Protecting car while moving in/out of a garage

[AndyJaaaag]

Hi all,

Just wanted to test how resourceful you are.
<rant>I have just had my garage re-built after some C*** trademan drove into it and now denies and lies to me about it. </RANT>
Anyway! my baby is still safe and undamamged, but everytime I drive it in or out of the garage i feel like the walls are getting closer. I am terrified of moving too far to the left and I need room on the right to get out.
It is an XJS so there is only 3 inches of wriggle room at the best of times.

What techniques are there to ensure i do not scrap a wall?

I have seen a tennis ball on string hanging from the cieling so it touches the windscreen to judge when a car is fully in a garage. But how can I see when the side of the car is too close. When driving I cannot see the nearside of the car.

I was thinking some kind of flexi rubber strip. which moves or bends when I am too close. Or a mirror on the end wall.
Anything to judge distance from the wall.

any answers on a postcard please.

[kambites]

Why not bolt some angle iron to the floor (angle upwards, so as not to damage the tyres) to guide the wheels down the right path?

Start with them far enough apart that you can drive the front wheels between them easily, then angle them together so that when the mirrors reach the door the front wheels are held fairly precisely in the correct position.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 27th February 15:35

[Raify]

A big enough length of wood can be felt through the wheel when your tyres hit it

Or a cunningly placed mirror so yo can see your own car wing?

[Snowboy]

I've put old carpet on the side of my garage to protect the door.
And the old favourite of a plank on the floor to let me know when the back wheels are far enough in.

For the sides.
Just make sure it's well lit and use the mirrors.
A movement sensor floodlight fitted at the back of the garage should do the job.

[knight]

I used to use a mirror on the end wall to help me judge how close I was to the wall, then I moved to a house with a bigger garage

[Spare tyre]

park it in the right position

then hang tennis balls from the ceiling, if your car inst touching then tennis balls, good, if it is bad

obviously, this takes a bit of adjustment and only works with your car, being driven in the same way each time

A friend knows to stop when the tennis ball touches his screen

[mikeveal]

I use a far more high tech method than any of the above.
Drive the car in, roll it into the ideal position by hand, then mark the position of the drivers mirror on the wall.

[AndyJaaaag]

thanks all, I guess bolting a 4x2 to the floor on the "risky" nearside might help. Also this would allow me to know how much gardening equipment/various bits against the wall and still fit the car in.

I have the garage wrapped in carpet to protect when I get out. I normally stop a foot from the wall and then push it the last foot into a carpet/old ground matt on the wall.
I cannot protect the garage door pillar with carpet as this would be outside and prevent the door mechanism working.

Thinking about it, the scary part is aligning the NearSide pront bumper/light distance from the pillar before the car enters the garage.

I have finished the ring main and working on the lighting and the censor light sounds like a good idea.

[RizzoTheRat]

AndyJaaaag said:

thanks all, I guess bolting a 4x2 to the floor on the "risky" nearside might help.

Put one at the end as well so you keep rolling in until your tyres hit it.