12 passenger van + parking garage = bad morning!

[Tenaj]

This morning my ds had a drs. appointment and the only parking available readily was a parking garage that had a sign that said 6 feet 6 inches clearance. I had my son (age 17) get out and watch as I went under the bumper to make sure that our van would clear. It was fine, cleared by 3 inches or so. We went in and parked, no problem, though I was laughing at my instinct to duck my head as we went under the cement bunkers.

 

As we were leaving, again no problem . . .until the last two cement bunkers which were lower than the others and scraped the roof of the van. I'm trying to decide how to get hold of the owners of the garage - if for nothing else than to have them correct the signage so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

Thankfully, my dh is a very easy-going and gentle-spirited man and took my tearful confession very well. He laughed and said that he probably wouldn't have even checked the clearance if he was driving - just barreled on in and parked.

 

My new van rule: No parking garages, ever, ever, ever!

On top of that, my ds has to have surgery on his elbow next Friday.

[HayesW]

I drive a Dodge Sprinter, think airport shuttle, that needs 9 ft of clearance. We don't fit in garages anymore.

[RegGuheert]

I'm very sorry about your van!

My new van rule: No parking garages, ever, ever, ever!

On top of that, my ds has to have surgery on his elbow next Friday.

We basically *always* follow this rule. To me, it is not worth it to try to park in those things with the 15-passenger van. When we go into the city, we do not take the large van so that we can avoid the possibility of having limiting parking opportunities.

 

OTOH, as I type this, we are driving to Ikea and we have every intention of parking in the underground garage. But I'm pretty sure that Ikea's garage is over eight feet or so.

[silliness7]

I've taken my 15 passenger in a couple parking garages...so far so good. I have absolutely no idea what the clearance is on that thing. I should probably find out. It would be quite freaky to scrape the top of your car as it's happening. I'd be afraid of getting stuck. I'm glad you weren't. :001_smile:

[missmoe]

I was recentlly in a parking garage in which the ceiling got lower and lower and lower as you proceeded. Each time it got lower, signage let you know, but what is one to do if their van does not fit under the next lower level? Back down the long ramp, do a three point turn (which really turns into a 20 point turn because of how cars are parked) while 4 teenagers in the van give tips on your driving, and then exit the garage which immediately takes you out of the facility you are in, which then requires an illegal u-turn, and then a wait in line to return to facility, and a heated agreement with parking officail who wants another $15 to park? Blah to parking garages!

 

Glad your husband took it well. Hope you can get ahold of the garage.

[Tenaj]

I was recentlly in a parking garage in which the ceiling got lower and lower and lower as you proceeded. Each time it got lower, signage let you know, but what is one to do if their van does not fit under the next lower level? Back down the long ramp, do a three point turn (which really turns into a 20 point turn because of how cars are parked) while 4 teenagers in the van give tips on your driving, and then exit the garage which immediately takes you out of the facility you are in, which then requires an illegal u-turn, and then a wait in line to return to facility, and a heated agreement with parking officail who wants another $15 to park? Blah to parking garages!

 

Glad your husband took it well. Hope you can get ahold of the garage.

 

The teenagers giving advice made me LOL!

 

My ds age 17 (driving on a permit) was the one with me and I had asked him if he wanted to drive home as we were getting ready to leave. He declined and was very quiet as we were scraping our way out of the garage and after we were clear he says with relief "Boy, am I glad I wasn't driving!"

 

Decreasing heights! What are they thinking!

[wendybird]

You just fueled my fear of parking garages to new heights. :lol:

I will not park in them(12 passenger van) and am clutching the armrest when dh does, although he has no fear at all.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

My ds age 17 (driving on a permit) was the one with me and I had asked him if he wanted to drive home as we were getting ready to leave. He declined and was very quiet as we were scraping our way out of the garage and after we were clear he says with relief "Boy, am I glad I wasn't driving!"

 

It isn't funny that the van was scraped up but this made me laugh. I bet he was really glad not to be driving! :lol:

[Tenaj]

It isn't funny that the van was scraped up but this made me laugh. I bet he was really glad not to be driving! :lol:

 

I can smile about it now - not at the time! My dh took a look at it this evening and my d f-i-l made my day by declaring that it didn't look too bad at all. I'm guessing that he had pictured a collapsed roof. The top brake light has been reattached and as long as you only look at the van from the ground, all is good!

 

Tomorrow's got to be a better day!

[LaissezFaire]

What kind of van is it? We have a chevy express and I know that it is 6'6"tall so it would not fit in that garage. LOL

[Amber in AUS]

Oh, no, sorry to hear about the damage to your van BUT, thankyou for sharing. We are getting a van in the next few weeks and this is something i would not have thought about if you hadn't mentioned it. I think i will have the same rule, no parking garages/multi-levels.

[RegGuheert]

OTOH, as I type this, we are driving to Ikea and we have every intention of parking in the underground garage. But I'm pretty sure that Ikea's garage is over eight feet or so.

OK, JanOH, we have had our 15-passenger van for OVER SIX YEARS now and we have NEVER scraped the top of it on anything, ever. Yesterday I read your thread about your terrible misfortune while we were on our way to Ikea and we arrived there to find that the ceilings are 7'6" high. Based on reading your thread, I had MomsintheGarden stop under the plastic pipe which checks the clearance of the vehicle while I got out to inspect. The pipe was 6" to 8" above our van, which fit's my belief that our van is about 7' tall.

 

So we proceeded into the garage and decided to park in the "Family" parking spaces near the door, since we clearly have a lot of that! As MomsintheGarden pulled into the parking spot, we heard a scraping noise. "What is that noise?" The top of the van was scraping on something! She pulled on through to the spot in the next row and then we got out to see what had happened. We had scraped against the sign showing where families should park! :glare:

 

After we did our shopping, I talked to a manager and explained the situation. She put us in touch with security, who sent out two people to document what had happened and take some pictures. The first person told me the garage clearance was 6'7". :glare: I assured him it was 7'6", which they later confirmed. Anyway, the "scrape" was about 12' long down the top of the van. Fortunately, I do not think it scratched off anything but dirt, but it is quite hard to tell since you need a stepladder to see it. I guess I will need to get up there this weekend and wash and wax it to see if there is any real damage.

 

Anyway, the gentlemen at Ikea were helpful and they agreed that these signs should be above the 7'6" indicated at the entrance and gave me instructions in case there was damage that we needed to get prepared. It appears it will be easy for them to correct the problem, so I'm hopeful no one else has this issue in the future.

 

I realize our incident was not nearly as bad as yours, JanOH, but it strikes me as wildly coincidental that we would have this happen ON THE EXACT SAME DAY THAT YOU DID, particularly since we were watching closely for it as we entered the Ikea garage. Strange!