Can a Jet Ski Fit in a Garage? [Single & Double Trailers]

There are many ways to store a jet ski, but the most popular one is arguably at home in the garage.

A single jet ski trailer can fit through a garage door with ease, but their double counterparts can make the situation more difficult. This is because double jet ski trailers are 92-102 inches wide, while you can expect the clearance of a single garage door to only be 94-108 inches.

If you want to find out more about the dimensions of various jet ski trailers and garage doors, this post is for you.

We at JetDrift have compiled all you need to know under one roof!

Can a Jet Ski Fit in a Garage?

As a rule of thumb, jet skis are typically stored on their trailers. The most common jet ski trailers are single and double model, which can accommodate one or two machines, respectively.

The main problem with these trailers is that they are typically wider than the jet skis they carry, which makes them difficult to get through garage doors.

Let’s get down to the nitty gritty and talk about the space requirements of each trailer in detail.

Can a Single Jet Ski Trailer fit in a Single Garage?

Single jet ski trailers are 140-180 inches long and 55-65 inches wide, meaning that they can comfortably fit in single garages.

Even though a jet ski extends out at the rear by about 15-20 inches, the length of the entire rig ranges anywhere from 155-200 inches.

In contrast, the average garage is 20-24 feet deep, which translates to 240-288 inches.

You won’t have to worry about the size of the garage door either, since standard single garage doors in the US are 8-9 feet (96-108 inches) wide.

Therefore, the 55-65-inch-wide single jet ski trailers can fit through them with ease.

Can a Double Jet Ski Trailer fit in a Single Garage?

Unlike their single siblings, double jet ski trailers can cause more headaches when it comes to garage storage.

Why?

This is because double jet ski trailers are 92-102 inches wide, while standard single garage doors are 8, 8.9, or 9 feet wide, which converts to 96, 102, or 108 inches, respectively. (Note that in some cases the door opening is 2-4 inches narrower than these measurements!) Therefore, most double jet ski trailers can barely fit through a small single garage door, even if at all.

Because of this, it’s highly recommended that you double check the clearance of your garage door before you invest in a double trailer.

You’re lucky if you have a garage door that’s 9 feet wide with an opening of 104-108 inches.

In a worst-case scenario, your garage door would only be 8 feet wide, so the clearance would more than likely fall into the ballpark of 92-96 inches. This means that most standard double trailers with a width measuring 8 feet wouldn’t fit through this door.

If you want to force a double jet ski trailer through a single garage door by any means, your options may be as follows:

Narrow Double Jet Ski Trailer

The simplest solution is investing in a narrow double trailer.

But considering that today’s runabout PWCs are about 44-50 inches wide, even the narrowest double PWC trailers reach a width of 92 inches. Therefore, the narrower models may fit through 8.5 or 9-foot doors, but it would be a tight fit for sure.

Also, don’t forget that you will need about 2-3 inches of extra space around the trailer to avoid fender damages.

Custom Double Jet Ski Trailer

You can also consider ordering a custom trailer with the narrowest possible axle.

This custom design also allows the bunk pairs to be closer together and their height to be slightly different, so that the jet skis can overlap a little.

Unfortunately, a custom-built PWC trailer doesn’t come cheap.

Consider Smaller Jet Skis

You can also find smaller jet skis in the marketplace that are significantly narrower than full-size runabouts.

For example, Rec-Lites, like the Yamaha EXs and Sea-Doo Spark, are only 44-46 inches wide, so they fit on smaller trailers.

You can also take a close look at vintage 2-stroke runabouts, which are much smaller than today’s boat-like machines.

As an example, the first-generation Sea-Doo XP was 41.5 inches wide while the rival WaveBlaster I only measured 40.6 inches in width.

Also, we shouldn’t forget to mention the much less popular stand-up jet skis, which are only 25-30 inches wide.

This means a double stand-up jet ski trailer can go through an 8-foot garage door without any issues.

