Swing away trailer tongue….
 

This may be a crazy idea but I’m just going to toss it out there so you guys can tell me what y’all think.

I have a 36 Spectre and on the trailer it’s a little to long to fit in my shop. I can always extend my shop and I’m not apposed to that but if I can install this tongue it will save me a good bit of money.

Will it work?

Thanks
-Nate

Never seen one on a trailer that large, and I doubt a pivot would be safe.

You might be able to make a sliding tongue. (similar concept like the hydraulic trailers the marina's use for multiple boats)

No!
 

Does not sound like a good idea AT ALL. Think about all the force applied at that joint with a 10,000 lb boat bouncing along at highway speed.

Had a buddy back in NC with a Fountain CC- trailer was 18" longer than his garage. He cut a notch about 4" wide out of the garage door and let it hang out. Worked fine. :drink:

Sent you PM..

It would depend on the trailer. A good engineer could make a pivot for most trailers that would make the rest of the trailer the weak link. That being said, cost will become an issue. You might also want to consider aesthetics and ease of use.

Can you slide the boat up on the trailer, then move the bunks and axels forward and then cut off the extra off the back?

I did not get your PM.... my email is [email protected]

I had a idea something like that also.... I can only go up about 2ft. I need 3ft.

I don't think it can be done safely for a trailer that large. I would just extend the shop.

Why can you only go up 2 feet? Can you get a picture of the front of the trailer up?

I'll just give you the answer that I give most of our customers that ask if a given boat / trailer will fit in their garage. "If you back it in fast enough the first time..."

Probably a stupid question Nate but are you trimming the outdrives down? Had to do that with mine when I kept it on the trailer. Dropped over a foot off of the overall lenght.

What type of construction is the existing trailer?

I'd look into making it so the tongue could be slid back and locked into position. Construct it much like the receiver for your truck hitch... just longer and with a couple of real beefy pins.

I manufacture large renewable energy trailers (mild steel) that regularly exceed 10k lbs. We often build trailers with either removable or swinging tongues for security or space concerns. As someone stated earlier, properly engineered anything is possible. I would look into either a telescoping tongue or possibly a sleeved tongue that you could remove. Just remember, overbuilding is NOT engineering.

I have seen them on 34' boats, but it was a removeable tounge, it had to be bolted on and off, the dealer recomended you use an impact to tighten the six bolts. I think Ziemen out of Arizona made it.

I am in heavy highway construction and all of our message board trailers and many larger trailers have removable tongues for anti-theft. They are heavy duty steel square box sleeves with two pins holding them in. They work on the same principle as a truck hitch into a receiver where the sleeve supports the weight and the pins just keep it in place.

I saw this pic on another site and wasnt sure the purpose of this type of trailer.

Yes, that's a very light duty version of what's being kicked around here.

Hey Nate, I say try it see what happens.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Everyone is saying it isn't going to be safe to have something fold away or removable but that is exactly what is on the back of all of our vehicles. the whole system rides on a single pin for most of us. so yes, it can be done, and it can't be that hard.

only you dude..... thanks! lol

yep tried that...

I have surge brakes witch I’m going to remove regardless and put electric over hydraulic. I know I can cut the trailer and put a shorter tongue on it witch is probably the route I’m going to take and hopefully that will shorten it enough. I just wanted to see what you guys thought. I like the removable idea also….

Thanks for the feedback.

My trailer has a removable tounge. Same concept as the receiver hitch on your truck. Has 2 pins that hold it in place. No issues with it since I have had it in 7 years. If I removed it I would say my trailer would be 2 feet shorter.

This is the route you should go over the swing away.IMO

See, I thought that could be done!

shortening the trailer will change the balance. If it trailers fine as is, i.e., straight and it doesn't want to wander or wag, you should keep the length approx. the same to keep the balance the same.

I would rethink the shorten the tongue idea. On a cat when you make a sharp turn the sponson tips can come real close to hitting your tow vehicle. Shorter could cause real problems.

He's not changing the balance. The boat is staying at the same position over the axles. It may wag a little more with a shorter wheel base though if the tongue is cut shorter