2019 Z520C Garage Size Make Over

[azhohar]

I hope this posts helps some fishermen/fisherwomen.

For some of us Ranger boat owners, we are not fortunate to have an oversized garage to easily fit a Ranger Z520 or Z521 boat in it. I faced that issue in 2019 when I sold my 2011 Z519 Ranger and bought a 2019 Z520C Ranger. I knew that it would be a tight fit for the new boat but didn't realize how tight the fit would be until I put the new boat in the garage.

I knew that the cowling of the Mercury V8 250 Pro XS 4-stroke extended 5.4" farther back than the cowling on my Mercury V6 225 Optimax Pro XS 2-stroke engine did. But the latest dimensions quoted by Ranger for a 2019 Z520C showed 23'9" with an 8" set-back plate and a 4-stroke Mercury overall length with tongue open and engine down) versus my 2011 Z519 at 23'1" with an 8" hydraulic jack plate and a 2-stroke Mercury. Maybe I misinterpreted their online website numbers?

In the garage, my 2011 Z519/Mercury V6 2-stroke with 8" hydraulic jack plate measured 23'4" and my 2019 Z520C/Mercury V8 4-stroke measures 24'4".

My garage, while casually called a 20'x20' two-car garage, it is really only 19'6" front-to-back and 19' side-to-side. 6" was taken up by the garage door when closed.

Also, with my 2011 Ranger Z519 I used GoJak 6200's on each of the two front trailer wheels (dual axle trailer) to allow me to push the bow of the boat into the front corner of the garage. Once in the garage, I could walk around the back of the boat to get to either side of the boat. About 25% of the time, I also used a Trailer Valet 5X unit to make fine adjustments to get the boat in perfectly.

Fast forward to October 2019 after I bought a 2019 Z520C, I use 2 GoJak 7016's on the front trailer wheels and use my Trailer Valet 5x 100% of the time. The Z520C boat fit in the garage but like a glove, which was not good.

So, I called in a subcontractor who suggested he remove a utility room door and 2' wall to make room for the engine and give me clearance to walk around the back of the boat. So I hired him and in a few hours one afternoon made the extra physical space I needed and then came back a second time to do the trim and paint work. There was no way I could do the work myself. Below are before and after pictures. One other thing. My garage is air conditioned with a 1-ton mini-split A/C system that now also cools/heats the utility room section of the garage. The original vent in the utility room is closed off and a new fire door was installed by the subcontractor.

If you click a 2nd time on the picture 1, the picture rotates correctly and you'll see how close the cowling is to the wall.

[Bassin Bob71]

Looks good. Love the colors of your boat

[dean c]

You’re a single guy huh? (Looks good)

[nojretlas]

Your a single guy huh? (Looks good)

I was thinking the same thing...NO WAY my wife let's me do that. Hence the 518 I'm buying!

[azhohar]

Looks good. Love the colors of your boat

Thanks Bassin Bob71.

[azhohar]

Your a single guy huh? (Looks good)

Dean, yes, I knew that was easy to figure out so I didn't mention it. Lol.

[azhohar]

I was thinking the same thing...NO WAY my wife let's me do that. Hence the 518 I'm buying!

You're in the majority...married...with a wife who would want a separate utility room from the garage. The subcontractor told me that if needed to sell my house, he could put it back the way it was.

[crawdadking]

What ever it takes. I also love the colors

[scotti509]

You know you're the boss when you get to keep your boat in the laundry Room!!!

[azhohar]

You know you're the boss when you get to keep your boat in the laundry Room!!!

Lol! Or that you're single!

[horntoad]

i just measured my garage-21'x20'8'' with 15'8" opening and 84"high door -diagonal is 28'.i dont see how i can get it in and out without a big hassle.i have a 2019 z520l,i think its 102" outside wheel to outside wheel and 27'6" tongue out and 25'6" folded.oh yea it has a 2019 250 pro xs 4 with 10"jackplate.,thanks for input.

[azhohar]

i just measured my garage-21'x20'8'' with 15'8" opening and 84"high door -diagonal is 28'.i dont see how i can get it in and out without a big hassle.i have a 2019 z520l,i think its 102" outside wheel to outside wheel and 27'6" tongue out and 25'6" folded.oh yea it has a 2019 250 pro xs 4 with 10"jackplate.,thanks for input.

