Shortening boat trailer tongue

Alright towing geniuses, any reason I shouldn't cut 17" off my boat trailer tongue so it fits in my garage without having to put the rig on an angle?

 

You could also install a foldaway tongue kit. As an alternative.

 

Thought about that but my brake lines are rigid. I'd have to completely redo the brake system.

 

You will need to put more tow vehicle in the water at launch and load

 

Shorter tongue will make it more squirrelly. I wouldn't do it.

How big is the trailer? Is it light enough to back it onto ramps? Might buy you a few inches the same way ramps in the bed when loading a 4 wheeler can get enough room to close the tailgate on a shorter bed.

 

Meh. I haven't even needed to get my tires wet yet at this point. 17" won't make much difference.

The boat is just under 1200lbs. I'm not putting this rig on ramps in the garage.

 

1200 Pound boat can be unloaded in the garage and the trailer can stay outside

 

Trade in for a folding tounge

 

Come show me how!

 

Thought about it, since I would like a dual axle trailer eventually but that's not in the cards right now. Cheaper to install a folding tongue. It appears that if I do that, I would need to install a piece of braided steel brake line. So it's possible, just more of a pain.

 

A rack with rollers and a winch, not too hard.
Keep in mind, not all ramps are the same slope and lake levels vary. Just cause you haven't needed the length, doesn't mean you won't in the future. Carry on!

 

I need a bigger shop...

 

Also have to consider clearance on tight turns at some launch ramps.

 

This is the correct answer.

 

Fuck it, I may as well do this properly. I pulled the trigger on a Fulton swing tongue kit. Gonna have to get a braided brake line made up but it should work.

 

You can get an electric over hydraulic actuator for surge brakes if you want to spend some more $$$ and get fancy.

 

I'm not that fancy.

 

Good call. A friend of mine has a foldaway tongue for their wakeboard boat so that it fits in the garage. It works great. They use the boat often in the summertime. I think he spends even more time cleaning and detailing it after every outing which is the real reason that it needed to fit in the garage.. ha.

I don’t recall what braking setup he has, though it is a tandem axle trailer and definitely has brakes.

 

I just cut 7" or so that I needed to get in my garage. It's not a big deal. Was super easy. Just disconnected the brake line. Was able to just reconnect without cutting and re flaring brake line.

You'll need to put a piece of flex line on your brakes for the folding tongue. Way easier just to cut the little bit you need. My opinion.

 

Then cut a notch in the garage door to fit around the trailer tongue. Sheesh.

 

Shorter the tongue the sooner you jackknife.