2021 Tab 320 Boondock - 8' garage opening

corunner

Greetings.  I have ordered a 2021 Tab 320 S Boondock and should be receiving it through my dealer in January.

I'd like to store it in my garage.  This model is listed at a height of 96 inches (8 feet).  Obviously that is right at the height of my garage opening.

If I lower the front hitch to its lowest point before pushing the 320 in, how much does that lower the roof height?  Seems like it would drop that height by at least an inch or two.
Anyone have experience doing this?  I've seen many older posts about other methods (removing rims, letting air out, etc) - but those seemed more focused on getting it in a 7' garage opening.

OdieWyatt

I keep my 2018 320 Boondock in my garage, with an 8' door. My garage has about a 3/4" bump-up in the slab just past the door and a weatherstrip at the top of the door frame. I have to lower the tire pressure to 8#'s and lower the hitch to go in and out. The hitch does not do a lot, as the vent and plumbing stacks are both close to where the axles are so they don't lower much. Without airing down the tires, it would not fit through. 

TBullard

Agree with above comment.  I lower the tire pressure down as well, roll into garage and then add back air to the tires.  I have to remove the black cap for the AC vent even after lowering tire pressure.  

hamrx

The problem is the fan vent on the top.  I had to let 6 lbs out of tires and then had to oooouch it in by lowering the front wheels to squeek getting into my garage trim which measured 96"  so go slow and " rock it in under the garage

corunner

Thank you for sharing your experiences.  My expectations are set for what I'll have to do.  Sounds like I'll be deflating/inflating the tires a lot!  That leads to 2 more questions.

1.  Do you ever leave the tires deflated in the garage?  Or do you always inflate them back to normal after pushing it in?  I'm guessing it's not good to leave them deflated, especially if you're going in and out of it.

2. Do any of you recommend an air pump? I would mainly use it for this purpose...but possibly for winterizing as well.  I see many fairly inexpensive ones on Amazon, just curious if someone has one in particular that they really like 

ScottG

corunner said:

...
1.  Do you ever leave the tires deflated in the garage?  Or do you always inflate them back to normal after pushing it in?  I'm guessing it's not good to leave them deflated, especially if you're going in and out of it.
...

Nor would it be good to forget to deflate the tires again before pulling out of the garage. That sounds like something I would do...  :-/

Governor

I have a VIAIR 300P portable compressor that has given me good service.  I have used it for years on my Tacoma when I air down off-road.  This week it saved my bacon on my 400 when the valve stem needle got stuck and the deflated tire sat empty on the rim.  My brother in law is a believer after it topped off a tractor tire that any portable he owned had never worked to air up its tires.

I hope you are able to finagle it to where you keep your unit on-site, that's where they should be.  It's a luxury I don't have.

https://www.amazon.com/VIAIR-30033-300P-Portable-Compressor/dp/B000X90YUO

The 300P has gone up in price, I paid @ $60 from an amazon warehouse deal about 5 years ago.

nbrandt

For those of you who are having a difficult time getting your T@B Boondock in the garage - perhaps there is another remedy - I have a set of 13 inch T@G wheels that will go right on any T@B.  If you have 15 inch wheels, in theory this would lower your trailer by two inches.

And while this remedy is not without work, with a good floor jack, with time, you would get pretty fast at changing out the wheels - and be in good practice for when you get a flat tire on the road.  :  )

I live in the Pacific NW.  They are too expensive to ship, but I make frequent trips to Portland.  Could drop them off there.  $25 each.

OdieWyatt

After several trips, I replaced my non-tank air compressor with a pancake style, which sped up my refill time dramatically. I got this one or similar for $99:

CRAFTSMAN 6-Gallon Single Stage Portable Electric Pancake Air Compressor in the Air Compressors department at Lowes.com

For the deflation, I got this quick air-down set up, which also saves a lot of time:

Amazon.com: Boulder Tools All New Heavy Duty Rapid Tire Deflator Kit with Valve Caps, Valve Cores & 4-in-1 Tire Valve Tool: Automotive

I thought about different wheels, but as a permanant solution instead of off and on. I am not sure, but for a 2 inch drop in the tire size, wouldn't only 1 inch of it be below the axle, so the trailer height would only go down by 1 inch?

corunner

Reporting back on this post.  I was able to successfully get my '21 320S BD in my garage by lowering the tongue to it's lowest point and letting about 20lbs of air out.  I did pickup the VIAIR 300P compressor (thanks Governor) and it has a nice feature built-in to deflate.  Once I got it rolled in, I quickly inflated the tires back to normal PSI since I've been in and out of it quite a bit.  Thanks all for sharing your thoughts.

Dalehelman

@nbrandt I believe if you go from 15” to 13” wheels you will only reduce overall height by 1”.
Different tire sizes should be explored on the 13” rim as well. Such as a very low profile tire.

WayneW

FWIW, I was able to push my 2021 320S Boondock into my standard garage with no modifications (stock boondock tires, full pressure).  I couldn't do it while hooked up to the truck.  I unhooked, lowered the tongue as low as it would go with the wheel still on and hand-pushed it in.  I had about 1/2" or so to spare.  I did not have to air down at all, which is good because there's the likelihood that I'd forget to air back up! 

The trailer has stock battery and propane on the tongue but all the tanks are dry and there's no gear in the trailer.  The highest part of the trailer (that new plastic molding along either side) taped in at 95.5".  The new molding appears to be just slightly higher than the Fantastic Fan vent. Any modification to the stock vent and it would not fit.

Dalehelman

@WayneW lucky you most standard garage doors are 4 panel 7’. We to were it just so happened we have 5 panel door while most of our neighbors have 7’ ones. Sometimes you just get lucky.

Roadhog

For those using the tire deflation method...roughly how many inches can you realistically expect to drop using only this method?  My door/header height is exactly 96", with 1 inch of weather strip bringing it down to 95".  The boondock is advertised at exactly 96".  Is it relatively easy to drop around 2 inches just for piece of mind and confidence before purchasing?  Not sure how close I would expect to be cutting it.  Also, did you find that the boondock does in fact measure out right at 96 as advertised?