Building a garage opening for storage

[Ruthe]

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.

 

[Cypherian]

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

 

[soultrek]

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.

 

[ruscal]

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

 

[abby-ESC]

Three inches is as good as three feet -- if you bear in mind Cypher's point regarding a flat lead-in.

 

[dave macrae]

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.

 

[JaneM.]

I'm envious of all of you where covered storage at your home is an option!

 

[dbailey]

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.

 

[Cozy Rosie]

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

 

[lefttee]

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.

 

[dbailey]

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.

 

[lefttee]

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.

 

[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?

 

[Jubal]

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?

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.

 

[cpaharley2008]

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.

 

[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.

 

[rbryan4]

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.

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.

 

[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.

 

[rbryan4]

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.

Wow, nice home for your trailer Tom.

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[Kountrykamper]

Wow, nice home for your trailer Tom.

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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.