Foretravel Owners' Forum

I am planning on a storage building for when I obtain a FT.
I would like to known needed height for clearance.
Models 1995  U240 U280/300
1992-1994 U240-U280 U300
1995-1998 U270,295,320
Thanks for the help.

Mark

A couple of previous threads on the subject may help
garage door height (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=7477.msg32481#msg32481)
Overall Height (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=141.msg303#msg303)

Also, do not make too narrow where it is difficult to get in/out, I built a 40X60 with 14X14 overhead electric doors, some times I wish it was 16-18' wide ;D like at night when visibility is down.

If I had no height or width restrictions, the door would be 14' tall and the same 14' wide.  My current garage at 14' tall and 12' wide is fine, but I wouldn't mind a little more width.  More height would be wasteful for my 2002 U270.  The 11'6" height of the coach is misleading with those antennas.  12' will let them hit the door.  Been there, done that.

Now, if you go with a taller door, say 15ft, just in case you EVER move to an IH-45 or a Prevost H3-45, just know that those nice fancy doors you see all over the place on residential houses, only come in 14ft max height!  We found that out AFTER we framed our barn with a 15ft door!  Dooh! 

Mark,
  Don't forget to consider the angle of approach into the MH garage! Specially if you plan to back in- I know of some folks who had to redo their concrete or paver driveway just to lower the approach into the garage to clear the roof rack. One chose to raise the garage door opening.
Ed Pan

I would second (third - fourth?) the recommendation to go with a height more universally-compatible (taller).  You can always fit a lower coach in the opening.  You (or a potential buyer) can't fit a taller coach (more common than a FT) in a lower door opening.  Cheaper to make it tall enough for any coach to start with than try to modify in the future. 

Michelle,
For sure on size, another biggie for me was having a floor that would take ANYTHING, so have a min of 7" 4,000 psi concrete, with both the heavy 3/16" wire rods and fiber strands.
All my concrete floors have the fiber and heavy wire, and after 20 years on the oldest, 10 on the newest, still not a single crack, not even a hairline crack. Love QC on concrete work.
We all know the story, you get what you pay for.
Have seen many floors that have not stood the test of time, cracking, sinking & breaking up.
But they got a bargin  ;D

My '94 U225 should be the same as a '95 U240 - 10' 6" to top of A/Cs.  The U280 and U300 will be over 11'.

Made my garage door 14  foot tall and 18 foot wide.  I also put a 50 foot apron in front so I would enter level and not at an angle.  I also had my floor built to commercial garage standards and had two large piers of concrete that make the base and then had and 25 inch reinforced entry and have a one inch slope over 50 foot for drainage.

Not all of us will park our coaches in garages. All of us, though, will meet up with low bridges sooner or later. Knowing your height can save some money. Sad to say, I'm one of those who doesn't know (exactly) how tall our coach is. I did go under a 13' 6" bridge without any expensive noises, but I was nervous. One of these days I'm going to have to get an accurate height measurement. I should probably also figure out how much more height is needed when going under those wonderful underpasses that dip down and then rise again on the other side. Until then, I guess I'll just figure that 13' 6" for a level approach is minimum, and 14' 6" for an approach with a dip.

Every year at the WOG Rally they measure the height of the coaches there and publish a chart. Perhaps someone would like to begin that tradition at Foretravel rallies.

12' high doors are enough for my 36' 2001 U320 with antennas down.  Other than my high gain cell phone antenna they are down all the time anyway.  I have 5 or 6 " above the AC units.  I don't know how high a satellite dome would be.  Be sure to check building codes.  12' sidewalls are max in my township for our property size.  I was limited to 564 sq ft because I already used 936 of the 1500 sq ft allowed for our property size (wood working shop).  I built 14x40 with a 12x12 front door, 9x8 rear door, 9x16 and 9x10 side sliding doors.  5000 psi 5" fiber reinforced concrete with lots of 1/2" rebar. 

We had the concrete work done and then Susan and I built the barn ourselves in 21 days.  We had some help from friends and neighbors with the big beams and wall raising.

I (and Susan) back in down a 400' driveway with 2 90° turns and through the 12x12 door.  It took some practice but it is pretty much routine now.  I have a 3" wide orange line painted on the driveway and all the way into the barn on the driver's side.  I just follow the line in the mirrors and back right in.  A vertical line on the pass side barn wall lines up with the edge of the passengers window when I am in far enough.  I ended up with just under two feet all around except where the sliding doors are and then have almost three feet, enough to open the bay doors which all line up with the side door openings.  With the sliding doors open I have great access to everything I need to get at and can roll the basement tray all the way out.

My original plan was for 14x18x48 but the planning commission was in no mood for variances so I did the best I could with what was available.

A scissors truss instead of a common truss for the roof would have gotten me an extra foot or so in the center of the barn but the front doors would have still been a limiting issue.

Even though it is a snug fit the coach stays much cleaner in the barn, it is out of the weather, the hail and the snow and the sun and mostly protected from insects and critters.  And the barn makes a great picnic pavilion or dance hall when we are in the mood.

Roger

Roger,
 
Looks great!
 
What kind and how many hinges do you need for those big doors?
 
Trent

Trent,  there are 5 7" T hinges and 5 7" butt hinges on each pair of doors.  The inside door panels are about 3" narrower than the outer panels.  This lets the inner panel fold flat against the outer panel and then the pair fold open past 90° minimizing the reduction in the opening due to the doors.  The second picture shows all five doors.  The small one on the passengers side (when backed in) lines up with the coach door.  I can open the rear engine hatch with the rear doors closed (a tight fit) and the generator door in the front also with doors closed (another tight fit).  30 amp plug in service in the barn.  50 amp plug in service next to my shop.  Water and air at both.  I added ports in the side wall of the barn to run flexible exhaust hose connected to either the generator or the aqua hot outside so I can run them in the winter without opening the doors.

I sure would have liked to have a much bigger space but with some careful planning and building, this one does the job.

Roger,

That is an amazing looking "barn".  Very impressive.


When we had the coach weighted at the Escapee park in Livingston, they also measured the height at 11' 5". 

Our '89 GV with the Oshkosh Truck leaf spring chassis looks like a Class B Roadtrek when parked amongst a bunch of newer Class A coaches while at rallies. Yet it measures 11'4" to the top of the storage pod that is mounted up over the bedroom.

Mine stands at 10.82 Feet, or 3.3 metres,  But I allow 300 mm or one foot to be safe on the flat,
I have stopped at two bridges so far, up very close and got out and looked, Aerials touched, but nothing else came close,

All our bridges are clearly marked with max height limits, Low bridges have a high load bypass road,

Stand on your coach, Lower a tape measure to the ground, beside the bus, Read the measurement, level with the roof top, Use a ruler, flat straight stick on the roof, make sure the tape is straight when you read the measurement,

Then measure the highest upstand on your roof from the top to bottom, Add to bus height, Thats your individual Coachs height,

Add a foot to it, just to be on the safe side, when travelling on the flat, More so if its rough or hilly, Etc,

We have trams here with overhead wires, WOW, I am going to have to watch those aerials, I dont want to get fried,

Better yet, find a truck driver who drives a car hauler.  They all carry  "Height Sticks".
(https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Ft1.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcR9nEFsmu8Suwv1BhdfrIhT8QBqEh_3k5f4Hqg6EgSTALtErsMXSQ&hash=2005b754263fb220fd7ea02efddfc17c" rel="cached" data-hash="2005b754263fb220fd7ea02efddfc17c" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9nEFsmu8Suwv1BhdfrIhT8QBqEh_3k5f4Hqg6EgSTALtErsMXSQ)