Tall Boat into a Low Garage

[jonesg]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

put a mooring in the garage.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Sometimes to gain a little length you can put the boat on a diagonal turn the motor/i/o all the way.this allows the boat closer to the wall and puts the length on a diagonal saving a few inches.
A 480 X 12 tire (about $35 at wallmart) on a 5 bolt rim is about 20 1/2" tall It would seem that would probably come close top 4" lower than your present tires. You could easily gain another 1" by reducing the tire pressure.Once you get a look you may be able to lower the bunks would also make it a little easier to launch.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Wow!!! I am totally amazed with the ideas everyone has suggested thus far. My only problem now is to choose which one to try first. Smaller tires? Winch? Flatten the tires? Raise the door header? Lower the bunks? The list goes on and on. WOW again!!!

If anyone would like to take a short drive to Peoria, IL and help me attempt one or more of the above ideas, that would be great! HA HA. No really, if the boat doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. I'll just store it somewhere else. I'll need to store it somewhere else anyway during the winter months

Oh yeah, we have a 24' wide garage too with one large garage door so width should not be a problem...<my wife would agree>

OK folks... we should be picking-up the boat on Saturday, weather permitting. It's a 2008 H220 Frenzy with a 5.7L VP 320 hp. My wife has no idea I'm buying the biggest motor Four Winns offers on a boat of this size. Unfortunately, I won't be able to "play" with it until spring. I'll send pics of the boat and the garage door "contraption" at a later date. Once again, iBoats guru's are the bomb!!!

 

[trackmedic]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Will the high part of the boat clear the fully opened door? Just a thought. The door will roll up the track and back into the garage.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

The dealer just confirmed the actual height from the floor to the very top of the windshield to be 86", give or take an inch. The garage opening is exactly 84" so we're only talking 2-3 inches of play here.

What about this?

Step 1: Back the boat into the garage half-way (remind you, I'm on a slight incline). Both trailer axles and tires should be on flat ground and completely inside the garage. Apply emergency brake. Drink a frosty beverage and plan next step.

Step 2: Secure boat to garage (to keep it from sliding down the driveway) then remove trailer from truck. Drink another frosty beverage just to be sure I have enough courage to continue.

Step 3: Lower the trailer jack 5 or 6 inches. Drink yet another frosty beverage just because.

Step 4: Use muscle-power or winch to safely pull/push boat into the garage the rest of the way. Screw the frosy beverages...hard liquor now...

Step 5: Raise trailer jack to level and chock the tires. Pass out

Of course, I could always rig-up something mentioned in previous posts too...

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

I say that you should tell the dealer that he/she will make or break the sale, by letting you tow the boat home to see if it will fit, after lowering the trailer jack. Given the current state of the boat sales market, he/she would have to be nuts not to do what you want. If it fits, buy it and invest a few bucks in a motorized dolly. If not, don't buy it.

Trying to fit a boat that is too large for your garage by changing wheels, buying another trailer, etc., will just end up driving you nuts in the long run. Buying the boat/trailer in a condition that works without all sorts of hassles, will let you do with it what you intended in the first place - relax and enjoy it!

 

[rlk]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

One thing to keep in mind, if it is a hassle to get the boat in and out of the garage, you will tend to use the boat less over time. Especially in the middle of the summer when the heat and humidity are high.

For example (I apologize for the length of my explanation): on my old pontoon, I had a canvas cover that was very heavy and was held in place with bungee cords. I built a PVC support to run down the middle of the boat to hold the cover up in the center, like a tent.

My pontoon stayed in the water from Easter through Thanksgiving.

For the first few months, we would pull the cover off on Friday and put it back Sunday. It was a real pain because the cover was so heavy, and you had to almost stand on your head to attach the bungee cords. After the cover was installed, you had to climb in the boat to install the PVC support. This was a very hot job in the middle of the summer.

We noticed over time, that we were using the boat less and less because the top was such a pain.

On my new pontoon, it has a much lighter cover, and the cover snaps to the boat railing, so no more standing on your head to fasten bungee cords. Also we have a new covered dock that is shaped like a U, so the wife can stand on one side and me on the other and easily install/remove the cover. Don't need the PVC support any more because the dock is covered.

Since the process of getting the boat ready to go, or securing it, is so easy now, we are using the new boat a lot more than we used the old one.

Bob

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

The dealer just confirmed the actual height from the floor to the very top of the windshield to be 86", give or take an inch. The garage opening is exactly 84" so we're only talking 2-3 inches of play here.....

