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BGeorge01
03-05-2014, 09:46 PM
So a couple of years ago I bought a 98 outback, the family and I have had great time but now I think its time to put a tower on it! I have narrowed it down to the Aerial Airborne http://www.h2osportswarehouse.com/v/vspfiles/wakeboard-towers/aerial-wakeboarding-airborne-pa.asp or the Big Air Vapor http://www.bigairwaketowers.com/towers/vapor/. I was wanting to know if anyone has any experience or input on either of them? These towers are almost the same design and the Big air Vapor seems to be a couple hundred cheaper. Any input on durability, shakiness, or whatever would help me make my decision. Also whats the "install it yourself" skill level 1-10?

I appreciate the help!

parrothd
03-05-2014, 10:55 PM
I installed the assault tower on my old seadoo, pretty easy just need helpers and watch the install videos.

What sucks is if it's chromed you need to keep it cleaned and polished, I'd look at the powdered coated one..



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Henri3
03-05-2014, 11:40 PM
I had the basic big air wake tower, hardest part was anchoring the base plates to the boat, depending on what type of access you have to get a wrench on the nut on the inside of the fiber glass will make it easier/more difficult. Also after you have it up make sure you tighten the bolts before every use and don't pull tubes with it.

beat taco
03-06-2014, 12:29 AM
I've installed all of them, including a Hydrowake. All three seem to be practically identical, minor differences in hardware. Personally I had the Aerial. Two friends had the other two. We bought the one that was cheapest at time of purchase. Mine was black the other two were anodized all seemed to hold up fine. The first summer I had to crank the Allen set screws on the billet slugs almost every use, after that they weren't touched for years. For the money I was completely happy and had no issues, pulled plenty of big guys too.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/06/y2e7e8yz.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/06/6usedaza.jpg

Top pic from the guys craigslist ad last September (the guy I sold it to sold it)
Bottom pic is from 7 or so years ago when the tower was 2 years old (when I still owned it)

zabooda
03-06-2014, 12:38 AM
You should have good access for the install but you will need to glas in some reinforcement at the mounts.

stretch55
03-06-2014, 01:15 AM
My vote is for this one.

http://www.h2osportswarehouse.com/v/vspfiles/wakeboard-towers/aerial-wakeboarding-freeride-pa.asp

BGeorge01
03-06-2014, 09:06 AM
I appreciate the replies. Henri, What would be the reason to not pull a tube with the tower?

Beat Taco, did you pull tubes, any problems?

Stretch, I like that tower but have seen a couple pictures of it on my boat and I think it looks to big. It looks awesome on the new boats that are bigger, wider.


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mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 09:50 AM
Most of the towers (especially after-market) say not to pull tubes. Don't recall if I ever saw a reason, but I'm guessing its the extreme torque they create. Probably a CYA thing for them to keep their lawyers happy too... :)

Of course I had to try it a few times to see if there was really an issue......second (and last time) time I tried it I noticed some squeaking in the tower on a particular tight turn where the tube swung very wide. I don't know if I did any damage to the tower but it did freak me out a bit and I had nightmares about ripping the tower right off the boat!! My kids loved it when riding the tubes because the higher attach point made them get quite a bit more air when they crossed the wake. I guess I would say if you weren't doing extreme tubing where you are really swinging the tube back and forth with a lot of force it probably would be fine, but probably not a great idea for the long term "health" of the tower AND boat.

As for the install, I did it myself with a bit of help from my son when placing the tower on the boat. I would say that is was probably only about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. It was mostly just cumbersome, not too difficult as long as you can handle a drill and a wrench / screwdriver. I recall doing most of the install on the ground and then attaching it to the boat before making the final adjustments. I would say the most important thing is to do your homework on the placement such that you are sure you have ample room to access the connection points from the underside of the deck.

As for the purchase, I did a lot of research on many of those same models and actually found one very similar on ebay for quite a bit less. I think I paid just under $1000 (including shipping) about 5-6 yrs ago. Many of those same websites also sell the same products thru ebay and sometimes you can find them with a discount. Years of service without any issues -- but like someone else mentioned, just make sure you tighten the screws at least a few times a season. I found it funny, but I didn't really see or feel any sway at all when using the tower on lake, but I did see a bit of sway during trailering due to the wind, bumps in the road, etc. Another good reason to check those screws frequently.

So I would say anyone with at least minimal DIY skills could accomplish the install. Do your homework before, read the instructions carefully, get help and take your time and you should be fine.

Good luck and you will love the new tower!!!

mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 09:57 AM
One more thing I almost forgot............I used liberal amounts of painters tape to mask off the areas where I was going to put the mounts. Because the tower is cumbersome to handle, the tape saved me a couple of times from making some big scratches in the gelcoat while moving the tower into position and marking the drilling points.

kaneboats
03-06-2014, 11:39 AM
Great advice on the tape. I put a tower on my Outback a few years back. One of my albums has pics of it going together in the living room. I went with a cheapo one for about $495 off of ebay. I thought it looked pretty good. Figure out where your mounting points are and make sure you can get up behind there. Use a good backer behind the fiberglass. It'll work great.

