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03-04-2014, 11:25 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Highland Park, New Jersey
Trailer: Escape 19 February 2014
Posts: 975
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Building a garage opening for storage
So there's another thread going on about storing a 5.0 TA -- i wasn't sure whether to start a new one or tag along there, but didn't want to co-opt that one. Anyway, my carpenter came to look at our garage and he said that they probably could raise the opening to be 9'2". The 19 is 8'6". The Dometic Air Conditioner adds another 4" and the Polar Cub, which we have ordered adds another 1" to that. This means that the total height of our trailer would be 8'11" and we'd only have 3" clearance. The architect who came with the carpenter said he'd done something similar for other folks who actually let some air out of their tires to give some more clearance. The question is whether this sounds crazy to you all.
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03-04-2014, 11:52 AM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 579
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Nope not crazy I have done it before to get trucks in a garage etc. Lower the pressure ease it in so no bouncing then refill tires just hang a sign on the hitch " LOWER TIRE PRESSURE BEFORE MOVING" some thing to consider though check clearance under the door opener if you have one. Moreover, the driveway leading up to the opening should be FLAT. If there is an incline ( Rear of The Trailer Will Go Higher) or decline (The Front Will Go Higher) it might raise the trailer height where is my geometry book ..... LOL
Btw the tire trick works to clear bridges when you only need an inch or two , lol don't ask it was late at night in the snow in NY....
Cypher
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03-04-2014, 11:54 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: New Meadows, Idaho
Trailer: 2008 Escape 17B
Posts: 206
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The question is whether this sounds crazy to you all.[/QUOTE]
Our 2008 17B clears the 7'11" standard door top by less than your 3" (probably 1 to 2) with the max fan removed. That has been plenty and the tires remain full.
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03-04-2014, 12:35 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Carlsbad, California, California
Trailer: 2003 Scamp 16' SOLD , 2008 Airstream 19'
Posts: 107
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Trailer limbo! Letting air out of 4 tires sounds like too much work each time you go. I would ask the architect how hard it would be to use a steel header beam in lieu of wood. Typically the steel beam can be lower in height for the same span.
Also talk to the garage door installer to see how much you could expect the door to encroach into the opening, and what your options are.
For measuring your trailer you could go to an industrial building with a roll up door and park your trailer in the opening. Then lower the door until it clears the airco by the amount you want and measure the door height. Trailer should be un-loaded, tanks empty and full tires. (worst case)
Russ
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03-04-2014, 12:57 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Northern, Maryland
Trailer: 2014 E21
Posts: 273
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Three inches is as good as three feet -- if you bear in mind Cypher's point regarding a flat lead-in.
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Vella, Glenn, and Abigail
Escape 21
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03-04-2014, 02:21 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: St.Albert, Alberta
Trailer: 21 ft November 17th
Posts: 847
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Yes the angle of the driveway going into the garage plays a big role in all this. My driveway is a far from flat and I have to be very careful bringing my Yukon into the garge with the Yakima bike racks on the roof rack with a 7Ft door. If the driveway were flat there would be lots of room.
__________________
MacRae, 21ft
2016 GMC Yukon SLT
St.Albert Alberta
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03-04-2014, 07:19 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Morro Bay, California
Trailer: 2016 Escape 21
Posts: 330
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I'm envious of all of you where covered storage at your home is an option!
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03-04-2014, 07:49 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 743
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I've got an appointment with a general contractor to talk about building a carport for the trailer. Decided that was necessary when I decided I had to shovel the trailer off earlier this winter. And managed to break one of the vent caps in the process...
I also have the option of modifying the garage to take the trailer, but I'll still want the carport to keep winter off the truck, so that's not an option I'll take unless I have to.
__________________
Doug
2013 Escape 19 ("The Dog House") , 2018 Ford F150
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05-12-2014, 07:52 PM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Randolph Center, Vermont
Trailer: 2016 Escape 19 "Sunny" , tow - Highlander XLE
Posts: 33
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We store our 15 in the garage each winter here in Vermont. We lower our trailer by removing the wheels and replacing them with a set of rims I bought for $50. This reduces the height by 6" and the trailer fits with a few inches to spare.
