Customer Reviews

DUAL GARAGE LASER PARKING SYSTEM

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

I have a four-car garage load with a two-car garage reality. Two cars, a motorcycle, tool cabinets, workbenches, ceiling mounted storage racks, etc., so space (and the ability to park very precisely) is very important.

I've tried the dangling ball, the parking 'hump', the stop light, none of which by themselves get me parked with precision time after time. This little gadget did the trick, but only when combined with one of the dangly balls to line up properly. It does its job, however.

My only complaints in that the little arms on the laser modules do not have enough 'backwards' adjustment. It needs about another 30% of swing for best adjustment, at least for my application. For now its cheap, and it works.

For those worrying about the motion-sensor bit. It is VERY sensitive. If you are in your garage working it will stay on the whole time you are there. Even a tiny bit of arm movement sets it off. It does, however, shut down very reliably. No issues in that regard.

I plugged the AC adapter into the outlet by the existing garage door opener on the ceiling of my garage. Secured the parking system to the ceiling. Then I positioned the vehicles where I wanted them and set the laser beam to show up where i wanted it to (on my dashboard.) The system is solid and I have not had one issue with them. If you like big boy toys you have to get one of these!

Great price ($12) and very easy to set up. I had similar issues that others have mentioned. Beams have limited range when pointing to the sides of the garage. I have a high ceiling in the garage and this didn't bother me all that much, but the beams are at their limit. Combat this in two ways. First, you can turn the unit 90* so the beams can point to the sides of the garage without being limited in range. You could also dremel the lip of plastic that limits the range of the beams. The other issue I had with this device is the motion sensor. It only stays on for 10 seconds at a time and doesn't always pick up on motion right away. By the time I open the garage door and get the car inside, the beams shut off a little before I'm completely at my mark. To solve this I unscrewed the four screws on the back of the casing and carefully removed the white globe that covers the motion sensor. It stays on much longer (into the minutes) and is much more sensitive to motion. I also plugged the unit into a lightbulb socket that is screwed into the garage door light. This way it can only be turned on when the garage door is activated and shuts off fully when the garage light cycle ends (usually a few minutes). This really helps when you're in the garage without the vehicles and prevents the laser from being activated with your every movement.

EDIT:
Overall I gave 1 out of 5 stars because I had to modify a few things to make it work (still not consistent). I am actually very happy with the concept of this product, but the execution from this company is very poor. The motion sensor works sporadically at best. Some days it picks up on the slightest movements and other days you need to wave a hand inches from the motion sensor to activate the lasers. It works correctly less than 50% of the time.

I first bought the Maxsa version of this device (virtually identical to the Sierra, clearly the same manufacturer). All was well at first, both lights nice and bright. But after only two weeks, one of the laser lights went dim. It still comes on, but not nearly bright enough to be of use. Since we liked the system during the short time it worked, we decided to roll the dice again, hoping for a better outcome with the Sierra version. Guess what, the EXACT same thing happened (one light on, but too dim to be of use), but this time time it happened DURING THE INITIAL AIMING PROCESS! So, I now have two of these things installed in my garage, each of them with only half of it working.

This version has an additional problem, BTW-- it doesn't come on until too late, and doesn't stay on long enough. Don't waste your money.

I don't think there's anything that's perfect out there for the job of parking your car. That said, I like this little tool.

PROS
-Cheap
-Easy to Install (comes with a plate that you screw into the ceiling and then you slide the device into place)
-Power cord is not too long but long enough to reach from the garage door openner plug

CONS
-Hard to get the lasers to point exactly where you want them (they're not as flexible as I'd like them to be but enough to do the job)
-You have to make sure you install it with the motion sensor facing the garage door so that it will see the car driving in

OVERALL CONS (not related to the device)
I kindof imagined that I would see the laser beam come across my car's hood until it got to where I needed. I find that it comes on and I see it just as I get really close to the stopping point.

OVERALL
It gets the job done in the most unobtrusive way possible, no balls hanging from my cieling, not metal poles, no mats on the floor, just this little device on the cieling. I think it's the best and most unobtrusive choice for parking your car in the same place every time. It's not perfect, but nothing is and for the money it's perfect.

NOTE TO PARENTS - if you have children bear in mind that this product uses lasers that are harmful if directed at the eye. Shouldn't be a problem if the cars are in the garage but if your cars are not in the garage and children are playing - I'd exercise caution with children to make sure they don't look into the beams.

Be careful if you have a wide garage. I mounted the unit in the center of my garage. I wasn't able to spread the laser wide enough apart to accomodate two cars. I ended up breaking off one of the lasers in the process.

Limited pivot range on lasers is a major drawback. Even when mounting the unit mid-point between both cars it was unable to reach both dashboards. And my vehicles are parked at a normal distance (if you fully open door of either vechicle there's about 6-12" space to the other).

I had to return the unit.

This product is in the lower price range of laser parking assist systems. You get what you pay for. It has an easy mount using three screws and a plate that the unit mounts onto. All three screws stripped when screwing them into a wood stud in my garage. Had to use my own wood screws. The two lasers have a very limited range of motion. I was unable to point either of them exactly where I wanted. I had to mount the unit so that one of the lasers would aim exacty where I wanted, and then for my other car I had to make the best of where it would point. Sideways motion is very limited. The sensor turns off to quickly when the cars are close to the unit. If I was to purchase again I would consider one of the other laser systems.

I have a 20' x 20' garage with 12' ceilings. I tried to place this at various points and couldn't find any place where it could aim at the windshields of my two cars. The problem is that as you swing the laser down the bracket restricts its sideways movement. I should have paid more attention to the other reviews and you should take them into account as well.

Now, here's the good news... you can always get two. For $25 you can be sure to get adequate coverage for two cars and even get the benefits of having two aiming spots for each. Funny thing... if this had been billed as a 1-Car Laser Parking System its a great value. Trying to make it out as working for two cars leaves a lot of customers dissatisfied.

BTW, I feel that honest, effective reviews take the place of first-hand experiences that are lacking in online shopping. I've always appreciated the help I've gotten from other reviewers and continue to return the favor as best as I can. If you thought this review was helpful please let me know by clicking on "Yes" button where it asks. If there was anything you thought was lacking or unclear leave a comment and I'll do what I can to fix it.

I bought this for one vehicle to be parked outside my garage but as close as possible so as to not block sidewalk and not hit garage door. It worked well in the dark but was very hard to see in broad daylight. But for the price it was worthwhile while it lasted. However after 3 months it just stopped. I discovered it would work on the back up battery (which only lasts a day or two), but when plugged in to the AC adapter would not work at all, even if the adapter was not plugged in to electrical outlet, i.e. problem inside the laser mount.

Basically, great idea, use at your own risk, or find a better made equivilent.