I have a 2023 Defender and tried to park it in short term at PHL. Chickened out since I wasn’t sure if could get out if I got in. Anyone else have this problem?

 

Yes, many Defender owners feel the same way. The size and height can make parking feel tight. Using sensors and cameras helps, but it’s common to feel unsure at first.

 

I lived in Philly until last July and flew probably twice a month. I have a 2023 110S on coil springs, so no lowering for me.

I found that I could enter the PHL parking garage (the fin would bump the horizontal PVC pipe with the height warning), and then I would immediately go slowly up the spiral ramp to the roof and park on the top with no ceiling above me.

On the way out, the route does take you through a long section inside the garage. I would go moderately slowly so there were no bounces over any bumps or seams in the concrete that would send me up into the ceiling.

Never scraped but I was always nervous.

I have roof cross bars, but I leave them off unless I need them. Never tried going into the airport with them on - just the bare roof and fin. I don’t think I would try it with the cross bars or a roof rack.

Good luck!

 

Maybe we should start a thread:

BOS - you can park in the lower level of economy parking and there's a special area of Central Parking for vehicles over 6'6" (I think). The garages at the B terminal are too low.
BDL - you can park on the ground floor of the central garage, but that is almost always full with regular cars and they don't enforce the policy that says they shouldn't be parked there. It's a PITA to go through, fail to find a space, and then leave without paying, so I just park in the lot immediately after the terminal on the right. The underground parking at the Hilton Hotel at BDL is too low for a Defender (and nobody at the hotel knows that).
PVD - Garage A has an 8'2" limit but is really expensive, Garage B has a 7'2" and is cheaper. Not sure about Garage C - couldn't find the height online

I have the factory rack so I assume a minimum of 7' to be safe. My partner's doctors' office has a garage that says it is 6'11" but I did find gouges on the trailing edge of the rack so I think that wasn't true. Fortunately no damage to the fin and clearsight camera.

If you are planning on driving into NYC any time and want / need to park in a garage - good luck. Most don't publish heights and many only show the height after you have driven down the ramp - so you'd better hope there's no-one behind you as you back out up a steep ramp after being told the height limit is 6'

 

PVD in Providence just opened a huge one-level outside economy lot. Garage B isn't cheap anymore but now you can reserve a spot online in advance in garages A & B which is awesome during school vacation weeks. PVD is so easy compared to BOS and worth the extra drive.

You are correct about parking a Defender in NYC. Nearly impossible to use a garage, I just do street parking or try to find an above ground lot. Or take my daughter's CX-5 if I know I need to park in a garage at a NYC hotel.

 

I'm a big fan of PVD but not the stupendous upcharge some flights receive from there. When I was shopping for flights to Europe last fall, BOS-EWR-LHR was $1000 cheaper than PVD-EWR-LHR which is insane. I think the fare planners for the big 3 think everyone in RI lives in Newport.