Bus Height

[Scott Crosby]

My garage door is 7' tall... So I have an outside bus and it really sucks. 

[Boomer]

If you are going to work underneath them you have to build ramps.  8X8's work good and that is about all you can get under the body before running up on them.  So don't forget to add at least 8" more into the equation.

[Jeremy]

MCI MC-7	10' 9"
MCI MC-9	10' 10"
MCI 102A3	11' 1"
Prevost LeMirage	10' 11"
Prevost XL	10' 10"
GM 4104 & 4106	10' 1"
GM 4107 &4108	11' 0"
GM PD4501 & PD4905	11' 2"
GM RTS	9' 11"
Non-air suspension
Eagle Model 01 & 05	11' 2"
Eagle Model 10	11' 4"
Eagle Model 15 & 20	11' 5"

SETRA Model S215-S217     11'9"
SETRA Model S417               12'3"

Plaxton Paramount 3200     10'5"

For my bus, the '3200' in the model name actually refers to the height (3.2m). In my case it has a 7" roof raise as well, plus various extra gubbins mounted on the roof

Other versions of the Paramount were the 3500 and 4000 models (the 4000 being a rare double-decker version), plus I think there were four length options (8, 10, 12 and 13m).

Jeremy

[VillageBus]

WOW!  Thank you everyone for your input.  I was astonished so many folks have helped 'pitch in' to point me in the right direction.  The door is going to have to be raised and lowering the floor will be possible too (I believe...checking into this).  I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as this undertaking begins...and all before we can even decide on which bus style/make to pursue.  I knew this was going to be a crazy adventure and thank you all for starting it off on the right foot!  Cheers!

[B_K]

WOW!  Thank you everyone for your input.  I was astonished so many folks have helped 'pitch in' to point me in the right direction.  The door is going to have to be raised and lowering the floor will be possible too (I believe...checking into this).  I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as this undertaking begins...and all before we can even decide on which bus style/make to pursue.  I knew this was going to be a crazy adventure and thank you all for starting it off on the right foot!  Cheers!

That's what we're here for!
  BK 
(well that an because some of us have no place else to go!  )

[wg4t50]

I vote for the 14 X 14 Doors with the inside height of 18', that way I can work on the roof of the coach with room to work.

Problem for me, the garage becomes a inside junk yard, so need to keep cleaning out.

[luvrbus]

Lowering the floor may not be a option for you check with the local authorities they set the finished floor grades that can open a big can of worms lowering a floor don't ask how I know lol

[eagle19952]

raise the building, add a block pony wall...

[Jon]

Besides death and taxes there is another sure thing in life. No matter how big your bus garage is (door, ceiling height, length or width) it will never be big enough.

My garage however is absolutely perfect, except it is perfect for a 40 foot non slide coach. Not so good for my 45 foot, two slide coach.

Plan big. Very big. and that won't be big enough.

[B_K]

Lowering the floor may not be a option for you check with the local authorities they set the finished floor grades that can open a big can of worms lowering a floor don't ask how I know lol

LOL I hear ya Clifford btdt too!
But depending on his location it could be better to use the "don't ask, don't tell" standard! I once had an attorney tell me "I did not hear that and do not repeat it so I can! And remember it's usually better to do it and ask for forgiveness, than to ask permission and be denied!" (that said I did not say the above paragraph!)

I hear ya Jon, in our 1st shop we had a straight thru bay (shop was 60' long X 30' wide w/bay down the middle) with 12'(T)X10'(W) doors! It made for some tight questionable moments.
Our second shop (120'X70') had three 18'X18' doors one on the long end and 2 across from each other. (It was the cat's MEOOOW! But my "Repo/wrecker partner" bought out a tire shop and moved his part of the biz to his "new" location and left me paying a huge rent by myself {on top of that the land lord decided that it was the time to raise the rent!)

So we moved out in the country to a 60'X40' shop with two 14'X14' doors on one end and a 25' long pit in one bay. LOVED THAT place 15 acres 60X40 Shop (with 12'X24' office & parts {each one 12X12)  room added on the end) 3 bedroom house w/15X20 screened in front porch and 2.5 car attached garage and a pond all for $800 a month!
Then along came the GOVT. and bought the property for I-69 (the landlord got a check, we got the boot!)

Now our current shop #4 (we bought it!) is 50'(W)X70'(L) (w/18'(W)X50'(L) lean to on the side that we are going to stretch out to the full 70'(L) and put a 45' pit in) it has two 14'(T)X12'(W) doors side by side.

I love our current shop, but miss the SUPER nice 18X18 doors and 20' ceiling in shop # 2.
And also miss the 14X14 doors in shop # 3.

But we manage with the 14'X12' Doors and 16's ceiling ok.

If I can ever get Don Fairchild to move out here I have found us a shop we could put all 4 of my past shops in and still have room left over! And it has three 20'X18' doors and two truck docks w/standard dock doors on 10 Acres! (Talk about a rally site! YEA-HAW!)
  BK 

[Lostranger]

My Gillig H2000LF is just over 9' tall. Fits in lots of places others won't. Here are a couple pics:





At this point, someone will tell me that you can't convert a low floor. The fact that we live in it full time would seem to indicate otherwise. I can't imagine a better conversion shell.

Jim in NC

[Lin]

I don't think anyone would say the you can't convert a Gillig like yours.  There are proud owners of schoolie conversions and even old VW microbus conversions that consider them to be perfect.  I once met a guy that lived in an old Fiat with a fold down bed and a cook stove.  When a particular shell is investigated for conversion, certainly some will point out the various advantages and disadvantages, and it makes absolute sense to do so.  If you believe that what you have tests the limits of the imagination, good for you.

[TomC]

My normal height transit is 10ft, or 11ft over the A/C's. One of the main reasons I used this AMGeneral was that it has a 22" skirt that allowed me to mount all my necessary items underneath. Up front like a front engine is my 10kw genset. Then behind the front axle is an area I enclosed that makes a 99 x 22 x 66 storage bin. The rest under neath is a 20gal propane tank, 130gal fuel tank, 2-8D deep cycle batteries, 2-31 starting batteries, 85gal gray water, 45gal black water, and an additional 2ft square storage behind the rear wheel where the A/C equipment used to be (130gal water tank and 2-10gal water heaters with water pumps is under the bed). My point-yes those low floor transit buses are nice with low roof lines-but where are you going to install everything listed above? Good Luck, TomC

[Scott & Heather]

We really don't belong in this thread since we raised the roof on our MCI 9 a whole 9 inches...so with our roof air, we are at 12' 6". Glad to hear you are raising the door, but even with your interior height of 12' I think it isn't enough. Especially if you add roof air.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Clumsy fingers may contribute to mistakes.

[Dave5Cs]

The Barn where we live is 60x40 with a 14 foot door but the whole thing is full of stuff so still can't get the Bus in there, darnit!...

Dave5Cs