Update to the Clamping Board Racks

[houstonshark]

We had a few minor issues with the new clamping board racks on our 2012 Tige RZR. The company that manufacturers them for Tige, Protomet was great to work with. They paid to ship them back, overnighted me a new set and spent time over the phone and via email discussing with me how to improve them.

The new racks arrived today and along with beefier internals they now sport Seadek inside the forks instead of the smooth rubber they originally used. I can't wait to put them on tomorrow.

They are quite expensive but they are really a sweet rack...love a great rack!

[CountryDMan]

what were the issues? I have those same racks.

[Bruizza]

I'm pretty excited about these racks. I've always loved the MC clamping racks.

[houstonshark]

what were the issues? I have those same racks.

There were a couple...We had a board fall out after hitting the first roller our first day out. That roller broke the latching mechanism of one of the forks on either side. We had to bungee the boards in for the rest of the trip.

There were a couple cosmetic issues including the rubber not being glued down well and bolts that after a week were rusting for some reason.

I hate saying something bad about Tige but they really were not very responsive about solving these issues. I was told they were on it and working with the manufacturer to come up with a solution. I called Protomet about the issues and it was the first they had heard of it. They went out of their way to work with me and in the end the racks turned out great.

I almost forgot that when I fold the racks in, they don't hit the bump stops. The clamping release actually hits the tower first. This is not cool and I've not been given any indication that Tige is working on a solution. For as much money as these racks cost they should have been tested better and Tige should have had a little better QC. They should have designed a new swivel that actually locks in the inward position and had a bump stop that makes contact with the fork. I guess that's something else I'll have to work on myself.

[Bruizza]

Damn that is definitely not what I wanted to hear after just ordering these.

[Ewok]

I went to the hardware store and put bigger bump stops on my swivel racks, the part that holds the bungee was hitting the tower.

I have I tried trailering with them fully locked out and had no issues, other than bug guts on the aluminum forks. I tried pulling them in and using a bungee to hold them in against the bump stops and had no issues there either, but my last 2 trips out I left them facing aft, not locked into anything and they were fine (the trips were less than 15 miles). They had enough resistance to stay aft and the wind helped hold them there too I guess.

[CountryDMan]

There were a couple...We had a board fall out after hitting the first roller our first day out. That roller broke the latching mechanism of one of the forks on either side. We had to bungee the boards in for the rest of the trip.

There were a couple cosmetic issues including the rubber not being glued down well and bolts that after a week were rusting for some reason.

I hate saying something bad about Tige but they really were not very responsive about solving these issues. I was told they were on it and working with the manufacturer to come up with a solution. I called Protomet about the issues and it was the first they had heard of it. They went out of their way to work with me and in the end the racks turned out great.

I almost forgot that when I fold the racks in, they don't hit the bump stops. The clamping release actually hits the tower first. This is not cool and I've not been given any indication that Tige is working on a solution. For as much money as these racks cost they should have been tested better and Tige should have had a little better QC. They should have designed a new swivel that actually locks in the inward position and had a bump stop that makes contact with the fork. I guess that's something else I'll have to work on myself.

Thanks for the info, I will watch mine. I only have 8 hours on a smaller inland lake so far... Beginning of June I go to Table Rock, that for me will be the first test.

[Timmy!]

For $3k they better work right!

[houstonshark]

Damn that is definitely not what I wanted to hear after just ordering these.

It certainly was not what I wanted to experience! Both of my boys were sitting on the side where board fell out. Luckily, no one was hurt and the board didn't hit the boat.

I wouldn't worry about your racks. I don't know when or if Protomet is making these changes permanent or what Tige plans to do with the racks that are out there already, if anything. I'm sure if you have any problems, the guys at Protomet will take care of you although it really is Tige's responsibility.

I will say that Brandon at Texas Tige has been great and willing to take care of all this for me. I just haven't taken the boat in yet as I have been waiting to bring it in for the 25hr service which will be this week. I didn't want to haul the boat 100 miles to the dealer to stay for a week or so without having several items to take care of at once.

[houstonshark]

I think it's safe to say that a larger bump stop isn't going to do too much. The release is the first thing that hits which is bad if you have a board in it when you fold it in.

[Ewok]

Is that only one side or both sides? One bump stop on my tower was in the proper position, the other was not. I believe it was because of the slight difference in angle when they tapped the threads into the tower, one board rack is at a slightly different angle from the other rack on my boat. It looks like that might be the problem, a slight mis-alignment in the original bolt holes into the tower which makes the bump stops in the wrong spot for the racks. Drilling new locations for the bump stops and using bigger bump stops may be the solution for your bump stops so they do not hit the board release handles.

I'd be willing to bet that when the R&D guys put the racks on the tower for the first time they fit against the bump stops properly and everything worked, but they might not have thought about manufacturing tolerance for the mounting of the board racks. I don't know how they tap the threads in the tower to accept the bolt to hold the racks on but mine are slightly different from side to side and I suspect others are too, including yours. I'm not defending Tige, it's one of their signature features and it should be correctly installed, but it is a tough angle to replicate every time.

[Nobody]

For $3k they better work right!

Are they 14K gold plated???

[robert theisen]

Are they 14K gold plated???

No that's extra.

[houstonshark]

Is that only one side or both sides? One bump stop on my tower was in the proper position, the other was not. I believe it was because of the slight difference in angle when they tapped the threads into the tower, one board rack is at a slightly different angle from the other rack on my boat. It looks like that might be the problem, a slight mis-alignment in the original bolt holes into the tower which makes the bump stops in the wrong spot for the racks. Drilling new locations for the bump stops and using bigger bump stops may be the solution for your bump stops so they do not hit the board release handles.

I'd be willing to bet that when the R&D guys put the racks on the tower for the first time they fit against the bump stops properly and everything worked, but they might not have thought about manufacturing tolerance for the mounting of the board racks. I don't know how they tap the threads in the tower to accept the bolt to hold the racks on but mine are slightly different from side to side and I suspect others are too, including yours. I'm not defending Tige, it's one of their signature features and it should be correctly installed, but it is a tough angle to replicate every time.

It's on both sides.

[houstonshark]

The final version of the clamping board racks came in a couple weeks ago and I finally got a chance to pick them up today. The release is much better and seems to have a better spring return in it. The most exciting part though is the new bump stop bracket. Unfortunately, mine didn't come in with the racks but when they do, I have a great idea that I think will finally allow you to lock the racks in the folded inward position.

Hopefully I'll get the brackets next week. When I do, I'll post some pics of the mod I am planning.