How much garage will I need???

[gt2003]

We finally got moved into our new house. It's got a 3 car garage, right at 21 feet deep. The 3rd car portion is set back about 2 feet deeper at the front and rear than the larger 2 car section. Is this enough room to store a Response LXI/TXI if I remove the swim step? I know it would have to be angled but how reasonable is this? We can rent a storage if needed but sure would be nice to spend that cash on ski gear! I can take pics tonight If needed but looking at my options as I...once again, begin the boat search.

 

[The_MS]

Is it a single garage door in that stall? May need more width.

[gt2003]

Yes, but we only use one stall of the 2 car portion for my wifes car. I park my truck outside and would be more than willing to continue to do so if parking a boat angled across the other 2 stalls an option. xince the 3rd car portion is deeper, I should have plenty of space. Just wasn't sure if anyone on here does this on a regular basis.

[gt2003]

Here's the layout

[bigskieridaho]

My boat wouldn't fit length wise in my single bay. Folding tongue and swim deck may help. I put mine diagonal in the double bay. If you push it all the way to the single you can still get a car in. We park the cars outside cause my 67 mustang is in the single bay..... but the boat fits fine.

[A_B]

I went wider on the door. A standard single car door is going to be very tight or impossible to get through. My third car bay is 34' long, so all the toys are parked behind the boat and go out through a 7' wide overhead door.

[gt2003]

Hmm, may move the wife to the single bay...

 

[The_MS]

We have the same set up and I can put a 200 in the middle stall with the tong folded back and platform off. We park the truck in single and car on other side of boat. Still have room for rider mower, snow blower and golf cart

[gt2003]

Ahh, best news I've heard all day. Thanks MS!

[gregy]

My garage is 24 ft deep. My RLX without folding tongue fits with swim platform on. I have a 10ft wide door. I had a 9 ft door before and it was tight.

[skihacker]

My 2004 rlxi lives in my garage in the winter, the door is just shy of 10 feet wide which is snug for the width of the trailer, the boat plus the trailer tongue is around 22 feet without the platform and no foldaway trailer. The guide poles on the trailer are several inches outside the tires.

[oldjeep]

Need to drop the wedge as well as removing the platform. My 20ft vtx uses all of a 25 ft stall with the platform on and tongue extended. With platform off, wedge down and tongue folded should be no problem in a 21 ft stall.

[ToddA]

@gt2003 yeah, as indicated above, check the width on that single bay garage, as a lot of builders scrimp to save $$ by putting in an 8.0' wide door, which will not accommodate the width of the trailer. Your middle stall on your double width door should be fine with a swing-away tongue and the platform removed.

[ToddA]

@gt2003 , I learned the hard way a lesson...Because we had an 8.0' wide door on our last house, I "made certain" to specify to our builder of our current house to put in at least a 9.0' wide garage door for our SN 196 on our 3-bay. Well, after the foundation was poured, and forms removed, I was looking at that single bay opening, thinking, "man, that still looks like an 8' opening.". Sure enough, grab my tape measure, it was 8.0'! Ticked would be an understatement, as we paid for the "upgrade" and now the foundation was set. Called the builder, and his response was, "well, we will just take away 6" on either side of the opening to fit the 9' door!"....Not exactly what I had wanted or paid for.... Grrr...

[skihacker]

I was curious so I measured, 9'10" and it leaves just a couple inches to spare on either side to the guide poles. We walk it in with a few people when it gets put away.

[oldjeep]

Also worth mentioning, you can get a lot closer to door frames if your trailer has removable guide posts. Most of the newer boatmate trailers like mine have them, the older one that my inlaws 04 lxi has are welded on.

[Skoot1123]

Swing away younger on the trailer and removing the swim platform is your best bet. You'll be able to fit in a lot of boat with that technique.

[MISkier]

10 foot wide single door. 18 foot wide double door. Both 8 feet high. 26 feet deep. RLX with platform on and tongue not folded. I park it in the double side. That is a Suburban in the foreground.