19376

mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 11:56 AM
No install pics but here is the best one I have on my phone of my old tower......let me know if you need any additional angles and I can get you some more.

19377


2013 Outback V
2003 SeaRay 182 -- gone but not forgotten...

stretch55
03-06-2014, 12:12 PM
I appreciate the replies. Henri, What would be the reason to not pull a tube with the tower?

Beat Taco, did you pull tubes, any problems?

Stretch, I like that tower but have seen a couple pictures of it on my boat and I think it looks to big. It looks awesome on the new boats that are bigger, wider.


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I want to put it on my boat lol

beat taco
03-06-2014, 12:29 PM
I pulled tubes off the transom in my DD. Pulling tubes off a tower is asking for trouble. I'm pretty sure every boat manufacture would void a warranty claim if you damaged your tower from pulling a tube. I guess I did pull the manta ray off my tower with no issues now that I think about it.
All the towers you mentioned came with sufficient backing plates, and I would add to the good advice others have given its great to have someone standing in the boat holding the tower while you setup where the feet will sit. And remember to file or chamfer the holes you drill to prevent gel coat cracks down the road.

mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 12:35 PM
And remember to file or chamfer the holes you drill to prevent gel coat cracks down the road.

^^^^ Good advice and I always run the drill in reverse when drilling thru the gelcoat and fiberglass to also stop splintering/spidering.

New Guy
03-06-2014, 12:37 PM
19377



....................Is your boat giving us the finger :p

drb59
03-06-2014, 12:46 PM
Samson Sports has some really nice after market towers. They are a little pricey but they try to build the tower to match to your specific boat. Check out their website at http://samsonsports.com/wakeboard-towers/

mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 12:49 PM
....................Is your boat giving us the finger :p

Haha -- I guess so............just a lonely I/O (that I don't even own any more) giving the finger to all these "uppity" inboard owners!! :D

uniwarking
03-06-2014, 12:49 PM
I had a Monster Tower on my last boat, no real complaints in 4 years. I did have the fiberglass shop add some beef at my mounting points.


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mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 01:00 PM
I just used the backing plates that were included with the tower (which were pretty beefy) and never saw any undue stress around the mount points.

BGeorge01
03-06-2014, 02:22 PM
Thanks for all of the input, useful info. Last question and parrothd has brought it up already, but what is easier to keep clean and/or looks better, chrome or powder coat black?? My boat is red, interior grey/red with black accent.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/07/ypezy4yv.jpg

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mikenehrkorn
03-06-2014, 02:38 PM
Powder coated would probably be better but could run you some extra cash. I'm not really a clean freak but I didn't have any issues with my chrome version.

BTW, in case you didn't already realize it, the tower could create some issues with your Bimini.


2013 Outback V
2003 SeaRay 182 -- gone but not forgotten...

BGeorge01
03-06-2014, 02:57 PM
Ya I have thought of that, I'm going have to see where the placement ends up. Just going to get the tower on then figure out the Bimini.


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parrothd
03-06-2014, 05:58 PM
I'm not a clean freak by any means, but mine had water spots and stains. I usually pressure wash a few times a season and occasionally wipe things down. :rolleyes:

It's probably a maintainace thing, it took a lot of elbow grease to restore the shin after a season. Keeping Chrome looking nice takes way to much time for me, I'd rather be boating than polishing or cleaning..


I was glad to see it go.. I was always tightening things, with a lot of use it flexes and loosens over time, even with red locktight.

Watch the install videos/pics they have, explains everything, I used some extra wood and 5200 for extra backing/support. It's worth the effort if you're going to wakeboard..





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parrothd
03-06-2014, 06:01 PM
My boat is still on their website..:sly:

http://pwbimageserver.com/gallery/18851-1.jpg

And yes those are double ds.. Lol

The one you have listed is polished aluminum so that's good, if you plan on folding it down they have quick handle release bolts, they're extra..


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BGeorge01
03-07-2014, 12:50 PM
Well thank you all for the input, I just pulled the trigger on this http://www.bigairwaketowers.com/towers/vapor/ blacked out. They were awesome to deal with on the phone, gave me free shipping which saved me $130. Said it should be at my front door Tuesday/Wednesday at the latest. Pretty excited to get it up and get on the water. Thanks again for all the input, it will or has come in handy.


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Henri3
03-07-2014, 01:13 PM
I didn't pull tubes with it, were just advised not to, a lot of weight pulling on the tower.

BGeorge01
03-07-2014, 01:45 PM
Ya that's what they told me. She said that the tower would hold up but it puts a ton a stress on the boat. I'm cool with that


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mikenehrkorn
03-07-2014, 02:34 PM
Cool, you won't be disappointed with that decision, but just be aware that it will lead to other problems (if it hasn't already)......next you will want one or more board racks, speakers, a mirror arm hanging from the tower, etc, etc, etc!!! :)

kaneboats
03-07-2014, 02:36 PM
It's like a disease that keeps spreading.

BGeorge01
03-07-2014, 03:46 PM
Ya I ended up getting the racks and speakers with it. I was going to wait but the combo price was to good haha. I'm sure that the speakers will lay for a couple seasons before I decide to upgrade.


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