Folding trailer tongues

[Susky River Rat]

Question for you all. I am curious to roughly how much you gain by folding the tongue in on the trailer? My guess is 20-24”. The new boat I am looking at will be really tight to fit without folding. It will fit though. I would just like an estimate on how much I could potentially gain with the tongue folding. Just for context it is a G3 18’ ccj.

[gim]

It depends on the trailer.  My Ranger RT178 (year 2015) has one and it saves about 15 inches.  I would not be able to fit my boat/trailer in my garage if it didn't have this.  Most newer boats/trailers come standard with it now.

 

Most websites will list a "length on trailer" as a specification and also "length with tongue folded in" or some verbage like that too.  The difference in those two specifications is how much space is saved.  The Lund Renegade 1775 is a 17 foot, 9 inch boat but the length on trailer is only 20 feet, 4 inches long.  That is a really short trailer for that size boat and would be a major selling point to nicely fit into a standard 21 or 22 foot garage.

[Susky River Rat]

3 minutes ago, gimruis said:

It depends on the trailer.  My Ranger RT178 (year 2015) has one and it saves about 15 inches.  I would not be able to fit my boat/trailer in my garage if it didn't have this.  Most newer boats/trailers come standard with it now.

 

Most websites will list a "length on trailer" as a specification and also "length with tongue folded in" or some verbage like that too.  The difference in those two specifications is how much space is saved.  The Lund Renegade 1775 is a 17 foot, 9 inch boat but the length on trailer is only 20 feet, 4 inches long.  That is a really short trailer for that size boat and would be a major selling point to nicely fit into a standard 21 or 22 foot garage.

I have tried looking into it. All it gives is a package length on G3s  website and a detachable tongue. It doesn’t give a stowed length. I tried doing some looking around online at dealerships for that boat and saw conflicting lengths. 

[GaryH]

My Skeeter gives me a extra 32.5” by I’m sure they differ between brands and trailer sizes 

[Susky River Rat]

I didn’t realize there was such a big variance between boats. I will have to give the dealership a call.

[TOXIC]

Also depends on what size motor and if it’s on a JackPlate.  My JP sets my motor back an additional 6 inches and that is a small JP. 

[Dwight Hottle]

It also depends on the manufacture of the trailer because certain boat lines offer more than one trailer choice. 

[gim]

4 hours ago, Darnold335 said:

I will have to give the dealership a call.

That is a wise idea.  Might be worth taking a tape measure with and just doing it yourself if you end up going there too.

[Jig Man]

My swing away tongue on my Nitro trailer is 32” from the end to the hinge.  I’m sure the differ by boat length.

 

If your dealer doesn’t have the answer, go to the G3 website and find out how to contact them and ask your question.

[Bird]

30" on a Lowe Stinger 175.

It's a difference of barely getting it into the garage to being able to walk completely around it.

[MickD]

Motor and jackplate have no bearing on how much space is gained with a folding tongue.  

[gim]

2 hours ago, MickD said:

Motor and jackplate have no bearing on how much space is gained with a folding tongue.  

It might if the "length on trailer" only accounts for a specific size outboard without a jack plate.

 

I added a sandwich bracket to my boat and upgraded to a 75 hp outboard, which added some length to the setup.  It was therefore longer than the actual listed length on Ranger's website, which only accounted for the standard size 60 hp outboard and no sandwich bracket.

[Team9nine]

Just measured mine - 16.5’ Alumacraft. Saves between 23”-24” on mine. I can gain almost another foot if I remove the motor toter when stored. 

[MickD]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

It might if the "length on trailer" only accounts for a specific size outboard without a jack plate.

 

I added a sandwich bracket to my boat and upgraded to a 75 hp outboard, which added some length to the setup.  It was therefore longer than the actual listed length on Ranger's website, which only accounted for the standard size 60 hp outboard and no sandwich bracket.

But the question was how much difference a folding tongue makes.   The difference between a folding tongue and a non folding tongue will be the same no matter what engine is on the boat and no matter whether it has a jack plate.  The difference depends only on the two tongue designs. 

[TOXIC]

Don’t complicate it…..you have x number of feet between your garage door and the back wall.  A folding tongue increases the amount of available space occupied by the boat/trailer by the amount of the folding tongue.  A jackplate decreases the amount of space.  The same boat/trailer in the same garage will fit with a folding tongue and will not fit without it.  A jackplate extends the motor out from the rear and takes up space.  We may just be playing word games on a simple question. 

[airshot]

They make kits to change your straight tongue into a folding tongue trailer.  They come in various tongue sizes and lengths..  They can vary in foldable length, 

I have saw from 16" to 36" so check different mfgrs.

[Bird]

Do  what I did and have the dealer measure the width and total length of trailer to determine whether a trip is needed.

[WRB]

Lowering the OB until it’s 1/4” off the floor and turning the engine shortens the O/A length several inches.

If you can stow the rig at a angle inside the garage that can shorten the O/A length a few feet!

trailers with single post tongue from the wench forward swing tongues save 24” 30” so it depends on the trailer design.

Tom

 

 

[Dogface]

I bought a kit like this: https://www.trailerjacks.com/fulton-3-x-4-bolt-on-trailer-hinge-kit-fold-away-coupler-7500-lbs-tongue-frame?language=en&currency=USD&msclkid=49e34a293081126bf4722e158210f788&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=New Campaign 6-8-2017&utm_term=4575411493143407&utm_content=New Campaign Group

 

 

With the kit you cut the tongue to a length that will work for you.  

[Captain Phil]

I can tell you from experience that the boat's motor and the way it is mounted will have some effect on the garage length required.  Some boat's like Skeeters use a jack plate that adds length.  It may only be a few inches, but it could be significant.   If your garage is tight, I would measure everything myself before I made my purchase.

[Vilas15]

Some manufacturers will give you a "towing length" that has the tongue out and the transom saver on with motor trimmed up, then a minimum "storage length" that assumes the tongue is folded and the transom saver is off with the motor is trimmed down. It's always best to measure something in person if its coming close at all.

[gim]

5 minutes ago, Vilas15 said:

Some manufacturers will give you a "towing length" that has the tongue out and the transom saver on with motor trimmed up, then a minimum "storage length" that assumes the tongue is folded and the transom saver is off with the motor is trimmed down.

And I believe that these specifications also indicate these measurements with the stock outboard that comes with the rig.  If you upgrade to the biggest outboard the watercraft can handle, it extends the length.  For example, if the boat comes standard with a 60, if you upgrade to a 75, the length has been increased because a bigger motor sticks out further.

[Susky River Rat]

Well I measured a boat. Everything should be good to go. Just waiting on them to take orders for 2024s