 

 

[MISkier]

@gt2003, I am also curious about the width of that single door. If it is wide enough, could you add depth to that single bay? The floor plan show there isn't anything behind it. What about moving the front of the garage forward to add depth?

[Mick04]

I've got a 9' door, opening is a few inches narrower. TXi fits with trailer guides removed, but is tight. 24' deep garage gives me about 30 inches to spare with platform removed and tongue folded.

[A_B]

10 foot wide door is really the best, or use one side of the double door.

The extra wide single door comes in handy when backing the boat in quickly during a tornado warning and monsoon downpour.. take my word on it..

[gt2003]

I measured last night and the 3rd car door is only 8 feet wide so that's out. The depth is only 19'6" but I have 2 stalls I can use and one side is about 2 feet deeper. I'm planning to run it slightly angled and the measurements come out OK. Just gotta get the boat now!

[MISkier]

Are you going to drive the boat through the double door and angle it back into the single bay? There isn't a wall between the bays, is there?

 

I'm wondering if you could even move the boat around enough, with platform off and a folding tongue to fit it fully in the single bay slot and have ability for 2 cars to still use the double bay side. If you can jockey it around enough, it might fit. You would want the double wheel trailer jack for this, though, to make the moving easier.

 

I think my ski buddy used to fit his RLX into a 21+/- foot bay with the platform off. He didn't even have the folding tongue. It was really interesting the day he arrived at the site without the platform he left at home. Really hard to put the skis on and get in/out of the water.

[gt2003]

LOL, that's something I would do as well. Agree with a double wheel trailer jack. Not sure how much they are but pretty sure they are cheaper than $1800 in storage fees each year. I'll empty the garage at first and decide what works best.

[gt2003]

Ok, I was picturing something different in my mind. Anyone have a pic of a double wheel trailer jack? I was thinking something similar to a pallet jack. All I find are the usual tongue trailer jacks with 2 wheels. Help please

 

Maybe this is it? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KXH6GF8?psc=1

 

I apologize @Horton, there is no way to shorten the link on my work computer

 

[MISkier]

I was referring to the Fulton jacks (e.g. Part Number 1413020134), but the option you showed from Amazon might help, too.

[Edmund]

@gt2003 I used a two-wheeled trailer dolly for years (similar to the one in your Amazon link). Very handy and makes moving your boat and trailer around a breeze.

[gt2003]

I just found the EZ Tug automated one. Wow, how easy is that?? Would easily be worth the money, time and disagreements with backing into the garage!

[MISkier]

Before you buy anything, you'll want to try it the hard way to make sure you really can maneuver where you want to.

 

Some of those solutions look great. Something to keep in mind as I get older.

[gt2003]

Good Insight. I'll likely buy or borrow the manual one then pursue the other option once I'm sure it will work correctly. Thanks

[skiinxs]

You might find a pair of these helpful if you want to enter into the double door side and slide sideways into the single stall side link.

[gt2003]

I like this one. No motor, chain drive, low and high gear, reasonably priced. Once again, no link shortener at work so I apologize in advance:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Trailer-Valet-V211-Tongue-Silver/dp/B007G2IH4Q/ref=sr_1_55?ie=UTF8&qid=1485450029&sr=8-55&keywords=boat+dolly

[MISkier]

+1 on the dollies, if such a movement is needed.

[oldjeep]

The fulton f2 double wheel jack is horrible, the f2 wide single wheel is the one to get. Had the double replaced twice under warranty due to the wheels cracking at the hubs. The wide single has been great.

[MISkier]

Good to know @oldjeep.

[BlueSki]

@gt2003 dropped me a line because I mentioned that I bought one of the trailer valets a few years ago. I thought I would also post a shorter note here for the good of the order. Yes, I would recommend one. It works well, stores easily, and makes tucking my boat in the middle bay much easier, especially after an exhausting weekend of skiing.