As part of the negotiations for our trailer, our dealer offered and agreed to modify the tongue on our trailer. Being that it was done in his shop, I would refer to it as "after market". Ours was probably one of the first to be done. (Our dealer has proven creative many times, his ideas haven been adopted by the factory and other dealers). The idea originated by the elderman who delivers trailers cross country for TrailManor, he was present to assist in making the offer.
About thirty inches of tongue can be removed. We also had the rear tire moved to the front, under the trailer. Without this being done, our trailer still wouldn't have fit into a garage. Also, the rear bumper was moved forward about four (?) inches. As it is, the garage door closed with about one-two inches of clearance. If the trailer is at a slight angle, the door won't close. I believe the garage that I was storing it in is about 20 feet. If we were to rent a garage, I would need to measure the depth of the garage first and maybe try out the trailer in it. It is close.
It all seems very stable and strong. Ours is made up with two (not one) three inch shafts each sliding through 3" square tubes, just like the one through which you presently slide your trailer hitch. (I believe it is called a receiver). Each of these is locked into place by pins of the same type that holds your trailer hitch to the receiver. I could even use one of the locking pins if I were to feel someone might mess with it.
I would recommend that you measure your garage and the final length of your trailer. We wouldn't get the door to close if we hadn't had the spare tire removed and the rear bumper shortened.
Ours is a 1999 2720. I didn't realize that the tongue could be shortned on the SL. Also our tongue does not swing around but once both pins are removed the shafts are pulled out of the double receivers and the unit is physically carried or drug to the side and out of the way of the door.
For a true answer, you should call Donnie Pilkington at the TrailManor factory. He might even send the Delivery man to your dealer to supervise the job.
If you were to wish, I could photograph my tongue (& rear bumper) and send it to you.
By the way, I don't look forward to having to gain access to the spare tire. While it is near the front, whenever the trailer should have a flat, it sits quite low. That means that after it is raised up by a jack, the spare needs to be lowered. Just like on many SUVs, my tire is suspened on a chain and is raised or lowered by a crank.
Would I do it again? It now costs about $300.00. We store our trailer on a carport and having the longer dimension wouldn't make any difference. Acually, we do have to remove the tongue in order to get the gate shut. Yes, I would consider it.
Hal
