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Old 07-30-2017, 09:58 PM   #1
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2017 25' Flying Cloud
Fort Mohave , Arizona
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Minimum garage door opening

Good evening. I hope someone can assist me. After a year on the road, I am going to settle for the winter in Arizona. My wife and I have found a great house that has an RV garage as part of the house. The door opening is 11 feet wide and 9 feet 11 inches high.

I understand from Airstream that my Flying Cloud 25FB is 9 feet 9 inches to the top of the A/C unit. Two inches seems to be cutting it very close. There is more than enough height once inside the garage. I also understand that trying to enlarge the opening could cause engineering problems with the stability of the header unless additional support is provided by an engineered steel beam.

My wife really likes this house.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

Greg
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Old 07-30-2017, 10:12 PM   #2
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Hi

If this is a conventional garage with a garage door, the edge of the door is what limits your access. Often you can get the door up further than the springs get it. Adding another three inches that way is very doable. Pushing it up with a pole is one way to do it. There are others.

If it's a "shelter" with no door, it probably has trim on it. You might get an inch or two fiddling trim.

As long as the trailer goes in level, a couple of inches clearance is adequate. The radio antenna will bend as it goes under the lip. Go slow and watch what is going on. If somebody needs to be up on a ladder, find one that's tall enough and put it in a safe location.

If you like to take risks, you might unload the trailer and take the tires down to minimum pressure for the resulting load. I doubt you get more than a half inch that way. If it was me, I'd not mess with that.

Lots of variables ....

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Old 07-30-2017, 10:13 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gypsydoc81 View Post
The door opening is 11 feet wide and 9 feet 11 inches high.

I understand from Airstream that my Flying Cloud 25FB is 9 feet 9 inches to the top of the A/C unit. Two inches seems to be cutting it very close.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
First, make sure that when the door is open (rolling door, I presume) it fully retracts upward. If the door hangs down even a little bit, there goes your clearance.

Second, make sure the garage floor is level with the driveway. If the garage floor slopes toward the door for drainage, or the driveway slopes upward or downward, you may not have clearance, because that 9'9" measurement is with the trailer exactly level.

Third, measure the height of the trailer to make sure it's really 9'9" tall. Don't take Airstream's word for it, because all that number is an average for hundreds of trailers of that model as they roll out of the factory. There may be small differences from one trailer to the next. And that's not counting any changes you've made, such as tires…

The good news is, your trailer might be shorter than 9'9". Especially if it has full tanks and is loaded up for a trip, because extra weight causes the trailer to sit lower on its suspension. Airstream's height value is based on the trailer at curb weight, before you've loaded anything into it.

That said, if you do buy the house, the first time you back into the garage, have someone standing alongside the door opening, on a ladder, so they can see the top of your rooftop a/c. And back in slowly enough that you can stop before you damage anything if it becomes apparent that it won't fit. If you don't stop quickly enough, you can temporarily gain extra clearance to get unstuck by deflating the trailer tires, but that will damage the tire sidewalls to roll on deflated tirees. But better to damage the tires than the garage if you get stuck…
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Old 07-30-2017, 11:01 PM   #4
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This is a bit extreme, but doable if necessary. You can have the concrete floor and drive surface near the door ground down a 1/2 inch if you need the clearance. If you need more clearance, the concrete can be cut and a new surface pinned to the slab.

You could change out the tires to a smaller diameter size when you store the coach.

The air conditioner cover can be removed to get you some clearance.

There are vent fan systems that can be purchased which are low profile.

A new beam is not a horrible cost. Alternatively a series of microlams could be laminated to the existing beam after it is modified for clearance. Simpson makes connector screws that would make short work of it.

Good luck with the choice. Pat
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Old 07-30-2017, 11:18 PM   #5
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Or you could take the wheels off and slide the trailer in on a sled you have made for the purpose. Like a big mechanic's dolly. Then you could push the trailer sideways anywhere you want it in the garage.
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Old 07-31-2017, 06:48 AM   #6
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We have an '01 classic 30' Airstream. I have never measured its height. Our former older AS also a 30'er measured 10.5' to the top of the AC. When in doubt, measure it. Don't take anybody's estimates. It's not their trailer to repair.
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Old 07-31-2017, 10:21 AM   #7
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Hi

Many years ago, getting a trailer in the garage involved modifying the garage. I learned some new words in the process, but we got the job done. In our case no added beam was involved. There was some cutting and the garage door tracks got moved.

