break away trailer tongues

[-magellan-]

I have seen these trailer tongues that will break away to facilitate storing them in a short garage...such as mine i am about two feet long and would like to retro-fit one of these to my boat or else the house will have to go. if any one has any info please reply.
-magellan-

[walleyehawk]

They are called swing tongues. You had me scared when I saw a "break away" tongue.

I have one on my trailer, I got it when I bought the boat, so I can't give you more info.

Do a search of the Equipment-Expert Information forum as I think there has been discussion of the info you need within the past 60 days.

[PerchJerker]

With the boat I currently own, I knew before I bought it that it would be too long for the garage. The boat was on a Yacht Club trailer, so I called the service dept at a dealer that carries Yacht Club, and they ordered a break-away tongue and put it on for me. Trailer had surge brakes so that made it a little trickier, but no big deal. It's worked great - no problems, no complaints.

[Northlander]

Perch Jerker how much was it to have that swing tongue put on your Yacht Club? I have one and would LOVE to put a swing tongue on it! Thanks. walleyes4me32 at aol dot com
Could you send me picks of the final product. Im wondering if its better to just trade in my trailer if possible.

[This message has been edited by Northlander (edited 07-03-2004).]

[PerchJerker]

I don't remember the exact price. I'll guess it was $250 for parts and another $250 for labor. The brakes added quite a bit to that - they needed to remount the surge piston, rerun brake lines, put in a flexible brake line where the toungue swings, etc.

My garage was 21 feet long and my boat is 17-10" not counting the motors. Since it let me get the boat I wanted in my garage, I thought it was well worth the $500.

I'll try to get you photos.

[Crossin' Eyes]

magellan,
Most trailer manufacturers offer swing tongues for their trailers. I have a Shorelander and it came standard, although I know guys that had a regular tongue and ordered a swing tongue from their dealer. It's not a big deal to replace. If you don't have trialer brakes, you can order one and do it yourself. As in PerchJerker's case, if you have brakes, your dealer will have to do a few extra things to get it to work for you. I was in the same situation and would not have been able to get the boat I have now without the swing tongue. Money well spent.

------------------
Good Fishin!
Crossin

[Northlander]

Ya I have 25' of boat and trailer to get into a 26' garage. I think I will check into this.

[cashcrews]

Any idea how much you can shorten up your trailer with one of these swing-away tongues?

Northlander, I checked with Yacht Club about availability in the Duluth area & they said RJ's would have the part or could order it.

Cashcrews

[PerchJerker]

On my trailer, the swing tongue shortens up the trailer by 4.5 feet. With the tongue in the towing position it sticks out 3.5 feet past the tip of the bow, so the bottom line is I shorten the overall length by 3.5 feet.

The winch stand on Yacht Clubs is very long, opposed to the Shorelander which is much shorter. Because of this, my swing tongue breaks behind the winch stand, which is why I have so much length on the swing tongue. Hopefully that makes sense, if not I can send a photo that shows it.

I wouldn't go with a swing tongue if I didn't need it to fit in the garage, but I've put A LOT of miles on it over the 7 years that I've had it. Like I said before, no problems, no complaints.

Northlander, I have photos on the way to you.

[newatthis]

MY NEW BASS TRACKER COMES WITH THE BREAKAWAY TONGUE AND IT WERKS SLICK

[Northlander]

Thanks PerchJerker Im waiting. This will be a must for me I can see.

[PerchJerker]

Northlander, I sent the photos yesterday. Let me know if they didn't go through.

[Northlander]

I didnt get them. walleyes4me32 at aol dot com Thanks!

[PerchJerker]

OK Northlander, I just resent the photos as 3 smaller emails instead of 1 large email - maybe they'll go through now.

[Riverratpete]

yea for swing tongue! Only way I could fit my new 1750 Crestliner in the garage was with this...somebody finally realized that not everyone has a 30ft deep garage..go figure.

[wastewaterguru]

Yep, I love the swing tongue on mine.

One problem with mine is that the trailer wiring goes through the center of the trailer at the swing connection and the wires are stretched every time the tonque is swung. I have spliced and taped and added extra wire and it continues to occasionally cause problems with the lights. Just make sure to swing the tongue gently and with enough slack in the wires.

[Long Gray Line]

It was all a plot to be able to sell us 2' longer boats than we could have otherwise purchased!!! I know, they got me!! These swing tongues are the cat's a**

[cashcrews]

PerchJerker,

Can you send those photos to me as well. Very interested to see what one of these looks like.

Cashcrews

cashcrewsfm at yahoo dot com

[Zaraspooks]

I've got an EZ Loader trailer and purchased a swing tounge direct from the factory and installed it myself. You can even order the parts on-line at their HSOforum. It cost $175 plus shipping. It shortened my trailer by 17". Unfortunately, I needed 20". I should have checked into it more before ordering it. But it does work great.

The Spook