7 foot garage...

[N518LF]

I am totally new to boating but am very addicted to it (and wakeboarding). Since the wife loves to be on the water she is willing to consider a boat. With that said I have been looking and have read many good things about the Moomba line and I am partial to the LSV. I do want a v-drive but my other top priority is it HAS to fit in my garage. Depth is not an issue, I have a tandom garage (deep enough for two cars).

The issue that I am not sure about is the opening is only 82.5 inches at the tallest part and my drive-way has a slight incline. I know whatever tower I get will need to fold down but will the LSV fit. If not, how about the Outback V.

When I am ready, I would prefer to buy new (even if it is last year's model) but I won't go older than an 07 if I buy used.

Also, I live in SD and I can't find a local dealer. Does this mean if I buy a Moomba I am stuck driving 8 hours for warranty work?

thanks in advance for your help.

[bbyquist]

Hey N18, I just went out and measured for you. My garage is also 84" even on a flat driveway. I have an 07 LS with a single axle trailer. With the tower folded down and a good amount of air let out of the tires, I can clear the garage by about 1/4". Sounds like it will be pretty close in your case. Hope this helps.

[N518LF]

Hey N18, I just went out and measured for you. My garage is also 84" even on a flat driveway. I have an 07 LS with a single axle trailer. With the tower folded down and a good amount of air let out of the tires, I can clear the garage by about 1/4". Sounds like it will be pretty close in your case. Hope this helps.

thanks for going out and measuring!

[mutau052]

I'm struggling with the exact same issue if anyone else has perspective on this I would love to hear it. Also what about the outback v? Also on the outback v when the tower is folded forward does it lay on the bow or on the trailer tounge? Could the boat be backed up the the outback tower down?

[skiyaker]

here are some pics of my OBV in my garage (7' door) with the tower down- plenty of clearance.

[mutau052]

here are some pics of my OBV in my garage (7' door) with the tower down- plenty of clearance.

This awesome! I'd love to see the lsv pics like this also. Got to pay off my 335i then it's time for the bayliner 185 to get replaced.

I love moomba line! Great stuff!

[jeffrogge]

I have the outback v and with the tower folded forward it rests on the bow about where the windshield is. I personally have a 2x4 with a v cut in the end and it sits on the not skid pad and then the tower does not have to rest on the boat. I am able to back it up without issue.

[kaneboats]

I asked these questions before I got my LSV. Here's the thread for length:

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?t=9973&highlight=garage

And this is the one with height (starting at top of p.4):

https://forum.moomba.com/showthread.php?p=87459&highlight=garage#post87459

At any rate, if you lower the tongue you can sneak under an 82" opening. I can make it under mine without taking the mirror off (although I have to turn it upside down!).

[TL7]

Do not laugh at what you are about to see!

I also wanted to keep the boat in the garage at all costs. It's nice to be able to tinker with it when I want to. The Outback we had (07) fit easily. Once we upgraded to the 2010 LSV, I was pretty sure it fit, but I racked my brain for a few days until I came up with a solution that worked for me.

With the tower folded, the door header was still a few inches too tall. I discovered that lowering the tongue to where it was just off the ground gave me the clearance I needed. I had a machine shop fab a 18" drop hitch that is adjustable by the inch. My routine is as follows:

1. Remove from regular hitch.
2. Swap normal hitch with fabbed drop hitch.
3. Using floor jack, lower boat tongue onto hitch.
4. Back into garage.
5. Once header is cleared, use floor jack to put boat back on normal fulton jack.
6. Roll into garage as needed.

It sounds like a giant pain in the butt, but whole process takes less than 15 minutes now. Yes I'll be glad when we move and get a larger garage, but for now I'd rather do this than pay for storage. It's not as nice as having a garage that I can just back in, but I pay nothing monthly for it and I have the boat with me all the time. Just wanted to give you something to think about. There is always a solution!

