[Sanjay_Burnaby]

I got tired of trying to push my boat out from its parking stall. Calling a friend or relative to help at 4 AM is not a good long term solution. There are a few dips in the pavement that makes this harder than it should be.

I spent a few days trying to think of a few solutions:


I tried crowbarring the trailer wheels which looked very promising but is slow and tedious. I have to be careful of neighbors motorcycle plus I don't want to block the parkade in case some early riser needs to get to work.

I tried U bolting a second winch to the trailer which worked but felt a bit dangerous. A Ferrari (not mine) is parked nearby and I really don't want flying bits of broken winch, U-bolt or chain damaging that guys car. (or anyone else's)

I considered calling a contractor to flatten my parking stall by adding or removing cement, but that sounds pricy and my building strata would probably freak out.

I called a few shops and asked what solution they recommend and it looked like I needed to pay $500 to $3500 for a motorized trailer dolly. I felt that there must be a better solution, but I did not know what it is.


Today I was supposed to meet someone from CL who was supposed to pick up a litter-robot (he no-showed), but while I was waiting in my underground parking lot I had, what I thought was an extremely brilliant idea.

I have this unused scooter that has been sitting in my living room for 1 year doing nothing but taking up space. (I was supposed to sell it on CL but I have been lazy about it)

Now this unused scooter seemed to have a purpose. I was pretty happy that I would not have to shell out hundreds of dollars just to move my boat 20 feet out of its parking spot. The scooters built in hitch turned out to be a cane holder mount, but I located what looked like towing mounts on the back of the scooter. How could this possibly fail?

Here is what it looked like ready to tow:

http://i.imgur.com/aNHUJ4V.jpg?1


Anyways - My hopes were dashed as soon as I applied power. The scooters wheels spun out right away. Adding weight to the scooter (me sitting in it) caused the motor to stop. The pride mobility scooter seems to have some sort of safety mechanism that shuts down the motor if it detects to much load. I do not feel like opening up the scooter to try and disable this feature.

Bummer.

http://i.imgur.com/EIvxVH0.jpg?1

Not all ideas are great.

...........

[sdubfid]

Start the boat motor and taxi like a plane

[Reeyal]

It must be nice to have a boat.

[bluejays]

Why can't you just move it with a car like normal people

[fliptuner]

Fill the garage with water.

[IMASA]

This is the same guy who wanted to use his truck to ram and bend some steel bars right?

[fliptuner]

This is the same guy who wanted to use his truck to ram and bend some steel bars right?

http://www.revscene.net/forums/686143-how-bend-aluminium-square-tubing-ramming-truck.html

Correct

[Dragon-88]

Get a ATV. 4WD BABY!!!!

[thumper]

i knew someone who enlisted the help of a gardener who was working down the street and paid him a few bucks to get them to use their commercial john deere riding mower to do just this and pulled his boat and trailer all the way out into the back lane... just how much is it for a space at a marina?

[hud 91gt]

Did it wheelie down the block? Did you try the thing in reverse?

Personally, i'd be trying the same thing... But I also have hitches on ALL my vehicles. haha

[thumper]

.... or maybe you can rig a bunch of these together instead :p

https://youtu.be/9Y_x2OYu0mU

[originalhypa]

Come on now Sanjay, everyone knows that John Deere is the secret to towing.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L2BOT5paHo8/hqdefault.jpg

A little know fact..... This is a picture of fliptuner moving one of his many projects.

Little known fact.

[thumper]

cinderblock front lip :thumbsup:

[swiftshift]

Add a turbocharger.
/win

[underscore]

First question, why are you trying to push the boat out? Just pull it with whatever you normally tow the boat with.

Second question, have you looked into what that scooter is worth? Some of them are worth a fair bit, easily enough to get you the motorized trailer dolly. Or just bolt a winch to the opposite wall of the parkade and use that to pull it out.

[SumAznGuy]

Add a turbocharger.
/win

NOS is where it's at.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rrJZvddhIk

[hud 91gt]

I'm assuming the tow vehicle won't work as the parking lots are tight and he won't be able to make the turn. The boat ain't that heavy though, if you just man up and pull it out with dem big muscles out of the parking spot.

