A Little Problem With The Garage Door

When I got home last Friday from the Iowa trip, after unpacking, I went to get the Jeep out of the garage so I could go down to the post office at the Flying J to get my mail.

Above, the garage door after hitting it and getting it fully opened. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After starting up the Jeep, I started backing. Looking with the rear-view and side-view mirrors, it was clear for me to back out of the garage, or so I thought. Then, suddenly, bang! The top of the Jeep, where one of the roll bars is located, hit the roll-up garage door. I thought I opened it completely, but about 18" of it was still down. That's what I hit. 

The Jeep hit the bottom door crossbar and bent the bottom panel. It knocked the door off one of its tracks. I did manage to fully open the door thanks to a handy crowbar. After getting the Jeep out, I went to the post office and got my mail. There was no damage to the Jeep (thank God).

I decided to keep the Jeep out of the garage and parked the motorhome up near the door so nobody could get in (not counting critters). I then called some garage door repairers and arranged to have one look it over. He came over today and said the door was repairable. He also managed to get the door all the way closed. He will be back to do the repairs in a few days.

When I first called him, he asked me how long have I lived there. I told him over six and a half years. He replied, "And this is the first time you hit the door after six years?!" Apparently, this is a common occurrence. A friend, who shall remain nameless, backed into his garage door twice. 

I then put the motorhome into the GOCO Beast Barn so that it would be protected from the cold night we're expecting tomorrow night. The temperature is expected to go down into the 20s.

Since the garage door is now securely closed, I can go to Gallup for some grocery shopping tomorrow.

Oh, well. Shit happens! 

UPDATE (10/30/24):

The door was fixed this morning for under $100. Whew!