Nine Feet Seven Inches

[Mike and Carol]

RV owners should know the height of their trailer or rig.  For the last ten years 9’ 7” has been in my brain just in case we encountered a low overpass.  My thinking has always been if it’s under 10’ I’m turning around!  Some years ago we came to an overpass on a back road somewhere that was 9’6”, there was no traffic and I was able to easily back up turn around and find another route.

On our trip home from Hohenwald a couple of weeks ago we were on I-35 South between Dallas and Waco when our GPS showed a red road ahead and recommended we exit and take back roads.  That’s what we usually do anyway so we followed all the other folks doing the same thing.  We started out on normal county roads but after a half hour or so we were put on a small, unnamed road for a few miles before intersecting with a major highway.  We were one of many, there was a big boat and two long travel trailers ahead of us.  The road soon narrowed to about a lane and a half.  Basically one way traffic unless you moved over to be half off the road.  There were a few oncoming vehicles, so we slowed and moved over.  We could see the highway ahead so we ventured on with everyone else.

When we got close to the highway we saw that we had to go under the highway, make a sharp left and continue on the access road before merging onto the highway.  As we got closer we could see a big sign on the overpass - 9’10”.  The boat ahead went right under.  The 30+’ travel trailer stopped and two guys got out, scratched their heads, rubbed their chins looking at the overpass and their trailer while traffic is backing up behind us.  They turned around and announced they couldn’t go under and would back up to get out of the way.  This is on a 1.5 lane road, with a curve and a line of traffic.  Cars started to scrunch over and he proceeded to back his long trailer with his big dually pick up.  I put my truck mirrors in, there was about 12” clearance as he went by, slowly.  Once he passed the guy in front of me came back and asked me “how tall are yew?.  I said 9’7”, how tall are you?  He said he had no idea and wasn’t about to measure now.  He said I could just go around and then he’d do the backup thing too.

When I looked at the line of traffic behind and the narrow road I estimated that it would be a better choice to break my 10’ rule and go for it.  We pulled around the other long trailer and moved slowly to the overpass.  Carol jumped out to watch and I was checking my mirrors.  We had at least 2” to spare.  I heard cheers and “he made it!” being yelled as Carol jumped back in and were were quickly on our way.

Worst case I figured I might have to replace my noisy Dometic AC, but alas it is still there!  Mike

Edited Friday at 06:47 PM by Mike and Carol

[mountainoliver]

You were lucky on that one! With our new air conditioner and new axles/springs our new height is 9’ 8”. My personal comfort zone is nothing under 11’! I have many times wondered what the real height is under a bridge seeing new looking conduit or some other pipe hanging under the bridge and/or a new layer of asphalt on the road. Hence my 11’ lower limit.  Of course having an old Dometic air conditioner is sort of like curb feelers for the roof! No real loss if it takes one for the team! 🤣

Edited Friday at 08:27 PM by mountainoliver
Added content

[Mike and Carol]

2 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

 Of course having an old Dometic air conditioner is sort of like curb feelers for the roof! No real loss if it takes one for the team! 🤣

My thoughts, exactly.  There were plenty of scrape marks in the concrete above!  The ALCAN springs probably puts me closer to 9’8”.  Doing a backup exercise with no room for error for a couple hundred yards convinced me that a Dometic sacrifice was worth it!

[jd1923]

Somehow with Alcan springs and a new Chill Cube A/C, spec about 3.5” taller than the Dometic, we measured Hull #113 at 9’ 8.5” tall.

After installing the A/C, Adam up on the scaffold, held a straight 2x3 on top of the A/C, hanging off the curbside, as I measured.

I found the number hard to  believe, so the next day we measured again, same number. Did the same off the street-side, exact same number. I believe this number to be accurate! 

Edited yesterday at 01:34 AM by jd1923

[Steve and MA]

6 hours ago, mountainoliver said:

...having an old Dometic air conditioner is sort of like curb feelers for the roof! No real loss if it takes one for the team!

We tow with a sprinter 3500 van. With its roof mounted accessories, it's a bit taller than the LE2.  Its radio antenna is mounted just above the center of the windshield. We switched out the standard mast with a longer antenna that's extends about 2" higher than anything else for just that reason. It serves as an overhead curb feeler. 

[Boudicca908]

I found myself on one of those small back roads one time, a couple of years ago, and could see about 1/2 mile ahead a very low overpass. While I had my specs for my Oliver etched in my brain, I decided it was time to get out and measure, since I had never done that. Just to be sure! Everything worked out, but that narrow road condition with a low overpass and no place to turn around is not a comfortable place to find oneself. 

[Geronimo John]

16 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Somehow with Alcan springs and a new Chill Cube A/C, spec about 3.5” taller than the Dometic, we measured Hull #113 at 9’ 8.5” tall.

Your previous post about all storage being well utilized and some weight gain over the years (for the trailer not you!), plus this post leads me to ponder your miracle of physics. Maybe:

• Was your board warped?
• With the new tires maybe they are not as tall?
• A run to the scales to verify weight, but with the D52 and 5 leaf Alcan’s, you surely would be taller than spec.
• With the Cube being behind the axle, possibly you had the nose high?
• Maybe your Cube has melted a bit?
• Real low tire pressure?
• Your tape measure is so old it has stretched out three inches.?
• Glasses Rx needs renewal?

Just having fun on this one.

Knowing you, it is assured that your trailer is exactly as you measured it. Good news.

GJ

[Dennis and Melissa]

Our Ollie is the first trailer we've owned. Moreover, the truck we pull it with is the first truck we've ever owned.

As luck would have it, on our very first trip, having just picked up the trailer from Hohenwald, we were rerouted off of the highway due to construction.  After a few miles we came across a beautiful covered bridge.  9 ft.

I had no choice but to perform a "3 point" turn.  Right in front of someone's driveway.  

After my 3rd or 4th (very clumsy) attempt, a car pulled up behind me.  Of course,  it was the owner of the driveway.  And I was blocking her way.   🤪

She was extremely understanding, even complimenting us on the pretty trailer. Thank God for nice people.  Another couple of tries and we got turned around. She smiled and waved us on our way. 

In about 20K miles of towing since then, we have not encountered a single low bridge. 

P.S. I am a little better at 3 pt turns now. 😁

[Olive2Roam]

And for the LE I owners, 9'2" is pretty accurate per the specs. The only thing we have had to back out of is a Chick-fil-a drive through and for that we only needed a couple more inches of clearance. 🙂