Garage reversing indicator

[KnausCol]

Not strictly a caravan mod but . . .

I recently changed my tow car and it is somewhat larger than previously so its length only just fits in the garage given the shelving I have installed on the back wall. I found reversing sufficiently tightly up to the garage rear difficult - the parking sensors where screaming stop well before I was close enough! Corona isolation proves a catalyst for inventiveness and I rigged up the following gadget to indicate when I had reversed to a satisfactory position. The car presses on the tennis ball and a push to make momentary switch completes a circuit that illuminates the light on an upper shelf that is visible through the rear windscreen. Easing slightly forward releases the switch. The spring element is included to allow a degree of 'give' as the switch only has a 3mm activation movement and even I can't manoeuvre with that accuracy! All parts excepting  the £3 switch itself were hanging around the garage including an old 12v battery and indicator light from a motorbike. It works a treat.

 

 

[reluctant]

A grand job which will have whiled away a few hours, but far to technical!

 

A block of wood bolted to the floor where one of the rear wheels need to be serves well, and no need to watch!

Edited May 3, 2020 by reluctant

[Guest]

In a similar situation I used to hand a tennis ball from a string to touch the back window at the appropriate position, really simple and effective. When I was working in the garage I just hung it up on a nail. Adjust the ball vertically to adjust the horizontal position.

[Ched]

Great idea until the battery goes flat!!!! 

You could convert your tennis ball push button to lever something to come into view. That way you don't need power.

[KnausCol]

16 minutes ago, AJGalaxy2012 said:

In a similar situation I used to hand a tennis ball from a string to touch the back window at the appropriate position, really simple and effective. When I was working in the garage I just hung it up on a nail. Adjust the ball vertically to adjust the horizontal position.

I started with exactly that arrangement - re-used the tennis ball!

The problem I found was that in the dark, against a sloping rear windscreen where the contact point was in front of the car's rear lights, it was very difficult to actually judge contact.

[daveat92]

KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) was drummed into me at an early age, so both Reluctant and AJGalaxy2012 win my vote, although Reluctant's bit of wood on the floor is a trip hazard.

[KnausCol]

6 minutes ago, Ched said:

Great idea until the battery goes flat!!!! 

You could convert your tennis ball push button to lever something to come into view. That way you don't need power.

It will be a long time before the occasional flash of a single bulb drains a 12v motorcycle battery!

A mechanism you suggest would be a bit heath robinson to construct because the contact point is low down but visibility of the indicator needs to be higher up if you get what I mean. Also I wanted something that wouldn't get in the way re the shelves.

3 minutes ago, daveat92 said:

KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) was drummed into me at an early age, so both Reluctant and AJGalaxy2012 win my vote, although Reluctant's bit of wood on the floor is a trip hazard.

Agreed - I'm usually an advocate of that approach. To be honest the challenge of a more technical solution and doing something useful to fill 'Corona' time was as much a driver as the problem I was facing.

[JCloughie]

I am confused.  How is it possible to get a car in a garage, just where would the important rubbish go?

 

John 

[KnausCol]

Just now, JCloughie said:

I am confused.  How is it possible to get a car in a garage, just where would the important rubbish go?

 

John 

It's a double garage and there is room for only one car, so believe me there is plenty of 'important rubbish' stored 

[Guest]

Really simple is a plank or piece of wood across the floor which you can feel when the rear wheels touch it - make it high enough and it stops the car before it touches anything else. You dont have to see it because you'll feel it.

 

My bro fitted an infra red beam and detector which lights a light an dings a bell as the car blocks the beam - but he likes doing that sort of thing

Edited May 3, 2020 by matelodave

[daveat92]

37 minutes ago, reluctant said:

A grand job which will have whiled away a few hours, but far to technical!

 

A block of wood bolted to the floor where one of the rear wheels need to be serves well, and no need to watch!

 

3 minutes ago, matelodave said:

Really simple is a plank or piece of wood across the floor which you can feel when the rear wheels touch it - make it high enough and it stops the car before it touches anything else. You dont have to see it because you'll feel it

Isn't this the same as Reluctant's idea ?

[Steven]

21 hours ago, KnausCol said:

Not strictly a caravan mod but . . .

