Community Forums

Isaac-1 · 07-12-2021, 02:26 PM

If you have access to a shop with a roll up door you are SURE you will fit through, you can do much the same thing, pull in and stop lined up with your tallest obstruction (air conditioner, etc.), pull the door down to where it just touches, and then measure the height up the door track with a measuring tape.

Note actual height may vary depending on how you are loaded, and if you have air suspension set to travel height on an air ride chassis. Also be aware angle of approach and raise your height by a few inches in some cases, think under passes with U shaped dip under them, if your axles are on each side of the U then you will be taller at the highest point than clearance in the U

153stars · 07-13-2021, 10:55 AM

One of those laser levels the more advanced the easier, it could be.

Ray,IN · 07-13-2021, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRR

Well if you brush up on your basic trigonometry or even geometry class from high school it isn't that hard.

leadfree,
Here is the trig method of calculating the height of something. Here is the rough estimate method.

YC1 · 07-14-2021, 04:41 AM

Had a field trip in school to measure the height of our town's water tower. Using the shadow and trig was fun.

Probably not practical on the height of an RV. But nice to know.

n2zon · 07-14-2021, 06:09 AM

Another couple of things to consider when measuring or calculating rig height if you want exact numbers:

- If your suspension has steel springs, rig load will affect height. Find the height with the rig empty, including tanks! (Run the fuel down to a reasonable, but very low, level, too.)
- If you have steel springs with inner air springs, find the height with the rig empty and the air bags at their maximum pressure.
- If you have air suspension, any leveling valve adjustment can affect ride height. Also, I don't know how exactly the leveling valves maintain height.

Or, just use the manufacturer's number or measure. Then, add a margin that you think accounts for the variations above.

We use the height from Tiffin's specs with a 6" fudge factor. If the posted clearance is close, one of us gets out to watch while the other drives slowly. The FM and CB antennas are *not* included in the coach height, they are higher by perhaps 6-8", they are in front of the first AC unit, and you can easily tell when they hit something from the sound. If the antennas clear, so will the rest of the coach. Also, a spotter can see the antennas easily from the front.

But honestly, these are edge cases. There aren't that many things with 12'6" clearance. The vast majority of clearances are either far too low (11' is Right Out) or high enough not to worry about. We don't get out of the coach to check very often.

Teamfoxy · 07-14-2021, 06:20 AM

Hold a stick vertical and sight over it so that the bottom edge is even with the bottom of the tires. Mark the top even with the highest point on the coach. Turn the stick horizontal and sight the ground by the tires. Have a friend mark the ground and then measure between the marks.
You can verify by finding a bridge of that height and driving under it at 30 mph or so. If the AC units get crunched, you did it wrong.

69Stang · 07-14-2021, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teamfoxy

Hold a stick vertical and sight over it so that the bottom edge is even with the bottom of the tires. Mark the top even with the highest point on the coach. Turn the stick horizontal and sight the ground by the tires. Have a friend mark the ground and then measure between the marks.
You can verify by finding a bridge of that height and driving under it at 30 mph or so. If the AC units get crunched, you did it wrong.

That's true! I think that's what everyone is trying to avoid

Winemaker2 · 07-14-2021, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YC1

Here is what the tow truck driver used after hooking up and raising my RV.

That is exactly what the Escapees use when they do 4 corner wts and measure ht from the ground.
Make a homemade one and do it from the ground. Make the angle 90° and use your level on the long vertical piece. Make the vertical out of 2 pieces that overlap and use a quick adjusting clamp to set it and measure it after while it lays on the ground.