My Airstream Won't Fit in the Garage!

[campadk]

I know our Bambi won't fit in our itty bitty single car garage.. but I have discovered the solution...

We're going to BUY A NEW HOUSE!

So my question is what is the height, overall width and overall length including tongue of a 19ft Bambi? (can't measure ours.. its in storage).
I'm thinking of a house with a double wide garage with extra height... or ability to maybe increase the entrance to accommodate.

My our Bambi is sooo spoiled!

[wahoonc]

Dave,
I am not sure about the new ones but the 70's vintage will clear a 10'-0" door with inches to spare. Overall length on a 19' Bambi should be pretty close to 19' I would get a 12' high by 40' long garage...then you can upgrade to a Classic

Aaron

[Silvertwinkie]

I would say 10' tall. I think Airstreams are about 9.5' tall, so 10' would be the min I'd have.

If you plan on ever upgrading to a wide body (25' or larger newer Airstream) I would say you'd want about a min of 9.5' in width.

If you stay with the 8' wide Bambi or non widebody, then I'd say 9 feet. That will give you 6" of clearance on each side.

Depth of the garage would depend mostly on what you might have in the future.

[smccollister]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I would say 10' tall. I think Airstreams are about 9.5' tall, so 10' would be the min I'd have.

Would 10' also include the A/C unit at the top? I have a 2004 Bambi 16ft CCD.

Thanks

[rickandsandi]

We actually have some houses near us that have RV garages in their houses. They have two standard garage doors and one RV door. Your AS is actually 19.5' from tongue to bumper, 96" wide and 9.5' tall. Of course you will need navigation room and walkaround.

Make sure that if you are north that it is heated and south, that it is A/C!

[Silvertwinkie]

[quote=smccollister]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I would say 10' tall. I think Airstreams are about 9.5' tall, so 10' would be the min I'd have.
quote]

Would 10' also include the A/C unit at the top? I have a 2004 Bambi 16ft CCD.

Thanks

Yes. Most of the newer Bambi line is between 9.4' and 9.5' per the Airstream website. The Classics are about 9' 7". So, 10' would cover it, but that would be the minimum height I'd suggest. If you could go 11', that would give you a wider margin for error if you replace an A/C unit that is taller or upgrade to a Classic someday and say you want to put on an accessory....if you plan on ever getting a sat dome, then you'd want much more than a 10' high opening regardless if you had any Airstream.

[campadk]

Great! Thanks all. I'm now ready to go measure a bunch of garages attached to houses for sale

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by smccollister

Would 10' also include the A/C unit at the top? I have a 2004 Bambi 16ft CCD.

Thanks

It does on mine...I think the normal road height on mine is 9'-7"...if all else fails load it down to compress the suspension and/or let some air out of the tires

Aaron

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by campadk

Great! Thanks all. I'm now ready to go measure a bunch of garages attached to houses for sale

Good luck...not a lot of houses have this as an option in the suburban parts around here, at least attached. Even the one's that I've seen in the rural areas are most mostly detached...I'm thinking that's the case because it's hard to incorporate a 30' deep part of the house and a 10' door into a house design....

[RUSSELL]

Hi dave,
If you are going to buy a new house with a garage that will hold your trailer, buy one that has at least 12 foot doors and is at least 50 feet deep. This way you can park your tow vehicle and trailer in the same place. My rv garage has 16 foot door, is 50 feet deep and 16 feet wide. This gives me enough room to park our AS and the jeep, but not enought room for the tow vehicle and trailer. For this I would need about 55 feet lenght.
Regards Russell from Tucson Az.

[Royce]

While you are looking, remember to get the pull through model. Doors at both ends.

[CanoeStream]

Hi Dave -- Airstream lists the length as 19' 2". Garage door widths usually come in even multiples down here in the "South" -- so 8' or 10' wide. I have the widebody and there is a 10' wide door at our storage garage. Sweet! I've backed the 7'10" wide Argosy into a garage with a couple inches clearance on each side and can virtually guarantee you'd want at minimum a 9' wide door. I won't even begin to suggest that you'd ever move away from your 8' wide 75th Anniversary ultra-Bambi!

[clancy_boy]

Originally Posted by smccollister

Would 10' also include the A/C unit at the top? I have a 2004 Bambi 16ft CCD.

Thanks

Remember - the 10 foot in high door is probably only good if there is little or no slope to the driveway - that 4-5 inches of comfort goes away with the trailer going in at an angle, up slope is bad. Good advice is to let some air out - just remember to inflate once in and then LET THE AIR OUT to pull out.

Wish I had built my garage after I bought my AS instead of before. Oh well, I need another building.

[flyfshr]

That's funny Dave, we came to the same conclusion. Now we're looking for a new house for us and later on for building a two bay RV shop/garage.

Brad
FF

[campadk]

Well I'm not worried about 'upgrading' our Bambi later. Lots of good points.. er... pointed out here.

Storage in the garage when we move is one goal... maybe we'll realize it... maybe not. At least a car port for it would be a backup plan. We're looking at a semi-rural location with .5 acres or a bit bigger, so we might get lucky.

We actually got our boat in the garage last winter with 1 inch extra in length to spare, and about 1 inch on both sides going in... man that was a challenge!

Not sure if those double single car garages can be modified to a single wide door which would be a great solution if the house is configured that way. Also some garages are very high, yet the doors are only the standard 8ft heights or so. Some might be able to be modified?

[wahoonc]

Dave,
On modifying a double car garage door to a single large door...it depends if the door is on a gable end it is a definite maybe. If it is on an eave side it can be done but typically will require more structural work. It is more complicated than that but something to take into consideration. Best bet would be to have a dedicated shelter/barn built for it. FWIW I have a 40x80 shelter....and the Airstreams still sit out in the weather We are looking at building another 40x60 building...

Aaron

[Thealt]

I think I have every man's fantasy.
2 car standard wide 1.5 deep car garage for the cars. 50' pull through garage long enough to hold the TV and the TT with room to spare. Big 12' wide doors, or at least a 12 in back and a 10' in front to match the width of the car doors. Only the height will be different.
I would find the house that suits you as this is where you live. Then build the garage that you want. Finding the exact thing really limits your choices. Much easier to build. Watch out for the zoning laws and neighborhood associations.
Did I mention putting a shop in the space leftover in front of the cars? Ooo la la.

Alt

[flyfshr]

How about a picture or two of this dream shop, so I can get some ideas? We're looking for a house with plenty of space for this type of set up. Not so sure about the pull through though.

Brad
FF

[Fyrzowt]

Originally Posted by RUSSELL

Hi dave,
If you are going to buy a new house with a garage that will hold your trailer, buy one that has at least 12 foot doors and is at least 50 feet deep. This way you can park your tow vehicle and trailer in the same place. My rv garage has 16 foot door, is 50 feet deep and 16 feet wide. This gives me enough room to park our AS and the jeep, but not enought room for the tow vehicle and trailer. For this I would need about 55 feet lenght.
Regards Russell from Tucson Az.

Well, shoot - you might as well put in a built-in automatic heated car wash with blow dry, etc, etc...

[Thealt]

You know.. after reading that.. I have to correct myself.. I meant i have the fantasy, not the shop , but I've done plans for the shop in the past.
If I find the plans, will post.
Alt