Getting a wide car safely through a narrow garage door,
Discussion
Anyone had the problem of regularly getting a car through an up and over garage door where (if positioned centrally / correctly) there is perhaps 30mm clearance on either side between the door frame even with the mirrors folded in?
The issue is that with regular use, it may only be a matter of time before the car is caught on one side of the door or the other as also there is limited maneuvering / lining up space in front of the garage.
I wondered if there was a way of putting down temporary guide rails outside the garage, which `channel' the car into the correct position to avoid scraping it on the door jambs?
The idea of cr*pping myself nearly `every' time I have to put in, or take it out of the garage is not exactly appealing, and leaving it outside the garage is not an option as the insurance is based on it being kept inside the garage at night.
Once the car is in the garage, space is still a bit tight, but not so much of a problem, but the spec/dimensions for the car appeared to indicate, that it would get through the opening with room to spare (and with the mirrors out) which now seems not to be the case.
Just wondered if anyone else had had this problem and how they might have got around it.
Getting a new door, possibly face fixed, (rather than between the reveals) to the front of the garage might be an option, as it would give another 100mm of clearance, but I am thinking would not look very tidy.
Any advice would be appreciated.
The issue is that with regular use, it may only be a matter of time before the car is caught on one side of the door or the other as also there is limited maneuvering / lining up space in front of the garage.
I wondered if there was a way of putting down temporary guide rails outside the garage, which `channel' the car into the correct position to avoid scraping it on the door jambs?
The idea of cr*pping myself nearly `every' time I have to put in, or take it out of the garage is not exactly appealing, and leaving it outside the garage is not an option as the insurance is based on it being kept inside the garage at night.
Once the car is in the garage, space is still a bit tight, but not so much of a problem, but the spec/dimensions for the car appeared to indicate, that it would get through the opening with room to spare (and with the mirrors out) which now seems not to be the case.
Just wondered if anyone else had had this problem and how they might have got around it.
Getting a new door, possibly face fixed, (rather than between the reveals) to the front of the garage might be an option, as it would give another 100mm of clearance, but I am thinking would not look very tidy.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Meridius said:
Change the insurance to parked on the street? Probably cheaper and easier than repairing a scrape or fitting a new garage door.
Quite possible, but then I would be cr*pping myself about the car being stolen, crashed into, keyed or any other damage caused by others.Some time ago my sister popped into my place for a few minutes, and came out to find her car had been substantially keyed, so parking in the street really is not a viable option.
Nor is moving somewhere else!
talksthetorque said:
Reverse in.
Judge the gap down both sides with side mirrors.
Keep the gap even.
You might also find it helps to dangle a rope in the centre of the garage, and paint a line on the back wall to keep you straight in your rear view mirror, as well as in the centre of the door frame.
Unfortunately the car wont go through the gap with the mirrors out, so that is not an option. The annoying thing is that the vehicle dimensions appeared to show that the car would fit even with the mirrors out, as the dimensions on the spec sheet, appeared to include the mirrors. but now its seems that even with them folded, the vehicle only `just' fits between the door frame, and I do mean `just'Judge the gap down both sides with side mirrors.
Keep the gap even.
You might also find it helps to dangle a rope in the centre of the garage, and paint a line on the back wall to keep you straight in your rear view mirror, as well as in the centre of the door frame.
I used to regularly get a discovery into a garage door with about 6" clearance on each side.
Reverse in slowly having aligned the car properly with the aperture. Use the mirrors to keep the gap even each side until the drivers door is level with the opening, at which point fold the mirrors in and use the bonnet to keep the gap even (though with 3/4 of the car now inside you shouldn't be having to adjust the steering angle any more).
Job jobbed
Reverse in slowly having aligned the car properly with the aperture. Use the mirrors to keep the gap even each side until the drivers door is level with the opening, at which point fold the mirrors in and use the bonnet to keep the gap even (though with 3/4 of the car now inside you shouldn't be having to adjust the steering angle any more).
Job jobbed
Pan Pan Pan said:
leaving it outside the garage is not an option as the insurance is based on it being kept inside the garage at night.
Did putting it in the garage reduce the premium though? Strangely it seems that insurance can be more expensive if the car is kept in a garage rather than on drive. I guess the statistics show that high value cars (kept in garages) get stolen. Other cars (not kept in garages) less so? Strange, but believable - anything can be proven with statistics!ChemicalChaos said:
I used to regularly get a discovery into a garage door with about 6" clearance on each side.
Reverse in slowly having aligned the car properly with the aperture. Use the mirrors to keep the gap even each side until the drivers door is level with the opening, at which point fold the mirrors in and use the bonnet to keep the gap even (though with 3/4 of the car now inside you shouldn't be having to adjust the steering angle any more).
