We just purchased a Sea Ray 190 Sun Deck. My husband has been the one
who tows and backs the boat into the storage garage. I would like to
be able to use the boat even if my husband cannot come. I am 90% sure
I could not back the boat into the garage because there is not a lot
of clearance on either side of the garage. It seems to me if I
mounted a hitch to the front of the truck it would be easier to get
the boat into the garage. The surface around and in the garage is
gravel. I would like to hear others' experiences who have used a
front mounted hitch to back their boat into storage with a gravel
surface.
Thanks.
Sandy

"Gene Kearns" wrote snip A front mounted hitch isn't a real solution...
-------------------------------------

First saw this done watching a friend back an overloaded hay wagon through a
tight barn door with a difficult approach. Sure looked like it worked.
Especially when you consider the complexity of backing a wagon compared to a
trailer!

surfnturf

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 17:18:16 GMT, "surfnturf"
wrote:


"Gene Kearns" wrote snip A front mounted hitch isn't a real solution...
-------------------------------------

First saw this done watching a friend back an overloaded hay wagon through a
tight barn door with a difficult approach. Sure looked like it worked.
Especially when you consider the complexity of backing a wagon compared to a
trailer!

Front mounted hitches are particularily effective when the trailer, as
in most haywagons, is articulated.

In article ,
"Gene Kearns" wrote:

On 3 Jul 2004 17:38:07 -0700, (Sandy) wrote:

We just purchased a Sea Ray 190 Sun Deck. My husband has been the one
who tows and backs the boat into the storage garage. I would like to
be able to use the boat even if my husband cannot come. I am 90% sure
I could not back the boat into the garage because there is not a lot
of clearance on either side of the garage.

....blah, blah, blah........

Do yourself (and your husband) a real favor and learn how to back the trailer
as
it is towed. A front mounted hitch isn't a real solution... if for no other
reason than it will be even MORE difficult to see the back of the boat....
and
will involve re-hitching the boat, which brings with it even MORE problems.

There is no free lunch and no "easier" way to back a boat, either.....


Gene is a bit over the top on this one IMHO. Front mounted hitches are
very popular with the articulated trailer crowd, and I have seen them
used in freight yards all around the country. Just look for the
forklifts with the ball on the end of the forks, or the donkey Truck
with a pintal hitch, welded to the front bumper. Lots of those around.

me

"Gene Kearns" wrote:

On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 20:28:45 GMT, Me wrote:

In article ,
"Gene Kearns" wrote:

On 3 Jul 2004 17:38:07 -0700, (Sandy) wrote:

We just purchased a Sea Ray 190 Sun Deck. My husband has been the one
who tows and backs the boat into the storage garage. I would like to
be able to use the boat even if my husband cannot come. I am 90% sure
I could not back the boat into the garage because there is not a lot
of clearance on either side of the garage.

....blah, blah, blah........

Do yourself (and your husband) a real favor and learn how to back the trailer
as
it is towed. A front mounted hitch isn't a real solution... if for no other
reason than it will be even MORE difficult to see the back of the boat....
and
will involve re-hitching the boat, which brings with it even MORE problems.

Personally, I would just wait until my husband or someone else could
back it in for me. I've driven a truck and towed a horse trailer for
many years but I have trouble just backing the car, let alone backing
a trailer. It's not something I'm willing to try to learn. I either
go forward (not always without problems) or I get someone else (my
son, my husband, my daughters) to back it for me.

Of course I had a full size crew cab one ton truck with an 8 foot bed
with a camper on it (it was about 2/3rds the length of a school bus
with about the same turning radius as a bus), and the two horse
trailer had a completely different turning radius than the truck. I
got the truck/camper and the trailer on opposite sides of a post (like
a stone driveway entrance post) while going FORWARD and turning too
quickly in such a way that I had to unhitch the trailer in order to
get unstuck.

When I wasn't towing that trailer, we had a gooseneck trailer which
could easily be jackknifed when backing, and when turned too quickly
has gone into a ditch beside our entrance once and had to be jacked up
out of the ditch. I wasn't driving that time BTW.

So just bring the boat home and park it in front of the house until
your husband can back it into the storage unit. Either that or get a
bigger storage unit and don't put so much stuff in it.

There is no free lunch and no "easier" way to back a boat, either.....

Gene is a bit over the top on this one IMHO. Front mounted hitches are
very popular with the articulated trailer crowd, and I have seen them
used in freight yards all around the country. Just look for the
forklifts with the ball on the end of the forks, or the donkey Truck
with a pintal hitch, welded to the front bumper. Lots of those around.

me

I would offer different advice for an articulated towing situation, but I don't
think that a Sea Ray 190 Sun Deck involves anything articulated.

Re-read the post... there isn't a lot of room on each side of the boat/trailer
going into the garage.... by pushing into the garage you have positioned the
driver squarely at the middle of the tow and eliminated any help mirrors might
have given by looking down the side of the tow vehicle and trailer..... how the
trailer is backing into the garage is going to be much more difficult to see.

Backing an articulated tow is, to me, like pushing a string.... but with
practice, I've seen others back a tug and a string of trailers (baggage carts)
effectively. However, in this case, I don't think a front mounted ball is
anything other than a great chance to get in over your head.

grandma Rosalie

"Me" wrote


Gene is a bit over the top on this one IMHO. Front mounted hitches are
very popular with the articulated trailer crowd,

Boat trailers are not 'articulated trailers'.


Are your mirrors set up correctly? That can help a LOT.

Practice, practice, practice. Find an empty lot, set up some cones/lines
and practice. It ain't rocket science.


--
Scott Vernon
Plowville PA __/)__/)__

In article ,
(Sandy) wrote:

We just purchased a Sea Ray 190 Sun Deck. My husband has been the one
who tows and backs the boat into the storage garage. I would like to
be able to use the boat even if my husband cannot come. I am 90% sure
I could not back the boat into the garage because there is not a lot
of clearance on either side of the garage. It seems to me if I
mounted a hitch to the front of the truck it would be easier to get
the boat into the garage. The surface around and in the garage is
gravel. I would like to hear others' experiences who have used a
front mounted hitch to back their boat into storage with a gravel
surface.
Thanks.
Sandy

Practicing in an empty part of a parking lot will help you safely learn
the fine points. The front-mounted hitch might be handy, but you may not
need it.

BTW, a trick I heard somehwere that served me well: Grab the bottom of
the steering wheel while backing the trailer up. Try it and see how it
works for you.

BUT, if I were your hubby, I'd have no problem with your parking the
boat in front of the garage for me to put away. I would LOVE it if my
wife took the boat out without me. Though a capable beginner, she can't
stop comparing her abilities to mine, so only takes the helm when
absolutely necessary. That's stifled her advancement.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/