Garage Ball Guide

Since I was a kid my Grandfather who was a welder by trade always had a small ball suspended from a beam in his garage to know exactly where to park. So when I started driving many moons ago, I implemented his idea using a tennis ball. The way this works is you must first position your vehicle in the garage where you would like to safely park each time you pull in. Then follow these simple steps:

Materials needed: tennis ball, sharp pointed knife, twine, some sort of hook or nail, hammer, ladder, marker pen, tape, broom handle and measuring tape. Open beam ceilings may require an additional small thin wooden rail that can be fasten down.

1. Tape a marker pen to the end of a broom handle and from a vertical position from your rear view mirror point straight up and mark the ceiling. If you have open beams you may need to tack a small wooden rail in place in order to suspend the hanging ball to rest on your windshield exactly in front of your rear view mirror (see picture).

2. Then measure the length of the distance from your mark to where the ball should rest on your windshield (area just in front of your rear view mirror).

3. Back your vehicle out and fetch a stepladder to insert a "U" hook or any type of hook, could even be a nail.

4. Next tie your twine on to your "U" hook (or whatever fastener you found) and let the twine hang.

5. Measure the length of your twine from the hook to where your tennis ball should rest, add an extra 1/2 inch.

6. Take the end of the twine and tie several knots at the end to form a small knotted ball.

7. Take your tennis ball and cut a small "X" on top, no larger than a 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch, use a sharp knife on a solid surface, try not to cut yourself.

8. Then push the knotted end of the twine through the "X" and wella, your mostly done.

9. Drive the vehicle slowly back into the garage and aim the rear view mirror towards the suspended tennis ball. If the position isn't perfect you may need to make a few adjustments, move the hook of lengthen or shorten the twine.

10. So just keep the kids or dogs from playing with the ball and the next time you have half a heat on, just aim for the tennis ball and stop. You'll thank me later when you avoid knocking your vehicle into something that may be costly to repair.