Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

[OneFoot81]

Hello- Wondering if anyone has any input on this tower? I see they are decently priced, thinking about getting one, but worried i will "get what i pay for" and it will be unstable creak etc.

My boat is older, not particularly an eye catcher or worth a lot. 1994 Sea Ray 170. My first boat of this size, have had it for a couple years, have gotten into wakeboarding this last season. Want to upgrade, but thinking that a cheaper tower would be a good way enjoy another season with this boat, and, if it is a good tower and install, may help a resale value of my boat.

Anyone installed one...any problems?

Thanks

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

no experience with one yet, but subscribing because I'll be ordering one this spring.

 

[samm835]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

I have a 1986 Supra Sunsport, I bought the boat about 3 years ago and the owner put that tower on it two days before I bought the boat. It is a decent tower, nothing special about it(basic) but for the price I doubt you will have any regrets. I love my boat.....but I don't use it for wakeboarding and the tower has been taken down and sits in my garage(2yrs). If you were close to Atlanta, GA I would give you a hell of a deal on this one. Good luck and make sure when you install you put good backing plates down.

 

[theBrownskull]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

I don't know anything about them but they look nice. They look similar to the Monster MT2.

 

[samm835]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

Here is what mine looked like with it on.

 

[OneFoot81]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

Looks good samm, question- Do you recall stability before you took it off, did you ever give it a shake? was there side to side movement? Since you took it off, do you just have holes through the fiberglass?

wish I was closer to GA, we could talk. Perhaps ill take a quick look at shipping costs, but I have a feeling that once you dealt with packing, then shipping, plus the cost, it would probably be close to the sale price of a new tower.....

 

[samm835]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

The shipping cost according to the dealer is around 75 bucks, so I would imagine its still close to that. I had it on the boat while I was on the lake a couple of times, it didn't have much movement at all. I left the bottom chromed brackets on the boat so there are no holes. If I did sell it, I would take them off more than likely and have custom chrome plates made to cover. The guy that posted right below your original post sent me a PM. I'm not looking to make a ton of money, but I told him I would sell it for around 300 plus shipping so you would be saving around 200ish. If this other guy doesn't want it, and you want to talk about let me know. I might come down a little but not much more. Thanks let me know, good luck with whatever you find.

 

[OneFoot81]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

The more im thinking about towers, the more im thinking its ALL about the install.

How different can the towers be between manufacturers. Most have basic models with 1 cross bar, 4 legs. Dont think one is less stable than the other...

You could upgrade to stainless, and then get more options for connected legs, as with the Big Air H2O with its H leg system. But is stainless stronger, does aluminum really flex that much which would add side to side motion. Adding more contact points between the legs does seem like it would add decrease movement. But...mose Monster towers just have the 4 legs, and an additional cross piece (which seems like it would add weight and be more top heavy), and they get good reviews.

Sorry to type aloud here....bit nervous about this purchase, could see myself spending the $600 bucks, drilling holes in the boat, then having a rack that sways all over the place....:facepalm:

What the hell, will probably pull the trigger on the Ice, hope for the best. worst that happens is I sell it and fabricate some covers for the holes...

 

[OneFoot81]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

One thing about the install differences between towers......the Ice says you attach legs, the "preload" by compressing the top bar with a cinch strap around the legs, then drill the hole and secure the cross bar.

Some others,like monster it does not appear that the top tube requires you to drill into it to secure it, rather the legs pivot out to accomodate with. So no "preload" of the rack?

I guess just different setup, and that is proabaly why monster is a little more expensive, couple more welds and hardware.

 

[slidewayz]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

I just recently added the ice tower to my boat and havent got to use it since there is about to be snow on the ground but so far i can tell you it has some flex in it not alot but you get what you pay for, looks good and will work for me and my family just fine....im a beginner wake boarder and my family really wants it just for the bimini and the speaker set-up....

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

I just recently added the ice tower to my boat and havent got to use it since there is about to be snow on the ground but so far i can tell you it has some flex in it not alot but you get what you pay for, looks good and will work for me and my family just fine....im a beginner wake boarder and my family really wants it just for the bimini and the speaker set-up....

Did you notice you put the rear legs on backwards?

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

The more im thinking about towers, the more im thinking its ALL about the install.

