Just 8"... that's what she said!

[chawk610]

I just got an '08 Mobius... First boat I have ever had with a tower... got home last night and folded it down. I was hoping it folded down to windshield height...well it doesn't (I don't think). 8" too tall to fit in my garage. Was kinda bummed... but it's cool. Anyways, it folded back toward the stern... is that correct?

[wolfeman131]

chawk - if I remember correct you bought kidder's LS? Also, I believe that tower folds towards the stern, but many folks on here have the LSV (same hull, just Vdrive) and they are able to get the boat in the garage (some are tighter on clearance).

A few tricks, but doubt they work to make up for 8 inch miss:

lower trailer jack
let air out of tires
manipulate angle if your driveway slopes one way or the other
buy a lakehouse & leave it on the lift

[chawk610]

Ha, I like your last suggestion! The kicker is I have a really long garage...23'6" so the length is fine.

[mcdye]

We have the same issue. Indeed up with a lower hitch just for getting in and out of garage. We use one of these and a floor jack. We have got the routine down and not to bad.

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

[kaneboats]

With my LSV, I put the tower down and back up till the trailer wheels are just onto the garage floor. I then unhitch and lower the trailer jack all the way down. The tower will go under the door that way when I push the boat back by hand. The driveway is a little steep but with the trailer wheels already sitting in the garage I can roll it back into place.

[chawk610]

Ok... we got home late last night... so I was worn out and not thinking very clearly... I will get a better look at it today... I am in construction... so one of my remodler contacts says he could make the door taller... but I would rather not if I don't need to...

[kaneboats]

I should also mention that I put a wheel block right by the garage door for pulling the boat out. I don't want the trailer wheels to ever go through the door until I get it hitched back up. The truck would probably stop it from rolling all the way down the driveway but it would not be pretty.

[chawk610]

No... it wouldn't :) I cant get my wheels to the raised "lip" of the garage before the tower would hit.

[mnpracing]

I have a 7' door, and I need to go from a 2" drop hitch for normal towing, to an 8" drop hitch when moving the boat in and out of the garage. When doing this, the top point of the folded towner brushes the weather-stripping on the garage door frame. It's a PITA, but it only takes another 5 minutes time.

[kaneboats]

Well worth it to have an LSV. I was just happy I could get it in there at all. With removable platform, fold down tower and swing away tongue-- we're golden.

[chawk610]

hmmm... Does your jack go low enough to get on the 8" drop? I have one at the shop I can experiment with today. That is exactly what my plan is... length wise I should be good by almost a foot!

[04OUTBACK]

Kane,
I had a runaway about 6 weeks ago! got rolling too fast coming out of garage and jumped my chock!... i got it turned into the grass..which was hard as a rock due to drought and it kept rolling.. just missed a telephone box and almost made it to the street before stopping in neighbors yard!.

I do have to un hook my trailer, lower the jack and push in myself..

Drew, really like your suggestions on the lakehouse/lift suggestion!

[kaneboats]

Brad, I'm really glad you got away with that one. I'm extremely careful to park the truck on the driveway where the boat can't get past it if it did get away.

The boss wants a lake house. We'll see how long it takes. Then I can spend every Sat. cutting the grass there instead of using the water.

[mnpracing]

hmmm... Does your jack go low enough to get on the 8" drop? I have one at the shop I can experiment with today. That is exactly what my plan is... length wise I should be good by almost a foot!

funny you ask...no issues with my stock jack (actually the dual wheel version of the stock jack), but I have since switched to the Fulton F2 and the tolerances are close. Meaning, it's all the way down to get it on the 8" drop, and all the way up to get it on the 2" drop. Some of that has to do with the fact that when I'm hooking up to leave, the truck airbags are somewhat deflated, and when I come back from the lake they are more inflated, if that makes sense...the airbags are automagical so I can't inflate/deflate manually (or at least I haven't figured it out for the '07 Expedition EL).

Bottom line, yes I can lower the trailer jack far enough to use the 8" drop hitch. The F2 definitely doesn't have as much travel as the stock jack.

[chawk610]

Ok...well, I am encouraged... I can't wait to get home today and get her in the garage... I can't stand leaving it out... even covered! Luckily, it is cloudy today... go figure.

[Jet]

OK, thats nothing compared to mine. I have to take off the swim platform-lower the tower, then lower the tounge jack and THEN..unhook it from the truck and push it in by hand. Mine goes in and across and is only inches from the rear trailer and 2" by the garage door and I have a 2" lip at the front of the garage that I have to push it up and over, Its not easy pushing 4000lbs. NOT fun when Its 105 degrees outside. lol. I have one of those OK trailers that have 3-HUGE Ibeams (tounge weight is like 500lbs??) going to the hitch area so Its a extra 1'-1/2 longer than the boat actually is so I cant add the tounge swing. It takes up both spots. But at least she is safe and close. Jet

[chawk610]

I will def be taking the platform off... but it is a quick release... so no biggie. I am gonna have to get really creative this afternoon for sure! I don't think I could push nie in??? It is a slight incline ahd that lip is gonna stop me for sure! :) If I get it in the garage today I will be proudly posting pics!!!!!!!!!!

[Jet]

You can push her up there. lol. I put a little piece of wood down there and use it as a ramp and just get a little running start. lol.

