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Garage is TOO small. Concerned about hitting right side
My 991 C2S is 4-inches wider than the 993 Targa that preceeded it in our too small garage. And, as I age, I'm having trouble getting into the garage without hitting the door frame or the shelving rack on the right while leaving enough room to enter/exit the driver's side. The RF Parking Sensor is of minimal help until all the way in. And, with poor depth perception thanks to a right-eye problem, I need something to help guide the car in safely without hitting the door frame or shelving with RF fender or mirror.
Anyone have any ideas on what to install to help? Mirrors perhaps?
I use the hanging tennis ball for guidance. I position a tennis ball hanging by a string right at the center of me when I park the car into the garage. Not only it gives me the right and left positioning, but I also stop when it touches the windshield signaling to me to stop before hitting some obstacle in the front which I cannot see due to the low overhang of the 997.
If you want to spend $$ on a cool solution, some modern garage door openers come with a red laser dot accessory that turns on when you open the door and stays on for a while. Just aim it for somewhere you can consistently put it all the time, like the light sensor (I think that's what it is) dead center on the dash between the center speaker and windshield.
Being a firefighter, I learned long ago that backing into the garage is greatly improved by a simple paint or tape line on the driver's side floor. Just look out through the driver's side mirror and put the outside of the driver's side wheels on the line.
My house has this funky double garage with the two halves offset lengthwise, so two garage doors with the second 10' further down than the first, resulting in a similar situation anyway.
We drive into the worst side garage centered between the door posts then turn to the right a little so it parks diagonally. It does give a noticeable extra bit of door opening. Clear away anything in that front right area of the garage and the parking sensors do a conservative job of keeping you off the wall too.
I cleaned out my garage and moved everything off the walls. If you can't do that, another thing I did which helps is installed red laser indicators mounted on the ceiling. They point down to a particular place in the middle of the dash when I park perfectly... so I just line it up and go until it hits the part of the dash. My Macan S only has a few inches clearance in the back, so I need to make sure I pull in to exactly the right spot.
Being a firefighter, I learned long ago that backing into the garage is greatly improved by a simple paint or tape line on the driver's side floor. Just look out through the driver's side mirror and put the outside of the driver's side wheels on the line.
Another solution is to put in square flooring tiles and use the seam of the tiles as guide similar to the paint or tape line.
I have an 87 year-old 2-car garage which is smaller than yours and it works just fine. Both of my Porsches are nested in it. I would just move all that crap out of your garage and store it somewhere else. Buy a cheap shed if you don't have room in the house.
Last edited by subshooter; 04-09-2018 at 09:23 PM.
It's my philosophy that the garage is primarily for my cars. I set up the garage for them first and foremost, then allow other things in there if they are frequently used in and around the garage and can be stowed safely away from the cars. Everything else either got tossed or has to find another place around the house to live, or other stuff in the house gets tossed to make room for more necessary stuff.
To be honest it helped a lot that as a father-son project, we built a really nice tucked-away shed that gave us a lot more of space in the house and the garage. It didn't really cost all that much given the convenience of it. I'm not saying this is your case, but I'm still amazed at the number of people that fill their garages with so much stuff they have to park their cars, likely their most valuable asset besides the house itself, out in the sun, cold, heat, and elements.
great tips to prevent a hit. I have seen people use pool noodles cut in halve and attached to whatever they fear they would hit. That way, there will be no damage in case you misjudge the lines or distance.
Great options here. First get rid of the stuff on the sides. You are already fighting a tight situation so eliminate some of the obstacles.
2nd I like and have used the tennis ball/string option. Works great. In your case you could lay 1 in front to center or run 2 down the passenger side so you know your limit at that side.
I had laser dots in our previous garage which was an over-size 3-car that in a pinch fit both of my race cars, wife's Benz & my X5 tow vehicle. The dots, like a ball helped with front/back positioning. But, the builder of this new house assumed everyone drives mini-cars. And, since we bought a house under construction, we couldn't make ANY changes. Garage interior is only 20 x 20 with floor-mounted water heater. And, I need the work-bench and storage. The metal shelving has no other place to go in the garage as there is a bump-in section closer to the door and the hurricane panels and garbage pail fill the wider section right by the door.(see pano image attached) Front/back room is not an issue. Tape or paint on the floor is a no-go as I would still have to judge distance as I approach the door. I think I'm going to try one of those full-length door mirrors hanging from the ceiling.
The HOA doesn't allow sheds, so the only storage is garage or attic over the garage. Already too much stuff up there. And, the Alfa Romeo engine that takes up 1.5 shelves will hopefully be gone soon. It is for sale if anyone is interested. PM for more info & pics.
Had a thought while typing this. TWO ***** aligned so that like "range marks" in marine navigation, (See attached) I could align them to enter the garage in a safe left/right alignment. Although they could easily be blow around by the near constant wind down here. So, maybe boards or aluminum strips. Only drawback might be the damn beige dashboard reflection thanks to the idiot designers in Germany.
Sounds like a project. Thank you guys for the inspiration. Photos of installation to come.
Nice idea, and here's another: This is a garage range sensing device that you could set up to report your range to the side as opposed to its intended use of range to the nose. Put the sensor aligned with the outer edge of the shelves at the point nearest the body, set it for the 6" minimum distance it works at, and don't let the light turn red!
If you decide that one's reviews on Amazon are a little too low, there may be other such sensors. Here's another option using blocked IR light sort of like the garage door closing sensor:
04-09-2018, 06:18 PM
Garage is TOO small. Concerned about hitting right side
