How tall does a garage need to be to store a camper van in Bathurst New Brunswick?

For a full-size camper van in Bathurst, you'll want a minimum interior clear height of 9 to 10 feet, with 10 to 11 feet being the more practical and future-proof target.

The key number is interior clear height — the distance from the finished floor to the lowest obstruction inside the garage, whether that's a ceiling joist, a garage door header, or a beam. This is different from the wall height and the roof peak, and it's the measurement that actually determines whether your van fits.

Most full-size camper vans — a converted Sprinter, Transit, ProMaster, or similar high-roof cargo van — stand between 8 feet and 9 feet 6 inches tall depending on the conversion. A high-roof Mercedes Sprinter with a roof rack or rooftop solar panels can push past 9 feet 6 inches easily. Before you finalize any garage dimensions, measure your specific van from the ground to the tallest point, including any antennas, vents, fans, or roof-mounted accessories. Add at least 6 inches of clearance above that for comfortable entry without holding your breath every time.

The garage door opening is where most people get caught. A standard residential garage door is 7 feet tall — that's not enough for most camper vans. You'll need a 9-foot or 10-foot tall garage door, which means the rough opening in the framing needs to be sized accordingly, and the wall height needs to accommodate that taller door plus the door header above it. A 10-foot door requires a wall height of roughly 11 to 12 feet to allow for the header, track, and opener mechanism. This needs to be planned from the foundation up — you cannot easily raise a garage wall after it's built.

Bathurst-Specific Considerations

Bathurst sits in one of the heavier snow load zones in New Brunswick, with ground snow loads in the range of 3.5 to 4.8 kPa. A taller garage has more roof area and more wall surface exposed to wind, which means your roof trusses and wall framing need to be engineered for those loads — not just sized for a standard 8-foot wall garage. This is not a reason to avoid building tall, but it is a reason to work with a contractor who understands northern NB structural requirements and doesn't just copy a design from a milder climate. Engineered trusses are the right call here, and they're standard practice for any custom-height garage in the Bathurst area.

The frost depth in Bathurst is at the deeper end of the NB range — plan on 4.5 to 5 feet of frost wall depth for your foundation. A taller, heavier garage structure puts more load on the foundation, which reinforces the importance of proper footing width (minimum 16 inches) and depth. Don't let anyone talk you into a shallow foundation to save money — the Bathurst frost will find it within the first winter.

Practical Sizing Recommendation

For a camper van garage in Bathurst, a practical starting point is a 24-foot wide by 30-foot deep footprint with 11-foot sidewalls and a 10-foot tall garage door opening. This gives you enough interior clear height for a high-roof van with accessories, room for the door opener mechanism, comfortable side clearance for walking around the van, and depth to close the door with the van inside and still have a small work area at the front. If budget allows, 12-foot sidewalls give you even more flexibility and make the space feel less cramped.

Width matters too — a 24-foot wide garage gives you about 7 feet of clearance on each side of a standard-width van, which is workable but not generous. If you plan to do any maintenance or conversion work inside, consider going to 26 or 28 feet wide.

For electrical, plan a dedicated circuit for a block heater outlet (a 20-amp 120V outlet near the front of the bay), and consider roughing in a 240V circuit now even if you don't need it immediately — it's a fraction of the cost to add during construction versus later.

A project like this benefits from getting quotes from contractors familiar with taller accessory structures in the Bathurst area. New Brunswick Garages can match you with local garage builders at no cost — and you can also browse contractors through the New Brunswick Construction Network directory at newbrunswickconstructionnetwork.com.