Newbie Here: Question for those Tundra CM owners that have standard (20') garages and park in them

I am about to take delivery of a 2017 CM Platinum and want to park it in my garage. Spec length says of CM is 228" and some change. My garage measures precisely 234". So it should fit, but with no real workable margin. I am committed to parking my Tundra in the garage, no matter how difficult, as the alternative is full element exposure (sun, hail, etc..) in Texas and that is not an option. Been down the hail dents before and not fun..

I will be parking my Tundra on the left side of the garage. Parking on right side will block the door which is offset to the right about 12 inches from center. If I pull in and clear the unfolded left side mirrors, I will have enough room to walk to the side and out the back garage and re-enter around to passenger side and walk into the house. Again, hassle not be able to walk in front, but a trade off that is acceptable.

Here is the game changer for me. I have monocular vision (see out of one eye), so depth perception is almost none existent when i'm not moving. Had it since a freak accident when i was 10. So having parking aids is more important to me vs others who can wing it and have good depth judgement.

1) Does anyone use any parking aids to assist in getting the truck into the garage without 1) hitting the left side mirrors and then 2) inadvertently pushing in drywall on the wall?

First hurdle is parking aid to clear the driver side mirror, optimally, so as to not have the right side of the truck block too much of the middle portion of the garage. Could power fold left side, but prefer not to do.

Second hurdle is to pull in so the rear clear the garage door coming down. Was thinking of some having some sort of beam (like the garage door openers) so when the front of the truck breaks the beam, a 30 second timeout light comes on signifying i'm 2 inches shy of the wall and also clear the rear. If anyone knows of something like this, it would be best. Tennis ball is also an option.

The entry door into the house is almost in the middle and offset about 12 inches from center to the right side. Based on spec dimensions, if I pull straight in, and allow my driver side mirrors to clear (without folding in), the right side front will probably cover about 2-3 inches on the left side of the entry door, which is fine as the nob is on the right and door swings into the house.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and provide any guidance, suggestions, tips, etc...

 

Your back up camera should help a lot too. Toyota has an "eye sight" feature on some vehicles which has a camera in the side mirror. Perhaps your truck could be configured with something like that.

 

I disconnected all parking assists on my CM. Beeped for everything and got quite annoying. I do use a point of reference when parking in the garage. I have a ladder hanging on the right side of the garage, so I know when I'm in the sweet spot when my mirror on the passenger side is right in the middle. So visual cues are the way to go as @csuviper said. or how about those rubber pads that you put on the floor that holds cars from rolling backwards? Don't know what they are called right now.

 

I use a large rubber chock from harbor freight, it was like $5

 

Tennis ball I will definitely implement for a proximity warning.. Like I have 6 inches to go before i hit the wall.

Need something to help me line up the truck going in. Maybe another tennis ball hanging at the entrance of the garage, attached to the header on the outside?

Camera on the side mirror is a good suggestion. I will look into that..

Keep the suggestion coming... Thanks!!!

 

I like the chock idea, have something like that for my jet ski trailer but it's not attached to the floor. Was thinking of a simple 2x4 semi permanently mounted to the floor as a "can't go any further, dummy" warning..

 

Any visual aids, have to be straight on... Anything offset and my eyes can't pick up the depth... sucks... but my reality..

Can the parking sensors be switched off and then switched back on? Or is this a permanent feature, unless then are disconnected via fuse or similar?

Again, keep the suggestions coming...

Anyone know of beams that would work in the front of the garage?

 

I definitely feel this struggle lol. My garage is 230" and my truck with the aftermarket bumpers is 229". I installed a boat dock bumper against the back wall and have to back it in till the hitch is resting against the bumper. Its so close the lock chain on the door rests ontop of the front bumper lol

 

Holy s*** that is close... lol. A boat dock bumper is a great idea... and it spawned another thought about putting a push button switch (think of a rectangle door bell button, but mounted horizontally) behind the boat bumper so when the bumper is just hanging, there isn't enough pressure to push it in, but when the truck hits the bumper, there would be just enough pressure to push in the button and activate a light and have an inch or two of margin for the boat bumper being compressed before it compromises the drywall. Theoretically.

 

Sounds like something you can make money on!! Its so close that the only ease of mind for me is to check the clearance before I hit the garage button lol because you are right, if I go in too slow then I stick out too much

 

Do you have a preference of driving it in forward or backwards?

 

Pull in and once the sensor beeps, stop, get out and check your clearance. It will only take a few times to "learn" where to park and then you'll have a point of reference like others have already mentioned. The Tundra fits in my garage with another car with zero issues, I don't even fold in the mirrors (didn't do it with my tow mirrors either) I did have a stopper on the ground when I got the first Tundra, now I just use the sensors and point of reference.

