My garage has a parking space in front of it. It’s mine, otherwise my car wouldn’t be in the garage. Or out again. Unfortunately, the guests at the pizzeria next door don’t care one bit. And since I’m tired of getting upset, going into the bar and calling out the car number of the corresponding bad guy (they’re always men), I decided to buy a parking barrier.
Anyone who knows me knows: I don’t buy physical things without Bluetooth or an internet connection. So I ordered the Parklio parking bar. Croatia is where they are at home. Before I ordered, I was already told that it would take 5 weeks to ship. Spoiler: The delivery was absolutely on time. But of course I had to pay the Blocher fine because we are not in the EU: 73.35 additional for customs and VAT. That all adds up to an impressive 730 CHF so that I no longer have to be annoyed by Kevin with his blue Audi RS3 . Sorry Kevin that you now have to go 30 meters further for your Quattro Stagioni pizza.
So the Parklio has arrived. From the outside, the package doesn’t look like much – so I’ll spare you the unboxing experience in a half-hour YouTube video. And yes, it was as heavy as expected and the parking bar makes a massive, stable impression. Plus, I like it – for what it is. Unfortunately there was only a QR code for the instructions. It makes sense, but it would still have been nice if you didn’t have to print out 50 pages (you don’t do the installation on the PC, but literally on the street). And I wasn’t happy about the fact that the remote control (there’s still an app, but I like to have it twice as safe) isn’t included and costs another 50 CHF. People could have asked me during the five weeks of waiting.
No more public parking
Alright, let’s get started with the instructions. It says you need a size 10 masonry drill and a size 13 wrench. Since I assume that there are four asphalt holes and there is only one worn drill of this size in my inventory, I order two drills online. Available in 10 days. I could visit the home improvement store, but there are limits to my ability to suffer. I don’t want to invest that much just so that Abdullah no longer parks his white Mercedes AMG in front of my garage. Sorry Abdullah, that you now have one minute more for your pizza margherita.
By the way, the Parklio has both a battery that needs to be charged once a year via a power supply (according to the manual) and a small solar panel. Since my parking lot faces south, I obviously did this. If I’m going to spoil Raffael and his black BMW M3’s pizza pescatore, then at least it’s going to be lasting.
Two more weeks later, when the weather was bad and I didn’t feel like it anyway, everything arrived and I can get to work on the installation. The battery and electronics are installed in a lockable housing, which, according to the manufacturer, can be driven over without it breaking. Cable connected to power supply and charged for 6 hours and is good. There is a barcode in the housing itself that you have to scan with the app so that the app control works. This works without any problems. I’m looking forward to the long face of pensioner Binggeli, who can no longer park his Opel Ascona in my parking lot for his Mamma Mia pizza.
Drill holes in asphalt? No problem.
Then it gets down to business. Place Parklio and drill holes. As a precaution, I don’t drill for too long, as apparently asphalt becomes liquid when it gets hot. So I drill all four holes three times in a circle, which works surprisingly well. Then I insert the included expansion dowels and hit them. Holds. Then tighten it with the wrench. Everything fine. Then I close the flap and test with the app. It works. It’s a shame for Pesche and his Trans-Am, who would like to take a quick Hawaiian pizza with him there.
Parklio remote control: barely bigger than my thumb.
Then the remote control arrives. Barely bigger than my thumb and 6mm thick. It’s way too small for me, I’m guaranteed to lose it. So I have to build a larger holder around it – that’s what you have a 3D printer for.
You learn how to use the remote control via the app and it works without any problems. However, the first test from the car was not successful. It only works after the second training session, although everything is a bit slow. But what are the 5 seconds of waiting if I don’t have to sullenly drag Fabian away from his pizza feta.
Lies flat via app: Parklio gives access.
The Parklio parking bar has a laser and magnetic sensor that prevents it from driving up when a car is over it. Thanks to the solar cell, the battery is always fully charged, unless there is a car parked on it all day, of course. If a car were to drive against it, the replaceable split pin is equipped with 2 predetermined breaking points to avoid more than just damage to the body. It’s not that Erich won’t be able to afford his Americana pizza anymore – we don’t want to let it get to that point.
The app offers the following functionalities: boot up, shut down, close automatically, close at a specific time, force up, force down, restart, add remote control, update firmware and share key code. The latter is particularly important for me because other people also use my car. I tested this with my daughter’s phone and it works perfectly. You can of course set the time window for using the key code – this means you can also give tradesmen or visitors a time-limited parking right.
In the two weeks that Parklio has been in operation, I basically can’t say anything bad about it. But it’s not perfect yet:
For the price, I would have liked the drill, wrench and remote control to be included. In terms of functionality, compatibility with Homelink would be great, as my Tesla Model 3 has this installed (model year 2019). The range of the app and the remote control is limited by Bluetooth, in real life this means a range of less than ten meters. That’s actually not enough for me. It’s not clear to me why, for example, no WiFi connection (which I would have where Parklio is) works. And an integration into Homekit (or another home automation system) would open up new possibilities. Who knows, maybe there will be an update.
Parklio opens entrance
Pro
Stable workmanship and mechanically self-sufficient energy supply, well-thought-out app, remote control (optional), easy to install, comprehensive manual (English), good, German-language email support
Against
FB/app range too lowNo home automation connectionFB not standardNot Homelink compatibleSlightly slowRelatively expensiveMounting material not included
Conclusion
In the last two weeks, no one who parked in my parking lot has eaten a pizza. Because no one parked there anymore. My daily loss of comfort of a total of 10 seconds is absolutely bearable for the advantage of being able to drive in and out of my garage at any time. That should have been worth it to me.
The Parklio parking bar is available directly from the manufacturer.