You should be able to gain at least 2 inches by lowering the tire pressure, and maybe gain another inch by pushing the door all the way up as far as it will go.
Most overhead doors don't go all the way up at the top rest position. I can push both of mine up another couple of inches. I've often taken a C clamp to the track to hold it all the way up to gain some clearance.
Get the boat there, eye it up and give it a try, see what the easiest method will be then decide if you want to go through that every weekend to use the boat. If not, either make the door opening taller, get smaller wheels, or store it elsewhere.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Sounds good to me and your only looking for about 2+ inches.
If the windshield is close to the pivot point you won't gain much the closer to the jack the better.If the trailer is on the level 1/2 way in ,tires blocked safely, I would think a couple of guys could push it in.You might use the truck to push off against. You can develope amazing pushing power with something to push against.You might set a couple of blocks to keep it from rolling into the wall.Though a tandem isn't likely to roll too freely.
If on the level inside the garage a comealong would surely move it easily and I wouldn't think it would require much more than a big eye bolt for attachment at the wall.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

I concur. Using the truck as leverage is probably the way to go. Although, I could always mount a winch into the concrete at the back of the garage and hook-up a cable/strap to the trailer and "pull" the trailer into the garage.

Like someone mentioned earlier, if the "chore" of storing a boat becomes a pain in the rear, we would tend to use the boat less and less. Believe me, I don't want this "process" to take longer than 10 minutes myself!

Thanks again fellows!!!

 

[jasper60103]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

My son would have to help me push my old heavy boat in the garage because I couldn't back in the trailer straight enough. The driveway had a pitch to it as well.
Anyway, it grows old after a while, esp after a long day on the lake/river. Plus my son isn't always around to help.

I traded that boat for a smaller light weight aluminum boat. Life is much easier now.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[109jb]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

You should be able to gain at least 2 inches by lowering the tire pressure, and maybe gain another inch by pushing the door all the way up as far as it will go.

I'd be surprised if he has more than 83.25 inches clearance on his garage door. Standard garage doors are 7' (84"), or 8' (96") tall. That would be the rough opening height of the door, not taking into account the finish trim and the door seal. Without the seal and only a 1 x whatever trim board, the opening would be 84" minus 3/4" (trim board) leaving only 83.25 inches. That would be the opening in the wall. I just framed one last Saturday.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

FYI, I took four separate measurements from the concrete floor to the lowest spot on the garage door baseboard and they all came out to about 84" (7'), give or take an 1/8". In other words, I must clear a 7' opening if I want to put a boat into my garage without damaging any trim or knocking the garage door off it rollers. Once I clear the opening, I have 93" from floor to the raised garage door. Does this help?

 

[109jb]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Do you have a rain lip at the door threshold? Or is it just a flat slab from inside the garage to outside the door. Many times the rain lip is another 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower than the floor inside the garage to prevent wind blown rain from blowing all the way across the garage floor. If you have this, you would have to take it into account too because the tires will be on the slab inside the garage whenever the highest part of the boat reaches the door opening.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Nope, we don't have a rain lip. During major snowstorms, a significant amount of snow finds it way into our garage because of this. I wonder if I can convince my wife I need a new power tool to put one in???

 

[109jb]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Hey. I just noticed that you are in Peoria. I live in Morris now, and used to live in Spring Valley.

What you would need to put a rain lip in would be one of the grinders that contractors use to cut out curbs for driveways and sidewalks. Not sure if you would be able to get close enough to the walls with it though. I'd check with the equipement retal place near you and tell them what you want to do. They have probably run across it before.

My barn didn't have a rain lip either and I was constantly getting rain water way back in the barn because the floor is level and doesn't slope to the door. I wound up cutting a groove parallel to the door with some cuts perpendicular to the door going outside. This helped the rain situation a lot. I still get some snow in there, but I finally got a automatic opener (24' wide 14' high door, ugh) and it provides some down pressure to force the door seal against the floor which helped.

 

[ED21]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

I couldn't figure out if you accounted for this, so here goes. My garage door has a release that allows the door to be opened manually in case of power failure or more likely the opener fails. By releasing the door I can get another 12" or so clearance. I only need to do this when I put the rooftop carrier on the minivan.

 

[jacknbella]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

Our garage opening has absolutely nothing to do with the garage door itself. The opening measures 84" from the concrete to the top piece of trim. Thanks for advice though.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

I'd be surprised if he has more than 83.25 inches clearance on his garage door. Standard garage doors are 7' (84"), or 8' (96") tall. That would be the rough opening height of the door, not taking into account the finish trim and the door seal. Without the seal and only a 1 x whatever trim board, the opening would be 84" minus 3/4" (trim board) leaving only 83.25 inches. That would be the opening in the wall. I just framed one last Saturday.

My garage doors at home measure 8x8' between the moulding, but the door hangs down a few inches at rest when it's up.
I can push the door up on the track and gain about 2 inches or so making the full 96" usable. I have a small C clamp handy that I use to hold the door all the way up. There are two steel stop springs which keep the door from going all the way back without some pressure. I've considered making the track longer by a foot to cure this.
I do wish my doors were wider, an extra foot would be nice. It would save folding in my mirrors when pulling the truck in and my one boat trailer only clears by 3/4" on each side. (I put reflective tape on the door jam so I can see the edges at night).

 

[ne7800]

Re: Tall Boat into a Low Garage

well if it was me i would move to a place that would alow me to have a boat in my yard! heck in the summer my yard has a boat, a 5th wheel camper, my truck, my wifes car, my car, and some times my Harley