How to Remove Bus Ceiling Panels

When removing ceiling panels from a school bus, some skoolie conversion folks are extremely lucky and others are not.  We were lucky.

Our ceiling panels were secured with screws, which made removal a job, but not an odyssey.  Some skoolies have rivets…and I just can’t even…imagine..

We also had two A/C units that needed to be moved out of the way, but not removed completely (no hoses were disconnected).  Huge thanks to our dear friend, Kristoffer Toft, for helping us with this step!

Required Tools & Materials

• Impact driver
• Angle grinder
• Utility knife
• Socket wrench
• Small pry bar
• Phillip’s screwdriver
• Safety glasses and gloves
• Plastic baggies and a sharpie
• A strong Danish friend 🙂

Step 1 – Unmount A/C Units

1. EVACUATE THE A/C SYSTEM OF FREON BEFORE YOU START REMOVING THE UNITS.  FREON HITTING BARE SKIN/EYES/ETC CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY!
2. Remove the plastic covering from the units (ours were Carrier units) by popping off the screw covers with a Phillip’s screwdriver, then unscrewing.
   • Note:  You can sell your A/C units, even if they need repairs like a new compressor.  So keep every screw and bolt in baggies, marking what is what with the sharpie.  We had two units, one working fine, the other needed a new compressor. We sold both units to a guy for $750 for the pair, which was a steal for him.
3. There are four heavy duty bolts securing the unit to the ceiling.  Slowly loosen the bolts with a socket wrench (or two) with two people holding the A/C unit up.  Careful, it’s heavy.
4. When the bolts are all out, slowly bring the unit down to the floor careful not to knock the hoses.  At this stage, we could have removed the whole A/C system before removing the ceiling panels, but we didn’t have a buyer yet, so we did it a little backwards.  We removed the ceiling panels before getting the A/C system completely out.  To see how we completely removed the A/C system, hoses, compressors, and all, watch here.

Step 2 – Unscrew the Panels

1. Disconnect your bus batteries.
2. Remove the speaker and light coverings, then disconnect the lights and speakers from their electrical wires.  DISCONNECT THE BUS BATTERIES FIRST!!
3. Unscrew the panel screws.  About 90% of our screws came out with the impact driver, so use that first.
4. Shear off the stubborn screws with the angle grinder.

Step 3 – Remove the Panel

1. Position two or three people under the panel.  Bend the middle of the panel down first, then pull away the sides from the wall.
   • Note: Doing this in reverse is the best way to get the panels back up if you are re-using them for your ceiling.
2. If you plan on re-using those panels for the ceiling, number the panels with a sharpie to remember which went where.  Believe me, this is ESSENTIAL.  The screw holes for each panel are different, so if you don’t know which panel went where, it is going to be a serious pain to get re-screw a panel into a part of the ceiling it didn’t originally come from.

Step 4 – Remove the Old Insulation

1. Use the utility knife to cut the old tape holding up the old insulation.
2. Pull the insulation down, being careful to not hurt any speaker/light wires.

Next up, fully removing the A/C system!