How different can the towers be between manufacturers. Most have basic models with 1 cross bar, 4 legs. Dont think one is less stable than the other...

You could upgrade to stainless, and then get more options for connected legs, as with the Big Air H2O with its H leg system. But is stainless stronger, does aluminum really flex that much which would add side to side motion. Adding more contact points between the legs does seem like it would add decrease movement. But...mose Monster towers just have the 4 legs, and an additional cross piece (which seems like it would add weight and be more top heavy), and they get good reviews.

Sorry to type aloud here....bit nervous about this purchase, could see myself spending the $600 bucks, drilling holes in the boat, then having a rack that sways all over the place....:facepalm:

What the hell, will probably pull the trigger on the Ice, hope for the best. worst that happens is I sell it and fabricate some covers for the holes...

The installation is extremely important yes, but there are differences in towers that make them more or less stable. The cheapest towers (like the big air ice or the aerial ascent) which have the single crossbar are known to have more sway in them than towers with an h-section crossbar (like the big air vapor and aerial airborne). There are some posts here of people who are a little unhappy with their single crossbar tower. Also, these towers require drilling into the crossbar and using bolts to secure the legs in position. Monster towers require drilling and bolting in the joints. Same idea, different design.

I went with the aerial airborne on mine because it wasn't much more expensive and had great reviews regarding stableness. It is rock solid, doesn't make a single noise, and we routinely boat in choppy water and pull 230+lb wakeboarders no problem. I couldn't be happier with mine. But like you said, a poor install will degrade any tower no matter the price tag. Just my two cents.

 

[slidewayz]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

Did you notice you put the rear legs on backwards?

BWAHAHAHA I sure do now lol.....its only 4 bolts really easy to fix but i cant believe i did that

 

[akorcovelos]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

Don't feel bad, I see tons of boats on my lakes that have the legs like that, lol.

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

There's a few people here who did the same thing! And yep, simple fix. And to be honest, my favorite part of mine is having speakers up there. They are great for just lounging and swimming around, and in kansas waters we do more of that than anything (windy).

 

[OneFoot81]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

I just recently added the ice tower to my boat and havent got to use it since there is about to be snow on the ground but so far i can tell you it has some flex in it not alot but you get what you pay for, looks good and will work for me and my family just fine....im a beginner wake boarder and my family really wants it just for the bimini and the speaker set-up....

Looks good, even with the legs backwards when they are correct, will probably match the windshield even better

 

[OneFoot81]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

The installation is extremely important yes, but there are differences in towers that make them more or less stable. The cheapest towers (like the big air ice or the aerial ascent) which have the single crossbar are known to have more sway in them than towers with an h-section crossbar (like the big air vapor and aerial airborne). There are some posts here of people who are a little unhappy with their single crossbar tower. Also, these towers require drilling into the crossbar and using bolts to secure the legs in position. Monster towers require drilling and bolting in the joints. Same idea, different design.

I went with the aerial airborne on mine because it wasn't much more expensive and had great reviews regarding stableness. It is rock solid, doesn't make a single noise, and we routinely boat in choppy water and pull 230+lb wakeboarders no problem. I couldn't be happier with mine. But like you said, a poor install will degrade any tower no matter the price tag. Just my two cents.

Thanks for the info... I was hoping to not make this a huge purchase, but now im also looking at the Vapor as well. only ~$2 more and looks much more bomber. Although im just a beginner, i have been going a lot. my brother is also 250#+.

I will also be putting the tower up and down a lot to go under a bridge on the lake I am on, and the vapor looks easier in that regard....

decisions...

 

[Bullhauler]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

i just ordered ice tower today at their 500 price, gonna order speakers off amazon for pretty cheap i think itll mske a good tower , i like how it can fold down

 

[OneFoot81]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

i just ordered ice tower today at their 500 price, gonna order speakers off amazon for pretty cheap i think itll mske a good tower , i like how it can fold down

Nice! Me too. Hard to hold off on upselling myself, but I think it will be just fine

 

[jmmdawg]

Re: Big Air Ice Tower - Any Input??

Hey onefoot81 I actually live bout half an hour west of augusta and was looking at the air ice tower I would be interested in yours if your looking to get rid of it