clearance height

[wait]

Hi all -

Curios to hear how folks have decided to how tall to make their vehicles. In particular for those whose vehicles serve multiple purposes / functions in their lives. At a certain point a camper just isn't going to go through drive throughs or into (and hopefully out of) parking garages. And plenty of everyday vehicles already don't clear these tighter areas. But if you want to mostly still fit through these avenues there are considerations to be had. Anyone else weigh clearance height considerations? Thanks

 

[Lunaru]

I take this into consideration quite often, I have a tundra crewmax with mid travel suspension on 35s with canopy(for the dogs) and roof top tent, I can’t get into most parking garages but by keeping it just shy of 8ft. I clear trees, get into tighter trails here in the pnw, and don’t worry about being extra high when going on ferries(Some ferries charge you more for height). So for me it is no more than 8ftx20ftx4tons

 

[wait]

Great thoughts, appreciated. Hadn't had the ferry considerations as front of mind, that's helpful. I too am in OR. Code for parking garages in OR is 7ft, but plenty in pdx must be grandfathered in at less. Meanwhile CA code is 8ft. I imagine every state is / could be different. All super relevant if you're dealing with a daily driver and / or multiple drivers. Have thought to myself the only thing worse than wedging myself in a parking garage is having a family member wedge my truck in a parking garage. No please.

 

[NatersXJ6]

Many garages in Cali with less than 7’ clearance. I would guess that code isn’t much more than a vague guideline. Having accidentally wedged in a garage myself… not fun. Worse, a mechanic that wheeled into a garage without a single thought and did the same… after being warned of high clearance. I basically avoid covered parking like the plague now.

 

[wait]

Good notes. Yeah a lotta places have to have been grandfathered in well under what existing code is. Thanks for the scary stories. Very helpful to hear. Can see how very quickly one simply has a house rule of no covered parking. A little extra walking never hurt anyone.

 

[norcaltoy]

Haven't built anything yet, but for me the magic number looks like it's 9 feet or less. That seems to be the most common height for any sort of drive thru (bank, fast food, etc). Im also located in OR but parking garages aren't really a concern for me

 

[Herbie]

With my first build, my overriding maximum envelope was a 20' shipping container: 7' 6.25" high by 7' 8" wide at the door, and less than 19' 4" overall length. If you harbor any dreams of international travel, think hard before violating this envelope.

I could hit that with my lifted 4x4 pop-top van, if I pulled the roof basket and solar panel and stored them inside and aired down to ~20psi.

With our new rig, we're focusing only on North America, so the key envelope dimension is our SoCal suburban driveway - 22' long. There's zero chance it fits into our garage or parking garage in any case, so I'm only concerned to "minimize" overall height without building to a max dimension. No matter what the height, there will always be a tree that's 4" too low, etc.

 

[billiebob]

If you are in the Pacific Northwest and might use the ferries, 7' is good number to stay under. Over 7' puts you off the car deck, parking with trucks and paying a higher fare. It also means you unload with the heavy trucks rather than before them. Another ferry factor is vehicle length, over 21' often involves a surcharge per foot.

Most parkades etc are tall enough to fit a 7' vehicle, same with drive thrus etc and most trucks and SUVs are no taller than 7' stock.

All in 84" tall is a reasonable height which should not limit travel too much.

Finally, gas mileage and range. A lifted vehicle with stuff on the roof will take a big hit on the highway vs a stock vehicle with a bare roof. Under 50mph the aerodynamic drag is not significant but over 60mph the drag increases exponentially. I've been there and every mod hurt my range a bit,,, added up it hurt my range a lot.

 

[simple]

If you are in the Pacific Northwest and might use the ferries, 7' is good number to stay under. Over 7' puts you off the car deck, parking with trucks and paying a higher fare. It also means you unload with the heavy trucks rather than before them. Another ferry factor is vehicle length, over 21' often involves a surcharge per foot.

Most parkades etc are tall enough to fit a 7' vehicle, same with drive thrus etc and most trucks and SUVs are no taller than 7' stock.

All in 84" tall is a reasonable height which should not limit travel too much.

