October 26, 2018

How to Choose the Right Size Garage Door for an RV or SUV

Garage door size

In most situations, a garage door stands at a familiar height, somewhere around 8.5 feet wide and 7.5 feet tall. Double doors, naturally, have dimensions that are about twice this. Things change, however, when we are talking about an SUV or an RV. Finding the proper fit for an SUV isn’t too difficult because they all tend to be within the same size range. However, RVs, which can have drastic variations in height, are more of a challenge. Either way, if an RV or SUV may be in your future, and you are in a position to either remodel or build a garage from scratch, there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

We are going to look at the proper way to size your garage door, particularly if you may have an SUV or RV or may get one in the future or if you are building a new garage whether attached or detached.

How to Fit an SUV

For an SUV, a good height for your garage door is going to be around 8 feet. Let’s examine why. An SUV is going to be less than 6’3” high. And even though a door that’s 7’ high would seem like a logical option, you have to take into consideration the height of luggage racks, ski racks, a surfboard, etc. Also, because SUVs invariably will have young ones hopping in and out, it is important to keep in mind how wide the doors will swing if someone decides to get out before the vehicle is completely inside the garage.

For this reason, even if you keep your current garage opening the same size, you may want to consider rearranging how things are organized inside the garage. No one wants an expensive ding to ruin the end of a nice day out with the family. And many people include storage space along the ceiling of the garage. This may have to be removed or adjusted if you are getting an SUV.

How About an RV

In order to fit an RV, the following familiar concept will be helpful: Better safe than sorry. Not only are they much taller than traditional vehicles, they can include air conditioning units and other things that must be perched on top of the vehicle. The height gets tall fairly quickly. Covered bridges and drive-thrus are fairly good gauges of the minimum height requirement, so these can give us a pretty good idea as well. Hence, you are going to want to have the garage door be around 12 feet high.

If you are going to try to fit a trailer in your garage as well, the length of that will have to be considered, too. This will all depend on the length of your trailer, but the garage could extend as long as 40 feet as a result.

What’s the best way to measure a garage door?

Measuring a garage is a relatively straightforward process. However, you want to keep in mind the things inside the garage that are definitely not going to be moved when you get your new vehicle. So, extend the measuring tape from the floor up to the first thing that will definitely be a part of the ceiling structure. Then do the same thing for the walls, keeping in mind, again, the width of open doors. If you have to pay a visit to your SUV or RV dealer to measure how wide the doors swing when opened, it’s certainly worth the trip.

Also, if you do repairs and servicing yourself at home, you want to take into consideration how high the vehicle will be when it is elevated on a ramp or a set of jacks.

Garage door measured

Want some more info?

Contact us when a new garage or SUV or RV is in the works. We have an extensive body of knowledge, and we’re ready to put it to work for you. At the same time, we understand the value of keeping things within budgetary restrictions, and we patiently work with our clients to make sure costs stay within range. We can also give you a quotation by email.

If you’d like, swing by and check out our showroom. Or you can use our Design Centre to figure out which design will be best for you and your family. Our image gallery is filled with ideas, so feel free to check it out and get some inspiration.

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