Roof Deck
The roof deck began like most other parts of the build, hours and hours of internet searches for skoolie roof decks, sun decks, or google searches for “how to build a skoolie deck without welding”. We wanted to build a minimalist style roof deck without having to weld a frame to the bus and we couldnt’ find anything that we liked so with the help of our Impulsivity Inc. family we came up with our own design.
As one would expect minimal holes in a bus roof is ideal. The less holes you make in the roof, the less likely you are to have leaks down the road. With the help of Impulsivity Inc. we came up with a way to build the roof deck using only 6 bolts through the actual roof of the bus. 6 x7’’ lag bolts through the roof ribs are holding a 2’’x 6’’ plank that runs parallel with the bus and is placed at the center of the deck. Underneath the board we put in a half inch rubber barrier to keep any rubbing from vibrations to a minimum. We sealed the top of the screws that held the main plank and we used flashing tape to cover the entire plank.
From here three 7ft 4x4’s were attached to the main plank and we cut the “leg” pieces to match the curve of the roof. The leg pieces aren’t actually attached to the bus, just the 4x4’s that run perpendicular to the bus. Those 4x4’s then hold the Trex decking planks with hidden fasteners. The very rear of the deck is capped with a 2x4 to help keep the planks in place and to add a little extra support. Then the lumber was stained to our liking and that was it! Pretty simple setup that were proud of. It’s sturdy enough to have our entire family (and then some) on top while we have picnics!
Also, prior to building the deck we put a few layers of Henry’s Tropicool Silicone Roof Coating. This helps in waterproofing the roof as well as help maintain the internal temperature of the bus. It’s a bit pricey but according to some skoolie families that have used their busses full time its totally worth it and highly recommended and since we wouldn’t be canceling out any windows we wanted to do everything else we possibly could to retain heat/cool air in the bus.
In this photo you can see how we mounted the deck without welding. The blue dots are bolts that attach the 2x6 to the bus through the roof and bus ribs. The yellow dots are where the 4x4’s are attached to the 2x6. Finally the red dots are where the support legs are attached to the 4x4’s.
Materials we used:
Pressure treated 4 x 4’s - Lowes
Pressure treated 2 x 6 - Lowes
8’’ Lag Bolts - Lowes
Trex Decking - 1’’ Grooved Edge Board - Lowes
Trex Hidden Fasteners - Lowes
Roll of Flashing Tape (for waterproofing 2x6) - Amazon
