D
The plan (right not at least) is to raise 6-8" putting me at 13'0" worst case.
The reason for this is that most of my friends are 6-3 and up and they are uncomfortable in a 6-5 bus. Granted I'm only 5-9 so I'm just dandy in there.
As far as drive-ability.... wow it handles nice, but wind can be a pain. I just drove the bus across the US (3400 miles to be exact) in 3.5 days and there was a time or two I thought we were going over.
On the AC's, I'm going ducted central basement system
Satellite I am building into the roof (wow do I have a lot of fiberglass work to do).
The idea to lower the floor was a harebrained scheme to save bodywork time...
It's going to be easier to get shorter friends. And cheaper.
Quote from: Ace on March 24, 2014, 05:42:52 PM
Belfert he said it was an H3-41. Surely not gonna be a 2014 model! Probably a early 90's midel
I didn't have any other place to find specs for the H3. Based on what the OP said about his bus being 6'-5" inside it sounds like the specs haven't changed.
I wouldn't do all that work just to please my friends. If they want to come in your bus, then just tell them to watch their heads. You'll eliminate weeks of work. Good Luck, TomC
Not to argue your point but when I first for my H3 I was lead to believe the VIP coaches had more head room inside due to shorter bay space. They didn't need the bay space to carry luggage like a seated coach which is what the op has. You can't have tall bays AND 7 foot interior height without mega and useless work! It's not an Eagle where raising the roof is a snap.
The op stated he's going to duct the a/c. He's gonna need the bay space which he has to do this and still have bay space left over!
Also if he's raising it 8 inches he might want to re measure! Like I said, mine is standard height and aired up with low profile roof airs and the low profile sat dish, and keeping the original 315x22.5 tires I'm at 13'4". I'm 5'10" and I have plenty of head space.
I'm with Jon, get shorter friends or let them build their own!
As for the height and wind, good luck in a cross wind! Your gonna have some white knuckles for sure.
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Wait till he gets a price on the fiber glass from Prevost he will be looking for new friends ::) 8 grand for a rear cap
The VIP model has a 6 1/2" factory roof raise. The area over the driver is the same height as the seated H3 then there is a hump in the roof for the roof raise. This continues until about 2 feet from the rear where there is another area the same as the seated coach. This area over the driver is where I have the satellite dish. By using low profile AC units that are 9.5 inches tall my overall height is 13' 3" to the top of the ACs. Roof height without ACs is 12' 5 1/2". Head room is 83 5/8" and the bay doors are the same as the seated coach.
Some of this information is from my personal experience and some is from the technical specs in my manual.
The H-41 is a little different than a H-40 the 41 is a nice coach but not that easy to convert to make the floors level from front to the rear the guy has his work ahead of him as the H-41 was never made in the VIP version it will be interesting to see which route he takes
Chris Davenport is lowering the floors on his and has ran into a few rust areas at the rear if this guy lives close to Houston I can give him a address to go see it he may change his mind
After giving this thread some thought is like to see pics of this H3-41 that has a roof line that is one height in front and rear and different in the middle. I've never seen or heard of ANY H models like this. ALL of the ones I've seen are the same from from to rear!
Again the op stated he has a SEATED H3-41. Doesn't compare to a VIP.
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Tom said his had a factory 6-1/2 in roof raise I never saw that before either Ace but he owns the coach and probably knows all I have seen are level from front to back,
I was looking at a factory H-45 that was a mid entry by Prevost I never saw that before it looked kinda strange on a H-45 but was done at the factory they confirmed it
It's your bus and you are happy with the height. so...... get an extra frig and *fill* it with beer. When you buds drop in, hand them a cool one and tell them to *sit down* :) Problem solved!!!! Smile...
That's funny Fred but very rational!
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Jason -
Are you getting the message here?
Hope so. . .
;)
My H3-40 is the VIP model that came from Prevost as a convertor shell and not as a seated coach. All the VIPs have a factory roof raise where the drivers area is the same height as the seated H3 but just behind the driver it is raised giving the living area more headroom. It drops back to original height about 2 feet from the back and this is where the convertor placed the full width closet. You can see the raise by looking at the side view of a H3 and see the side piece that Prevost put there to hide the buffalo style hump.
I know a guy that has a H-40 VIP 93 or 94 model with a series 60-11.2L his doesn't have the hump maybe not all were raised roof ? yea and I have been told by owners the H-40 never came with a 60 series
Well I went for it.... I'll keep everyone up to date, but its being welded right now...
I would interested in seeing a picture of the H3-40 VIP with no raised roof. Are you sure it is a VIP model shell and not built for a seated coach? My manuals are all very clear about the differences in a VIP shell and a seated coach shell. :)
i know of one H3-40 with a factory series 60 seated coach converted and have seen one other but never seen a VIP H3-40 with a 60, only a 92. No humps on any if them!
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All he knows he bought the coach new from Marathon it has the VIP plague at the door and the Vin says it a VIP it has a 11.2 with a B500 and no hump built Feb 1994 he bought it Dec of 1994 and still owns the coach
good luck
Prevost did a good job of disguising the roof raise on the H3 VIP. ;D There is a fiberglass rail that starts just behind the door and the drivers window and inclines up to the new roof level and hides the hump. If you look you will see that there is a extra section above the salon windows that is not on the seated H3 coach. Also on the inside looking from the living area to the driver's area there is a flat trim for the transition from the living area to the drivers. Look at www.hoffmancoach.com (http://www.hoffmancoach.com) and you will see on the home page Don Hoffman's coach that now belong to a another member of the Southeast Busnuts and you see the roof rails starting at the door. Also look at the 2000 Vantare that is for sale on this site and you can see the extra roof above the windows and the transition trim inside. Also on the rear cap you can see the clearance lights are mounted on a spoiler and there is a space underneath to allow the water out of the area that is dropped back down in the rear. Just because you cannot see the hump does not mean it is not there. ;D Hey Ace, you will get to see 2 of them in Charleston. See you there. ;)
Was told by someone @ Prevost there were 4 VIP H3-40's built with series 60's and there is a roof drop at rear with spoiler - that is what my moto-sat folds into - FWIW
Hey Pizza buddy , where have you been hiding?
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On my VIP H3-45 I have the roof drop at the rear and a tapered incline on the front cap.
Hi Ace , just waiting for some global warming to kick in before I head north, tell Susan I said Hi
Sounds good, take care and travel safe my friend!
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