Garage Door Opener "Limits"

[schwalby]

I live in a town house rental and I have gotten permission to install a garage door opener, one problem I don't know if my Jeep will fit once I install it.

Couple of questions. Right now when I drive the Jeep in my CB antenna just nicks the top weather gasket strip on the door opening. The one attached to the door opening not bottom of the door. I basically have to push the door all the way up. Will a garage door opener prevent it from going all the way up or is there an adjustment I can make so it does. Also how far down does the door arm hang on the doors you guys have? I placed a pic below.

I would love to get a jackshaft opener but I have tensions springs and not a torsion spring so it won't work.

Also any recommendations on a brand? I want something with battery backup since there is no other way in the garage. Most likely when I leave this opener will be put into another garage, if it is a garage I build it would be on a secondary door and not a main door so I don't need super top quality.

TIA

 

[On1Wheel]

Mine, as most I've seen, will open the door fully just as if you had no opener. The opener itself is the only thing that sits lower than the opened door.

I'd buy a cheap opener since this is a rental. I wouldn't buy one with a backup battery built in. You can get a decent standalone backup battery fairly cheap (under $200) at most computer stores. Just be sure it can handle the opener's load when it's lost power. If you move and no longer need it for the garage door, you can use it for other things.

 

[schwalby]

You should be able to go to most any manufacturer website and download the installation instructions. The curved door arm will hang several inches below the door when open.

I have looked at a few sites and none of them specify how far the hang that was why I was hoping some guys here could look at theirs. The difference of 3" to 6" could make all the difference.

I have noticed it looks like a bunch of them the arm has several connection points. I am guessing this is to accommodate different door setups so I am thinking I may either cut the excess off or fab up a bar that is the right length with nothing extra that hangs down more than needed.

 

[porcupine73]

If you can get an extension for the garage door opener tracks, that might give you the extra lift you need. I got 1' extensions for my Sears worm drive ones, and that will open the doors higher than the height of the garage door opening.

 

[On1Wheel]

RE: Curved Door Arm

I'm assuming you have a one-car garage? Even with a four-door JK, you won't hit the door arm unless you're trying to drive past the opener, which will interfere more-so than the arm. I'm guessing that with a 7 ft tall door, you'll have about five feet between the garage opening and the arm when the door is up. That would put it right above your Jeep's hood.

 

[PassnThru]

RE: Curved Door Arm

I'm assuming you have a one-car garage? Even with a four-door JK, you won't hit the door arm unless you're trying to drive past the opener, which will interfere more-so than the arm. I'm guessing that with a 7 ft tall door, you'll have about five feet between the garage opening and the arm when the door is up. That would put it right above your Jeep's hood.

Yeah - but that arm is going to back travel the length of the entire Jeep once the door goes down.
Unless the Jeep is lifted you should have plenty of clearance. Sounds like your antenna is pretty tall but it should be flexible enough. You should be able to adjust the opener to pull the door up high enough to clear the opening.

 

[schwalby]

Info on the Jeep. It has 4" of suspension lift and a 1.25" of body lift sitting on 35" tires. The CB antenna is taller than the roof but not by too much.

I curently park the Jeep in there without an issue, just worried how much the door opener will affect everything.

 

[On1Wheel]

Yeah - but that arm is going to back travel the length of the entire Jeep once the door goes down.

Shoot. I didn't think about that...

 

[eldirector]

Info on the Jeep. It has 4" of suspension lift and a 1.25" of body lift sitting on 35" tires. The CB antenna is taller than the roof but not by too much.

I curently park the Jeep in there without an issue, just worried how much the door opener will affect everything.

I wouldn't sweat it. The opener can be adjusted to open the door clear of the opening. The "door arm" in the illustration will be ABOVE the door's opening in the up position. It stays ABOVE the top of the opening until the door hits the curved section of track. If your jeep clears the opening, it will clear a fully-open door and the opener's mechanism.

My truck clears my garage door by 3.5", and is fine.

My lifted CJ HITS my opening with the soft top on (just touches - clears with the soft top down or tires aired down a bit), but still clears the opener mechanism by a few inches.

 

[PassnThru]

One thing you do need to think about is the emergency release rope. Usually has a plastic handle at the bottom that could hang in a roof rack or such if you let if hang too low. It will most likely happen when you put the door down for the first time thereby cutting short your moment of triumph. That's easily fixed though - just hang it high enough so that it clears. Just do it right off - it's easy to miss that little detail