Garage clearence issue??????

[carlislecampers]

Hell this is my first post and we need some help. My wife and I received our new to us 61 16 sc yesterday. We bought it off Craig's list and needs some work - for sure! We would like to get it in our garage. Our garage door is 83" and to the bests of my calculations if we took off the axle and all springs we would have 3 or 4 inches of clearence. What's the best way to get this in? It would be sitting on the rails and frame

Thank you for your quick help

We live in an area with strict hoa so it can't sit outside and I feel if we just put it in storage it would slow the progress way down


Thank you very much!

[boandsusan]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby! Do you have pictures? I believe I`d use pipes to roll her in. I can`t remember which section it was in but I remember reading a post were a member used pipes and it worked out great.

[soup]

Would there be a problem of jack removal going that low onto the pipes on the ground?

Welcome to VSTF carlislecampers!
I've seen people buying the $200.00 "tent" garages and using them. They are taller than your normal house garage. You can also raise the frames of those with blocks to get more height.
A tarp strung from the side of a building can be done too.
Just trying to brainstorm here, but sense I don't have but half of one it's only showing up here as a light drizzle.
I barely had room on our compact going into our "barn" (lean to on side of garage built like a small pole barn)
Also could modify garage opening?

[safetybruce]

I do not believe that even with the axle and springs off you are going to be able to get a 16SC into your garage. I thought yeah, you can do it with pipe sections, like what has already been suggested, but then I realized I would not attempt to roll that camper in on anything less than a 3" heavy gauge pipe section...you will not make it under if you have any of the standard vents sticking out of the roof. Would be a real bummer to go to all that trouble and find out you miscalculated by 1-2 inches, and I believe with 83" clearance, that will be just about the amount that will prevent you from accomplishing the feat. HOA's are not the vintage camper's friends

[cowcharge]

You could try this... vintageshasta.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=jacks&thread=5171&page=1

[pathfinder3081]

I don't' know what your under carriage looks like but brother let me tell you this was really simple after I crunched the numbers and played with the approach some. I did buy a $30.00 floor jack but the wheels were fairly cheap. I might even be able to go with a poly wheel if I so desire as I have another inch or two clearance. Here is a pic this morning, the wheel stays on and never falls into play or obstruction with the tire on. I pulled it out yesterday as we are leaving in couple of days. Now, it does take me about 30 minutes to take it out or put it in. I'm 50, so I'm not in much of a hurry over it.
I keep it on leveling jacks in or out of the garage now. I noticed that the screen door sticks a little if sits only on the tires for more than a day or two. The frame flexes or sags abit.
Anyhow, I hope this works for you, it did for me. Good luck!

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[kto17]

Welcome. I really don't care for HOAs. Don't have one at the house we are in now!

Might sound like a stupid question, but did you measure the opening of the garage or to the bottom of the door? I'm guessing you measured the opening. If you have an opener some doors will open further if you disengage the opener. Sometimes you have to take the opener arm off the door to do this. If you are shy and inch. you may be able to remove the exterior trim around the door.

Whats the overall height of an SC? Just a thought. Check to see if the axle is above or below the springs. These old campers sit low and some people like to flip the axle under the springs to raise them. I think they look better low.

I have an Astrodome and haven't built the garage yet so it will get a tall door! I have thought about making "Wheels" just larger than the drums that I can bolt on to lower mine if needed.

[cowcharge]

HOA's should be illegal. Worry about your own home, not mine.

[vikx]

Yes, fie upon the HOAs of this world... Too many with too much time on their hands. Evil intentions.

[offspringin]

Wish there was a like button for both cowcharge and vikx on the HOA comments....

We were glad to find out the house we were looking at did not have one. Nice neighborhood, you really would think it would have one but it was never created so it just never happened. (though my house and a couple others could be grounds for them creating one)

Our compact would NEVER have fit in our garage. Maybe if i took the jack, axle and leaf springs off it might fit in.... with that maxair vent cover i raised my height maybe 10-12 inches so that wouldnt have helped.

We looked at those tent/tarp pole shed things (and that in fact is what my dad uses) but ended up building a carport/pole barn style deal right off our driveway. We have intentions of closing it in one day but for now it keeps the rain/(maybe sometimes snow) off it. Sounds like in your case with the HOA though that may never happen either.... ugh.... keep us posted on what you do and how you do it though.

and i agree, i never would have worked on ours in storage. I think there is someone on here to has theirs parked at a relatives/friends property over an hour away because of HOA

[jetson1964]

Hi,

We have strict HOA's too. Just bought a 1964 Jet to restore. We took the axel and wheels off and put a moving dolly undernethe the front and rear of the trailer. It rolled right in. It is tight but we can work on it. Got the dolly at harbor freight tool store for 13.00 a piece. Good Luck!

[Deleted]

I dropped the tongue down onto a floor jack that lowered the front enough to roll it in. Then once the front was in I raised the tongue all the way up which lowered the rear end enough to clear the stink pipe. I went in tongue first…almost needed a shoehorn.

[harrison429]

very clever smccusk. necessity is the mother (or in this case, the father) of invention.

[purplepeep]

I too am having clearance issues. As this point, I'm thinking it would be easier to modify our old garage to fit the camper LOL!

[65shasta]

Pathfinder3081: Did you permanently weld the castors to the frame? We are in the same boat for clearance in our garage and this seems to be the best idea. How many castors in total did you use? Thanks!

[pathfinder3081]

No 65 shasta.. I was, but then I decided to bolt them. I don't have a welder and bolting was do-able.. see the post I made up under this topic.Running Gear- Frame, Axles, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires :: Jacks, Stabilizers, Lifting and Leveling :: Getting Our Shasta in the Garrage

Read more: vintageshasta.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=jacks&action=display&thread=5171#ixzz2LvJIilQ3

[paigenmarc]

I don't know about getting it to fit in the garage, but here's my two cents on the HOA if you decide to keep it outside. We cut out a section of the fence below the breezeway connecting the house to the garage and rolled the trailer in the backyard. We fixed the fence so you can lift out a section so we can get the thing out again. Then, we hung a big lattice from the breezeway and hung three big 'ol Texas Flags - The Lone Star flag, Texas Aggies and "Come and Take It" flag to hide the trailer. You can't see it from the road, and I guess the neighbor behind us doesn't mind. Maybe I should hand my NRA flag, too. That might keep 'em away

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[znorm]

This is the clearance I will have after my trailer is complete. Vent goes in last. I will have 3/8" clearance when I roll it out and jack it up and put the axle on.

i1309.photobucket.com/albums/s628/64cozy1/th_IMG_7868_zpse28d74e2.jpg

[znorm]

Here is another angle for clearance. Car dollies at Harbor Freight.
i1309.photobucket.com/albums/s628/64cozy1/th_IMG_7621_zps097728f6.jpg

[znorm]

Here is a picture of the dollies. They are very smooth when you push it around.

i1309.photobucket.com/albums/s628/64cozy1/th_IMG_7770_zpsaf38b352.jpg