dougpark714

We're putting in 2 single garage doors in our new home design. Architect spec'ed 8.5' width doors. He said many spec homes have 8' double doors which is not wide enough for larger SUVs but cheaper since it's a standard size.

Does anyone park their GL in a single width garage door? What is the width of the door? Curious if it's comfortable entering / exiting. Thanks.

mdadgar

Our single-car garage has a 9' door and it's fine. I think 8' would be a little tight.

The GL is 7' 1.5" mirror-to-mirror. An 8' door doesn't leave a lot of margin for error.

- Mark

ObssedOne

My triple garage has a 8' and a 16' door. A couple of times I have parked on the "single side " of the garage but going in and out of a 8' opening would get painful on a daiy basis. (more worried about the wife then me).

BJ021

You should build an 8' TALL door...that way you can drive your GL loaded with a Thule on the top right into the garage! 7' doors are too low for any top cargo.

dougpark714

That's a great point! We changed it to 8' height. We don't have room to increase the width to 9' but sounds like 8 1/2 should work okay.

BJ021

Awesome! We did ours at 8' when we built and it's just so much better. It also allows you to open the rear hatch without smashing into the frame of the garage door.

Funny story, our last home we built, they were at 7'....I drove our family truckster into the garage with the Christmas tree on top!! It was very Griswaldian...singing carols, etc....Then even dumber, backed out! Salvaged the tree by placing the damaged side against the window in the house... but that left a mental mark so 8' was a no brainer on the new house! Good luck to you!

gedelea

I've had my Gl550 for just a couple of weeks and I back into my garage through my 8" wide garage door and it is a little tight. My wife and I are building a new house next year and I never thought about the taller garage door....great point!

dougpark714

How much space do you have on both sides when the mirrors are next to the door? Our new house is spec-ed to 8 1/2' so we're hoping it's enough. Thanks!

gedelea

I'd say about three inches on each side of the vehicle. I think you would be fine with an 8 1/2 foot door. I back into the garage because I can use visual cues from the mirrors to make sure that I'm lined up properly. The Parktronic then confirms how good I did when the front bumper goes through the doorway.. even lights make me feel like hitting the 3rd wire on a carrier landing!

BJ021

8 1/2 should be plenty of space. A standard double door is 16' - we have an X5 on one side and the GL on the other - they fit fine... what matters is how much room you have on the sides when you get out! Your doors may be 8 1/2' but what are your interior spaces?

dougpark714

21.5' interior width. And 21' depth.

We also have a X5 and a GL in our current 16' garage door but I only have to watch one side when backing out. With 2 smaller doors, I'm assuming I'll need to watch both sides as I back out..

BACONMOTORSPORT

Im actually in the garage door business. 8.5 wide will be a special order. Its to bad you cant fit the 9' wide. 8' is tight for most people

dougpark714

I wish we could get the 9' door and avoid the 8.5' special order but we can't squeeze in the extra foot.

Are your customers that special order the 8.5' happy with the width?

BJ021

Naw, once you get the feel of how far away you are to the door frame on the drivers side and fit properly all the way around - that's all you'll need to look at. Good Luck!