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Posts: 157
| Any of you guys ever convert a reg trailer to a swing tongue? How'd you do it? (besides the obvious) Any pics? |
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Posts: 121
| I put one on my brothers 16' Lund a few years ago. He bought the swing bracket and I just cut the trailer frame in front of the winch and bolted it on. Super simple. I also mounted the safety chains on the boat side of the bracket in case the bracket would fail, can never be too safe. I have before and after pics but dont know how to get them on here. |
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Posts: 2097
| Be sure to double check your measurements and take your time. Its easy to get it off a little bit. Trust me. |
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Posts: 190
| I did it on my key west flats boat. Kind of a funny story. After looking for the particular boat weeks and finally traveling over 500 miles to pick it up, I brought it back to my place in Orlando backed it into the garage and it didn't fit. I quickly called around to various boat dealers in my area and one guy had both models of the kit. One was a powder coated steel for fresh water, and the other was a galvanized version which is what I needed. Measure it like 10 times both open and closed to make sure you have it right. Too close the the winch arm and it will not fold away enough, to far up may not get you the inch you need. Use a square to mark your line all the way around. Depending on what you have to cut it with portable band saw, sawsall, metal jig saw, cutoff wheel, etc. If you are going to cut all the way through make sure you hit your marks on both sides and are not cutting at an angle or just cut one side at a time. On the model I used the cuts didn't have to be perfect, but it make it more difficult to drill the holes. I so wish I could do this to a tuffy trailer, I'm not sure why they have all the connection points so close to the tongue.
Good luck |
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Posts: 516
Location: Kildeer, IL | On my Tuffy, we cut the tongue off, and then slid a slightly smaller tube inside of the trailer and attached it with 2 bolts outfitted with cotterpins. When you get home you just remove the cotter pins, slide the bolts out, and then slide the smaller tongue out of the trailer and set it off to the side.
It's not a swing away tongue, but it solves the same issue. |
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Posts: 303
Location: Not where I want to be! | Just a word of warning. Be aware that your boat insurance company may not cover you if you have an accident, after you have modified the trailer! |
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Posts: 516
Location: Kildeer, IL | How would the insurance company know that the trailer was modified? They've never seen my boat or trailer, and the trailer is registered as "custom". |
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Posts: 303
Location: Not where I want to be! | Insurance adjusters are not stupid, they can tell what a factory swing tongue looks like. Just sayin'. |
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Swing tongue conversion