Also, you may consider backing in. The red guideline on the camera screen is 1.5'.

 

You may have just won the award for proximity my man. That's nuts!

 

I like to think of it as determined lol. I almost have a height issue as well lol

 

Mine wont fit either way so I just deal with it and be glad I live in southern California.

 

Wow! I thought I had some issues with the garage!
I fold in my power mirrors and wait for the sensors to beep twice and call it good. Agree with tennis ball, and like the idea of a bumper. I have a buffer though, looks like some are a little stressed for space!

 

I will try to take pics tomorrow in the day light of my tight fit. My wife pulls in on the right side and I back in on the left side and this allows us room in between the cars to open the drivers door and get out. I have a strip of red duct tape on the floor and as I begin to back in, I power my drivers mirror down towards the ground and this gives me perfect view of the tires to the red tape. I have a wheel chalk at the rear tire to give me a positive stop. Hope this helps.

 

I use my power fold to clear the entry and use this floor stop to know my rear bumper clears the door.


Highland 9242200 Park Right Parking Mat https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BRMYN8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_koTGybFCT1DD9

 

Excellent ideas. Love the floor stop. Better than using a 2x4.

 

Since you have a Platinum you can simply turn your proximity sensors on or off by a button to the right of your steering wheel. It also beeps faster the closer you get and beeps solid when your within a few inches. I would install the Blocks from harbor freight and bolt them to the concrete floor. Then I would install one or two tennis balls for parking assistance. Then you have three different parking aides.

 

Look into those laser parking sensors. I have a 30ft garage so no problems fitting

 

I should double check my manual but the front sensors on my 2013 beep solid at 12-16". The rears beep solid at 36". I think they are too far away to really use as a guide for parking VERY close to something.

What about one of those traffic light parking sensors? You mount it directly in line with where you need to pull in (to help with left/right alignment. Then the lights turn green/yellow/red as you get closer. There are numerous versions - some are just a buzzer - so do some googling and check it out.

 

I missed that you have a 2013 Platinum. On my 17 Platinum it gives you the option to shut off the sensors by a switch. And the beeping does allow you to be a lot closer based on the type of sound it makes.

 

The red duct tape is effective for me. I have it located where I can use it as a centering guide with the back up camera and have a perpendicular strip of red tape to line up with the cross bar proximity line on the camera image. This lets me put the truck in exactly the same place every time I back in.
I actually have a good sized garage but it's also my shop and there's only one spot for the truck where I can open all doors and tailgate without hitting a drill press, table saw, anvil or something.

 

My truck will not fit in my garage forward. I have to reverse it in until it touches the wall. I also had to reinforce the back wall with a thicker stronger piece of wood so I would not damage the drywall which I already put a couple holes in to. Even with my truck fully backed up against the wall I am working with about 3 inches left in the front and that is only when I back in straight.

*Use your back up camera and draw a line on your wall. There is a red line in your camera feed and you could use that to align to the wall. Once the two line matches or you go above the line, you're safe a clear. The trick is trying to first measure the line on the wall to match the red line on the camera feed.

 

Backing is certainly a consideration for sure and the idea of using the back up camera gridlines and red tape is excellent and will certainly employ that regardless for days when i know weather is bad, i can back in using that technique.. a forward facing camera with gridlines would be excellent in that light, but road debris and dirt would render it useless fairly quickly..

I came across this in my search that looks to be an alternative as well, albeit a little expensive. it's the beam idea i was citing above..

$68 Park-Daddy PDY-50-AA Single-Vehicle Precision Garage Parking Aid System, Maximize The Space in Front of Your Vehicle. No Hard Wiring! No Harmful Lasers!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IWQAKFI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2ZANZX0RHL3OT

In the front left of my garage, is my hot water heater... it sticks out about 8 inches from the front wall, so i have to pull in a little more to the right that I normally would or about 6-8 inches from my mirror to the entrance of the garage, so that will eliminate (for the most part) the concern about trying to get close to the left.. I figured using a tennis ball hanging from the outside header to get the initial entry lined up and then use the stop pads at the front and perhaps the beam idea and/or two laser pointer, the first a warning and the second to set..

Appreciate everyone chiming in on this one... Very much appreciated...

 

I use the tennis ball trick and it works great. I know I have about a foot of space in front of me when it impacts my windshield.

 

I use the rubber chocks and marked the ground (no more guessing and getting in and out of the truck to check) so I know where to place the chocks driving forward or backing in. I have an inch to spare from hitting the wall (now) and about 2 inches from the garage door.
Forward mark for placement of the chock
Rear Mark for placement of the chock
Chocks on both sides
As you can see the wall suffered some collateral damage from the hitch before I got smart.
Truck in Reverse
Distance from the wall and hitch
Distance from bumper to garage door