Parking Assist for Renters in Short Garage

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Old 04-07-2017, 02:46 PM
atlnat atlnat is offline
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Default Parking Assist for Renters in Short Garage

We have a lovely house in The Villages that we rent out. Unfortunately, it has a short garage. I want to do something along the lines of hanging a tennis ball from the ceiling to bump up against the windshield as an indication to the renters that it's time to STOP before they hit the wall. The problem is, different people come in with different models of cars, so a tennis ball placed to stop a Honda would allow a Mercury Grand Marquis to make a delivery directly into the laundry room. My thought is to still hang a tennis ball, but rather than having it hit the windshield, have it hit against the front end of the car instead, because then the model of the car wouldn't matter, right? For the driver to know they've hit the ball with their front end though, it seems like I'd need to have some sort of flag or something eye level on the string for the driver to see. Has anyone seen such a gizmo that works like this?
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Old 04-07-2017, 03:02 PM
FromAus FromAus is offline
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I just looked on Amazon and there are at least a hundred options with the cost ranging from $10 to $50. Look for garage stop sensor.
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Old 04-07-2017, 03:07 PM
UpNorth UpNorth is offline
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Get a simple driveway marker and a block of wood, about 12 inches long. Drill a hole in the block of wood and insert the driveway marker. You can position this anywhere in the garage and move it as needed. When the driver sees the front bumper hitting the driveway marker, it will tip, and let them know that they've gone far enough. You can easily move it to fit any length of car. Works great.
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Old 04-07-2017, 03:33 PM
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I recently installed a Striker parking sensor.

Purchased from Home Depot about $25. It does the job perfectly.

The Striker Garage Parking Sensor
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Old 04-07-2017, 04:23 PM
atlnat atlnat is offline
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The Striker Parking Sensor looks to be exactly what I need and goodness knows I'm at Home Depot often enough that I can pick one up soon. Thank you for pointing me in this direction
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Old 04-08-2017, 11:03 AM
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A bicycle flag in a flower pot filled with sand or rocks is an economical fix.
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Old 04-08-2017, 12:44 PM
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a piece of masking tape on the floor of the garage alongside the front door seam==open the door as your pulling in until you are alongside the tape--a no brainer
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Old 04-08-2017, 02:18 PM
Bogie Shooter Bogie Shooter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatbrat View Post
a piece of masking tape on the floor of the garage alongside the front door seam==open the door as your pulling in until you are alongside the tape--a no brainer
Car door open looking for tape, foot on accelerator, foot slips, car runs into wall........no brainer.
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Old 04-08-2017, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter View Post
Car door open looking for tape, foot on accelerator, foot slips, car runs into wall........no brainer.
Speaking of a "no-brainer."

If your "foot slips" while driving in the garage, nothing short of steel/concrete bollards...will make a difference in hitting the wall.
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Old 04-08-2017, 04:25 PM
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Bring the car to a stop, then idle fwd, and stop==my God I've been doing this for 40+ years & have never hit any thing in the garage & my wife's new car will brake before anything she can hit anything

Guess , we're not that brain dead yet==how do you parallel park without hitting anything behind you ?
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Old 04-08-2017, 04:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chatbrat View Post
Bring the car to a stop, then idle fwd, and stop==my God I've been doing this for 40+ years & have never hit any thing in the garage & my wife's new car will brake before anything she can hit anything

Guess , we're not that brain dead yet==how do you parallel park without hitting anything behind you ?
I believe you may be missing the point. OP rents the house out. He/she has no way of knowing who will be using common sense upon entering the garage and who will not. He's trying to take measures to insure a safe landing by all. It'll be good for the wall.
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Old 04-08-2017, 06:52 PM
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Good idea as we had a renter go through the wall in our Wisteria. Lucky it was on the other side of the garage away from the mechanicals.


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Old 04-08-2017, 07:12 PM
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I believe you may be missing the point. OP rents the house out. He/she has no way of knowing who will be using common sense upon entering the garage and who will not. He's trying to take measures to insure a safe landing by all. It'll be good for the wall.
Exactly.
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Old 04-08-2017, 07:23 PM
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Have 3 steel bollards installed 3 feet apart and 6" from the back wall of your garage. If your renters are stupid they wreck their car and no damage to your house. Installation cost about $600 by way of a handy man.
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Old 04-08-2017, 10:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by atlnat View Post
We have a lovely house in The Villages that we rent out. Unfortunately, it has a short garage. I want to do something along the lines of hanging a tennis ball from the ceiling to bump up against the windshield as an indication to the renters that it's time to STOP before they hit the wall. The problem is, different people come in with different models of cars, so a tennis ball placed to stop a Honda would allow a Mercury Grand Marquis to make a delivery directly into the laundry room. My thought is to still hang a tennis ball, but rather than having it hit the windshield, have it hit against the front end of the car instead, because then the model of the car wouldn't matter, right? For the driver to know they've hit the ball with their front end though, it seems like I'd need to have some sort of flag or something eye level on the string for the driver to see. Has anyone seen such a gizmo that works like this? [emoji106]
I bought a garage stop sensor at Dollar General for $10. It is a little lighted stop sign on a pole. The renter could move the pole to suit their car size. They sell these on Amazon, too...

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