Bob
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Old 07-31-2017, 12:09 PM   #8
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We have a 25FB 2017. We have a 10' x 10' door on our RV garage. The height of the door when open measures 9'11". We changed out our tires two Michelin's that added about 1 inch to the height of the trailer. Our trailer fits in our garage with a little over 1 inch to spare.
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Old 07-31-2017, 12:41 PM   #9
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Any chance of them letting you try to back your AS into that garage before making your offer? Or, making an offer contingent on your trailer fitting?
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Old 07-31-2017, 01:42 PM   #10
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I was faced with the same issue with my last trailer, not an Airstream. I considered having 4, 1/4 inch thick steel disks made with holes cut for lug nuts, then replacing the wheels with these disks to back into the barn and store for the winter. They would need to be slightly larger diameter than the brake drums. It would be a pain but if you find you need to lower a few inches and only for long term storage - where you only switch the wheels twice a year - it might be worth it.

In the end, even that drop was not enough for me so I stored outside.
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Old 07-31-2017, 03:49 PM   #11
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I think you can make it, but the real issue is, if you can find a house with an RV garage that the wife likes, it will all work out. Pat

Here is a link to check out microllams.

https://www.thespruce.com/microlam-o...lumber-1822676

This is how Microllams look. Ignore the angle on top. That was cut to match a rafter pitch.
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Old 07-31-2017, 06:20 PM   #12
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I have an inch to spare (an inch is as good as a mile) The opening is 9'1" so I cut a slot wide enough by 8" deep for the AC to clear out of a 28" header. I have to uncouple the door lift to pull the door flat where I have 10' clearance. I made a lip out of aluminum angle to slide in the front and bottom facia boards to cover the slot. This was for my 25' Serenity so it will be interesting to see if the 30' Cassic will clear. I really don't want to take any more meat out of the header.
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:17 PM   #13
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Do you have any photos of the header modification from the inside and/or outside of your garage? What a good idea!
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:52 PM   #14
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Garage Door Height Issue

Couple of ideas for consideration. Make a test park in the garage as a condition of sale. Another idea is let enough air out of the tires to lower the trailer 1" to 2" for the limited number of feet it takes to get it into the garage. Then buy an air compressor to re-inflate the tires. An air compressor is a good tool for any Airstreamer.
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Old 07-31-2017, 09:40 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S.Duckling View Post
Do you have any photos of the header modification from the inside and/or outside of your garage? What a good idea!
Thanks. No photos of the slot besides what I posted. We return home next week and I will take some and post.
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Old 08-01-2017, 07:26 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NWRVR View Post
I have an inch to spare (an inch is as good as a mile) The opening is 9'1" so I cut a slot wide enough by 8" deep for the AC to clear out of a 28" header. I have to uncouple the door lift to pull the door flat where I have 10' clearance. I made a lip out of aluminum angle to slide in the front and bottom facia boards to cover the slot. This was for my 25' Serenity so it will be interesting to see if the 30' Cassic will clear. I really don't want to take any more meat out of the header.
So your total height is 9'8"? (9'1" + 8"=9'9" - 1" to spare =9"8") is what I come up with. I am hoping to fit my future Airstream in my garage with a 10 foot door. It opens to about 9'9" but I haven't tried uncoupling it yet, I suspect that will give me the full 10' that the opening measures.
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Old 08-01-2017, 09:27 PM   #17
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We have 3/4 inch clearance and we back in fine! We widened the door by 6 inches on each side and back in in less than five minutes and that includes unhitching! Go for it! It is so nice to have the Airstream at home to load and unload and with a heated garage, we don't have to winterize. We popped the back of our second and third garage slots by eight feet to accommodate the 27fb and a big closet to store camping gear. We are soooo happy!
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:05 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ITSNO60 View Post
So your total height is 9'8"? (9'1" + 8"=9'9" - 1" to spare =9"8") is what I come up with. I am hoping to fit my future Airstream in my garage with a 10 foot door. It opens to about 9'9" but I haven't tried uncoupling it yet, I suspect that will give me the full 10' that the opening measures.
Correct. My Serenity measured 9'8"' the garage door lip hung below that but with it disconnected from the opener and pulled back with a ratchet tie-down strap I can get 10' with the door flat. I hang water filled milk jugs from bungees on the cables to keep tension on them so they don't com off the spool. Learned this the hard way. I haven't measured the Classic yet.
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Old 08-03-2017, 03:53 PM   #19
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Ultimately you'll just need to measure your trailer and then test it.

As other's have said, make sure the trailer tows very level. Also a big slope up to the garage door will cause the tail to stick up, but your door may have clearance inside for that. A slope down to the door will cause the front of the trailer to be high, doors are less forgiving of that situation.
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Old 10-03-2017, 11:40 PM   #20
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Header Slot

Here are the long overdue pics for the slot I cut out of the header to clear the AC’s I promised.
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