Parking pad for garage

K

KenSilver

New member
I bought two garage parking helpers yesterday at a car show, and they work quite well. When you run your front wheel up to the pad, you feel the first bump, then settle into the second bump. This positions the car accurately.



In practice it works well enough, but I had to put them on a rubber mat because they kept being pushed away by the wheel on the shiny paint surface of my garage floor.



The real test will come when my wife gets to use hers (she's out at the moment). Machinery, technology and her are -- well, let's say they're not quite compatible!



Parkpad.jpg




Parkpadgraphic.jpg
 
I put a 2" x 4" x 8' board on the floor to position the car where I want it & I put a couple swimming pool noodles on the walls to protect the doors.



Cheap & it works so I can spend money on more useful stuff like a PC & pads, Poorboy's, 4*, Pinnacle prodcuts ........
 
Thousands of folks hang a ball from the ceiling in front of the driver. When the ball meets the windshield. Stop. Simple. Effective.



Jim
 
Jimmy Buffit said:
Thousands of folks hang a ball from the ceiling in front of the driver. When the ball meets the windshield. Stop. Simple. Effective.

Jim
Click to expand...

Sure, for folks in moderate climes! We live at the top of a hill (alt 900 meters) and there is a constant wind. It would be like playing tennis with your car :)
 
Update

^^^^^

They don't work too well.



I'm now looking for something to anchor these pads to the floor. Even the rubber mat didn't do the trick to hold them in place. As soon as the front wheel hits the front of the parking pad - even before it gets to the first bump - it pushes the pad along the floor.



Anyone got any ideas on how to secure them to the painted floor?



Glue won't work. Scuffing the paint is not practical. Using concrete screws might be the answer, but I could have done that with a plank and saved myself the purchase.



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
There are a couple of cheaper options you could explore.



1. Cut a piece of 2x4 to size from the wall to the tire's edge. Mark a spot on the wall or floor where to line it up. As soon as you hit it. You're there.



Cheap. About $2. Easily moveable.



2. Tennis ball trick discussed above.



3. Put a cheap $3 gym locker mirror on the side wall, next to the nearest obstruction that you are trying to avoid. Presto. Easy way to gauge where to park.



The key in my opinion is not to have anything permanently fixed to the floor. Otherwise, Murphy's law will come into play and you'll forever be tripping over the freaking parking marker! It'll get it in the way when you try and sweep etc.



The wall guards are interesting and I almost picked those up last winter. I seem to recall some 1/8th or 1/4th rubber at a local build it center. I'll try and see if I can rig something this winter for my fiance that looks nice as it can be a tight squeeze for her in the garage.



Paco





Paco
 
How about some velcro and a couple spots of liquid nails? The velcro would allow you to move it and the liquid nails would only make small spots under the pad.



Brian:nixweiss
 
Adhesive velcro strips.



Either that (my best suggestion), or place the parking mats far enough back on the rubber mats, that the wheel of the car rests on the mat before hitting the first bump. That should hold it in place. I have to use my old rubber winter mats under my ramps, or I get the same thing.
 
Could you put sandpaper or those slip prevention strips from a hardware store to keep them in place?



Also I used plumbing insulation tubes (to prevent hot water loss) around nearby shelving to prevent the inevitable dings
 
The plumbing insulation tubes are made of the same material as the swimming pool "noodles" that I use but the noodles are larger OD & I think they're more durable 'cause they're made to be abused.



I also used the noodles when I used to store a car for winter in a two car garage that I was sharing with the owner who used it for his everyday driver. Even if I parked my car extremely on one side of the garage his doors could still reach my car so a couple noodles prevented "acci-dents".
 
Great ideas! I will have to try them.



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
MongooseGA said:
...Is this the same company that makes the wall guards for your doors?
Click to expand...

Here's a pic of the wall guard. One problem - when I change cars in that space... :( yep - it doesn't match the door. Is there no end to the problems!



I've also taken the parking pads away until I can figure out how to secure them to the floor. None of the helpful suggestions everyone has given so far (thanks!) are exactly suitable.



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...



<img src=http://www.honestlotto.com/sl/wallguard.jpg border=0>
 
That's why I like using the pool "noodles" for wall guards or for positioning on a "garage queen" that's spending the winter indoors but sharing garage space with a daily driver.



They're about 5 ft long and, if positioned correctly, would work for 95+% of the cars that would park in that space.
 
KenSilver said:
Sure, for folks in moderate climes! We live at the top of a hill (alt 900 meters) and there is a constant wind. It would be like playing tennis with your car :)
Click to expand...



Try Lazer-Guided Parking (EZpark)



The ceiling monted unit is installed directly above where you want to position your vehicle, the red lazer beam will indicate the point you've selected on your vehicle to position it correctly.Powered by a 9 Volt or ac power. $US 40.0 www.autosportcatlog.com



~Hope this helps~
 
I was at Lowes the other day and found a parking stop made of rubber. It looks like a cement parking stop you'd find in a real parking space, but only about 18" wide. It's about 4-6" tall and has some significant weight (for the size) to it (about 5 pounds, maybe). It works great for my wife's car and doesn't move a bit when she taps it. In fact, I bet that if we tried, we could probably drive over it if we wanted. I think it was about $10-15. Doesn't work well for lowered cars though, such as my car. So I'm still looking for another option.



Ken, if you don't mind potentially ruining a pad, try cutting off one of the bumps so you're left with a bump and the middle part:



/^\_______ <--- Car Drives this way.



That way, when you drive on to it, the weight of the vehicle would keep the pad from moving. It wouldn't keep it from moving if you weren't in the garage, but a permanent marker will allow you to draw guides to easily replace it.
 
"GOOP" will hold anything to anything forever.

Maby not that good but its cheap & I think it would hold.

I have filled a tennis ball W/sand and hung it. Not too much swing.
 
TOGWT said:
Try Lazer-Guided Parking (EZpark)...
Click to expand...

I couldn't connect to this site, but funnily enough I did look at doing this about a year back. I bought a laser pointer and was going to hook it up to the garage door, but the complexity of making it work properly got in the way.



Ken Silver

--------------

1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
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