Some guidance for a first timer.

[keh1959]

All,

I think I have one of the smallest "2-car" garages around -- 333 sq. ft. It measures 18' deep by 18'-6" wide. I just bought a brand new Nissan Frontier Crew Cab which measures 17'-2" L x 6'-1" W! I will have about 5" to spare on front and back. Now it is new and I do not plan on doing any work on this car myself so the garage can just as soon be 100% man cave.

Other inputs to the problem, our HOA does not allow sheds so the garage must also house: lawn mower and other lawn equipment/tools, garbage can, some woodworking tools, hand tools, three bicycles. Or all of this stuff goes to rental storage ( along with 5' x 8' trailer ) and I get it as I need it.

Has anyone else run into this same car length problem and how did you solve it? I can obviously park it in the middle of the garage and get inside because the door to the house is on my driver's side but that makes it a little inconvenient for passengers.

Or it could just sit outside 100% of the time. Thoughts? Solutions? Wisdom?

Thanks,

Ken

 

[Square]

Is the garage front load or side load?

If you can't have a shed, I assume a detatched garage is out of the question, yes?

Can you expand the garage? How long to you plan on staying in the current house?

 

[Vortexan]

I have a Tundra and it is too long to even fit in the garage. It lives outside in the elements all the time.

 

[Boyd Who]

Both our daily drivers live outside 365 days of the year. Garages are for working in, not parking in, aside from the hotrod, of course.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Both our daily drivers live outside 365 days of the year. Garages are for working in, not parking in, aside from the hotrod, of course.

Exactly.

 

[twostory]

Garages are for working in, not parking in, aside from the hotrod, of course.

I respectfully disagree. My garage is big enough for working and storing a few cars inside.

The OP garage is really too small to park inside and do anything else. So in his case, he will have to decide.

A hail storm 2 years ago almost totaled my Honda. I have always tried to park inside, but after that storm, I never leave a car outside if there is any chance of a thunderstorm (which is almost year round in Georgia)

 

[egads74]

Its not a shed if you put a huge snoopy on the roof and paint the shed red... with a tunnel shaped black door...
Seriously the 5" is just right front and rear for length. A tennis ball hanging on string just about touches the windshield and tells you when to stop. A few placed mirrors also works.
Woodworking tools can be placed on folding stands and rollers for movement around (see magazine "America's Best Home Workshops 2010") lots of ideas for big shops and small. Ebay item? I thought this was great for designing a large shop for woodwork (tool layout, dust collecton, tools, storage, lighting, bldgs. etc).
Hang stuff from the ceiling...
Make sure to allow the tractor to cool down and remove all stuck dried out grass. Otherwise it gets smokey... and you no longer need heating.

 

[28HopUp]

Its not a shed if you put a huge snoopy on the roof and paint the shed red... with a tunnel shaped black door...
Seriously the 5" is just right front and rear for length. A tennis ball hanging on string just about touches the windshield and tells you when to stop. A few placed mirrors also works.

What a fantastic idea! I share my 2-car garage with the wife's Mustang, and she asked that I hang a tennis ball from the ceiling to keep her from crashing into a tool cabinet against the back wall. That ball would be annoying to me, but positioning a mirror or two for her is a great suggestion. THANKS! Ideas like this are why I love this forum!

 

[3bay]

Both our daily drivers live outside 365 days of the year. Garages are for working in, not parking in, aside from the hotrod, of course.

I would have to disagree with ya also, unless space doesn't allow for it. If you buy a new car and keep it in a garage...it will last for a very long time. Let it set outside and it won't last long.

I built big so space allows for my work and room enough to park the cars/trucks and the toys.

 

[cyclopsblown34]

Exactly.

My hero!!!!

 

[little d]

when i first saw this post i thought to myself, wtf, its a pick up truck? then i thought, your being to hard, just let it go, so i did. i tryed, i really did but, i have a 94 f-150, 300.000 miles on it, drives like the day i got it, don't plan on getin rid of her any time soon, has never spent a day in a garage, much less a night............wtf its just a pick up truck!

 

[keh1959]

I should have known better than to wait nearly a week before getting back to this thread! I am thinking the truck will just sit outside for now. That definitely opens up many more options in the garage.

I have seen the woodworking garage "on-wheels" and it is an outstanding paradigm -- rolling carts with tools, standard heights -- great ideas! I will probably be out of this house in five years and THEN I will use some better judgment in choosing a garage ( with an attached house )

BTW, the garage is attached, front entry, single door.