[kaneboats]

I'm not laughing. I've been pushing mine in by hand (uphill) after lowering the tongue all the way down. It's a little heavy. I may look into fabricating a drop hitch. Thanks!

[TL7]

Kane, I did the push by hand thing 2 times before saying enough of this.

Fortunately I know guys in the fab business, otherwise these hitches off the shelf are in the $300 range. But can you really put a price on your back?

[N518LF]

TL7, thanks, that helps a lot. I was thinking it would make a diff to drop the tongue but I wasn't sure how much.

Seems from the few pics I have seen the tower is the biggets issue. Does anyone know if there us a good aftermarket tower that folds lower?

My driveway has a slight incline, still trying to figure if that will help or hurt. I don't think the incline is enough to cause the back of the boat to hit the top and but I do think the incline would also help lower the tongue?

[mmandley]

I am totally new to boating but am very addicted to it (and wakeboarding). Since the wife loves to be on the water she is willing to consider a boat. With that said I have been looking and have read many good things about the Moomba line and I am partial to the LSV. I do want a v-drive but my other top priority is it HAS to fit in my garage. Depth is not an issue, I have a tandom garage (deep enough for two cars).

The issue that I am not sure about is the opening is only 82.5 inches at the tallest part and my drive-way has a slight incline. I know whatever tower I get will need to fold down but will the LSV fit. If not, how about the Outback V.

When I am ready, I would prefer to buy new (even if it is last year's model) but I won't go older than an 07 if I buy used.

Also, I live in SD and I can't find a local dealer. Does this mean if I buy a Moomba I am stuck driving 8 hours for warranty work?

thanks in advance for your help.

IDK if you have to drive 8 hours for warranty work. I will check with our local dealer and ask them if they know the way warranty work goes. From experience other dealers of anything don't like doing warranty work on your stuff if you didn't buy it from them.

Heres a pic of our boat in the drive way this year, i have a pretty serious incline and i only have about 1/2 clearance from my trailer to the ground. This also causes the front axle to come off the ground when back in and pulling out. The good thing is i don't have to get a drop hitch, let air out of my tires, or anything. Bad thing is i cant park the boat in the driveway and its a real pain to do anything with it nose down like that. This also requires me to have the trailer level on my truck. If the trailer sit with the tongue to high the rear drags, tongue to low and the trailer binds up on the hitch from the extream angle.

I just measured my garage door opening. From the floor of the garage to the weatherstrip seal is 82.5 inches. Weather seal is .5 inches and the vynal its attached to is .5 so 84inches exactly.

[kaneboats]

TL7, thanks, that helps a lot. I was thinking it would make a diff to drop the tongue but I wasn't sure how much.

Seems from the few pics I have seen the tower is the biggets issue. Does anyone know if there us a good aftermarket tower that folds lower?

My driveway has a slight incline, still trying to figure if that will help or hurt. I don't think the incline is enough to cause the back of the boat to hit the top and but I do think the incline would also help lower the tongue?

Yea, it makes a huge difference to drop the tongue. A little incline doesn't hurt either as that puts the tongue (and thus the tower hinge) a little lower still. I would say that if you have 82" you can make it. Make sure your garage door opens all the way-- I had to adjust mine to pull the door up higher. Good luck.

[sandm]

last house I was in I put in 9ft doors and I loved them(although the premium price over 8ft doors was a ton....) current house has 7ft doors and I hate them. have to unhook the boat and drop the front wheel all the way to the ground to get the boat in. tower is not a big issue, but mirror hits. guess I'm just too lazy to remove it each time..
takes 2 of us to push it in, but the driveway is completely level so that's a bonus :)

mb advertises the tomcat as a true 7ft door friendly tower. wish more of the boat companies would ensure that towers collapse to allow them to be backed in and out of a 7ft door since that was the standard for years and years..

[pmoomba]

Instead of the height problem, when you guys figure out how to make a 8.5' width trailer fit through a single 8' width door let me know :)

[N518LF]

Instead of the height problem, when you guys figure out how to make a 8.5' width trailer fit through a single 8' width door let me know :)

Turn the tires "inside out" and take off the wheel wells?