I recently changed my tow car and it is somewhat larger than previously so its length only just fits in the garage given the shelving I have installed on the back wall. I found reversing sufficiently tightly up to the garage rear difficult - the parking sensors where screaming stop well before I was close enough! Corona isolation proves a catalyst for inventiveness and I rigged up the following gadget to indicate when I had reversed to a satisfactory position. The car presses on the tennis ball and a push to make momentary switch completes a circuit that illuminates the light on an upper shelf that is visible through the rear windscreen. Easing slightly forward releases the switch. The spring element is included to allow a degree of 'give' as the switch only has a 3mm activation movement and even I can't manoeuvre with that accuracy! All parts excepting  the £3 switch itself were hanging around the garage including an old 12v battery and indicator light from a motorbike. It works a treat.

Good job, I did something similar with a burglar alarm pressure pad for a friend.

[Bolingbroke]

19 hours ago, AJGalaxy2012 said:

In a similar situation I used to hand a tennis ball from a string to touch the back window at the appropriate position

 

I saw that idea in Practical Motorist mag years ago, and tried it. Works OK-ish if you go in forwards as the ball is in front of your face, but it is too far away to see accurately enough if you reverse in.  The ball is an annoying nuiscance when the car is not in there and you are using the space to do something else (eg some woodwork I am doing today)

 

18 hours ago, daveat92 said:

Reluctant's bit of wood on the floor is a trip hazard.

 

You wouldn't last long in my garage. I do have a "plank" and it's not bolted down.  It is a short piece of 4x2, only needs to cover one wheel.  Immediately behind where the car stops is where I keep my coils of garden hose and they keep it in place.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Bolingbroke
Tpyo

[Scorpio]

Don't know if this would help you, but I reversed the car carefully to the correct position, then put a chalk mark on the wall, in line with the wing mirror, on the passenger side.  Now I just reverse until the mirror reaches the chalk mark.

[QuietlyGone]

The wife yells stop!

[Guest]

Well done KnausCol for what you have done, not just for parking the car but also for keeping yourself gainfully employed at this time.

 

On 03/05/2020 at 15:07, reluctant said:

A block of wood bolted to the floor where one of the rear wheels need to be serves well, and no need to watch!

Reluctant,

We had a similar solution when first married. We had a flat with a garage behind, that due to approach restrictions could only be accessed forward. Like you, I placed a fence post across the width of the garage where the front wheels had to be. By doing this the towball of the car fitted within the thickness of the side hinged garage doors when closed. To say it was tight would be an understatement as also there was literally half an inch clearance between the door mirror and a downpipe when driving down the side of the building.

 

[MalH]

On 05/05/2020 at 07:11, Scorpio said:

Don't know if this would help you, but I reversed the car carefully to the correct position, then put a chalk mark on the wall, in line with the wing mirror, on the passenger side.  Now I just reverse until the mirror reaches the chalk mark.

 

Yes a good idea, I did something similar when I got my XT, which only just fits the garage.  There's a paint stripe on the wall that lines up with the mirror, also a timber offcut on the floor corresponding to where the rear tyres need to be.  I reverse in very slowly until I feel the tyre hit the timber.  On the other hand, my big failure is misjudging the width of the damned thing coming out, more than once I've had an argument with the door frame! 

[cravendale]

On 03/05/2020 at 19:58, Grandpa Steve said:

Good job, I did something similar with a burglar alarm pressure pad for a friend.

Easy to make a pressure pad. 2 pieces of ply with copper wire stapled on cross crossing. Wrap a few rubber bands round each piece and place them together with the copper wires in opposing directions. When pressure is put on the bands squash and the wires contact. Bingo  a pressure pad. Cost almost nil, coronavirustime plenty

 

[Steven]

1 minute ago, cravendale said:

Easy to make a pressure pad. 2 pieces of ply with copper wire stapled on cross crossing. Wrap a few rubber bands round each piece and place them together with the copper wires in opposing directions. When pressure is put on the bands squash and the wires contact. Bingo  a pressure pad. Cost almost nil, coronavirustime plenty

 

Mine took as long as it took for the guy in Maplin to put it in a carrier - £5.99, and nothing hit or miss about it,  it worked first time every time!

[cravendale]

1 minute ago, Grandpa Steve said:

Mine took as long as it took for the guy in Maplin to put it in a carrier - £5.99, and nothing hit or miss about it,  it worked first time every time!

Great idea but I queued for 3 weeks at Maplins only to discover it is now a gym because they went bust;(