[meme405]

Forget a winch, go buy yourself a chainfall or a come along and attach it to the post accross from your parking stall, then just use that.

If you don't have somewhere to attach it to, get a hammer drill and a couple hilti wedge anchors and have at 'er. I'm sure your strata won't mind...:whistle:

[marksport]

You need one of these





5,000 lb 12V Trailer Dolly | Princess Auto (http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/5-000-lb-12v-trailer-dolly/A-p8601452e)


Sorry, I lost wifi and cell service on the ferry

[bcrdukes]

^
Good lord, that link is long.

[Reeyal]

That's not even a link.

[threezero]

Fill the garage with water.

best idea ever

[Renthal]

sell the scooter and buy a trailer dolly
Trailer dolly - Electric (Boat, Plane, RV) Victoria City, Victoria (http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/Trailer-dolly---Electric-Boat-Plane-RV_27412861)

[marksport]

Chances are his tow vehicle is too large or does not have the turning radius to manoeuvre in there. I know my truck sure couldn't turn and clear the column with the trailer hooked up even if the roof can clear the ceiling.

[Sanjay_Burnaby]

It must be nice to have a boat.

Yes it is.

Why can't you just move it with a car like normal people

The boat needs to come out perfectly straight, because of cement pillar and parked motorbike. The trailer is around 23 foot long (with the tongue unfolded). There are parked cars and pillars opposite the boat.

This is the same guy who wanted to use his truck to ram and bend some steel bars right?

No, those were aluminum tubes. Ramming steel would be crazy.

i knew someone who enlisted the help of a gardener who was working down the street and paid him a few bucks to get them to use their commercial john deere riding mower to do just this and pulled his boat and trailer all the way out into the back lane... just how much is it for a space at a marina?

I used to have a larger beater boat at Deep cove marina. I think it was around 3k a year but there are no fish in deep cove. (good prawns and crabs) so you need to drive really far just to start exploring. Keeping a boat in the water also causes extra stress because of freeloading barnacles and worrying about battery/bilge pump failure, corrosion etc. I bought this boat because it was the biggest size that I could squeeze into a parking stall (plus its a Nissan import boat). Also I get to see my boat everyday when I go to throw out the garbage, which always makes me feel a little bit better about the rest of the day.


Did it wheelie down the block? Did you try the thing in reverse?

It did not wheelie and I forgot to try it in reverse.

I'm assuming the tow vehicle won't work as the parking lots are tight and he won't be able to make the turn. The boat ain't that heavy though, if you just man up and pull it out with dem big muscles out of the parking spot.

Unfortunately I was unable to man up because of my small muscle mass.

You need one of these


5,000 lb 12V Trailer Dolly | Princess Auto (http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/5-000-lb-12v-trailer-dolly/A-p8601452e)




That what I was hoping to avoid buying due my aversion to overkill plus the $500 price tag.

[mb_]

How'd you get the boat in there in the first place?

[Sanjay_Burnaby]

How'd you get the boat in there in the first place?

I had a helper every time so far.

Crap. I had not really thought about how to get it back in by myself. I am hoping that since its so hard to get out of the stall that it will be easier to roll back in.

After the scooter fail I went to CT and bought a one ton puller for $19. When I got home I found a 2 ton puller in the box. I used my truck as temp mount and had pretty good luck. I found some rope lying around in the boat which gripped my tow ball pretty nicely. I only did a quick test and moved the boat 10 feet out (over the worst dips and bumps) which I considered a "success" There was not much tension on the puller at all and it seemed pretty safe.

Because of passing traffic I decided to call it quits and further test this method at late night. I found some possible mounting location which may allow me to pull the boat all the way out of the stall.

http://i.imgur.com/SxHtinJ.jpg?2

http://i.imgur.com/AbGkmyt.jpg?1


I will try this again tonight by myself and see if it goes smoothly.

I still think there must be a better solution.

[bcrdukes]

You are one creative genius. Keep up the great work and update us more often!

:woot2:

[meme405]

Since you decided to basically go with my recommendation and buy a come along, you can use that to pull the boat back into the stall as well.

Just buy yourself a 3/4" wedge anchor, borrow or rent a hammer drill and drive that into the wall behind your stall. Then attach the come along to that and you have a pull point you can use to hopefully drag the boat back into the stall...