 

[carpenter383]

Will the HOA let you have a carport?

 

[keh1959]

Will the HOA let you have a carport?

Uh... NO! They are the local gestapo that prevent pretty much anything. I think I will just have to take the "WTF, it's a truck" attitude until I get something a little larger.

EDIT: Change that to a LOT larger!

 

[jay50]

Uh... NO! They are the local gestapo that prevent pretty much anything. I think I will just have to take the "WTF, it's a truck" attitude until I get something a little larger.

EDIT: Change that to a LOT larger!

So, you bought into a HOA and now bitiching about the restrictions?

 

[BigE]

If experience is any indication, I'm thinking his wife bought into the HOA. He just has to deal with it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

CAn you build off the back of the garage ? Create a shed off the back for the extra storage.

How many of those that say leave the vehicles outside, live in the northern states where we have snow and freezing rain?

 

[little d]

i live in central mo, ya we get snow and ice, but then again, my truck isn't a statues symbol, its a work truck.

 

[MarcSeattle]

Exactly.

Off topic, but where do you keep your stocks of wood, metal, plastic pipe, etc.? Everyone has a few sheets of plywood and 2x4s around.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Storage? Four places. One is behind the tool box under this benchtop:

I get access from the left side.

Then, I put longer stuff up in the space under the front extension that was added to the garage when it was lengthened and fitted with a modern door. It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but it's the only one I've got. It's on the left side, and was pretty empty when I took the photo.

Then, some goes in the shed:

And finally, there's space all along the side of my house that's only about 4' from the fence. It;s fenced from the street and out of the sightline from either house. I store lumber there, and I've got a plan for some racks for long steel pieces.

 

[nate379]

Yup.

If nothing is in the garage I will pull the DD in there when it gets cold, but otherwise everything stays outside.

I was happy my crew cab long bed truck fits in there. I only have ~3ft of room in the front if it's against the door, but it's enough room to work on it other than pulling the engine. (26ft deep garage)

How many of those that say leave the vehicles outside, live in the northern states where we have snow and freezing rain?

 

[unclejunk]

My quick fix for not having much space in my 19x19 working garage.. a pallet rack that I can store things on, and back my truck under. Don't pay any attention to all the **** laying around.. we're only on stage1 of garage cleanup.

 

[Carman]

My ex bought a house with a small garage and even her small p/u didn't clear. I bumped out the front by 3', not the entire wall just about a 8' wide section and the height of her hood tall. I left the 2X4 on the concrete floor (even doubled it) to act as a tell to stop before she ran out of concrete. From the outside I trimmed it out and looks like it was planned in the house, FWIW, I could post pics if wanted but don't have them now will have to wait until I get back home.

 

[crewchief888]

mines 19x22, so i feel your pain. lol

i leave the riding mower outside, wifes cars stays out in nice weather.
come wintertime i'll have to move my off road s-10 blazer over a little, stuff my harley back in the corner, and move the small wrk stands back into the basement so her car will fit.
my '00 sierra sits outside all the time, as does my work truck.
the mower will have to get tarped and stored behind the garage again this year.

 

[keh1959]

CAn you build off the back of the garage ? Create a shed off the back for the extra storage.

How many of those that say leave the vehicles outside, live in the northern states where we have snow and freezing rain?

Unfortunately, I cannot build off the back either. If I cut a hole in the back of the garage there would be about a 6' drop off, which then slopes down to a creek.

 

[keh1959]

At this point, I have pretty much resigned myself to leaving the truck outside and just build the garage into a 333 sq. ft. workshop. Since this isn't my ideal set-up and prefer a much larger garage, I will try to design most things to hang on a French-cleat system. So when I move on, the shop can go with me!

And yes, the house was chosen by my wife, now ex-wife.

 

[Carman]

Can you still build off the back? The way I did it for my ex it wasn't load bearing she just parked the nose of her truck in the bumpout I framed for her, could you cantilever possibly?

 

[keh1959]

Can you still build off the back? The way I did it for my ex it wasn't load bearing she just parked the nose of her truck in the bumpout I framed for her, could you cantilever possibly?

I think the collective wisdom has solved this problem already. The new truck will just stay outside - for now.

I cannot build-out just for the hood because it is load-bearing, exterior wall and that would put it about six feet off the ground in the rear of the garage. Yikes!