any thoughts on the swing away tongues

[gloomis70]

good or bad?

 

[Cox]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

I've only had mine on for a month or so but I would give them a "thumbs up" so far. I've towed/launched about 4 or 5 times with it installed and I can't see any reason why I'd be concerned with the setup. You can check it out here:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=360334

 

[ddrieck]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

I do not have one on my trailer but can see the definate advantage of a swinging tongue for parking you boat in a garage. Mine sits in the driveway bow up and covered. If I ever get to build the garage I will be looking at gatting one.

 

[marlboro180]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

A friend has a setup w/ a swingaway tongue. Factory set with a newer Bayliner, do not remember the trailer mfg. but it works quite well . Fits in the garage, solid setup.

The only downside for his, is that the swing- away portion does not fold back 180*, so he (and I)have gotten quite a few shin- bangs on it as we walk by. Ouch!

 

[180shabah]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

If you are trying to fit in a garage, they can make all the difference. If you store outside, what's the point?

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

Make sure you keep the hinge and locking pin WELL lubed.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

There's also a side security benefit to swing-away tongues.

When we need to leave the trailer out (like when up north and the boat is tied up for a few days at the resort dock and the trailer is parked near the cabin), we take the locking pin used on the hitch while towing and lock it in the hole where the swing-away tongue pin goes. The tongue on our trailer does indeed fold 180 degrees, so we wrap the safety chains around the folded tongue and the trailer frame. The locking pin we used on the trailer coupler to tow the boat up there is then used to lock the chains together.

It isn't fool proof, of course, but a thief might decide it isn't worth the hassle and move on to the next trailer. -Ken

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

If I had one my boat would be inside !!!!
Good in my opinion but never had one. Could be a spring project !!!

 

[strokeoluck]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

The only downside for his, is that the swing- away portion does not fold back 180*, so he (and I)have gotten quite a few shin- bangs on it as we walk by. Ouch!

We have a fold-away on our '05 Bayliner trailer as well. I like it a lot. But we have this same (minor) issue noted above. I wish it folded all the way back. It's not inconvenient enough that I would bother changing the set up.

Ironically we never even folded the tongue back for the first 7-8 months we owned the boat. But this winter I purchased winter tires for my car, and stored the "summer" tires in the garage behind the boat. It was just tight enough that I decided to roll the boat forward a bit (towards the garage door) to make room for the stack of tires behind the boat. It helped open up quite a bit of room.

 

[gloomis70]

Re: any thoughts on the swing away tongues

thanks for all the info. have one comeing in the mail.
will post pic of install.