Another popular subject among converted motorhome owners…

Raising the roof in a coach is not a difficult job, but there are important factors to keep in mind..

Some old buses/coaches are really low, and they also have the full chassis running under where the bins are… If you are tall (more than 180 cm) then you really can and should raise the roof.. It doesn’t add much at all, to the final cost if you are already planning of re-skinning the vehicle…

With newer coaches the story is a bit different… For start the actual frame is the actual chassis, so extra care need to be taken to keep the chassis true.. Some later coaches are also already 4.1 metre high… Once you have raised the roof, you probably have already reached the maximum height allowed in Australia of 4.3 metre..

That mean, nothing else can be added on the roof (solar panels, Aircon, aerials…) So you may want to keep those factor in mind before proceeding with raising the roof..

Sometime, especially if the outside of the coach is in good conditions (no need to re-skin the vehicle) and it is one of those 4.1 metre high, it would be better (and much, much cheaper) to design the interior by utilising the centre aisle where you should have at lest 2 metres between floor and ceiling.. In some coaches the centre aisle is not existent (is at the same level as the seats), while in some other, like high deck coaches it may go from one end to the other but at different levels…

Converted coaches with raised roof, do normally attract a higher value at reselling time, they are cooler, the feel more spacious, and allows for better size kitchen wall cabinets… On newer coaches where the frame is the actual chassis, I would strongly recommend getting the job done professionally and with all the proper documentation…