I just bought a 1999 2200i and it has the same tower that all the tige have around that year. I think it is very ugly to begin with and also it seems to have alot of slack in it. It has alot of side to side movement. I am afraid that this is going to cause problems with the fiberglass and gel coat. So I have been looking at aftermarket towers and the few I like are very pricey. That brings me to lookinfg locally for a builder. Well not really, I have a friend that builds race care frames and cages and I am thinking about getting him to build a tower exactly like I want. My questions are is there anything special we need to be careful about.I was going to make it the same hieght as most of my friends boats and keep the tow point in the same spot is now. I was going to make the attachment points have a little bigger foot print than what is currently there. I have a fairly flat spot where the tower mounts. Obviously this tower will be very rigid, is there a problem with that. Anything else that you guys can think of that we should look for or be careful of.Any help would be appreciated.
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This would be my opinion on the deal. Please take it at that and nothing more.
First welcome to the site and thumbs up on your new Tige.
Ok depending on what kind of money you would have in you custom tower would make a difference. IMPO your not really going to see a return on your money if you go hog wild with it. yes you will get better bang for your buck than the origal tower. Best bang for the buck is a Monster Tower. They have a few to choose from. All of them are srtong and functional. They havea great reputation in the industry and have every accesory known for their towers.
I guess what I am getting at is IF you spend 3k on a custom tower and your boat would be worth the same with a 1k monster tower on it.Not worth it.But if your buddy can build it for the close to the monster than go for it.
I would make sure you put backing plates on the inside to beef up the load points no matter what tower you go with.good luck.
One more thing you better get a pic up of your new boat or these guys will eat you alive.Last edited by kko; 03-01-2011, 02:10 AM. -
Thanks for the reply. Ive looked at every tower I can find on the internet and the only ones I like are $2000 plus. I am not doing this to add any value to the boat. I just want a more updated look. I think my buddy will be able to build one for much cheaper than $2000. He does incredible work but has never done a tower for a boat. We just dont want to overlook anything vital. I was already thinking about puting in some kind of backing.Comment
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I think if you get a custom one for under 2k your golden. I understand you what your saying about adding value...but being in the boat bizz. I see it alot people go overboard thinking well if i spend 5k on a custom tower my boat will be worth 5k more than book. Not the case and I know you didnt say that but I just wanted put that out there in case you were thinking it.
What size tube you going to go with?
backing plates are a must IMPO.
another suggestion is a straight cross bar.makes it better for mounting speakers.There are some guys on here who have modified some of the 05 to 08 towers that had a curved bar to a straight maybe they will have some pics of what i am talking about. Not a must have but if your building it from scratch it might be a good thing to look at.Comment
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Here is a pic of a tower my cousin and I built for my 2000 2100v limited. We used the stock mounting locations. I couldnt find a good pic but if you look close you will notice that my speaker cans are built in, they were notched on top and slide over the tower a little to gain a little more head room and I didnt have to worry about clamps coming loose and the speaker wiggling down . I welded little flat tabs as well for the lights to mount to I just drilled and taped the tabs for the lights. It folded nicely into the boat. Good luck.Comment
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Here is a pic of my custom tower I made for my dad's 89 sunsetter. it is very rigid, and definately updates the look. have had no issues even with the super thin fiber glass malibu had in those days, (probably still do) lol.
. I think it is pretty cool to have something you handcrafted out there on the lake, we do get a lot of comments. have fun with it. good luck.
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sweet looking towerComment
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that is a cool tower! Nice work
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Here is the thread of my 21v tower install might give ya some good ideas.
http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13290Comment
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I went through this EXACT same analysis when I decided to put a tower on my last boat. I looked at Monster, LoudLiquid, Samson, customs, everyone. I picked Joystick's Pro Tower:
http://www.joystickpylons.com/towers_pro.htm
Cost is right at $1000 shipped to your door. Construction is rock solid. Standard 2.5 inch round tubes let you use accessories from any manufacturer. Customer support is awesome. Pick your choice of powdercoat color to look good on your boat.
Here's a writeup of my experience and installation on my previous boat:
http://articles.richardhartman.net/tower/tower.htm
My highest recommendation. If I had to do it over again I would buy another Joystick instantly.
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That is a nice looking tower. I like the square tubing. Im going to use 2 inch round tubing. I wanted to go a little bigger but he is only set up to do 2inch and smaller bends. I dont really want to buy the bender just to do my tower. Im hoping to get an estimate on cost today.Comment
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If you like square, why are you using round?Originally posted by shun911 View Post
Keep in mind that the world is filled with accessories (racks, mirror mounts, speakers, lights, etc.) that work on round tubing. Square tubing is very unusual. You will be very limited in the accessories you can get on the open market for a tower made of square tubing.
OK, I'm just trying to help. I am REALLY happy with my Joystick tower in 2.5 inch round aluminum. Joystick has several other models should you want a different appearance.I wanted to go a little bigger but he is only set up to do 2inch and smaller bends. I dont really want to buy the bender just to do my tower. Im hoping to get an estimate on cost today.
If your custom quote comes in over $1000, give Joystick some serious consideration. They make a really solid product. I was very happy with mine.
Good luck!Comment
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I think the most important part is to put a metal reinforcement plate on the underside of your mount point for the new tower.
whatever you do make sure you post pixs we love to see pixs on this site.Comment
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I used marine plywood, epoxied on all six surfaces, with fiber reinforced epoxy between the backing plate and the fiberglass to insure the entire surface was in contact (rather than just the edges). Read my writeup for detailed info and photos.Originally posted by yllw20 View PostComment
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You can also go to the Samson website and they have installation videos. Good instruction on doing the epoxy reinforcement.Comment
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