Overall Height ???

[70GTO]

I'm in the process of designing a garage/workshop & I'm really not sure how tall to build the building. In the near future I will be purchasing a crew cab dually pickup & more than likely I will be putting an Arctic Fox camper in the bed.

For those of you who have any similar set-ups, what height of garage door will let you in "or ceiling height if you have a sliding door".
Also, the truck camper will have an A/C unit on it.

Thanks for any & all information - I need all the lessons learned that I can get.

Bruce

[Houston_Remodel]

What's all that white stuff on the ground ???

[NEOK]

Completed a new garage last year and put in a 14' overhead door with a 16' ceiling. Plenty of clearance to load and unload the truck camper. I did put in a 10' wide door and it is tight if I have the mirrors extended.

[Grit_dog]

jmckelvy wrote:
My truck and AF 990 come in about 1 inch less than 12 feet high.

Similar setup and cannot put it through a 12' door. It's over 13' to top of AC on sitting on my srw.
To the OP if you went 14' door and 16' min ceiling that would work for most any TC combo.

[jefe_4x4]

It's always a good idea to plan for the largest opening you can build. Case in point;
I built a 30' x 40' stand alone shop, 14 foot, 3 inch ceiling height, well actually as a trainroom, and wanted to have the ability to park my Dodge/Lance Lite inside.

I also wanted to add some sales value for the next owner of the property when I'm done. After checking the net height of the camper on truck, I decided to make the roll-up door 10 feet tall to clear and 12 feet wide. At that time the height was, dead on, 10 feet. "Bzzzzt". Wrong. The problem was the truck was an on-going project on which I installed over time, taller tires, and a couple suspension lifts that has settled on 3 inches taller all around. So, I've painted myself into a corner and shoulda' installed a 12 foot tall door. I did park my tractor in there before the train layout edged it out into the snow. So the lesson is: plan for the largest opening you can as you don't know what will greet you down the road, size wise.
After that humiliating experience, I decided to build a pole barn to house both the truck/camper, and the tractor.

I built a code free, no permits needed, pole barn which is 10 feet wide, 22 feet long with a ceiling to clear 10 feet 6 inches (but available clearance can be up to 12 feet if I move the sway braces ...and weaken the structure). Plenty of room, right? "Bzzzt." Wrong. It cleared before the latest suspension lift on the rear the Truck Camper, but will not clear by about an inch. Some of that is the entry slope. I guess the good news is it has a gravel floor so I'll just scrape down a few inches with the box scraper to regain some clearance.

The other option is to move the diagonal sway braces up a bit.

I like smelling the ozone of tight clearances, but when it comes to a TC barn, go big or go home.
jefe

[OldRadios]

My rig (C) is 10'9". Went with an 11' door on the front to keep the garage from being too tall for the surrounding buildings. If I ever get another rig it will be smaller anyway. I also left the option of installing a 12' sliding door on the side if I ever do need a taller door for storing a larger RV.

The RV door is manual but the other two doors have new openers attached to the side. Those are great as there are no chains or belts and the doors go completely up out of the way.

It's two story so I left the floor open on the second story over the RV bay so I can walk around and work on the roof inside out of the weather if I want.



Floor will be poured in the spring.

[portscanner]

I am just under 12 foot, but I need at least another foot clearance to unload. (need to measure that one day!!!) Make sure you keep in mind you get taller while you are unloading!

[cdbinns]

Another vote for 14'. We just built a TCSF (Truck Camper Storage Facility). We installed 14' tall doors (12' wide) and have an interior ceiling height of 16'. Our rig is a 4x4 F350 dually with an Arctic Fox 1150. We don't have AC but with the vent covers we are just over 12'.

[bb_94401]

2x Houston Remodeler comments on taking into account interior ceiling height, height of door track and opener.

Even low overhead clearance openers take up space,

I use the 12 wide x 14 high door into the garage when I have the camper on the truck. Interior ceiling height is 16 feet. Garage has vaulted rafters to minimize overall height of the garage on the outside

If entrance to the garage is not level, need to consider height necessary for entrance angle.

My basement TC, with AC, on 4x4 measured in at 12' 4"

See lots of 5th wheels around here parked outside nice tall garages, because the door opening was too small ...

Whatever height door you select, strongly consider going with a 12' wide door. Outside dimension of my dually tow mirrors is just over 9'. I have to be extra careful when backing the truck in to the other 10' wide door openings in my garage. Very easy to catch and break a mirror when tired 😮

[Houston_Remodel]

A 14 foot door will not be quite 14' to allow for an opener mechanism unless yours is off to the side. Also figure on the door thickness.

The interior ceiling height should be at least a foot higher to allow for the door mechanism, lighting, and breathing room.

[70GTO]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to post.

Well I kinda figured I was going to need 14', but I would have loved to been able to get by with 12'. Oh well at least I have an Idea of what to expect Re: having ceiling heights ranging from 12 to 16 feet.

Thanks Again, Bruce

[tcguy]

I have a 14' door in my pole barn with 16' ceiling height and this works well. My camper from the top of the a/c unit to the ground is 12'6". I have a Lance 855 on a 2005 F350 4x4 with a 4.5" lift and 35" tires. This give me enough room to load/unload inside the barn and enough room to work on the roof of the camper with it on the truck.

[LUVTOTRKCP]

We have a GMC Dually with two extra leaf springs in the rear spring pack and a 5/8" block on the slide side. Our camper is a AF-990. I have checked and we are about 11'9" to the top of the A/C.
So a 13'0" door would work fine in you are concerned about overall height. I you want to hold the building height down. Use scissors trusses and go in the gable end, if you lay it out on paper you can have the ceiling just clear the door tracks and still have room to take off your camper inside if need be.

Good luck

[Jay_Pat]

KD4UPL wrote:
A 14' door will accommodate anything that is road legal because the limit is 13' 6". My camper, loaded on my Chevy dually, is 11' 5" to the top of the AC unit. This is a non-basement model. If you get one with a basement it will be taller.

I agree with 14' door.
If you use the "traditional" door hardware, you should make the inside ceiling 16' tall to allow for the door hardware.
Pat

[deltabravo]

fotofx wrote:
You cant go wrong with 14'

Ditto

I've been a part of various discussions on this subject, and everyone always says 14'

a 14' door will clear any type of RV.

My shop, which was present when I bought my current house, has a 12' door. My AF811 on a 2009 Chevy dually clears by only about 1.5".