Wakeboard tower opinions

Zerbel04

Seaman
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
Messages
50
Alright I'm sure this has come up before but..................

2008 18' Glastron GT185

Would love to hear everyone's opion on the best aftermarket tower to add to my boat.

I've done some looking online at the likes of Roswell, Monster, and Addict.

So here is my take on these towers:

The Roswell looks very sweet, the various monster towers look very aftermarket and kinda strange, and the addict is somewhere in between.

Of course the price follows this with Roswell being the most expensive at about $2,500 plus install and the Monster MT1 being cheapest at about $1,000 plus install.

So at the end of the day I'm not prepared to put something on my boat that looks like ****, nor am I prepared to spend $2,500 plus install for a tower.

So am I destined to float without a tower?

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on towers......especially the nicest looking and best value towers for my style boat.

Thanks.

Your thoughts? Oh and by the way..........I have absolutely zero interest in a self-install.
 

skydiveD30571

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
1,042
Re: Wakeboard tower opinions

You have more options. Theres also Aerial, Big Air, Krypt, etc. Look at a thread a couple below this one called "wakeboard tower installation experience". I did months of research before buying and installing my Aerial Airborne on my 06 21' Seaswirl so I had time to collect tips about the whole procedure. I am not mechanically inclined at all and I believe there is no reason to pay for install. It took me and a couple friends about 5 hours on a nice sunday afternoon to get it done. I love it. Very strong and sturdy, no noise, very little lateral movement and no fwd/bkwrd movement. I'm sure other towers are equally as good, but just know with a little patience and some help you can save a good amount of money doing it yourself.

I just saw that you are not interested in a self-install. While I think it's a waste of 500+ dollars, its your boat and you can do whatever you want! Every place is different but I checked out a couple boats that had towers installed by the local shop and they were **** poor installs. If you have a good shop close by then go for it. Do you have a picture of your boat by chance? Especially a side picture, a lot of guys here will give their input with a picture to go off of.
 

Hunters Dad

Cadet
Joined
May 2, 2011
Messages
18
Re: Wakeboard tower opinions

Zerbel04 is right on the money - lots of good towers out there in between the price range you mentioned. Like him, I did months of research before making my purchase (and a lot of reading on this board) - I went with a Big Air and I love it. You don't want to do the install yourself - but understand that the money you will spend to have it installed will be tacked onto the price you pay for the tower. Also understand that there are some decisions to be made when installing your tower that you should be involved in - there really is no 'standard installation', so if someone else is installing your tower, it is likely that they will be making these decisions for you. I promise you that you care more about your boat than anyone else does, if you were to do it yourself, you will take the time to be 'exact' whereas someone else may be 'good enough'. There is plenty of information and support on this board to take you from start to finish on a tower install - my advice is to read a few of the install threads and ponder your decision a bit more.

As far as what tower would work the best for your boat - a HUGE part of that is personal preference. From what I have seen and heard, nearly all of the after market towers work very well (some may squeek or creak a bit more than others, but I think some of that is due to installation). It is your boat - how do you want it to look? Many of the aftermarket manufacturers have photo galleries where you may be able to see a boat similar to yours with their tower installed on it (Big Air, Monster and Aerial all have these type of galleries). I would check out these galleries, maybe even print out a few of the pics you like - paste them on your wall and admire them for a few days...eventually one will grow on you and you can imagine cruising around in your boat with that tower on it :)

Good luck on your purchase!
 

Zerbel04

Seaman
Joined
Aug 20, 2012
Messages
50
Re: Wakeboard tower opinions

DSC02611.jpg

Thanks for all your thoughtful input guys. I've posted a pic of my boat as requested.

Think I'll spend some time this winter pondering the tower dilemna and do some more searching on self installs. I do have a friend who owns an autobody shop and one who owns a mechanic shop so they would be valuable resources if I do a self install.

Definitely lots of towers to choose from and I tend to agree that personal preference will play a huge part.

Thanks again.
 

Lake Lizzard

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
107
Re: Wakeboard tower opinions

Good looking boat. I have always liked Glastron hulls.

Lots to look for out there as far as looks, design, and price. Like you, I tend to research the heck out of things before I buy them so I look all over the web doing research. Most of the manufactures have some customer photos on their websites as someone already mentioned. Good place to start.

There is also a website called www.wakeboardtowerreviews.com that I found earlier this year that has some pictures of different wakeboard towers. It looks like it is being updated fairly regularly. They rate the towers as well. Not sure some of the rating criteria are that important to me so you can choose what's important to you or not.

I haven't seen a forward facing aftermarket tower that has impressed me yet due to either design or looks. Personal preference I guess.

Good luck in your search and be sure to post some pictures when your done.
 
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