Houston, we have a problem... (now with pics added)

[Justin & Muttley]

I need some advice guys - here's the problem:

When we bought the van we knew it would be a tight fit (height wise) to get it in the garage. When it was delivered we had to let out almost all the air from the tyres, and 7 members of my family sat in the front of the van to get it in the door! The beams of the garage roof are also quite low so it still sits on largely under-inflated tyres to this day.

Now, thanks to a very helpful fellow EarlyBayer I'll soon have a Red9 4" drop kit for the front, and the back has already been dropped quite a bit but it'll still be a squeeze because of my Devon pop-top so the choice is this:

1. Spend a fortune getting the roof on my otherwise perfectly proportioned garage raised 12" or so.
2. Ditch the pop-top and fit a rag-top instead.
3. Ditch the pop-top and put a steel roof back on.
4. Easy & Scampi, before you suggest it I don't want a cabrio!!!

Any suggestions or recommendations for me???

cheers

 

[Scampi]

Roof chop :wink:

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Thanks mate - I knew I could count on you for some constructive advice! :lol:

 

[Scampi]

Otherwise if you would like me to choose one of the options sir.

Ragtop, if I had somewhere to store my van I would have one! :wink:

 

[ianscooby]

Justin

Being serious, not sure of the roof construction of the garage, assuming pitched roof, check with a struct engineer or truss man if you can lift the ceiling brace up by 12 inches and provide a plywood cleat at the ridge line to provide additional support.

Bob the builder rules

 

[Shaggy]

Ragtop all the way

 

[bananacustard]

I had my very leaky pop top removed and had an original tin top grafted in with a new headliner. It looks great and cost about the same as having a sunroof fitted and trimmed.
Much better in my opinion.

 

[dubberdaz]

Dropped spindles and adjustable sping plates?... Or dig down within the garage?

 

[Scampi]

Dropped spindles and adjustable sping plates?... Or dig down within the garage?

:wink:

Clever :lol:

 

[lobus]

Maybe you could go downunder!
Depending on what your shed is made of maybe you could dig up the floor of the garage and re concrete it at a lower level.
If you do be carefull you sort out the drainage,as it will become a small pond in the wet.
If your garage is at the top of your driveway it should be simple.
Costly maybe, but simpler than lifting the roof I think

 

[slammedkustom]

buy a new house with a bigger garage? :wink:

 

[Tofufi]

Lower it more?

Surely if it goes in with no air in the tyres and 7 people inside that can't be much different to an extreme lowering job? :lol:

 

[pete nice]

Post some pictures up so we can see where the problem is.

Looks like a few options, raise the roof, dig the floor or modify the van.

If you do it to the garage, you can get another van in if you sell yours at any time.

 

[easy]

Raising the garage roof should not be to bad a job, get some piccies of that garage. Otherwise lower the van to the weeds 8)

 

[slammedkustom]

i did have that problem when i had a split, it was too low to drive (bumper on the ground) but if i raised it it wouldnt fit in the garage..
so i fitted hydralics! not the best idea and i sold it shortly afterwards cos hydralics suck arse!

pics would be good so we can point you in the right direction, or we could all come round and build you a bigger garage! :wink:

 

[Scampi]

You could have a raise your garage party thingy!

 

[lobus]

Yeah, post up some pics, we'll sort it out for ya in no time.

 

[Araon]

Very Ahmish, we got a barn raising :lol:

To raise the roof line shouldnt cost the earth, or you could drop the floor level and whilst your at it dig an inspection pit, thats the route my father in law took. very handy

 

[Justin & Muttley]

As requested, pics of the garage scenario...

As you can see, the garage is constructed of cement blocks, with a currugated asbestos (!) roof supported by 2 large wooden beams and the tops of the four walls:

I think I could safely cut some of the beam away - this was my original plan and I've purchased some heavy angle iron to strengthen what remains - I was thinking about removing approx half the height of the beam which would mean a gain of approx 4" (not quite enough!)

You can see that there's not much clearance at the mo':

And that's with the rear tyres like this (don't worry, they won't be re-used!):

I think it would be possible to raise the roof using lots of acro-props, then mortar in another row of blocks all round (with a pre-stressed concrete lintle above the window) - but if the roof gets damaged I'll be screwed because a)I'll have to repair it, and b)I'll have to pay to dispose of the asbestos!

It will be tight after the beams are cut, and it will still mean that I'll have to wheel the bus outside to jack it up for any work!

cheers

 

[Araon]

Cutting the beams dont sound like much of an option....

Acro props with care and go for a two block raise on the support pillars.

How cheaply you wanting to do it? you could get away with boarding the gap between walls and roofline.

Or a comfortable mix of board and block.

Shouldnt be too difficult, will you require a lintle? Theres no real load on the window frame.