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mt2 monster tower


hellfighter

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I have 1997 sunsetter vlx , I am considering Monster Tower MT2. Does anyone have pics or experience with this tower? I have my decision down between titan or monster. I like the look of the polished towers. The cost difference is the main reason for leaning towards monster. 1099.00 for mt2 and 1600.00 titan. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

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The additional joints in the Monster towers do 2 things.....

1. Make them fold down nice & flat so they can be shipped.

2. Give them a tendancy to loosen up & bounce around a lot.

Get in a boat with a Monster tower in it. If the owner is not religious about tightening the joints all the time, then the tower will have a LOT of movement as the boat bounces thru the chop. Loaded up with speakers, racks, boards &/or foils & the thing can be downright scary. I don't know why you can't just use Lock-tite & be done with it. I just know that every Monster I've ever seen has way more movement in it than any Titan installation. YMMV.

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I just sold my boat that had a Monster Tower (original) on it and I agree with what BAJ says. The Titan probably would be stiffer in general, but will probably require you to get a new cover, bimini, etc. I was able to use my existing bimini with the Monster, and it would fold down and fit under my factory cover. I did have to regularly tighten the hardware. I loved that Monster Tower and racks/mirror arm. The answer to which one to get is a matter of which fits your needs better.

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The other consideration is resale. As I'm sure it's been said many times, now that Titan is owned by Malibu, it could almost be called a "factory" tower. I personally don't care for the looks of either tower (except the Titan III), and I tended to avoid looking at boats that had Monster towers on them in my recent search for a used boat. I've just seen too many Rinkers and Bayliners with them and they're completely ruined for me.

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I have the first version of the Monster on my '97 LX. With foils and speakers, etc. the tower has to handle alot of weight. That being said, I've had quite a few factory welds fail, mostly around the "universal" joints. Every weld on the upper main hoop has failed and been re-welded. I love my tower because my welder works on my boat after hours and drinks beer with me. If you don't have a beer drinking welder friend that's crazy good with a TIG, I'd go with the Titan...Wink.gif

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a Malibu with the Titan III and a 07 Moomba Outback with a Monster tower. As mentioned above, the Titan doesn't make any noise, the Monster looks nice but I have to tighten 4 bolts every 2 or 3 times out. I think if you can find a good T6 aluminium welder to weld the top joints after install, it would be quieter. Problem is finding someone who has that type of welder. The only disappointment I had with the Titan is even though it's mounted on a small Sportster, it still needed to be disconnected from the front to fit in the garage. Luckily I had a friend that has a nice exhaust pipe bending machine and changed the tower a couple of degrees and now no problems.

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I have a Malibu with the Titan III and a 07 Moomba Outback with a Monster tower. As mentioned above, the Titan doesn't make any noise, the Monster looks nice but I have to tighten 4 bolts every 2 or 3 times out. I think if you can find a good T6 aluminium welder to weld the top joints after install, it would be quieter. Problem is finding someone who has that type of welder. The only disappointment I had with the Titan is even though it's mounted on a small Sportster, it still needed to be disconnected from the front to fit in the garage. Luckily I had a friend that has a nice exhaust pipe bending machine and changed the tower a couple of degrees and now no problems.

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Thanks for all the replies, I had a new mt2 sitting under my tree christmas morning.woo hoo! If anyone has any pics or suggestions on mounting mt2 on malibu it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Brian

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wouldn't thread lock work on the Monster Tower?

At first mine would come home with the tow point a few inches off center from joint movement (even with cranking down on the bolts and lock tight). It was after I welded these joints solid that it began popping factory welds. All the welds from my guy have held solid...

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  • 2 weeks later...

I put a monster tower on a stern drive glastron and put the rear legs on backwards....It worked great without any problems. Purely accidental but maybe that is the key. It looked good and I do miss the mirror that fit on the tower. They have great T shirts and calenders too.

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YJim

You towing your tube with a Yetti in it from your tower, that would definitely stress it. Glad to see you on TMC didn't know you hung out on here.

Denny

Hi Denny!

Mostly a lurker on here. This just happens to be a subject that I have ALOT of experience with...

The Yeti on a tube? Don't think any tower could handle that sort of abuse Surprised.gif

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..negating the biggest advantage of the Monster.....

Very true. But if your tower comes crashing down, then it won't matter anyway, huh. Rockon.gif

BTW, I know of 3 different times this has happened.

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Just so I am clear... Once welded you are no longer able to collapse tower for storage correct?

My tower is still fully functional. I fold my tower into the boat for storage (garage) and also for trailering covered on longer trips. The main hoop is the only area that I've had problems with. The front legs still bolt/ unbolt. There is no reason to weld the front legs solidly to the main hoop....

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have had no issues with my Monster Tower. I have been quite happy. I had one on my last boat and I liked it so much I got one for my current Malibu. I also have 2 friends with them and none of us have had any issues at all. I do check the bolts every few outings, but I also check the lugnuts on my trailer tires once in a while. Everything takes maintnance...

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I had a monster tower on my last boat. I personally prefered to save a couple hundred dollars and keep a ratchet on my boat to tighten the bolts down. I never had any welds give out or anything like that. Never had any problems with the tower. I also could care less if a bayliner had the same tower as me. I am there to ride on my boat and have fun. If bayliners started putting illusion towers on their boats and calling themselves VLXs I wouldn't fall out of love with my current boat. If this is a status thing, then go with whatever is most expensive. If this is a cost and functionality thing, then I would personally suggest Monster.

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