PICTURE: sea-doo XP vs. – Sea-Doo RXT-X 300

Removing the Fenders

If you only need a couple inches of extra space, you can also consider removing the fenders before moving the trailer into the garage. You can also replace the trailer wheels with narrow wheels (a.k.a. space saver wheels) for when it’s in storage.

These tricks can shave a couple of inches from the width of your trailer.

But let’s face it, messing with wheels and fenders  before each ride is far from ideal.

Widening the Garage Door

Ather solution could be widening the entire garage door.

Unfortunately, this is not only very expensive, but in some cases it’s not even possible (e.g. when the garage is located in an apartment complex.)

Can a Jet Ski Trailer fit in a Double Garage?

It’s easy to move a single or even a double jet ski trailer into a double garage, especially it has a double garage door, which is typically 14-18 feet wide. If the garage has two single doors, double trailers would be faced with the aforementioned fitting problems.

Once the jet ski is already in the garage there’s plenty of ways to store it.

How do You Store a Jet Ski in a Garage?

Once your jet ski is in the garage, you can store it on its trailer, on a dolly, on even a parking lift.

Let’s talk about each in detail!

On its Trailer

If you have enough space in your garage, best practice is to store it on the trailer, especially during the season.

This is the most common way of storing jet skis at home, and with good reason.

This way you can hook up the trailer anytime you want and pull your ski to the water.

The only drawback of this solution is that the trailer’s wheels, fenders, and tongue take more space than the ski itself.

This is where PWC dollies comes into play.

Jet Ski Dolly

Jet ski dollies are often referred as PWC dollies, jet ski stands, or jet ski carts.

These small carts feature a sturdy frame with four swivel wheels and two bunks to accommodate the jet ski. There are “double-decker” models that can store two jet skis together.

There are many different dollies in the marketplace but you can also easily build one from scratch.

The main idea of a jet ski dolly is that its shorter and narrower than the jet ski’s hull, so it doesn’t take up any extra space.

Another key advantage of these dollies is that their swivel wheels allow the ski to move around in any direction. In contrast, moving a regular trailer sideways in a garage is often hard if not impossible.

On a dolly, you can store your jet ski against the wall, which saves a lot of space. (If you have a larger garage, you can even move the ski against the rear wall.)

The only drawback of this solution is that you have to move the ski from the trailer onto the stand and back.

With this simple trick you can do it with a wall-mounted hand winch, but a garage lift or an engine hoist can also do the job.

Parking Lift

No matter how you store your jet ski in the garage, it takes a lot of space as long as it’s placed on the floor.

If you want to keep more toys or cars in your garage you may want to invest in a parking lift.

These lifts can be installed in most garages, as long as there’s enough headroom above.

They are typically designed for cars but can also accommodate trailers or powersport vehicles, and jet skis are no exception.

Takeaways

Many riders store their jet skis at home in their garage, and with good reason. Not only does it feel good to always have the ski nearby, but it makes maintenance and care much easier.

While single jet ski trailers fit through single garage doors with ease, the same is not true for double trailers.

As a rule of thumb, most garage doors in the US are 8, 8.5 or 9 feet wide, which typically have clearances of 94, 100, and 106 inches, respectively.

When it comes to double jet ski trailers, even the narrowest models measure 92 inches in width while the trailer of full-sized skis can reach a width of 102 inches. This is no surprise since the narrowest jet skis are 44-46 inches wide, white the width of full-size models can be as much as 50 inches.

While the smallest PWC trailers can fit through a 9-foot garage door, smaller doors make things much more difficult.

Therefore, you may want to carefully measure the door of your garage before you invest in a double jet ski trailer.

If you have an 8 or 8.5-foot garage door, you will probably have to widen it or come up with another solution like a special custom-built trailer.

Your other option might be switching to vintage 2-stroke runabouts or stand-up jet skis, which are significantly smaller than the latest full-size sit-downs.

Once the jet skis are in the garage you can store them on their trailer, but you can also move them onto jet ski carts, which makes storage much easier.

If your garage has plenty of headroom, you can also consider a car lift, which can accommodate a single or double jet ski trailer, even with the machines on it.