So a Townace is great to pick up a family repatriating with luggage, but what if there's nowhere to park such a tall taxi. As yet I don't know which terminal I need to go to, but it might be helpful to collect here any specific experiences of parking where it's multi-storey that's on offer. Specific Heathrow terminals or elsewhere. A definite "yes" or a definite "no" or a workaround would be welcome.

- (#6023) Dave Mason, 4 Nov 02

Can't speak for Heathrow carparks but there's one in Chesterfield that the wife frequents with narrow entries and what appears to be low headroom. She throws the Townie about in it without a care in the world. No scrapes as yet. I've only been with her once and my heart was in my mouth and solids in my underpants. Never again!

Also tight squeeze under surface carparks with the 6'6" height barriers and the IOW ferries but squeezes in ok.

- (#6024) Ian Dunse, 4 Nov 02

Dave,
There is an over height car park at Heathrow as to which terminal? Contact Heathrow through British Airports web site for details.
Clive

- (#6025) clive, 4 Nov 02

The local tip has just "raised it's barriers to accomdate the MPV's that have become popular" our newspaper said. Not enough for a Townie. At 6'1" it just clears the front of the sunroofs, but not the back. The road slopes slightly there so I was considering going further down to try and squeeze in. The guy in the place had a good point though. "Yep, you might get it in, but when you've unloaded, will you get it out?" Needless to say I sought other arrangements.

- (#6026) Dave Brandwood, 4 Nov 02

Thanks Clive. http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/heathrow/ under "Special Needs" then "Parking" says all LHR parking has a general height limit of 2m (6'9") which means an 'ace relies on the car park's margin for error. However 2.4m is available on the ground floor of Car Park 3 for T1/2/3 and 2.6m on the "roof" (!) of Car Park 4 for Term4.

At T4 5.30am in December if it's a wet morning I shall spend a few minutes looking closely at the "2m" floors before trying to load a tired under-dressed family, a baby and luggage on the roof in the rain! At least we'll be lower coming out.

- (#6027) Dave Mason, 5 Nov 02

One of my first tasks with my newly acquired TownAce was collecting people from Heathrow Terminal 4. The short stay park at #4 certainly has a top level with 6'9" clearance. My Townie is around 2m tall which equates to 6'6" not 6'9" - so plenty of room (not like when I took my old LDV Sherpa into the household waste site - luckily the roof was stronger than the height gauge!)

- (#6050) Dee, 7 Nov 02

I take my Liteace into a multi storey car park advertising 1.93M headroom clearance. But its always at a dead crawl and "all Skylite curtains open" and shout if were going to hit!
You do have to rely on these height signs being true. Never having accurately measured my height ( the van that is ) I would hate to make a claim, and find out Its 1.94M high. Perhaps we should make known tyre size, pressure, model and see how big we all are.
Just might prove bigger is not always better !!

- (#6051) stephen judge, 7 Nov 02

Don't repeat Don't go in the Sunbury Cross Shopping Centre car park with a Townie, we did many moons ago & found a huge metal pod in the ceiling, housing a camera coming towards us, would have ripped the roof open like a tin opener if I hadn't seen it & swerved around it, also the barrier on the way out is lower than on the way in & hits the roof, which the in one doesn't, looks like someone really though about this multi storey. Woking has acres of headroom in their main multi storey though.

- (#6052) Rob Drinkwater, 7 Nov 02