Maneuvering your trailered boat into tight spots

[FSH 210 Sport]

For all you guys that are limited on space and have to maneuver your boat into a tight spot… saw this in an email from e trailer today.

https://www.etrailer.com/spft-trailer-valet-mover.aspx?utm_source=SendGrid&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email%20%7C%20Promo%20-%20Trailer%20Dolly&utm_content=20230406-T-RV-TrailerValetMoversJacks-sale-L

 

[adrianp89]

Someone on here has this.

 

[AZMark]

I have the XL version to get mine into the garage and it’s a little sketchy with how it connects to the hitch - there is a lot of wiggle room for it to flop around. I only move mine about 50 feet up a slight grade which it’s got plenty of gear reduction for, but turning with the tandem axles is where things get awkward. I’m hoping/expecting this to get easier when I upgrade to radial tires.

I think the one that actually bolts to the trailer would have been better, but I wanted the option to use this one for other trailers.

The robot one looks like a freaking awesome toy but that is way out of my price range.

 

[yall_mahaw]

We tried the Trailer Valet XL Drill powered dolly. It works, and based on your property it may be great for you. After using it for a couple of months, we decided to go for the electric TX6000 from Trax Dolly and haven't looked back.

Our particular use case - We have a 212SD that we keep in one of our detached garage bays. The detached garage sits at a right angle from the attached garage bays and has limited space to pull in and out of. From the door of the bay, we only have ~42' of concrete to maneuver on to get the boat lined up for the 9' opening of the bay. For those paying attention, yes, that is a little less than 3 inches per side clearance. I have no doubt in my mind that I could get it successfully stored on the hitch with the tow vehicle... at least once ... given enough time. For ease of use and to promote boating as often as we can, the dolly works well for us.

The Trailer Valet worked as advertised, however for us there was an slight uphill climb to get into the garage bay that it struggled with. Maybe a different drill would have helped, but it was spinning the tires, so doubtful that would have changed it. Another issue that I had with it was a combination of the hunched over position that using the dolly put you in and the noise of the unit while in use. While it never felt unsafe, it also never gave me a lot of confidece while making sharp turns. We bought ours from Costco and it came bundled with the mounting bracket for the trailer, the drill adapter, and both the 2" and the 2 5/16 balls. Looking today, Costco is $5 more than the sale price on etrailer and still includes both balls and the drill adapter, FWIW.

The TX6000 in comparison, is much more money. For us, the ease of use was worth it. The TX6000 is battery powered and we optioned ours with an onbaord charger. There is a battery meter on the handlebar, and I have not had any issues with the batteries so far. It is much quieter to use and does not require you to hunch over while operating as compared to the Trailer Valet. The TX6000 is configured with two wide spaced drive wheels and a front caster wheel, so it feels much more stable when making tight turns on the incline to the garage. I do still get some wheelslip when pushing the trailer axles over the lip of the garage floor, but it is at least managable and I am still able to make forward progess.

Having said all of that, if you are simply moving your boat around a tight space on level ground without a lot of manuvering, the Trailer Valet may be just what you need.

 

[fatboyroy]

There is a member here with a full bus RV, he also uses this to launch and retrieve from the boat ramp (or something similar I cant remember brand)

 

[Ronnie]

I had a trailer valet when they first came out. The weld holding the main unit to the mount broke the first time I used it which was to move my boat backward up my driveway that wasn’t very steep.

I ended up installing front hitches on my tow vehicles which worked out well for me but I only had to get into a tight space, less than three inches total free space, left and right combined. Thankfully I didn’t have to make any turns.

 

[MrBubbaGump]

WOW that would be super nice... I just don't know if I can justify it when I technically can do it without that.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

We tried the Trailer Valet XL Drill powered dolly. It works, and based on your property it may be great for you. After using it for a couple of months, we decided to go for the electric TX6000 from Trax Dolly and haven't looked back.

Our particular use case - We have a 212SD that we keep in one of our detached garage bays. The detached garage sits at a right angle from the attached garage bays and has limited space to pull in and out of. From the door of the bay, we only have ~42' of concrete to maneuver on to get the boat lined up for the 9' opening of the bay. For those paying attention, yes, that is a little less than 3 inches per side clearance. I have no doubt in my mind that I could get it successfully stored on the hitch with the tow vehicle... at least once ... given enough time. For ease of use and to promote boating as often as we can, the dolly works well for us.

