# Buying a House! Trailer Length Question.



## FishyItch (Dec 3, 2011)

Hello Again!

I've been gone for a looooong time, but I'm back with a very important question.

My fiance and I are getting very close to buying a house. We've found one we love and we're thinking about putting in an offer. 

But here's the thing....
It has a three car garage, one double door and one single door. It's a nice garage, but we can only devote the single door stall to the boat. Since we want to park both cars in the garage, I don't want to angle the boat and have it take up over half of the garage. The stall that we plan on for the boat is 18'6" long. I'm not sure how wide it is, but I'm pretty sure it's standard. (Eight feet I think.)

Anyway, right now I have a little 13'6" tinny that I'm fizing up and I know will fit just fine on the trailer, but I plan on upgrading to a longer boat in the future. How big can I reasonably go and still be able to close the garage door? I wouldn't mind getting a folding tongue for the trailer, but I wouldn't want to have to take off the outboard everytime I stored the boat. (I could, but it would be a pain.)

The waters I am going to be fishing aren't huge. I think the biggest lake I would consider is around 3000 acres. My go to lake is around 2000 acres. (You guys actually had a tourny there last year, Lake Waubesa in Madison, Wisconsin.) I think a solid 15 footer would be fine, but can I fit a 15 footer in my 18'6" garage? 

Sorry for rambling, but we really like the house I just need to know about the trailer vs. garage situation. I'm sure you all understand.  

Thanks.


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## LonLB (Dec 3, 2011)

Park your car outside, or in the single stall, and move the boat over....

Or if both car's have to be outside so be it. In which case by her an automatic starter.....But only her...Even if you are parked outside too. This way she feels like you made some sort of special concession for her, for letting you park the boat inside.


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## FishyItch (Dec 3, 2011)

Haha. You're right. That is an option. But like I said, I'd like to have both cars and the boat in the garage. 

The double door stalls are about 18" longer at 20', so putting the boat in one of those is an option, but then whoever parks in the single stall has to walk around the boat to get into the house. Ideally the boat fits perfectly into the smaller 18'6" stall.


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## LonLB (Dec 3, 2011)

I would think that at 18'6 even a 16' boat will have trouble fitting. By the time you add an engine, and a trailer....Even with a swing away tongue.

You could always check out new boat websites. I know some list package length, not just boat length. That would give you a better idea what is possible.


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## FishyItch (Dec 3, 2011)

I was looking at the Tracker and Alumacraft websites and saw something about "package length." Does that include the motor too?


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## LonLB (Dec 3, 2011)

FishyItch said:


> I was looking at the Tracker and Alumacraft websites and saw something about "package length." Does that include the motor too?



Yep, motor and trailer. (they will sometimes even specify with swing away tongue or not.)


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## FishyItch (Dec 3, 2011)

Here's a link to a 16' Tracker. It's the package length is 18'5". That's 1" to spare!

https://www.trackerboats.com/boat/specs.cfm?boat=3328

First of all, I think I'm looking for a 15 footer, not a 16 footer. The boat linked to above is a lot more boat than I need. But in terms of the trailer, does that really make a difference? 
Also, I know I said that I didn't want to angle the boat into the other stalls because I need to put cars there, but the stall is about 8 feet wide, so a little bit of an angle is possible. Would that makea a difference?


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## LonLB (Dec 3, 2011)

FishyItch said:


> Here's a link to a 16' Tracker. It's the package length is 18'5". That's 1" to spare!
> 
> https://www.trackerboats.com/boat/specs.cfm?boat=3328
> 
> ...




That is a sweet boat you linked...Use to have that exact boat back in 06' and sold it.

Depends on the boat you want. Likely the trailer will be longer if the boat is longer, because the winch stand will have to move up, and that will move up where the swing away is (which usually seems to be right ahead of the winch stand)

Also depending on the boat, you won't gain much extra by placing at an angle because of the width of some packages.