[schuylski]

Just confirming, we have an 82 inch opening, floor to frame (no weatherstripping), and the LSV fits in with maybe about a 1/4 in. to spare, but we need to use something besides the trailer jack because it doesn't allow the tongue to go low enough.

Jam door all the way up with a wood block.
Flip mirror upside down.
Using a floor jack, lift tongue and flip trailer jack up out of the way, then lower trailer onto a piano dolly so the tongue is way down.
Push boat up into the garage.

Tower ends up being the highest point. Also, didn't need to let air out of tires, but the driveway is a slight incline up into the garage which helps keep it lower. Took about an hour and a half to get this process all figured out the first time, but it fits!! Now only takes maybe 15 minutes... and 3 of us to push the boat up into the garage.

[newyear14]

TL7,
My driveway has a slight incline, still trying to figure if that will help or hurt. I don't think the incline is enough to cause the back of the boat to hit the top and but I do think the incline would also help lower the tongue?

I have a 7 ft. opening and a slight incline also. I can fit my 09 OB V tower folded with room to spare. The incline actually help me clear the top of the garage door. Check out the 2011 LSV with the new tower option that folds forward. I believe it folds lower (from the picture) and can be folded by 1 person. Good Luck!

[sleepyluke]

You guys got me to thinking which is kinda scary. I actually have a decline toward the garage and have a 7ft door. We can not get the Supra Comp in the garage because the back of the trailer drags when attached to truck. The declie stops about 8-10 feet in front of the garage. Anyway, I see alot of you push and pull your boats in by hand and I can do that on flat ground but don't think I could stop the boat if it were to get a head of steam going down the incline, but do any of you think that a golf cart or riding mower could stop it? i think I could get something fabricated to get the tongue low enough to get the rear over the dip to get in the garage, and think that it will fit under the door? (I also hope that the new trailers have a little more clearance than the older ones) I am not so sure though because in me head anyway an incline helps more than a decline to get it through with out letting air out of tires and all that fun stuff.

I know that the new LSV has a different tower and that the Outbacks have the older Mobius?everything tower, does one sit lower than the other? I assume the Outbacks sit a little lower, but may be wrong on that.

Great, I had been worried about length, and now you have me worried about the height, i guess I need to build a 30 foot level shop with a 12 foot door to get my toys that I don't even have yet out of the rain. :confused:

[saskyrider]

Kane, I did the push by hand thing 2 times before saying enough of this.

Fortunately I know guys in the fab business, otherwise these hitches off the shelf are in the $300 range. But can you really put a price on your back?



that is plain larceny!! I have the material in my workshop and could whip one up in about 15 minutes...

Geoff:)

[kaneboats]

How much? I'm still pushing mine up hill by hand. It's all I can do by myself. I have to take my sandals off or my feet will slide out.

[kaneboats]

Anyway, I see alot of you push and pull your boats in by hand and I can do that on flat ground but don't think I could stop the boat if it were to get a head of steam going down the incline, but do any of you think that a golf cart or riding mower could stop it?

Just tie a rope from the trailer or the cleats on the boat back to the truck-- put a couple wraps around the bumper or something -- and let her down easy. I also have someone hang on to a wheel block and if I start losing my grip or something I have them block it while I regroup.

[KSmith]

I don't know if this would help anyone else, but my driveway is a side entry, no way to back the trailer with the truck into the garage. My house is on a hill and my driveway is wicked steep and levels off somewhat just as it tops the hill where the side entry garage doors are. The driveway also slopes away from the house to the side. I have to spin the boat around by hand, but there was no way I can get it into the garage alone by hand. Inside my garage the house foundation extends up about 18 inches. I drilled through the foundation wall into the basement and ran 2 large eyebolts through. Then I bought a 12v handheld winch with a wired remote that is about 12 feet long, and hook it to the boat battery. I made a cable harness to attach to the 2 eyebolts in the garage wall and a pulley with center attachment to the winch plate. I made another cable harness to attach to the two attachment points on the trailer where the tansom straps connect and another pulley that attaches to the hook from the winch. Once I get thye boat spun around by hand with the back facing the garage I hook up the harnsesses and winch and start winching it into the garage. It works great for a one person operation.

