Will it fit?

Hi,

I am looking into getting a new boat which measures 21ft on the trailer with platform removed. My garage depth is only 20'3" and 21' wide. Would a boat of this depth fit inside my garage if I angled it in?

Thanks!

I've seen it done. Much easier to do with a single axle trailer.

yeah, I've heard double axles are a pain to pivot....hopefully I can finesse it!

All the other benefits of the dual axle trailer outweigh that pain though. If you're good backing it in you may not have to unhook from the tow vehicle to get it into place using a spotter.

Something like this helps. http://tireskate.com/index.php
Or this kind where you don't have to jack up the tires seperately. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00990099000P?BV_SessionID

Hmm....good idea. A set on one axle will technically make it pivot like a single axle trailer?

I dont know your particular situation, but we see many folks here buying boats according to their garage. While its nice to put it in there if its not at a lake spot, its not a necessity. I pay for indoor storage for the winter 260$. That way I get the boat I want without worrying if it fits in the garage. if you have space in the driveway or side of the house...those are options....it wont kill your boat. Plus it doesnt matter how you slice it its also a pain in the butt fitting something in a tight garage all the time...rather than just parking it in a driveway.

^^ some live in neighborhoods that don't allow for boat parking outside the house or in the driveway.

I live in Northern California and although I do have a pretty large RV pad on the side of my house, I would rather keep it in the garage out of the elements if possible. Boat storage for the winter up here is like $250/mo!

Doing the math, the diagonal length of your garage is 29ft, however, you will need to account for the width of the boat and trailer in one corner which may bring the back end out as much as 4 or 5 feet out from the corner. Measure the width of the boat cut a 2x4 to the same length and place it across the corner to see if it is possible. Dont forget that the garage door opening will also affect ability to get the tongue in once the back is nearly in position. BTW Harbor Freight also has tire dollys as well - I have to pivot my tandem axle trailer 90 degrees to get the boat in the garage because of a narrow driveway and side entry garage - also live in one of those subdivisions not allowing boats more than 48 hours on the driveway

The width of the boat is 100" (5.8'). I'm not sure about the width of the bow. I've done the math and assuming the entire length of the boat is 5.8' in width I would still be short by about 8 inches. However I know the width starts to decrease near the bow so I'm hoping this will save me the needed room.

Does the trailer have a swing away tongue that would give you some extra room.

The boat is 21' on the trailer with the tongue already swung away and swim platform removed.

Why not blast out the back wall and cantilever it out 3' and wide enough to accommodate the boat with the platform attached. Less than a days work unless you have a brick garage?

Typo 100"=5.8' - I was trying to do the same thing with my 2 car garage and boat but did not have the room to pivot the trailer at the the door frame.

In regards to the tire dollies - I have not had very good luck using a single pair to lift 1 axle off the ground to allow for a pivot turn - for me to turn 90 degrees requires all 4 tires to be off the ground. Definitely doable just a little more painful than one would think

@Jim: Were you able to fit it inside with the tire dollies? How did you overcome pivoting the boat and not hitting the door frame?

@Michael: I can't lengthen the garage as there is a bonus room directly behind it :-(

Take out that whole wall and you can watch the big screen from inside the boat. Nice for those winter months. Don't worry about the chill...

I wasn't able boat and trailer were about 8 inches to long, my 3rd bay (formerly my woodworking shop) was just deep enough with swim platform removed and swing away tongue to clear with 5 inches to spare.

The boat ended up in the single bay, workshop in half of the double bay, and had to raise the garage door to 8ft tall in order to get the boat with folded tower inside.

@Jim: What was the length of your boat + trailer with the tongue folded and platform removed? Was it exactly 21'? Also, was your depth 20'?

3rd bay is 22ft deep from back to the inside of the garage door. I had previously extended our 2 car garage to add a 15x24 (outside dimensions) 3rd bay for a workshop. Wife said boat most fit inside or no dice - so moved the workshop over and then figured out the tower when folded was still taller than I thought. For first month resorted to removing back half of tower before biting the bullet and raising the door from 7ft tall to 8ft.

Boat with trailer tongue folded and swim platform off is 21' 6". Also have to pull guide pulls off the back too - mine angle out slightly making it very tight with a 9ft wide door.

Not the same situation you are facing, had to endure similar problems

(Message edited by jyoungusa on September 22, 2009)

Yeah, not exactly the same but it gives me an idea of what I'm up against. What was the depth of the other 2 bays where you tried to angle it in?

same depth 22 feet, but water heater, furnace/ac/heat pump on one side took up 2.5 feet too. Other problem that became apparent - with such a tight fit - foot traffic to garbage cans and to cars parked outside is cut off - no way to walk around the boat to get out of the side door or main door in my case.

Wish you luck working this problem out - thought about extending the roof line over the RV pad?

(Message edited by jyoungusa on September 22, 2009)

yeah i actually have thought about extending the roof, however I'm not sure how if that would fly with my HOA...plus I imagine it would be pretty pricey.

