Will G3 tower folded clear a standard garage?

[snwdvl]

I have to take off the Racks, swim platform and lower the manual wedge. Fold the Bar down. Put the boat on a floor jack. Lower the front end almost to the ground. Push the boat under the door. jack the front end back up. push it the rest of the way into the garage. The things we do to not have to pay for storage.

[cwkoch]

I have to take off the Racks, swim platform and lower the manual wedge. Fold the Bar down. Put the boat on a floor jack. Lower the front end almost to the ground. Push the boat under the door. jack the front end back up. push it the rest of the way into the garage. The things we do to not have to pay for storage.

Ouch.... that's no fun. I just pull the racks and platform, fold the tower, and back it in.... Going through all that is not an option. We're out on the lake most weekends, both Saturday and Sunday, and 2 or 3 nights per week, so we're in and out constantly. I wanted a boat that was quick and easy to get in and out of the garage so we weren't wasting time on the water when we coudl be foiling. Next house will hopefully be on the water, so all I need to do is walk to the dock and spin the lift down...

[Brett B]

No, I didn't fab it... I'm not going to say where it came from, but Malibu definitely has the ability to make them.... It should be an optional part, and may sell boats to people with low garage doors that aren't going to remove that bar everytime they go in and out of the garage door.... I know it sold at least one for them in 2010 when it came down to their boat, or one that would get me in and out the door faster...

So it sounds like Malibu made one for you at the request of your dealer to help facilitate a new boat sale? If so, that's good news.

[nyryan2001]

No he is right about the wedge, putting the wedge down doesnt save you much room, there is a shroud or support structure that goes almost the entire length above the wedge..paralell back with the platform. so when the wedge is down, that shroud or support structure above it is still there...

[Fman]

No, I didn't fab it... I'm not going to say where it came from, but Malibu definitely has the ability to make them.... It should be an optional part, and may sell boats to people with low garage doors that aren't going to remove that bar everytime they go in and out of the garage door.... I know it sold at least one for them in 2010 when it came down to their boat, or one that would get me in and out the door faster...

Well, lucky me.... the bar does not clear!

So I do have to remove the board racks, and cross member to fit in the garage. Not to mention, the G3 mirror bracket that bolts on causes the tower to loose 2-3" of drop because it will not clear the dash when folded, which is another problem. I was hoping 7'4" would have made it, but I am about 4" over. I am guessing different trailers/tire size will play a part in what fits and what does not fit.

I really like your straight cross member, how does this affect the Bimini top? I know there is a cut-out for the rope attachment, what do you do when the bimini is up? For my family, if I have to spend 5 minutes taking the crossmember off, that would far outway the hassle of not being able to use the bimini. I love having some shade of the lake, especially being out all day. Even with removing the hoop, I can get the tower folded and stowed for the garage in under 10 minutes, IMO much better option than keeping it in storage.

Edited April 5, 2011 by Fman

[Malibudude]

That stinks but at least you can get it in, even if it does require some extra time. Not sure if SBT has gone to the torsion axles but if they have you'll be able to lower the trailer and pu ~2".

I take off my fb swim platform all the time, really not a big issue.

You could try an adjustable tow ball that you can lower the fulton jack down and maybe clear it..

[Fman]

That stinks but at least you can get it in, even if it does require some extra time. Not sure if SBT has gone to the torsion axles but if they have you'll be able to lower the trailer and pu ~2".

I take off my fb swim platform all the time, really not a big issue.

You could try an adjustable tow ball that you can lower the fulton jack down and maybe clear it..

The adjustable tow ball is a good idea, I am going to have to play around with some different options and maybe I can figure something out. I was just bummed, thought the fold down was going to be a piece of a cake to stow in the garage. I had issues with the Supra taking some time with the Z-5 rack and tower design, so this is nothing new for me . I am sure after a few times parking the boat I will have it down to a science.

[kaddman]

This is what I use to get into my 82" finished garage opening

http://gallery.me.com/kaddman/100007/Bulldog%20

Edited September 17, 2011 by kaddman

[bamabonners]

FMAN, I was looking at my tower today. I was getting it ready for winter storage and I realized a good way to store the boat in the garage. If you remove the 3 HEX head bolts that hold the black part to the chrome bar (the rear hoop is attached to the black section as well), the tower folds down below the windshield. You will have to remove the speakers from the tower. Heck, then you could probably even put one of the $140 covers from wal-mart over the whole thing, tower and all.

[Flamingturbo]

The document in the link above is what the dealer here in Aust gave me, has all the dimensions i needed to know if the boat would fit my garage, I am sure the US dealers would have the same document.

Edited September 17, 2011 by Flamingturbo

[G-Mack]

If your garage is 26 feet deep I would be impressed....yes I measure the swim Step and the trailer tongue where it bends as well..

Time to build a Garage around the boat then build a house for the people (familia)

Done and Done... I fit my 23 LSV in the third bay which was measured specifically for the boat. The unfortunate thing is the garage door is only 8' high(like others the largest I could fit). My wife was a bit confused when they dug the foundation and had it cribbed. She was involved in the plans for the house but couldn't visualize it. She understood the deep hole but asked what the 4' deep hole was that was the same size as the housearound the front an left side. I said it was the garage... she shook her head... not a word was spoken and she walked back to the truck. Without the cabinets on the back wall I could fit a 247.

