4WDs, Roof Racks and Trailers: Garage Clearance Before Summer

Summer trip season changes what goes in and out of the garage. A car that slips through easily most of the year suddenly has a roof pod, a kayak, a couple of bikes on top or a rack hanging off the tow bar. Add a trailer or camper that needs a home between trips, and the garage door is often the first thing to come off second best.

A few minutes with a tape measure now saves a scraped roof, a bent bottom rail or a door that needs a repair the week you’re meant to leave. Here’s what we’d check before the holidays, and what to think about if the door simply isn’t suiting the way you use the garage anymore.

Measure the vehicle as it will be loaded

Most people know roughly how tall their car is. Far fewer know the height once the racks and gear go on, and that’s the number that matters at the door. Measure from the ground to the highest point with everything fitted: the pod lid, the top of a bike’s handlebars, the tip of a kayak, a rooftop tent folded down. Do the same for length if a bike rack or carrier sits on the tow bar, because the garage needs to be deep enough for the door to close behind it.

Write both figures down and keep them somewhere obvious. A note on the sun visor or dashboard while the roof gear is on helps whoever’s driving remember before they swing into the driveway on autopilot. It sounds simple, but it’s easy to forget what’s on the roof after a long drive home.

Find the real clear height under the open door

The height of the opening in the brickwork isn’t always the height you can drive under. When the door is open, part of it still occupies space above the opening, and how much depends on the door type and how it was installed.

• A roller door rolls into a compact drum above the opening.
• A sectional door is made up of panels that slide along tracks into the ceiling space.
• A tilt door lifts outward and upward on pivoting arms as one solid panel.

To check your clearance, open the door fully and wait until it has completely stopped. Make sure nobody will use a remote or the wall button while you’re measuring, then measure from the floor to the lowest part of the open door or its hardware at the point where the vehicle will pass. Stay out from under the door itself while it’s moving, and don’t reach up into the tracks, springs or opener. If you can’t get a clear reading without doing that, leave it and ask us to take a look.

Compare that clear height with your loaded vehicle. If it’s tight, don’t rely on squeezing through slowly. Take the roof gear off outside, or park the car outside while it’s loaded. A bump that seems minor can still knock a door out of line, and our emergency garage door repairs page lists off-track doors among the faults that make a door unsafe to keep using.

Trailers, tow bar racks and driveway habits

Trailers and campers bring their own set of questions. A trailer stored inside the garage needs to sit fully clear of the door line, with its drawbar or jockey wheel well back from where the door comes down. Bikes on a tow bar rack stick out further than people expect, so check the door closes onto clear floor, not onto a wheel or a rack arm. Any safety equipment or reversal behaviour must be confirmed for the exact door, opener and installation. It is not a parking aid and never a substitute for checking that the opening is clear yourself.

A few habits that help during trip season:

• Don’t press the remote to close the door until the vehicle and anything it’s towing is fully clear of the opening.
• Get someone to watch from the side when reversing a trailer in, never from under or beside the moving door.
• If the door gets bumped, stop using it. Don’t try to push it back into line or keep running it to see if it settles.

Signs worth reporting after a knock include the door sitting crooked, catching or grinding as it moves, a gap appearing on one side, or the opener straining. Those are observations rather than a diagnosis, and they’re for a technician to assess.

When the door no longer suits the vehicle

Sometimes the honest answer is that the door doesn’t suit the way the household now uses the garage. A bigger 4WD, a caravan plan or a work ute with ladder racks can all outgrow an older setup.

Every garage door we supply is custom made to fit the opening, so there’s no such thing as an odd size. Where roof space is limited, we can recommend a suitable door and track system based on the clearance available. Our tilt doors are suited to garages with limited headroom, and a roller door suits homes with limited driveway space. Which option gives you the most usable height depends on the garage itself, which is why we start with a free measure and quote. Our new garage door installations page covers the door types in more detail.

If the opening itself is the limit, making it taller or wider is building work that goes beyond the door. That’s a conversation for a builder, who can tell you whether council approval is needed, and it’s best had before you order anything.

Heading off on a summer trip from Croydon, Rowville or anywhere in the east and not sure the roof gear will clear the door? Send us an enquiry with your measurements and a photo of the opening, and we’ll help you work out the next step before you load up.