I think posts come up just about every year about this. I searched through 4 pages but didn't really see what I was looking for. I am going to start looking for boats this spring. One of my main objectives is to get a boat with a tower that will fit in my garage. I can spend 30-35k on a boat. I have a standard height garage door opening with the driveway on a slight incline. I have been trying to wrap my head around if the incline is going to help me or hurt me. My garage is a three car wide so length won't be an issue. I want at least a 21' and up to 24'. I am sure there are plenty of recommendations. I am looking for recommendations on what boat with what tower will work. I am looking at Malibu, Moomba, Natique, Tige, etc., not in that order or any other order. Does anyone have pictures of their boats going into their garage with an incline? Thanks. <BR> <BR>(Message edited by 266crownlinebr on February 07, 2010)

I have found that the 'standard' garage varies quite a bit in this hobby. There are some out there that consider a 12ft tall door the norm. <BR> <BR>It would help if you would define your standard garage with measurements. <BR> <BR>I just went through the same thing with a new X2. I have a 7ft tall door. 106" wide. 22.5' deep. <BR> <BR>Around here - the 7x9 opening is pretty standard. The x2 will just squeeze into that opening on a single axle trailer with a flat approach. I think that the incline will hinder vs help. My tower is folded, clamps are off, full tank of gas, etc. <BR> <BR>I'm assuming you are going to angle the boat across 2 bays?

I know I was fishing when I posted. I am at work and will grab a tape measure when I get home. I tried to figure out what the incline was also. I think, just guessing, it is about 3.5 degrees. Here is a pic of my two car that I have at work with me. I will be going at an angle and if it takes up all three spaces that is ok. I am to worried about the length, only the height. These are some pretty bad pictures of my garage, but they are all I have here with me. <BR>Before Kids... <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/773952.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR>After Kids... <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/773953.jpg" alt="Upload"> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by 266crownlinebr on February 08, 2010)

I know that a 7' height is what is usually typical. But, the actual finished height could vary several inches due to how it is trimmed out. and it surely would not be a full 7' tall. That being said, I have an '07 Malibu VLX (with the illusion X tower on a Boatmate trailer with lower profile tires) and it will fit in my 7' high garage door. But, my approach is relatively flat. The tow ball at the top of the tower clears by just an inch or 2 and I have to remove the racks from the tower because when it is folded down they become the highest point. I like the Malibu, because the Illusion X tower is easy to fold down with no tools (I do need an allen wrench to remove the racks, but on the Illusion X there is only 1 bolt per rack) and it can be done alone with a little practice. You could check the Mailbucrew website, I know that last year they were working on a list of heights for the various trailer and tower combinations and I think that they were making a sticky for it. I did get my dealer to bring a boat by to see if it would fit before buying mine too. You might try that if you are buying locally.

My garage has a 7' (exactly 84") opening. The part of my garage that my boat sits in is almost 24 feet long so length is not an issue for me. I don't know what angle my driveway is but it is pretty steep. When I started trying boats through my opening I found the angle wasn't really any issue even if the boat barely fit into the garage, it might have even helped on some if the highest point of the boat was forward of the windshield. <BR> <BR>Our 2008 Nautique with the Titan tower easily fits into the opening, with about 6" to spare. The Titan tower is rock solid and is easily folded with one person, even my wife puts it up and down. <BR> <BR>When I was looking for our boat I did a ton of research and these are the boats I was considering that would fit into my garage opening. 2005 SAN with the FCT 1. 2003 MC X9 (if I remember right), MC X15 (part of tower removed) and X2. Malibu VLX with the XS tower (because part of this tower can be removed). Sanger V215. Centurion Avalanche with both towers they came with (don't remember the tower names, but they both fit). <BR> <BR>If you are buying local you should have the dealer tow the boat to your place and put it in your garage before buying, everyone of the people and dealers I looked at were more than happy to do that for me.

Can we start another garage thread? that would be great.

I was able to measure before coming into work tonight. My garage opening is 83". I have a 1/2" trim around the opening that if I had to I could modify and make it a 1/2" higher opening (making it 83 1/2" total height). I am probably going to buy used for $30-35K but I will make it part of the deal that the seller bring it to my house so I can make sure it fits before buying. I guess I was just trying to get an idea of what towers with what boats will most likely fit. It would be nice if manufactures sold boat and advertised with the height of boat including height of folded tower. Would make it easier to eliminate boats that I know won't fit.

they don't typically advertise that measurement because dealers don't all use the same trailers.

