Raised roofs

sirgregory46 · Apr 25, 2013

I was wondering if any knew anybody that installed raised roofs and doors on vans. Most of the strings are old so I was seeing if I could get some new info thanks.

guido4475 · Apr 25, 2013

Look under handicapped accessories or mobility in the phone book. If you are going that route, make sure you raise the back doors as well, otherwise it is a waste of time and money.

sirgregory46 · Apr 25, 2013

guido4475 said:
Look under handicapped accessories or mobility in the phone book. If you are going that route, make sure you raise the back doors as well, otherwise it is a waste of time and money.

I wouldn't do with out the doors being done to.

mjmsprt40 · Apr 25, 2013

Guido is right, look under "mobility". They make these vans for handicapped people, making high doors to clear the wheelchair lift is a common thing. All you're doing is re-purposing the van.

ntimevan · Apr 25, 2013

sirgregory46 said:
I was wondering if any knew anybody that installed raised roofs and doors on vans. Most of the strings are old so I was seeing if I could get some new info thanks.

Now this is from another driver....supposed to be place in Toledo that does it...Bolt is Supposed to know contact....hearsay.....also heard in Goshen, In. area someone does it.....:thumbup:

sirgregory46 · Apr 25, 2013

ntimevan said:
Now this is from another driver....supposed to be place in Toledo that does it...Bolt is Supposed to know contact....hearsay.....also heard in Goshen, In. area someone does it.....:thumbup:

Thanks I will be look into it.

scottm4211 · Apr 25, 2013

found on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?nav=item.view&id=300895572396

asjssl · Apr 25, 2013

Northern Indiana ( Elkhart, Goshen) ... Its the capital of van outfitting..I would look around there...

guido4475 · Apr 25, 2013

sirgregory46 said:
I wouldn't do with out the doors being done to.

It surprises me at the amount of cargo vans I see out here without the doors being done....I just shake my head...Actually, it is not that hard to do. I used to install them for the handicapped in a shop back in the late 80's.Ford was the easiest back then, being a full frame, and Chevy being the worst, being a unibody construction back then.We had the vans drop-shipped to our shop form the dealer/factory completely stripped inside, even with a drivers hard plastic seat...bolted to the floor on a pedestal...lol..we raised the bodies, and dropped the floor, to allow room for the wheelchair lifts inside, and installed hand controls for the gas/brake pedals for those confined to a wheelchair...

Moot · Apr 26, 2013

GM door frames angle inward and narrow toward the top. I'm not sure if one could even get a 48" wide opening on the raised roof addition above the doors.

Even if the rear door openings weren't extended, the raised roof would allow one to stand up nearly straight. Not really a waste of money compared to a pair of artificial knees.

mjmsprt40 · Apr 26, 2013

Moot said:
GM door frames angle inward and narrow toward the top. I'm not sure if one could even get a 48" wide opening on the raised roof addition above the doors.

Even if the rear door openings weren't extended, the raised roof would allow one to stand up nearly straight. Not really a waste of money compared to a pair of artificial knees.

You want the doors raised if it can be done, though. Think of it: You have clearance once inside for 72", but your rear doors will only allow 48" height-- you're losing 24" capacity for loading skids without having to break them down. It doesn't take too many loads that you have to refuse because of the doors to make you say "You know, I really should have gotten those doors done when I had the roof done". Hey, you're already spending the money on the hightop roof, you might as well spring for the doors at the same time.

Moot · Apr 26, 2013

mjmsprt40 said:
You want the doors raised if it can be done, though. Think of it: You have clearance once inside for 72", but your rear doors will only allow 48" height-- you're losing 24" capacity for loading skids without having to break them down. It doesn't take too many loads that you have to refuse because of the doors to make you say "You know, I really should have gotten those doors done when I had the roof done". Hey, you're already spending the money on the hightop roof, you might as well spring for the doors at the same time.

I realize this! I'm not sure if you can even get a 48" width by extending the door height on a GM. My point was; this coming from an aged expediter with bad knees, that the cost of a raised roof could be justified by the ability to stand up, or nearly stand up. Forget the height of the freight. Its the knees. Its all about the knees.

mjmsprt40 · Apr 26, 2013

Moot said:
I realize this! I'm not sure if you can even get a 48" width by extending the door height on a GM. My point was; this coming from an aged expediter with bad knees, that the cost of a raised roof could be justified by the ability to stand up, or nearly stand up. Forget the height of the freight. Its the knees. Its all about the knees.

I'm not sure about the newer GMs, I don't think they changed much. My '98 would certainly have the room "if" it weren't already so long in the tooth that just keeping it maintained is a project. A newer GM-- I'd do it.

Moot · Apr 27, 2013

mjmsprt40 said:
I'm not sure about the newer GMs, I don't think they changed much. My '98 would certainly have the room

I'm not sure where the door frame would be cut to accommodate extensions. On my 2004 Chevy, the top corners where the radius of the vertical frame meets the header is only 48" in width. This has caused a few problems with tall wide loads like those plastic automotive parts bins with the single piece top cap.

highway star · Apr 27, 2013

Moot said:
Its the knees. Its all about the knees.

Oh yeah, it's all about the knees. I wonder which one of us will have an artificial knee first? Maybe we should get some kind of office pool going. I still think my time spent on dirt bikes was worth it.

scottm4211 · Apr 27, 2013

highway star said:
Oh yeah, it's all about the knees. I wonder which one of us will have an artificial knee first? Maybe we should get some kind of office pool going. I still think my time spent on dirt bikes was worth it.

I assumed most on here already did.

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xiggi · Apr 27, 2013

I raised the roof a few times when i was younger.

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guido4475 · Apr 27, 2013

Younger? I think you still do! You wild child you!

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sirgregory46 · Apr 27, 2013

I have found roofs that goto 32in I think you can get door extensions around 24 to 28 in that would give me 80 in inside up to 76 door. Now I just need to find someone who can do it. I figure the budget would 5000 to 6000$ which would work for me since my van is only a year old.
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guido4475 · Apr 27, 2013

Raising a rear door is a custom part of the whole job, regardless of the height. Whoever you have do the work, make sure they fabricate several roll cages throughout the raised roof for extra stability and strength.many installers do not, and the roof will be floppy.we did several jobs on vans to correct others mistakes.we went overkill with roll cages every 12 inches. Better to be safe than sorry.

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