The Trailer Valet worked as advertised, however for us there was an slight uphill climb to get into the garage bay that it struggled with. Maybe a different drill would have helped, but it was spinning the tires, so doubtful that would have changed it. Another issue that I had with it was a combination of the hunched over position that using the dolly put you in and the noise of the unit while in use. While it never felt unsafe, it also never gave me a lot of confidece while making sharp turns. We bought ours from Costco and it came bundled with the mounting bracket for the trailer, the drill adapter, and both the 2" and the 2 5/16 balls. Looking today, Costco is $5 more than the sale price on etrailer and still includes both balls and the drill adapter, FWIW.

The TX6000 in comparison, is much more money. For us, the ease of use was worth it. The TX6000 is battery powered and we optioned ours with an onbaord charger. There is a battery meter on the handlebar, and I have not had any issues with the batteries so far. It is much quieter to use and does not require you to hunch over while operating as compared to the Trailer Valet. The TX6000 is configured with two wide spaced drive wheels and a front caster wheel, so it feels much more stable when making tight turns on the incline to the garage. I do still get some wheelslip when pushing the trailer axles over the lip of the garage floor, but it is at least managable and I am still able to make forward progess.

Having said all of that, if you are simply moving your boat around a tight space on level ground without a lot of manuvering, the Trailer Valet may be just what you need.

Those are some trick powered dolly’s! TRAX Trailer Dolly Systems -Easily move any size trailer Thanks for the post!

I really like the fact it works with electric and surge brakes! They are a grip, but, what a game changer for moving your trailers around in tight spots and being able to utilize storage spots that are big enough but tight quarters. And that price tag would seem small the first time the trailer ended up hitting the garage door frame.

 

[Ronnie]

Another alternative may be a small atv or golf cart but these might not be cost effective if you don’t get any other use or enjoyment out of them.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

I don’t think a small ATV should be used to move a boat. Our Polaris Ace 570’s (UTV’s) have a tow capacity of 1,500 lbs and I believe the ATV version is slightly less.

Jim

 

[Ronnie]

I don’t think a small ATV should be used to move a boat. Our Polaris Ace 570’s (UTV’s) have a tow capacity of 1,500 lbs and I believe the ATV version is slightly less.

Jim

I wouldn’t trailer my boat on the road or for any distance even close to a mile with an arc or golf cart but moving it around the driveway or neighborhood hasn’t been a problem. At least not for my Waverunners and 23’ auto trailer, both between 2000 and 2500 lbs. I lowered my boat trailer tongue onto the hitch at the back of my golf cart once, didn’t like how much it lowered the rear suspension so I aborted that mission.

 

[NoFla21]

FYI, Costco Next is running a special of 20% off trailer vault from April 13 thru 15

 

[TeenGee]

We had a pop-up camper that we parked on the side of our house. The gate was 8' wide and the pop-up was 7'6". I backed up with the car a couple of feet before the gate. I attached a 12 volt winch (~$150) to the hitch receiver on the back of the pop-up and used a 2 wheel dolly under the hitch. Then I used the winch to pull the pop-up back through the gate and the dolly to steer. It took less than 30 minutes to put the pop-up behind the gate.

 

[Ronnie]

We had a pop-up camper that we parked on the side of our house. The gate was 8' wide and the pop-up was 7'6". I backed up with the car a couple of feet before the gate. I attached a 12 volt winch (~$150) to the hitch receiver on the back of the pop-up and used a 2 wheel dolly under the hitch. Then I used the winch to pull the pop-up back through the gate and the dolly to steer. It took less than 30 minutes to put the pop-up behind the gate.

30 minutes seems like a long time but at least you weren’t doing it manually and having to look over your shoulder while completing the task. Nothing like having a head/neck ache afterwards that leads to an unplanned nap which screws up the plans for the rest of the day.

 

[TeenGee]

That includes backing up across the grass to the gate, unhitching, moving the car, hitching the dolly, attaching the winch, moving the trailer, and disconnecting and putting everything away.

 

[Ronnie]

That includes backing up across the grass to the gate, unhitching, moving the car, hitching the dolly, attaching the winch, moving the trailer, and disconnecting and putting everything away.

In that case 30 mins sounds reasonable, I thought 30 mins was just to get the trailer into position.

 

[Can0n11]

I have been eyeing an Airtug 8k. They come in gas or electric. We have used them on our aircraft and they do the job.

Trailer Mover Tugs Archives - AIRTUG®

airtug.com

 

[jcb1977]

Home (trailerbutler.com)

This product looks promising also....if you can keep the battery boxes out of the water when launching seems like this would work well. would be nice to keep it mounted to the trailer and hinge it up when traveling but would have to keep it dry which might be tough. taking it on and off doesn't seem too bad though.