[The_AK]

Mount a driveshaft from the boat engine to the wheels in the trailer. You are now amphibious.

[underscore]

Buy a cheap recovery strap from Princess Auto and wrap it around that cement post, then hook the come along to that.

[JDMEK9]

I dont get it... why not just rent a uhaul truck or van... 19.95 a day

[hud 91gt]

You really don't get it...

[Speed2K]

Could have used an EZMove, As Seen On TV (forward to 0:54). :rofl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYETkZm6BNk

[danned]

http://cdn.instructables.com/FAX/TY4N/FYAJC53O/FAXTY4NFYAJC53O.MEDIUM.jpg

[E-SPEC]

I was picturing a rainbow colored scooter from the thread title. Any one else?

[cunninglinguist]

Could have used an EZMove, As Seen On TV (forward to 0:54). :rofl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYETkZm6BNk

This is actually a good idea. OP should get some vehicle dollies under the wheels.

Powerfist 2 pc Vehicle Dollies | Princess Auto (http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/powerfist-2-pc-vehicle-dollies/A-p8535924e)

[Cman333]

Thanks for the good laugh OP lol

[sleepywheel]

Pick up a used electric pallet jack and get a ball attachment welded to it. Drive it under the coupler, lift it up and pull the boat out. No manual labour trying to move the boat.

raymond power cart (http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/hvo/5477833410.html)
there's a cheaper one on CL for $275 that needs some rewiring. No biggie to do that.

[Sanjay_Burnaby]

Buy a cheap recovery strap from Princess Auto and wrap it around that cement post, then hook the come along to that.

I will buy one of those anyway, now that I own a puller. I did not know what a come along was until a few days ago.

Could have used an EZMove, As Seen On TV (forward to 0:54). :rofl: [/url]

I think I would still have the problem of pushing the weight of the boat uphill.

This is actually a good idea. OP should get some vehicle dollies under the wheels.

Powerfist 2 pc Vehicle Dollies | Princess Auto (http://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/powerfist-2-pc-vehicle-dollies/A-p8535924e)

I already have wheels on the trailer. I am not sure if these would help.

Thanks for the good laugh OP lol

Your welcome )

Pick up a used electric pallet jack and get a ball attachment welded to it. Drive it under the coupler, lift it up and pull the boat out. No manual labour trying to move the boat.

raymond power cart (http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/hvo/5477833410.html)
there's a cheaper one on CL for $275 that needs some rewiring. No biggie to do that.

Because I am in a condo I did not really want to stuff my space with large onetime use items. Plus I am kinda cheap also.

If I was going to spend $300 I would probably try and get one of these. I prefer to use a no battery solution if I can.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi1BKnhw-xk



I did find a new way of getting the boat out which seems to be pretty easy and seems to do the job. I don't know why it took me a week of racking my brains to figure out this kindergarten method.

I bought a small anti-slip rubber mat from Rona for $12. I attached two of my safety chains together with an anchor shackle ($3) forming a loop. I jammed a piece of steel tubing threw the loop and used my foot as a pivot point while standing on the rubber mat. (otherwise I just slide) This seemed to work surprisingly well. I tried it twice and it seems to take only 2 minutes to get the boat all the way out of the stall now, with minimal effort. I will probably be get it down to a minute after a few more tries.

Its a pretty low tech solution but I figured I would share it here, just in case somebody needed to pull a heavy trailered load around like a boat (without a nice motorized dolly). I think it would work good on grass without the rubber mat.

This method is not nearly as cool as the scooter would of been, but at least it works and is easy to set up and the mat and steel rod take up no storage space.

http://i.imgur.com/oi0sW8b.jpg

And here is a video of this method in action. Its a pretty boring video, but I here it is anyways.

https://youtu.be/bBxS8Im43ME

Finally - I can get the boat out by myself.

[evlee]

instead of a rubber mat, can you just find a stick with a rubber sole?

[underscore]

^ I think it's more to keep his foot from slipping.

OP: That's a pretty slick solution, seems to work pretty well considering it only cost you $15. It's probably faster too, given the minimal setup time.

[hud 91gt]

Nice work! Who said we need private school to to succeed!