Horntoad - I think your boat would fit in your garage. My garage is 19'6" front-to-back and 19' side-to-side. And there are 3-4 inches at the front corner that I am not using because I don't want to have to back the boat up those 3-4 inches so the front of the swing away tongue doesn't hit the garage metal railing. You have 18" front-to-back and 20 inches side-to-side more room than I do.

Even if I had your garage, I would still use a GoJak 7016 on each of the front wheels to help me push the bow of the boat into the front corner of the garage. And, because I'm older, I would mount the Trailer Valet 5X bracket on my boat trailer in case I needed to connect up the Trailer Valet 5X unit to the bracket to make fine adjustments to the boat position in the garage. It is worth the extra work to have to boat out of sight, out of mind from thieves, etc., and to be able to fiddle around with my fishing tackle with the boat in the garage.

I had the first set of 2 GoJak 6200's for about 10 years on two earlier Ranger boats. I sold them to buy the next size heavier duty, the 7016 GoJaks which actually have 2 smaller rollers on each side of the wheel instead of 1 larger roller. The GoJak 7016's have a higher capacity and with the double rollers, I can lift the wheel off the floor if I want and I can even lift the rear wheels off the floor also at the same time. The first time I put the boat in the garage with the modified utility room, the subcontractor watched me, and I was off about 6 inches side-to-side in the back of the boat. So with the all 4 trailer wheels off the floor, the subcontractor pushed the back of the boat sideways in the garage. But he was about 40 years old and a lot stronger than I am. I couldn't have moved the boat sideways with the two GoJak 7016's in place on my own.

[horntoad]

i appreciate the info,ill look into the jacks and trailer valet,i went to try putting in this winter and my friends said no way so I listened to them,my bad ,thanks again

[azhohar]

i appreciate the info,ill look into the jacks and trailer valet,i went to try putting in this winter and my friends said no way so I listened to them,my bad ,thanks again

Horntoad, for my previous Ranger boat, a 2011 Ranger Z519, overall length was 24'3", with engine down, a 8" hydraulic jack plate, and the tongue swung open, prior to ordering the boat, I put black sharpie marks on the garage floor across the diagonal portion of the garage.

However one mistake I made was starting my length measurement too far forward in the very front corner of the garage on the garage floor where I put my black sharpie mark. I couldn't position my boat trailer there because the front of the trailer would hit the garage door metal railing unless I first backed up the boat out of the front corner of the garage. I could do that using the Trailer Valet 5X and the two GoJaks on the front wheels.

For my new boat, the 2019 Z520C the first mark on the garage floor is back 6" so the front of the trailer doesn't hit the garage door railing. The new boat measures 24'4".

If you mark your empty garage floor, you will be able to mark the floor where the back of the engine would be to see if you have room for the new boat.

Before ordering my old 2011 Z519 Ranger, I took a sheet of quadrille paper and sketched out a scale model of the inside dimensions of the garage. From the Ranger website, I sketched out a scaled model of the outline of my boat on another piece of quadrille paper. The quadrille paper has squares on it. With scissors, I cut out the outline of the boat and positioned in on top of the quadrille paper with the scaled garage on it. Sliding the paper boat around on top of the garage allowed me to make sure my Z519 boat would fit. My new 2019 Z520C fit, but like a glove and that's why I had the utility room modified, But with your garage measuring 21'x20'8'' with 15'8" opening and 84"high door-diagonal is 28' I think your boat will fit your garage but practice, you'll need something like a GoJak 7016 on each of the front trailer wheels and maybe something like a Trailer Valet 5x to fine tune the position of the boat in the garage.

[horntoad]

thanks, yea i just measured again,not sure.im not sure it will swing in opening.i am looking at adding on 3 to 4 ft addition in front of garage ,i cant go backwards,the cost mat be a deterrent.i am trying to get wheel dollies from a friend just to see if it will make it.ill try ur formula to map out and see. ill beintouch,thanks

[RGK456]

Horntoad - I think your boat would fit in your garage. My garage is 19'6" front-to-back and 19' side-to-side. And there are 3-4 inches at the front corner that I am not using because I don't want to have to back the boat up those 3-4 inches so the front of the swing away tongue doesn't hit the garage metal railing. You have 18" front-to-back and 20 inches side-to-side more room than I do.