I am in VA so don't have a clue what construction costs in CA are - When I added on to the house 3 years ago, the 3rd bay with an unfinished bedroom and bath above it, and re-routing electrical service cost about 34K. HOA was okay because I kept the same roof lines etc.

(Message edited by jyoungusa on September 22, 2009)

I've seen homeowners maintain their rooflines by dropping their driveway a bit for the new bay. Obviously you'd need the right slope in your property or rainwater would fill up your garage.

I've been wanting to add a 2 bay garage to the back side of our property, which would require another driveway out to the street behind our place, new drainage under the driveway, etc.

Your measurements are close to mine. SANTE 210 without the step and the tongue folded is about 21.6FT. I have a 20ft two car garage. I use four of the "go-jaks" from Harbor Freight (you will defiantly need four on a tandem-axel trailer) and it fits with no problem. Back it in on one side, lift the tires and push it over to angle it. I then need to push it in a bit further after it’s been angled. I can do it my self, but it is a lot easier with some help.

I stored my old boat outside and will never do it again. Having the boat at home makes it easy if I want to work on it.

@Shooter: Did you order your go-jaks online from HF or do they usually carry them in retail stores? How difficult are the go-jaks to install each time?

Got mine at the store (They are heavy so shipping would be expensive if purchased on line), take 5-10 minutes to extend, slide around wheels and jack up. They are easy to use. Stay away from the tire skates though - too much trouble and effort to jack each tire up slide sled underneath, lower jack, move to next tire.

(Message edited by jyoungusa on September 22, 2009)

Looks like I might make a trip to HF during lunch :-)

Pip
I had the same problem, my wakeplate was 5” to long, so since my house is built with 2x6, I cut a square hole out of the wall to back in, fit just fine…

thats 5-10 minutes for all 4 tires not each tire just to clarify

@Ken: my house was also built with 2x6, however the boat doesn't have a wakeplate so the entire width would need to be cut out...which for obvious reasons cannot be done :-)

PIP
nose it in, id that at first....

@Ken: never thought of that! Of course that can be difficult as my drive way leading to the garage is inclined!

I went to the local Harbor Freight, but they didn’t have them is stock. They are heavy, but HF does not charge a lot for shipping ($12 for all four). The HF Jaks w/ shipping were half the price of the other ones I looked at online and I was impressed by their quality.

Like Jim said, I can have the trailer on all four jaks in 5 minutes. The boat is heavy so it’s not easy to push, but it can be done with one person.

If angled correctly, I have 5ft to spare on one side and can walk around the front with the door closed. My garage is pretty much empty not including the boat though.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94682

@Shooter: Thanks for the info....$12 shipping is not bad at all considering the weight. I noticed from the catalog that the max tire width is 9". Do most trailers come with 205s or 225s? My garage is also pretty empty except for a freezer and some hanging bikes. I'll do anything to not have to keep it oustide :-)

Boatmate trailers have 205s and 215s. Have not noticed any issues with the 205s on my trailer using the HF jacks

Pip,
Here is my situation. 2005 Vride 21feet on tandem axle trailer with platform removed.

Garage 16ft wide 19ft 9inches deep.

From the moment we pull up in front of the house to the time the boat is in and door is closed is 15 minutes maximum. Including lowering the tower and getting everything out of the boat.

I have to take the guide posts off because they angle out and make it too wide. I don't use any wheel casters I just back it in at angle and fold the tongue. Usually the first or second try.

When the boat is in the garage there is about 4ft of space between the tongue and the side of the garage opening.

You should have no problem as long as you are good at backing a trailer. You could also put a ball on the front of your vehicle a push it in that way. More control that way.

^^^^ rockstar out.....
i would be lucky to even get everything out of the boat in 15 min..

@l1spoogy: This certainly is some positive news to hear. I am pretty good at backing up trailers so I don't think that will be an issue...just as long as I have a good spotter :-)

Yes a spotter is key.

I'm lucky that my wife is a pro at getting the boat on and off the trailer and into the garage.

She is a keeper!

Pip: I made sure the boat fit prior to buying the Go-Jaks. I was able to get it in without, but it took some help and it was not an easy task. IMO, the go-jaks were worth every penny. BTW, I was just like you and posted on WW prior to my boat purchase. Someone on WW suggested the HF Jaks. Thanks WW!

Just placed an order for 2 sets of jaks from HF!

Hey Pip, did you buy the boat??? which one did you get?

@Ian: I placed the order with Mike....I picked the 2010 B52 Team Wide Body. I'm super excited!

NICE!!! what colors did you go with? post up the rendering if you can. If not we'll just wait for you to get some pics. congrats, you will LOVE this boat!!!

I can't really do a rendering as I choose the swoosh style which isn't available on the website yet. My basic color scheme is white/blue/black.

it should fit at an angle. I have put some dayglo tape on my floor as a line to help me get in at the same angle and same spot everytime and it works great even w/o a spotter.ENJOY!!

I think it will fit too...I'm an engineer so the anal retentiveness in me actually fired up autocad and drafted my garage and mock boat out :-)