My 03 Nautique 210 with a FCT will fit that opening. That means you may be ok with a Nautique up to a 05. Like others have said, there are too many variables to really know if any boat will fit for sure.

My '03 vlx with a swoop on a boatmate will not fit. I do have a ramp at about a 5 degree angle. I really need about 7 and a half feet to get it in there.(I have an 8' door)

Go look at boats, take a tape measure with you. When you find one you like, collapse the tower and measure it. Give yourself a few inches of tolerance and you should be good. Make sure your garage is deep enough. Just because it's a 3 car garage, doesn't mean it's any deeper than a one car garage. Mine is only 22' deep so I can't fit my Surpa in. I ended up building a boat shed for it alongside the house.

We have a very steep incline going into our shop. We found a couple of 08 leftovers at our local dealer. The one we thought we liked, we had the dealer pull it out to the house to make sure it would go up the incline into the shop (by my measurements not a chance). He brought out to boat and it cleared the incline but the tower didn't fold down enough. Which I didn't think I would of had any problems with. Luckily the other 08, same boat different tower and options, its tower folded down more. He pulled it out to the house also. This time it cleared the incline and the fit into the garage door also. I thought the dealer went over and above to pull 2 different boats 25+ miles one way just to make sure they would fit into my shop. On the boat we got the tower folded was 6'8" I think. Our garage door was 7'6" and it clears by a lot. On the boat that didn't fit it tower folded was 7'8". <BR>Best bet is to bring the potential boat to your house, use your tow vehicle and see if it will fit in you garage. <BR>Just my .02

An MB TWB will fit under 7 feet and an Epic 23v will also fit with a few inches to spare. Gotta have a 25 foot deep garage for the Epic, though, if you wanna put it straight in.

MB TWB folded into my garage, but TWB's are only a year old and have not depreciated down to your price range yet. <BR> <BR>Then again, a Malibu, Nautique, or MastarCraft in your price range will be a pretty old boat... at last 5 -7 years old. <BR> <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/774938.jpg" alt="Upload">

"Then again, a Malibu, Nautique, or MastarCraft in your price range will be a pretty old boat... at last 5 -7 years old". <BR> <BR>Pretty Old ????????

^^^ sorry, I guess it's all relative. To me that's old given how much boat hulls and features have changed in that period of time. <BR> <BR>With a non-big 3 brand the OP gets more for his money on the used market. Case in point, this '07 MB is basically new (28 hours) for $38K. I'm sure it can be had for under $35K. <BR> <BR><a href="http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/boa/1599296983.html" target="_blank">http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/boa/1599296983.html</a> <BR> <BR> <BR>On the other hand, if the OP can muster $10k more out of his budget, suddenly he's looking at a new boat (Sanger, Moomba, Tige, etc.). <BR> <BR>Yeah, 5-7 years is old compared to the two scenarios I describe above.

Agreed

There's a reason those boats take so long to get down into that price range and others are there after three years.

^^^ Justin, I see where you are taking this... Another WW hate thread. <BR> <BR>I'm not bashing the big-3, they are all sweet boats. <BR> <BR>I just think if the OP has a price range in the $30's he should broaden his horizons and look at other brands. He might decide he likes the idea of a newer boat. If not, forget I mentioned it.

Sorry for the at-work quick post. I'm not saying boats that aren't "big 3" are any less well built. I'd venture to say that boats like MB, Calabria, Epic are built just as good or better than MC or CC due to them being smaller, able to control quality better, etc. I think things like dealer network, reputation, etc. are what holds those values up, along with being a solid boat. Obviously he isn't looking for a boat with the perfect wake, just one that fits in the garage. Seems to me like someone in that situation would take things like resale value into consideration. I could be totally off base, though. <BR> <BR>To the original topic, I don't have any experience with an inclined driveway, but I would think that since the tower is in front of the axle, only the butt end of the boat will raise up higher than normal and the tower will never be higher than whatever it normally is.