Edited September 17, 2011 by G-Mack

[Living the Dream]

Done and Done... I fit my 23 LSV in the third bay which was measured specifically for the boat. The unfortunate thing is the garage door is only 8' high(like others the largest I could fit). My wife was a bit confused when they dug the foundation and had it cribbed. She was involved in the plans for the house but couldn't visualize it. She understood the deep hole but asked what the 4' deep hole was that was the same size as the housearound the front an left side. I said it was the garage... she shook her head... not a word was spoken and she walked back to the truck. Without the cabinets on the back wall I could fit a 247.

Very Nice! making me dream a little

[kaddman]

I have to take off the Racks, swim platform and lower the manual wedge. Fold the Bar down. Put the boat on a floor jack. Lower the front end almost to the ground. Push the boat under the door. jack the front end back up. push it the rest of the way into the garage. The things we do to not have to pay for storage.

Check out this bulldog makes pushing it in and out easier....

https://www.me.com/gallery/#100037/The%20Bu

[kaddman]

Malibu should really offer a rear hoop like this as an option for their customers. This hoop is lower than the highest point on the tower with the tower folded all the way. This allows you to just fold the tower and back it in (Racks need to slide off first though). This easily clears a 7' even door with my VTX on a tandem Extreme trailer. A VLX would also just barely clear the door with this hoop. The hinged area of the tower ends up being the tallest point.

My boat is in and out of my garage 3-4 times a week... Having to remove that hoop everytime woudl have been a deal killer on the boat.

What trailer do you have?

[Brett B]

Here is another datapoint since I demo'd a 2012 VLX this weekend. If you folded the tower and removed the hoop and board racks, the rear corners of where the upper half of the tower meets the base become the highest point. On a Boatmate trailer with standard wheels, hitched onto a pickup sitting on flat ground, I measured this point at 6' 11" high. So it will fit into a 7' door with some prep work. If you got the straight bar pictured in this thread you could fit under a 7' door with only having to remove the board racks.

Edited September 19, 2011 by Brett B

[cwkoch]

What trailer do you have?

Extreme trailer- tandem axle.

[kaddman]

Here is another datapoint since I demo'd a 2012 VLX this weekend. If you folded the tower and removed the hoop and board racks, the rear corners of where the upper half of the tower meets the base become the highest point. On a Boatmate trailer with standard wheels, hitched onto a pickup sitting on flat ground, I measured this point at 6' 11" high. So it will fit into a 7' door with some prep work. If you got the straight bar pictured in this thread you could fit under a 7' door with only having to remove the board racks.

I measured one in the show room with the upgraded wheels and it measured 84". I think those wheels are 20". That might add the extra inch.

[Gregg97007]

Any idea on cost for straight bar? Can't be cheap...

[Picklefork24]

I believe this is on-topic. I had a 2011 VTX and a weird garage height. I don't remember the exact dimensions. I was able to clear the opening by removing the board racks and the ball mount for the rope. The ball gave me JUST enough clearance so that may be an option for some of you that are REALLY close without the hassle of removing or replacing the rear bar. My new garage is 8' tall and it fits with plenty of room. However, the VTX is officially being traded in for a 24MXZ tomorrow. Malibu's web site says it's 8' 2" folded down and they claim that with a tandem Boatmate. The MXZ has 18" wheels but the tires are lower profile so I'm hoping that it might somehow be a pinch lower. Nothing like a new challenge!!! I'm hoping I can get away with the ball trick again. Otherwise this straight bar idea is a potential great solution. I'll ask my dealer about the straight bar option while I am there either way and report back with what I learn. Also...great questions about the straight bar and bimini...wonder if it still lines up somehow?

[Chattwake]

18's will make your trailer sit a bit higher. Call boatmate and they will tell you how to adjust the trailer suspension to get you a little more room to offset the 18's. I'd also look into a drop hitch.

[Cory]

On a VLX Boatmate Trailer, the 18" rims add 1.25" in height over the standard 14" rims. My dealer measured this for me a coule months ago based on two 2013 boats he had on his lot.

[Picklefork24]

Deck hand...my dealer said that the set 18" wheel set up added .5" to the overall height, so that's pretty much 1" in total diameter. I'm sure the tire package selection has something to do with the difference. Dealer emailed me today and said that it was 8' 7"!!! I went down tonight to check it out. The highest points were as follows in order from highest to lowest in the folded position: Board racks, bimini legs (new bimini set up as a housing that the legs sit in and they stick out the back), then the tow ball, then the hoop. We slid the bimini out and the binini and re-folded the tower, and the bimini housing hits the edges of the windshield. Removed the housing and presto...dropped all the way to 7' 9"!!! Looks like all I will have to do is unbolt the bimini housing and remove the whole bimini (which is pretty easy). I'll be towing it home in the AM to give it the "for sure garage test with an 8' opening". The way we measured I should have 3" to spare with the tow ball still attached (board racks off). I'll follow up tomorrow for any others looking into the 24 MXZ.

[Picklefork24]

Forgot to mention, my dealer said that Malibu does offer a "straight hoop" that provides a bit more clearance. It still has a curve but not as big. They said that they were told it would need a different bimini to line the holes up with the anchor light and tow ball. They also thought it might make for clearance issues with a rope out as it seems like it would rub on the bimini but I think that's one of those "don't know until you try it" things....