I have a 2009 Prius and I'm a veteran driver and parker. I just moved over the weekend and my new garage is much smaller than the previous one, but it is a two-car garage. I share it with someone who drives a Jeep. I can't see anything around me beyond the windshield wipers and I would love to hear how other drivers have handled parking in tight spaces, successfully. In the mean time I've been parking in my driveway for fear of denting/scratching my beautiful car. If you have some tips to share, I thank you in advance.
I am one of those types who backs in and uses mirrors. If it will fit in there, you should be able to back in. Big plus if you have the back up camera on your Prius. In the old days, hung a key with a string from the ceiling. The key would hit the rear glass when it was time to stop. Of course you had to listen and it needed to be quiet. A tennis ball will also do the same thing. Pulling straight out seems easier to me than trying to pull in. Hope this helps.
i have 2 painted yellow lines on either side of the car space in the garage. same as the ones you see in large parking areas. that way i can see the lines when reversing into the garage, and i know im straight. i also have the factory reverse camera, so i can see the rear wall approaching and know when to stop. Jason.
All those products and spatial aids can help. But exactly how tight is tight? If you can't see anything beyond your windshield wipers, that's going to make parking in the garage difficult regardless. I personally use those blind spot mirrors, on both mirrors with my Prius. But this is mostly to aid in passing and driving...not really to help in parking in super tight spots. Also even if you get the car parked in the garage, safely and where you want it, and then hang up or add some aides of your choice in outlining where you should return, some of it will rely on the person you are sharing the garage with, also being consistent in where they are parking their jeep.
We use the tennis ball on the string for one of the cars. I also like placing a long 2x4 on the floor (or 4x4 blocks, etc) for the front tires to roll up to--that offers the best precision, as long as the lumber doesn't move.
I like all the ideas. Thanks. The garage is not very wide. There's a pole on the left wall that gets in my way when I want to open my door. I'm going to try the piece of lumber. It shouldn't move if it's heavy enough.
jbean, Structures do tend to get in the way at times. Without actually being on site, my suggestion would be to try to back in with the passenger side as close as possible without scraping anything. That should give you enough room that you can try to open the drivers door and then exit and enter that way. It is easier to back in as long as you use the camera. All Gen II models EXCEPT for base model came with the camera. Stopping point is the bottom view of the camera display. A wall, painted line etc. at very bottom of display will result in a inch of clearance normally. Check this with a trash can or painted stripe on parking lot to compare your camera display with actual reality before using it to back in. Use BOTH mirrors and camera when backing in and back in straight. When pulling out, pull out straight ahead. As long as you keep it to the right you might have enough room to do it that way providing the pole wont limit your ability to crack open the door enough to get in and out. The only other suggestion would be to switch places with the Jeep and see if that works better. Let us know how you finally get it worked out. I too am fixing to tackle the garage since I want to keep the new one inside at night. Best of luck to you. Ron (dorunron)
One of you has to back in and both park far against the wall, then you can both get in and out of your vehicles at least, good lighting and some practice and it will be natural. (the one with the backup camera should backup)
Great suggestions. I'm not very comfortable backing into a tight space. I had the same idea of switching places with the Jeep. I'll see if we can experiment with it. Thanks.
That makes sense. I don't know if the Jeep has a backup camera. I do. The lighting is terrible in the garage. There's only one light source coming from the overhead garage door thing.