Dan and Anne
Cozy Rosie 15A
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05-12-2014, 10:24 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
Trailer: 2013 19' Escape
Posts: 147
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Ruthe...we raised our standard garage door as much as possible...so it's at 9' 6" +/- 1 inch. Our 19 with Dometic AC fits very nicely with maybe 3-4" to spare. Looking at the TA and Kim today tells me it's at 9' 7" (to fit a truck with 53" sidewalls). The idea of using bare rims sounds like a lot of work for 2 crummy inches. Someone please talk me out of selling my 19. BTW, the biggest expense in modifying our door was the new garage door ($600). Framing was about $300 and replacing the vinyl siding was $100. Curious what your bid is.
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05-13-2014, 07:48 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Trailer: 2013 Escape 19
Posts: 743
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Lefttee, was it my quote you were asking about? The two firms I talked to both left me hanging -- took the information but then never got back to me. So the job is on hold until things get a little quieter in the summer.
__________________
Doug
2013 Escape 19 ("The Dog House") , 2018 Ford F150
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05-13-2014, 08:05 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
Trailer: 2013 19' Escape
Posts: 147
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Good morning, Doug. Ruthe started the thread and I was just curious what kind of numbers she had been given. I was surprised that my job came in where it did. I thought the framing would be much more expensive. Wish I could have bought another 6" but we top of the door is barely below the roof line. I just hated to leave the trailer outside during the winter. Sounds like your contractors really wanted the job.
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09-04-2016, 10:14 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Highland Park, New Jersey
Trailer: Escape 19 February 2014
Posts: 975
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We just bought some property that has a garage that we thought would fit the Escape. However, now that we're measuring it seems some modifications are necessary. So it says on the website that the Escape is 8'6" tall. I'm assuming that means without the air conditioner, which would add another 5 inches (we have the polar cub).
Is that correct?
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09-04-2016, 10:58 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: N/A, Indiana
Trailer: Escape
Posts: 976
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruthe
We just bought some property that has a garage that we thought would fit the Escape. However, now that we're measuring it seems some modifications are necessary. So it says on the website that the Escape is 8'6" tall. I'm assuming that means without the air conditioner, which would add another 5 inches (we have the polar cub).
Is that correct?
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The only sure way of knowing your trailer height is to measure it unloaded, especially before the expense of modifying the height of the garage door opening.
__________________
"Never argue with an idiot. They only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." George Carlin
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09-04-2016, 11:03 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Central, Pennsylvania
Trailer: Escape#5 2022 E19
Posts: 26,268
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and this measurement needs to be perfectly level and your entrance needs to be level, otherwise if entering or leaving on an incline will impact the opening. IIWM I'd go with 9'6"-10' high and do not forget the width issue.
__________________
Jim
Sometime life gets in the way of living.......
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09-04-2016, 11:57 AM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Whidbey Island, Washington
Trailer: 2020 Escape 17B "Voyager"
Posts: 2,700
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Another factor to consider is what happens to the door when it goes up. Here my garage door ends up higher than the door opening, as does the mechanism to pull it up. But in Fresno my door mechanism sat down lower than the door opening.
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09-04-2016, 12:00 PM
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#17
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobbie54
Another factor to consider is what happens to the door when it goes up. Here my garage door ends up higher than the door opening, as does the mechanism to pull it up. But in Fresno my door mechanism sat down lower than the door opening.
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Yep, where the motor is mounted is important. We looked at a house the other day (we are thinking about moving so we can store our trailer on our property) and it had a 3rd garage door which would fit the trailer perfectly. Unfortunately, I'd need to completely redo the garage door opener and the mount for it because of a similar issue to what you describe.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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09-04-2016, 12:16 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Middle, Tennessee
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19' #2
Posts: 1,441
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This is a 10H X 12W door. You can do a 10 X 10 but the 12W makes it much easier backing in. I would not want any smaller than 10W unless you have a straight backup which I don't. Mine is a tight 90 degrees.
__________________
Tom
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09-04-2016, 12:17 PM
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#19
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kountrykamper
This is a 10H X 12W door. You can do a 10 X 10 but the 12W makes it much easier backing in. I would not want any smaller than 10W unless you have a straight backup which I don't. Mine is a tight 90 degrees.
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Wow, nice home for your trailer Tom.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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09-04-2016, 12:22 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Middle, Tennessee
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19' #2
Posts: 1,441
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rbryan4
Wow, nice home for your trailer Tom.
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
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Yeah it's all I get to claim in to our house. I gave her the rest with the understanding that I get that stall in the garage but with wifi it's all I need.
__________________
Tom
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