Just install two small electric hoists and pull the boat in, lift if off the trailer, and park the trailer outside. Have a fabbed "stand" for the boat made of wood/carpet, and set it down on that.
With electric it would only add a few minutes each time.
Then you aren't restricted. :lol: 

Sounds off the wall/extra expense etc, but realistically, it's not a bad idea, because dry storage matters ALLOT, and I really prefer a bigger boat.


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## FishyItch (Dec 3, 2011)

Well, it sounds like a 14 footer with a folding tongue will be fine, but a 15 footer will be a little bit of a pain in the neck. I guess that's okay. I usually fish by myself and the waters aren't huge. If my length is capped at 14 feet, maybe I just have to start looking for something a little wider to provide more space in the boat. I guess I just want my future self to have a nice fishing boat, that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be 15' for longer. 

We've toured the house twice and we'll probably tour it once more. I'll make sure to take a tape measure and a clipboard with some grid paper.


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## overboard (Dec 3, 2011)

may sound stupid, but, i've seen where a hole was cut in the garage door for the tongue to stick out. had to do a double take on that one. don't think i'd want to do that.


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## freetofish (Dec 3, 2011)

As a retired carpenter and contractor, I will tell you that I have "bumped out" several garage back walls to allow for the outboard motor to stick into... If your house is brick then thats not practical but no mater what kind of siding you would have its not really a big deal to do the modification....


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## jasper60103 (Dec 3, 2011)

I have a 3 car attached garage. When we built, I had the 3rd car stall extended 6 feet and added a 9 foot door. But if I had the space, I would have added a pad on the side of garage for the boat and trailer. That way, you won't be restricted on whatever boat you go with. Good luck.


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## FishyItch (Dec 4, 2011)

Thanks, guys. Those are all great ideas. But one of the reasons the garage is so short is that the house is built on a pretty steep grade into a hill. Also, no room for an extra pad. The subdivision won't let you park a boat outside anyway. Stupid, I know, but it's a really nice house.

I'm beginning to think that a 14' or 15' with a swing-away tongue is the way to go. I know a lot of you guys swear by erring on the side of bigger, and I agree, but I think a smaller boat that set up well is just fine.


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## FishyItch (Dec 4, 2011)

What do you guys think the package length is on these two, if I was able to put on a swing-away tongue?

https://www.sylvanmarine.com/Showro...&Type=Utilities&Series=Sport Troller&Model=14

https://www.sylvanmarine.com/Showro...&Type=Utilities&Series=Super Snapper&Model=14

These look like nice boats with a decent amount of space for only being a little over 14'.


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## richg99 (Dec 4, 2011)

Just one more thought on the trailer tongue length. 

Years ago, I bought a boat and had an extra five inches of trailer sticking out. It was longer than my garage. I measured carefully and was able to buy a piece of galvanized square tubing that would fit INSIDE of the trailer's tongue. I cut the tongue off and then slipped the extension piece inside of the front/cut-off position..I bolted it there. 

I drilled two matching holes into the remaining tongue and the forward section. 

When it came time to put the boat up, I put her into the garage, pulled the two pins; pulled the forward section out and slid it down on the floor under the boat. So, the trailer length, when parked, really didn't extend much past the very bow of the boat. That system might give you the extra room you need. Rich

p.s. The removable section weighed a lot. For safety, I made sure I had a long piece of the smaller tubing in both the front and back portions.


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## pelagicbldr (Jan 23, 2012)

My two cents worth: I fish constderablt more often with my boat home, in my garage ready to go. I have a shop nearby to store it as well, but don't take the small amount of extra time to drive over and get it as often. 
I have a 17'-6'' Landau mod.v jon and a 60hp merc. four stroke on a single axle trailer. I had to notch studs in rear garage wall and turn motor certain way to get it all in a 25 foot deep garage I built around the boat.
The easier to get it all in and out, the more you will use it.


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