Tandem Axle Trailer - Question

[Carl W]

Can you elaborate why you need both?  Why won't the valet work for all applications?   Or what will it not work for?

34 minutes ago, motoman said:

My tandem axle is a breeze to move around into the tightest spot in our garage, one man, any direction with these three items.

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A pair of Harbor Freight wheel dollys.

https://m.harborfreight.com/1250-lb-Capacity-Vehicle-Positioning-Wheel-Dolly-61917.html

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and a Trailer Valet (best money Ive ever spent and the best dang invention since sliced bread!).........so easy, our 8 year old girls can maneuver our 21 foot fiberglass bass boat with a 225HO into the garage.

https://www.trailervalet.com/?gclid=CjwKEAjw5PDLBRD0rICj35CtqS4SJACH7bsyV6yY8Pkf9HhoH_mJVAtRfx-tSKJZXZwC4kUDexCraBoC28Dw_wcB

 

Can you elaborate why you need both?  Why won't the valet work for all applications?   Or what will it not work for?

[motoman]

50 minutes ago, Carl W said:

Can you elaborate why you need both?  Why won't the valet work for all applications?   Or what will it not work for?

Can you elaborate why you need both?  Why won't the valet work for all applications?   Or what will it not work for?

One of the axles has to act as a pivot point. And if you try using the front axle as a pivot point; and you swing the tongue one direction or the other........without the dollies under the wheels; the rear axle wheels would just drag/scrub.......if that. 

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For my application; I found it best to have the dollies under the front wheels. Then moving the tongue any distance left or right; the whole trailer pivots like a single axle would. Otherwise; the 4 tires wont budge left or right. 

Also; you can find harborfreight 20% off coupons online all the time. So that saves a bit.

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Our garage is a 3 car, but not very deep. It has a double door and a single. My truck won't fit in the garage anywho; so the boat goes in there. I back the boat into the double side; and turn sharply to get the outboard in the back corner (of single door side) and the swing-away tongue at the edge of the double garage door. Leaving plenty of room for our other car to pull in the double door side. (Hopefully that makes sense) There's just too many sharp angles to make just backing it in; believe me; I've tried.:-(

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The only application I can think the Trailer Valet not working real well for is if you have a bit of an angled drive you would have to crank it up or if you had a loose surface to maneuver the Valet on. The Valet tires bite plenty, with good grip on a flat, smooth garage floor and even our very slight incline drive. But, they show a video on their website with a sailboat being cranked up a steep drive..........i don't know anything about sailboats; I'm guessing they're pretty light. Cause I'd be a bit uneasy cranking a heavy bassboat on a steep drive.

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Checkout some of the Trailer Valet videos online; it's a pretty awesome product. I have no interest in the company or their sales; I just wished I would've found it years before I had; and saved my back from having to muscle our heavy boats around to fit in the garage.:-(

[Champ188]

1 hour ago, Carl W said:

Are you saying at the highest point it is manuerverable?  I need to slide mine to the right maybe 4 - 5 feet?

 Yes, when I jack my Ranger up to its highest point, I can maneuver it like a single axle. It pretty much lifts the front wheels off the ground, making the rear wheels the pivot point. Another advantage to owning a Ranger. 

[motoman]

1 hour ago, Champ188 said:

 Yes, when I jack my Ranger up to its highest point, I can maneuver it like a single axle. It pretty much lifts the front wheels off the ground, making the rear wheels the pivot point. Another advantage to owning a Ranger. 

Dang, that's awesome.........I have an Ameratrail myself and different boat manufacturer; which is why I need the wheel dollies. Jacking my tongue sky-high, still leaves the front wheels firmly planted.:-(

[Dutch]

I've had 2 different tandem axel trailers with my last 2 boats.  I have not been able to move either one of them  except to pull them forward which isn't too hard since the garage is sloped toward the front.  Luckily I got to design the garage when we built this house.  The floor slopes from all corners to a 9' floor drain located in he middle so I can wash boats and vehicles in the garage and the boat bay is 15X30 which gives me lots of room with a swing tongue to walk around front or back.

[Ham]

12 hours ago, dtrs5kprs said:

Exactly this. They will actually push a little better in a straight line than a single will.

Mine going in the hole. Pucker Factor of 10.

 

Lol, IF you didn't have that giant tackle toting barge, might be easier to back her in. 

Or you could have a dedicated boat barn. Just sayin. 

[Carl W]

Thanks guys.   All that helps very much. 

[vernon]

My situation is similar to Motoman's.  Three car garage but the boat has to go on the side where the width of the garage door is better suited for a golf cart than a Z521.  I can back it in about half way with the Tahoe but it requires some man power and maneuvering from that point to get it back into the corner which is NOT easy.  The garage floor has a slight slope from back to front that sometimes it seems like it just as well be a 40 degree pitch roof when trying to move a boat that's that heavy against the grain.

I've used trailer dollies (mine are called Go-Jaks) for almost twenty years and find them to make the otherwise impossible possible but it's still a chore and requires my brother and I at a minimum to wrestle that beast the final few feet.  For the record, that's 6'4" 260 lbs. and 6'2" and 220 worth of "effort".

It's enough of a challenge that I gotta admit there have been a few times that the thought of putting the boat away at the end of the day has swayed us to decide that a day at the golf course was the more attractive alternative.

I've used four Go-Jaks for as long as I've owned a dual axle trailer and the advantage of four over two is that the trailer can literally be moved sideways.  "All" that's required is that all of the wheels on the dollies be pointing in the desired direction.  Unfortunately,  it is a huge pain in the behind to get all 16 wheels turned and going the way one wants the trailer to go - especially when changing direction.  

A few years ago I sent a couple of emails to the company (with no response) suggesting that they offer wheels that are ball shaped (similar to the kind on many chairs, tables, pianos, etc.) that would eliminate the need to align them in a given direction - just push wherever you want to go.  Something that simple would help tremendously.  I've looked around at ball shaped replacement casters but so far all are cheap plastic and nowhere near substantial enough to handle the weight of a boat and trailer.

I've looked around some (but not a lot) at the wheel jacks that Motoman has suggested but most were motorized which made them too big and cumbersome to solve the problem (and crazy expensive).  There's only so much room between the trailer tongue and the garage wall at the point the boat needs to be turned and the mechanized units just wouldn't fit in between.  

Plus, then I'd need someplace to store that dang thing.

I gotta say I'm intrigued by the brand and model that he's shared here and will investigate further to see if it might help to ease the burden of moving my trailer. 

Man, I'd love to be one of the guys with the Morton buildings that you just drive through and drop the trailer at the end of the day!

Never satisfied I guess and would likely whine if hanged with a new rope.........

[vernon]

Another couple of views.

[176champion]

Im glad i don't have that problem, i have a skinny Champion single axle trailer and i don't have a garage....lol