OT driveway alerts

[cb]

need some reccomendations..i have a enclosed garage.. because of my wife's health issues. i need to back into the garage, rather than go in front ways..i have a scooter carrier that is mounted to back of truck..without carrier,i have plenty of room, but otherwise i only have about 1-3 feet, before i hit the back wall. will one of those pressure hose alerts give me warning when i reach proper distance.. thanks for your help

 

[wsmm]

Why not try a concrete bump stop like they use in parking lots? In my garage, even though I pull in this should work if you back in, I have a pole set on a metal base. I can usually tell how close I am just looking over the hood. If I go to far the pole starts to tilt. I then stop and back up until the pole is vertical again. This probably would also work for you backing in.

 

[JDseller]

I would just get one of those rubber speed bumps. I put one in My Grand Mother's garage years ago so she knew how far to pull the car into the garage to miss the door.

 

[Mike Groom]

Yes,one of the driveway type pressure hose alerts will work great! They have a lowd ding when compressed,the only disadvatage is you have to tape them to the floor in a secure position.

 

[Mark - IN.]

Why not mark the wall with a dot or something? Its much cheaper. Get your vehicle parked where you want it and eyeball out your window where you are sitting when you stop. Then simply put a mark on the wall, like a small red dot sticker. That way whenever you line yourself up to back in, backup until your eyeballs are even with the mark, dot on the wall and stop, put i in park, shut it off. When I'm backing stuff into my barns and can't see clearly, I get out or down, go back and look at how much room I have left, 5' or 6' or 2', whatever, then climb back in or on, and set my sights to a spot equaling that distance, finish backing up that same distance, stop, shut 'er down. In your case, its always the same vehicle, so will always be the same spot. Mark the wall with a small mark, or dot, when the eyeballs out the window and dot line up, shut 'er down. Very inexpensive and very effective.

Good luck.

Mark

 

[tomtirediron]

I have a short stall here in winter when snowplow is on the pickup. Hung a small piece of fabric from a string that bumps windshield when pulling in. Gets me exactly where needed to close the overhead door behind the truck. Seen some suspend tennis ball in the same way.

 

[rustyfarmall]

Hang a tennis ball from the rafters and position it so the ball just touches the rear window when you are at the limit.

 

[Jake 2]

Piece of 2X6 about 10' long. Park vehicle where you want it, apply some silicone caulk to one flat side and set it up against rear wheel....sticky side down, of course. When ya feel the wood...STOP.

 

[cb]

many thanks for all the suggestions. i will start experimenting with these suggestions, and see which ones works best for me.. they are all certainly cheap enough to use.. have a nice holiday

 

[Dick2]

I just parked the vehicles where they should be in the garage and measured the distance to the raised walkway along the back wall of the garage.

I made 2X4 on-edge frames of the appropriate width and laid it on the floor loose so it can be moved when necessary. One is 8" wide, the other is 19" wide; both are about 18-20" longer than the tire tread width of the vehicle. When the tires contact the 2X4 frame, just shift into park. Very consistent with no guesswork.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I use pop bottles(plastic of course). Drill a hole in the cap,tie string thru the cap, screw thye bottle on and nail it or push-pin it to the ceiling. Same as a tennis ball only CHEAPER. gobble

 

[PJH]

Reminds me - a guy I worked with had a nice '64 Chevy. Came home one day and wife had a big stack of empty cardboard boxes against the end wall. Tennis ball didn't quite touch the windshield, so he gently compressed the boxes a little bit. When he walked inside he noticed an imperfection on the living room wall. Upon investigation, he discovered that a carpenters square had been lying on top of one of the boxes in the stack. It didn't compress well and he'd shoved it through the wall.

 

[sflem849]

(quoted from post at 08:42:06 07/04/12) Piece of 2X6 about 10' long. Park vehicle where you want it, apply some silicone caulk to one flat side and set it up against rear wheel....sticky side down, of course. When ya feel the wood...STOP.

(quoted from post at 08:33:01 07/04/12)
Hang a tennis ball from the rafters and position it so the ball just touches the rear window when you are at the limit.

Times two to for both of those. Not to mention they are pretty much free. I use a brick for my pickup and rarely miss it when backing in.

 

[cb]

thanks again for all the replies.certainly a lot of imagination out in tractor land. i'll be busy trying out all the ways to stop a truck.. my wife and hope u had good 4th