Job jobbed
Reverse in slowly having aligned the car properly with the aperture. Use the mirrors to keep the gap even each side until the drivers door is level with the opening, at which point fold the mirrors in and use the bonnet to keep the gap even (though with 3/4 of the car now inside you shouldn't be having to adjust the steering angle any more).
Job jobbed
Thanks for the suggestion, but I just don't have the luxury of 150mm of clearance at the side (think about an inch and a quarter - 30mm max on each side) the space in front of the garage is also limited so that with the car just outside the garage there is perhaps 1.5 metres between the end of the car, and a brick wall. (don't you just love these house designers) so relatively little room to align the car straight before driving forward between the door jambs.
I can do it, but it takes a while making sure the car is `perfectly' aligned before moving between the door frames (Not helped by the shape of the car`s body where parts of it cannot be seen but only guessed at from the drivers position), which is quite frankly a bit tedious.
I had thought about using finished timber rails approx. 50mm 2 inches high, which could be slid out from the garage to `channel' the car into the correct and very limited position, but have not yet thought of how to mount them onto the garage.
Although not a daily problem I faced the same issue with my weekend/fun car. Did my head in to the point i didn't want to use it in the dark.
Bit the bullet and replaced with a Horman sectional door. Secured directly to the brickwork of the garage either side thus negating the need and therefore removing the timber frame which the old up and over door was fixed.
Increased gap either side by 3 inches and a better door.
Might work in your circumstance too.
Regards
Mr Ben
Bit the bullet and replaced with a Horman sectional door. Secured directly to the brickwork of the garage either side thus negating the need and therefore removing the timber frame which the old up and over door was fixed.
Increased gap either side by 3 inches and a better door.
Might work in your circumstance too.
Regards
Mr Ben
Fastpedeller said:
Pan Pan Pan said:
leaving it outside the garage is not an option as the insurance is based on it being kept inside the garage at night.
Did putting it in the garage reduce the premium though? Strangely it seems that insurance can be more expensive if the car is kept in a garage rather than on drive. I guess the statistics show that high value cars (kept in garages) get stolen. Other cars (not kept in garages) less so? Strange, but believable - anything can be proven with statistics!Mr Ben said:
Although not a daily problem I faced the same issue with my weekend/fun car. Did my head in to the point i didn't want to use it in the dark.
Bit the bullet and replaced with a Horman sectional door. Secured directly to the brickwork of the garage either side thus negating the need and therefore removing the timber frame which the old up and over door was fixed.
Increased gap either side by 3 inches and a better door.
Might work in your circumstance too.
Regards
Mr Ben
Thank you for your comments. the car in question is (like yours) not my daily driver, but it is my pride and joy, so when I do use it I do have `some' time to mess about making sure it is perfectly aligned, but by the same token I really don't want to scrape the sides either, and putting it in the garage in the dark (where you lose the light from the headlamps once the car is between the frames) is currently not very appealing at the moment.Bit the bullet and replaced with a Horman sectional door. Secured directly to the brickwork of the garage either side thus negating the need and therefore removing the timber frame which the old up and over door was fixed.
Increased gap either side by 3 inches and a better door.
Might work in your circumstance too.
Regards
Mr Ben
The Horman sectional door sounds interesting, because if I could get rid of the up and over door frame between the jambs, it would give me another 100mm / 4 inches of clearance which would do me. Are they a UK company, do you have any contact details for Horman?
Is retrofitting electric folding mirrors to the car an option? Reverse in most of the way using mirrors to line up, then fold them in at last possible moment.
Not to boast, but I reverse my VW T5 LWB van into garage with 2" to spare either side, although that includes the mirrors still being out. What I'm trying to say is the mirrors really help me align it as I enter, so if you can a way to keep using yours til the last second then it might be the solution. Even pausing partway and manually reaching over to fold them if electric folding isn't an option.
Not to boast, but I reverse my VW T5 LWB van into garage with 2" to spare either side, although that includes the mirrors still being out. What I'm trying to say is the mirrors really help me align it as I enter, so if you can a way to keep using yours til the last second then it might be the solution. Even pausing partway and manually reaching over to fold them if electric folding isn't an option.
rek said:
If the back wall of the garage is clear could you put a mirror up high angled down so you could see your reflection as you drive in... Maybe even like the ones you see on roads where a driveway or entrance has a restricted view. (Not sure of the name.. Convex/concave?)
Thank you that is another good idea. a mirror at the end of the garage on both sides would allow me to check the clearance between the unseen part of the cars body, and the garage door frame, (not least by the amount of light squeezing through the tiny gap between the side of the car, and the garage door frame) PH comes through yet again.
I like the channeling idea - If you had a V shaped trough on one side, bolted into the floor with an extension piece which is the length of the wheelbase and clips on outside of the garage (if that makes sense), then all you would need to do is get the wheels in the trough, let go of the steering so the trough guides it, and drive in. Remove the external part and place it under car and shut the garage door.... Hmmm how do YOU get out of the car though?
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