Lower tire pressure to fit in garage?

[vahoneybee]

I would like to put my Northpoint 377rlbh into my garage but the door height is 161” and it looks like my new camper is the same height. Could I gain a couple of inches by letting some air out of the tires for the final back- in to get through the door or would it not make that much difference before the weight would likely unseat them? Bummed, I thought it would fit :-(.

[Mopar_Earl]

You can. But it won't change the height much on the front as the truck won't lower in less you lower the truck tires. Get it lined up straight as you don't want to do any turning on low tires.


Earl

[Bookemdanno]

A measuring tape and patience is gonna be your best friend if you attempt this.

[Nature Ist]

As Danno says: you probably need to very slowly make your approach, back it in and watch for what will hit. Usually the forward AC unit is the highest point, but each unit can behave differently. The slope of the apron can impact the clearance if your tow vehicle is not dead level to the floor of the garage.
Assuming you have an overhead garage door, is your head jamb 161" or was that measurement to the bottom lip of the door when raised? Sometimes you can adjust the door opener to retract the door further, raising the lower lip.
If you only need to gain 1/2" to 1" max, you might get that by deflating the tires, but that will be a very tricky thing to do every time you back it in or pull it out.

[JaycoMLOK]

You can gain a 1" or more by removing the a/c shrouds.

[vahoneybee]

Ahh! Awesome tip! I’ll climb up there and look at that. Hopefully how to get them off is intuitive.

[vahoneybee]

Thank you, all three, for your replies. Very helpful!

[jadatis]

You dont have to be afraid that it is bad for the tires, because the speed is verry low then.

To give you an idea, with advice pressure most likely your tires deflect about a small inch.
If you lower pressure to half, surfacelength on the ground 2 x as much , deflection then 4 times as much, so you gain a good 2 inches.
Must see this as an indication, not exact.

For offroading they even go lower for in mudd-sand.

If you then put the wheels off the ground when stored, you can leave the pressure low, and only have to fill up to normal, when you are outside the garage again, so you dont forget to lower, and damage to the roof. .

[DNelson]

Another thought would be to lower the 5th wheel hitch if you have enough rail clearance. That would essentially be the same as lowering the truck.

[F350guy]

Our garage entrance is 13' 6", one inch more than yours. Our Pinnacle is listed at 13' 6" so not a good fit. I figured it might be even higher hooked to the truck. Our only solution was changing both of our a/c's to low profile versions. If I remember right the ones that came with it were 13" and the low pro's are 8". Both of ours are heat pump versions. We had the exchange done by the dealer prior to bringing it home. I have about 4 inches of clearance on the bedroom air when I back it in. I had the wife on a ladder with a walkie talkie the first time we tried it.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by F350guy

Our garage entrance is 13' 6", one inch more than yours. Our Pinnacle is listed at 13' 6" so not a good fit.

Ours is listed at 13'6", but actually measures to 13'7". It was measured by the Weighmaster at Escapees in FLA using a tool meant for the job, so I believe that it is accurate. Oh, and that is with the low profile Colmans already. Tires and suspension are stock, too.


Angus

[bstannard]

We had same problem. We scooped the stone out to create a dip about 2-3 feet in front of the door. The trailer tires drop down in there enough to let the rear ac in then truck tires drop in to allow front ac in. We were fortunate to have a drop off nearby to allow the dip to drain.