[kaneboats]

When I got mine I thought about putting a hook in the wall behind the boat and running the winch strap under the trailer back to the hook so I could use the winch to pull her back into the garage. Didn't have to resort to that but would have if I had to.

[cab13367]

I really feel for you guys who have to deal with height issues in addition to length issues. Fortunately, I have an 8' tall garage door so I can just drop the tower and back her in. The length is a different story - have to remove the swim platform and swing the tongue every time.

I am extremely envious of those that have a garage/building opening that is tall enough and long enough to be able to just back the boat straight in after getting home from the lake!

[c.rix]

Those of you that don't have the height seriously you need to make your garage door 8' Its one of those weekend jobs that you will look back and say "should have done it a long time ago" that being said some designs just don't allow for it and its time to move :D I couldn't imagine having to switch hitches to lower it every time the boat goes into a garage every time. Just putting the boat away in the garage is a pain enough although I do have a OBV that will fit in a standard 7' garage I do have a 8' door and 24' deep garage I almost don't have to swing the tongue almost

[chawk610]

yea... I have the depth, but the height is gonna be iffy... hearing that some of yall here make it happen makes me think an 8" drop, and she'll go in! Kane...the winch idea is brilliant... IF the studs are strong enough. I would hate to pull a wall down! LOL Heck, an electric winch would be the ticket... could prolly mount it to the floor with concrete anchors?

[cab13367]

Those of you that don't have the height seriously you need to make your garage door 8' Its one of those weekend jobs that you will look back and say "should have done it a long time ago" that being said some designs just don't allow for it and its time to move :D I couldn't imagine having to switch hitches to lower it every time the boat goes into a garage every time. Just putting the boat away in the garage is a pain enough although I do have a OBV that will fit in a standard 7' garage I do have a 8' door and 24' deep garage I almost don't have to swing the tongue almost

I hear ya. There is at least one person on here that has to let almost all the air out of his trailer tires to get the boat to clear and he has a tandem axle trailer so that's 4 tires that he has to air up and down every time he takes the boat out!

[c.rix]

chawk thats all you would have to do I hammer drill into the floor and put anchors in nice part is some decent winches have wireless remotes so you could just guide it while the winch does all the work

[chawk610]

ehhh, I wouldn't mind switchig hitches...I am considering the 8' door though... Although do it yourself sounds a little scary!

[c.rix]

ehhh, I wouldn't mind switchig hitches...I am considering the 8' door though... Although do it yourself sounds a little scary!

not that bad really just time consuming should be able to get it done in one weekend!!! At my old house I blew out the back wall put in a big header beam and a rear garage door to the back garage all in one weekend for that project

[chawk610]

Hmmm... why do I get the feeling you are making that sound WAAAAAAAAY easier than it is... lol

[c.rix]

seriously its not that bad... Intimidating at first thought but overall not bad at all is what I thought.

I think I got a remodeling book at home depot that had detailed instructions in it or maybe search the web a bit and double check to see if its something you think you can tackle

For me I'm far too cheap to consider a contractor and don't mind learning new stuff!!! (sometimes the hard way)

[mcdye]

I knew it was going to be close when we brought it home. But would not go in, we dropped the tire prs to very low levels to get it in, knew this was not going to work with a tandem trailer as a normal routine.

If I could have raise the door height, I would have done it. But not an option for me. We can have the trailer out/in about 15 min.

[harmsway]

I just can't imagine having to go through what some of you do to get your boat in or out of the garage. I have found that the harder something is to get ready to use the less you will want to use it. A chore is something that no one wants to do in order to use your boat. Our last boat you had to tilt the tower back to get in and of our garage, but our LS was about 6" to long for the garage. There was only one solution build a bigger better garage. 12' x 12' door for the boat and 16' x 14' door for the camper. You don't have let the tower up or down and no problems with clearance on the sides. It takes 5 minutes to hook the boat up and your off to the lake. So I say build big is the only solution.

[jpetty3023]

I rent a storage unit with electric outlets, light, and a state trooper that monitors the security system to avoid having to do the "garage thing". I'd love to have a building large enough to keep it at home with the family but HOA restrictions are a pain in the arse and I have a side entry garage so the truck will never swing around without hitting the sprinkler system and neighbors fence.


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[JesseC]

I had to go with the winch route in my old house. I took out a wall and bolted a winch into the floor. It is really easy to do and made the job much easier. I also had the lip to deal with and the low garage height.

Here is what I had to do: http://lisaandjesse.5u.com/MoombaLoad/index.htm



.

[rdlangston13]

my boat with the tower folded and jack lowered all the way was still about 3" too tall to fit in the garage. i have a storage unit but its a PITA if I go to a lake that is not my main lake since my main lake is 110 miles away and that is where my storage is to avoid having to trailer the boat 110 miles one way every weekend. My storage is not even tall enough to keep the tower up so i still have to fold it down. I can't wait to buy a place and build a custom shop/garage big enough for my boat so I do not have to fold the tower down!

[chawk610]

Ok... well... she went in. Wasn't that big a deal... back it in the drive, switch out to a 8" drop... and back on in... the wifes car fit as well... it actually only takes up about 10" more in width than the old S&S I had... I slept very well last night know it was tucked safely in the garage! Now... Just waiting on the 12" Kicker sub w/ enclosure I ordered!

[moombadaze]

glad to hear she's tucked in nice and safe

[kaneboats]

I'll sleep better tonight now. I was really worried.