Even if I had your garage, I would still use a GoJak 7016 on each of the front wheels to help me push the bow of the boat into the front corner of the garage. And, because I'm older, I would mount the Trailer Valet 5X bracket on my boat trailer in case I needed to connect up the Trailer Valet 5X unit to the bracket to make fine adjustments to the boat position in the garage. It is worth the extra work to have to boat out of sight, out of mind from thieves, etc., and to be able to fiddle around with my fishing tackle with the boat in the garage.

I had the first set of 2 GoJak 6200's for about 10 years on two earlier Ranger boats. I sold them to buy the next size heavier duty, the 7016 GoJaks which actually have 2 smaller rollers on each side of the wheel instead of 1 larger roller. The GoJak 7016's have a higher capacity and with the double rollers, I can lift the wheel off the floor if I want and I can even lift the rear wheels off the floor also at the same time. The first time I put the boat in the garage with the modified utility room, the subcontractor watched me, and I was off about 6 inches side-to-side in the back of the boat. So with the all 4 trailer wheels off the floor, the subcontractor pushed the back of the boat sideways in the garage. But he was about 40 years old and a lot stronger than I am. I couldn't have moved the boat sideways with the two GoJak 7016's in place on my own.

Be careful of the dimensions on Rangers website, the storage length does not take into account the extra length of a jack plate, you will need to add that. Coming from someone that experienced this.............

[tjbev13]

Great thread! I am in the same position right now! Getting a 2017 z520c and have a true 20' x 21'5" garage to work with. I either notch the back wall into one of the spare bedrooms or I have to move the water heater in the corner of the garage to the front and get wheel dollies and trailer jack. Im torn lol

[azhohar]

Be careful of the dimensions on Rangers website, the storage length does not take into account the extra length of a jack plate, you will need to add that. Coming from someone that experienced this.............

RGK456, I agree with you on the extra length for a jackplate was not in the storage length number in the manual as those lengths can vary with size (length) and brand of the jackplate bolted on your boat. On my 2019 Ranger Z520C with the Mercury Pro XS 250hp V8 Four Stroke engine I have the manual 8-inch jackplate which actually measures 8 inches.

There is still more variability on the overall length. Is the boat up against the front roller? My boat typically slides backward a bit, maybe as much as 1" on the trailer when pulling the wet boat/trailer out of the water. I added 5" for the greater distance the Mercury V8 Four Stroke cowling sticks out rearward versus their previous V6 2-strokes. Lately I leave on my DD26 fishing motor toter when the boat is in the garage so my engine isn't trimmed downward as much as it was without leaving the motor toter on. And turning my engine sideways saves me a guesstimated 2". I'm going to add 4" to my earlier overall length number posted above, from 24'4" to 24'8". Yes, 24'8" is my revised overall storage length.


So to summarize the overall length on the trailer for my 2019 Z520C with a Mercury Pro XS 250hp V8 Four Stroke Engine starting with the Ranger manual numbers:

23'9" 2019 Ranger manual overall length (storage length) boat on trailer with engine down and tongue swung open.

+8" for my stock manual jackplate.

+5.1" extra length for the 2019 Mercury 4-Stroke cowling versus 2-Stroke cowling. See attached drawing from Ranger when I asked them about it.

- 2" approximate length reduction by turning the engine sideways.

24'8" overall revised storage length.

My actual measurement was 24'7.5" (close enough to 24'8")!

Also, I think two of us broke my record for two old codgers moving the rear of my Z520C boat sideways in the garage on those two GoJaks SUV 7016 jacked up enough to lift the 4 boat trailer wheels off the floor (75 + 68 = 143 years total age)! It allowed me to squeeze my torso between some shelves and the port side of the boat. :-) If I hit my marks on the blue tape on my garage floor, sliding the rear of the boat sideways is not required. Once we moved the boat sideways, I lowered the GoJaks so the 4 wheels had all the weight back on the floor.

[bassfishinglawyer]

I went down to a 519 so I could get in the 2-car garage at an angle with no issues (but a tight squeeze).