Finally, gas mileage and range. A lifted vehicle with stuff on the roof will take a big hit on the highway vs a stock vehicle with a bare roof. Under 50mph the aerodynamic drag is not significant but over 60mph the drag increases exponentially. I've been there and every mod hurt my range a bit,,, added up it hurt my range a lot.

Washington state ferries removed the over height charge a few years back which was nice. They really get you for over length though. They also just started charging for kids. Bleep!

 

[charlieaarons]

With my first build, my overriding maximum envelope was a 20' shipping container: 7' 6.25" high by 7' 8" wide at the door, and less than 19' 4" overall length. If you harbor any dreams of international travel, think hard before violating this envelope.

You need to know that there’s quite a few useful objects called “roro ships”. Having traveled to 5 continents (counting Eurasia as 2) with a 3.58m high vehicle, height has been an occasional issue. But never ever for shipping.

 

[Herbie]

You need to know that there’s quite a few useful objects called “roro ships”. Having traveled to 5 continents (counting Eurasia as 2) with a 3.58m high vehicle, height has been an occasional issue. But never ever for shipping.

Oh, well aware. There are definitely options, but going RORO you definitely take on different security issues versus bring containered. Costs are different too.

I wasn't saying you can't go taller, only to think hard on it before you do.

 

[charlieaarons]

Never ever have had security issues with roro with trips from Halifax to Antwerp and back, also US West Coast to Brisbane and back. However I will never use any US ports again; always Halifax. US port security and Customs are ridiculously obstructive. Except for human traffickers, containers of drug precursors, etc. But they make it impossible for normal law-abiding people. Even if I went to Australia again, I’d drive 5200 miles to Halifax to go to Antwerp, then ship to Perth. It’s hard to believe, but as recently as about 2 years ago, those voyages were cheaper than I paid LA-Brisbane 2009. Sincere advice: avoid US ports, use Halifax instead. It’s a very nice, smallish well run port and Canada Customs is businesslike and polite, not treating you like a nuke smuggler. Which is my experience incoming into US ports.

 

[gonzopancho]

Sincere advice: avoid US ports, use Halifax instead. It’s a very nice, smallish well run port and Canada Customs is businesslike and polite, not treating you like a nuke smuggler. Which is my experience incoming into US ports.

I’ve had good experiences and bad experiences with LA and San Diego. Someone stole the stereo out of a FJ62 I shipped from Honolulu to LA (smashed the dash to get to it, but left the FJ40 alone) in 2011 on a roro. Don’t know if it happened in Honolulu or LA. Last time I saw my brother was that trip.

Shipped the wife’s Z4 out of Honolulu to San Diego a couple months later and the only problem with it was that it was completely encrusted in salt.

I just shipped a non-operating 1967 Land Cruiser from Anchorage to Seattle in a container and the process was smooth as glass.

I’m putting together a 1992 hzj75 with a RTT conversion with the explicit idea that I can ship it to e.g. Argentina and Japan in a container via roro.

But we ship a LOT internationally, and are probably more familiar with both US and foreign customs than most.

 

[gatorgrizz27]

In FL 95% of drive thru’s and low clearance bridges are 9’0”. Parking garages are less obviously but that’s typically not a big issue.

 

[World Experience]

I’ve had good experiences and bad experiences with LA and San Diego. Someone stole the stereo out of a FJ62 I shipped from Honolulu to LA (smashed the dash to get to it, but left the FJ40 alone) in 2011 on a roro. Don’t know if it happened in Honolulu or LA. Last time I saw my brother was that trip.

Shipped the wife’s Z4 out of Honolulu to San Diego a couple months later and the only problem with it was that it was completely encrusted in salt.

I just shipped a non-operating 1967 Land Cruiser from Anchorage to Seattle in a container and the process was smooth as glass.

I’m putting together a 1992 hzj75 with a RTT conversion with the explicit idea that I can ship it to e.g. Argentina and Japan in a container via roro.

But we ship a LOT internationally, and are probably more familiar with both US and foreign customs than most.

Hey, gonzopancho! Can you help us with shipping agent recommendation? I'd like to send an overland truck (RoRo) from Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay to Houston (USA) next year. Thanks a lot!