[kaneboats]

I thought about doing something like that myself but I'm getting ready to sell so decided not to bother. Even though my driveway is on an incline I can push the LSV up into the garage myself-- it ain't easy though. At the new house I want it nice and flat.

[mcdye]

I too have a delcine to the garage. The first time I dropped the air pressure and was able to get it in then, I read about lower the tongue with jack and push in, but that was not an option as to in decline. Then I brought this hitch and was able to work out the process....save me having to build a new house. :)

8-in-1-adjustable-ball-mount-hitch (http://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-1-adjustable-ball-mount-hitch-95991.html)

[kaneboats]

Not bad. Not bad at all.

[corndog7051]

Yeah Kane I have to push my O9 Outback V into the garage by hand too. Cause my garage is short i have to move in and turn it to the side so it takes up my entire garage. But it is out of the weather and its right there when I need it. Cant wait for me and the wife to get a bigger house. Well a bigger garage ha ha

[kaneboats]

The wife was talking about putting a 3 car garage on the new house. I said, "Don't bother." We have 4 acres. I am going to build me a man cave with overhead doors tall enough to get in with the tower up. Ceiling beams high enough and strong enough so I can pull a motor when I need to. Satellite dish hookup, A/C, and brew on tap. Oh yeah, and a bathroom with a urinal on the wall. Ha ha.

[viking]

The wife was talking about putting a 3 car garage on the new house. I said, "Don't bother." We have 4 acres. I am going to build me a man cave with overhead doors tall enough to get in with the tower up. Ceiling beams high enough and strong enough so I can pull a motor when I need to. Satellite dish hookup, A/C, and brew on tap. Oh yeah, and a bathroom with a urinal on the wall. Ha ha.

Don't forget the big screen, poker table, floor drain, and wash bay.

[cbboarder]

Poured the slab on Monday and received these photo's today. Now I have to figure out how to fit the OBV, Bass Tracker, 3 jet ski's and a four wheeler.

[jmvotto]

nice garage but you need another bay for all the toys;) change order:(

[yearround]

nice shed! i really like the scaffold they are using for the siding

[JesseC]

I am having to deal with the Garage issue again. Some of you may remeber what I had to do to the last house:

http://lisaandjesse.5u.com/MoombaLoad/index.htm

Well, I have moved and now have a new problem. I have the seven foot door, but the darn load supports for the first floor run the entire lenght of the basement and cut the space right down the center. It measures 18' 4" from the garage door to the supports. I have a contractor coming out to estimate putting in a header beam and posts to open it up so I can get the boat in the house. One of these days I will get a real garage....

[squeeg333]

Amen to that! I'm trying to figure out a way to make two small hatches on each side of my garage door to acommodate the wheel wells of the trailer. Something like a doggie door, but not really like a doggie door. You know what I'm saying!


Instead of the height problem, when you guys figure out how to make a 8.5' width trailer fit through a single 8' width door let me know :)

[sailing217]

Put low profile 14" tires on your trailer (duel-axle upgrade preferred).

I went from standard 14" trailer wheels/tires to 18" wheels and low profile and my boat raised 2". You should be able to do the reverse. I'd do it if it meant boat or no boat. I think duel-axle is a must for these boats like I have, peace of mind for safety reasons. I think mine are Nexxus tires??? They came from boatmate.

[2009operator]

I'm struggling with the exact same issue if anyone else has perspective on this I would love to hear it. Also what about the outback v? Also on the outback v when the tower is folded forward does it lay on the bow or on the trailer tounge? Could the boat be backed up the the outback tower down?

The tower lays on the bow and as long as you don't turn very very sharply you can back just fine with it.