Garages

[bradamerry]

Originally Posted by Powerslot82

I had a simular problem once.
I used a $100 Garden Tractor that I picked up at a yard sale. It made it much easier.
Wish I still had that problem, don't have a garage now.

A small tractor or a 4 wheeler would help, anything smaller.

[BriEOD]

I have a Honda Rancher 4 -wheeler and I'm not sure it would be a big help. All of that weight in the back will lift the front wheels and make it tougher to steer.

[Jerseydave]

Like powerslot82 says, get a cheap garden tractor and back it right in.

Just imagine if your SUV was only 5 feet long!

[east tx skier]

No way a garden tractor would get my boat up my driveway (but I feel fortunate looking at Ryan's pictures.

Best thing I ever did was follow NSXBill's example and mark the parked boat's position in my garage with tape, with straight lines coming forward from that point. I can now put it 97% in with no spotter, then roll it back to the point just before it hits the wall.

/boat has to go in at an angle. Cars sleep in the driveway.

[aprgriggs]

I wish that you could find a storage unit that has tall doors, so I don't have to put the tower down everytime. Next time I build a house I am adding a 12 ft door. That should solve my problem.

[Ryan]

Before I got the boat I cut some 1x2's, made a small frame and walked the process many times to be sure it would work. The first time, um, when I couldn't get it out we tried it by hand and that boat picked up speed so fast it wsa crazy. Then we could not push it back up. That was an interesting day.

Options I've seriously looked into.
-Lawn tractor - one strong enough won't fit with the boat in there.
-Electric trailer dolley, $1000, and I don't have electric brakes.
-Bolt a block and tackle to the floor - take an hour to pull in/let out.
-Bolting a winch to the floor - don't own the place concrete floor is thin
-Front mounted hitch, none for 4Runner, ugly options from local machinst - U turns in the alley are as much of a pain.
-Buy a Suzuki Samuri to cart the boat in and out - I'd have to insure the dumb thing.

-MOVE - We have a winner!

A pain? Yes. Worth every second of trouble? Yes!
This is how bad I want to ski every week.

[Ben]

If you've seriously considered a winch, that sounds like the best idea. 3 holes in the floor should be sufficient, not too bog of a deal, you can patch them when you move. Another idea may be to hook the winch very low on the wall. I can't tell if the walls are block or framed from the picture. If they are framed, you could hook to the bottom plate and have enough of a base to pull the boat in that way.

I'd also recommend finding a really heavy duty caster of some sort and pulling it in tongue 1st. Just drive straight up the alley to the spot where "someone" painted "X's" in the steet, unhook and rotate trailer 90 deg, then pull it straight in the garage (if you can fit it lengthwise). If you had two people & a fast winch, this seems like it would be quick & easy, the winch will control speed up/down the slope.

Added thought: Another way to mount the winch would be to use wood to make a frame that pushes on the inside front of the garage door opening at the floor. Basically, lay 2x4's down from the front to the back of the garage, then make a slightly more substantial crossmember in the back of the garage to mount the winch to. This would be a pain and be a bit rigged, but would allow something for the winch to mount to that is non-permanent.

[bcampbe7]

I would move... I'm not a city person though.
Cost of living may be an issue in California though. For what you have out there you could probably have 5000+ sq ft house on 10+ acres here in Tennessee (plenty of room to pull the boat in). Hell in a 5000+ sq ft house you could probably turn the boat around in the kitchen if you wanted.

[tph]

I put together a setup similar to what Ben described. The Power winch is mounted to the back wall of the garage and a pulley with the cable threaded through it is mounted to the floor.
I simply get the back end of the trailer close to the garage opening, strap the end of the winch cable to the prop gard on the trailer and walk it right in.

[jimmer2880]

Either way... I feel for you man. That's gotta stink to go through all that 'riggin just to get your boat tucked away.