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Garage Tower Mount


skier_88

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Hey Crew,

I have been trying to find ways to store my boat in my garage and still cover it with the Evo cover, for the winter. The only way I have been able to get it in the garage is to fold the Titan tower down all the way. This weekend I made a trip to the hardware and purchased rope and 4 porch swing eyelets. I screwed the porch swing mounts into my rafters and made rope to let the tower rest on in the garage. I can now cover the boat and easily work in it without working aroudn the tower.

Take a look and let me know if you have any other suggestions. I am already adding 2 ropes just for added saftery and strength. The rope is rated for 150lbs, I don't think each piece of the titan weighs any where near that. My only other thought is to add a rope coming straight down, at least on the back, for added saftey. The front portion of the tower is pretty light so the extra cross length rope should be good for that.

Here are some pics:

GarageMount3.jpg

GarageMount2.jpg

GarageMount1.jpg

GarageMount4.jpg

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Awesome man. Looks like a great solution to getting it in the garage and getting the tower up off the boat. The front hoop is certainly light enough to be held by small rope. Just make sure the rope on the rear hoop and the hardware is sufficient for the speaker weight on the tower. I know the closer to "fully upright" the tower is the less weight is on the rope so you should be good to go especially with your second backup rope.

Yeah Levi...that tower rocks! I polished that bad boy by hand. Rockon.gif

I can't wait to get my new Titan and do it all over again. LOL.gif

I'm glad to see she's got a good cozy home in the garage! Yahoo.gif

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Awesome man. Looks like a great solution to getting it in the garage and getting the tower up off the boat. The front hoop is certainly light enough to be held by small rope. Just make sure the rope on the rear hoop and the hardware is sufficient for the speaker weight on the tower. I know the closer to "fully upright" the tower is the less weight is on the rope so you should be good to go especially with your second backup rope.

Yeah Levi...that tower rocks! I polished that bad boy by hand. Rockon.gif

I can't wait to get my new Titan and do it all over again. LOL.gif

I'm glad to see she's got a good cozy home in the garage! Yahoo.gif

Oh she is definitely spoiled in the garage. I am starting a driveway project next to my house for the car/truck so the boat can stay in the garage.

I was actually thinking about removing the speakers for the winter just because of the weight. Man they add a lot of extra weight.

I have 2 ropes on the front hoop. I now have 2 ropes on the back hoop plus two extra safety ropes. I don't know how long this will last, it makes me nervous already, even though me, at 225lbs, did a couple pull ups on both mounts and rope.

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Oh she is definitely spoiled in the garage. I am starting a driveway project next to my house for the car/truck so the boat can stay in the garage.

I was actually thinking about removing the speakers for the winter just because of the weight. Man they add a lot of extra weight.

I have 2 ropes on the front hoop. I now have 2 ropes on the back hoop plus two extra safety ropes. I don't know how long this will last, it makes me nervous already, even though me, at 225lbs, did a couple pull ups on both mounts and rope.

Nice. It's a sickness.....we'll do anything for our boats. Smile.gif

You could take them off, but I think you'll be OK with the added rope especially if you tested them. I would have done the same. Thumbup.gif The most important thing is making sure you feel comfortable with the set-up. If it bugs you, take them down and wrap them up for the winter. I can tell you one thing, that rear hoop is really light without speakers.

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Food for thought:

1) Drill all the way through your rafters and use T-nuts or nuts and some washers with long threaded eyelets or hooks. Then you are not relying on the course threads to hold in the wood. They should be ok, but just for additional safety. 3/8" hardware should do it. (Access should be easy, you can see the door to your attic in the picture :biggrin: )

2) Use an old ski rope instead of clothes line. It's time to upgrade to a high end static line for wake boarding any way. :biggrin:

3) Spring project suggestion, rebuilding your rafters so you have a cathedral ceiling to accomodate the tower :clap:

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Nice. It's a sickness.....we'll do anything for our boats. Smile.gif

You could take them off, but I think you'll be OK with the added rope especially if you tested them. I would have done the same. Thumbup.gif The most important thing is making sure you feel comfortable with the set-up. If it bugs you, take them down and wrap them up for the winter. I can tell you one thing, that rear hoop is really light without speakers.

Its a terrible sickness, I'm too over protective. I'm almost positive everything will be fine, but I know if my what if scenario would play out, I'm sure the gunnel rail wouldn't survive.

Actually, the extra cover you sent me works great. I just wanted to use the evo for a more secure fit. The extra cover allowed me to fold the rear hoop down. I placed my tower catch under the cover and rested the tower on the covered tower catch, worked great. So we'll see how my nerves play out. Tonight will be the test, sleeping with a potential danger to the boat...... Cry.gif my fiance thinks I'm crazy...

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I dont know man, I really do think your fine.

But when I make decisions like this I weigh out how much time it would take me to eliminate the possibility of the problem, against how mad I would be if it actually happened...

I would be WICKED mad if my tower fell and smashed my boat, Im guessing it would take you what? 15 mins to take the speakers off? Maybe an hour tops?

Edited by Levi900RR
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Dang you!!! I was almost convincedSad.gif

ROFL.gif I think your fine. For the long term I do like the idea of drilling through the rafters and putting long bolts all the way through the rafters. That would guarantee the threads never pull out. If you did that and used a heavier rope (like the old ski rope idea too) you can sleep easy!

Yeah I used the evo for towing in the rain (probably twice ever LOL.gif) and the old cover for winter dust storage. Got the same set-up with the Sunsetter too. Clap.gif

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Food for thought:

1) Drill all the way through your rafters and use T-nuts or nuts and some washers with long threaded eyelets or hooks. Then you are not relying on the course threads to hold in the wood. They should be ok, but just for additional safety. 3/8" hardware should do it. (Access should be easy, you can see the door to your attic in the picture Biggrin.gif )

2) Use an old ski rope instead of clothes line. It's time to upgrade to a high end static line for wake boarding any way. Biggrin.gif

3) Spring project suggestion, rebuilding your rafters so you have a cathedral ceiling to accomodate the tower Clap.gif

This was my initial thought, but to remove everything in the attic, above where the holes need tobe drilled, will SUCK.... There is a floor placed on the V of the rafters. I think, if worse comes to worse, I'll remove the speakers and sleep tight Yahoo.gif

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I dont know man, I really do think your fine.

But when I make decisions like this I weigh out how much time it would take me to eliminate the possibility of the problem, against how mad I would be if it actually happened...

I would be WICKED mad if my tower fell and smashed my boat, Im guessing it would take you what? 15 mins to take the speakers off? Maybe an hour tops?

I would guess 30 min. I think I used Locktite on the bolts so you might want to hit them with a little bit of heat before you back out the bolts. I'm always a little over cautious when mounting something over passenger's head's!

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I would guess 30 min. I think I used Locktite on the bolts so you might want to hit them with a little bit of heat before you back out the bolts. I'm always a little over cautious when mounting something over passenger's head's!

Red or Blue... guess that depends on how much you like your passengers :lol:

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Yeah, I have everything situated in a way that I can't forget the tower before pulling out of the garage. I'm sure it is easier doing a pre-flight checklist than my checklist pulling the boat out of the garage. hahaROFL.gif I'm going to attempt the eyelet bolts through the rafters, I just ran out to the garage and know 2 of the 4 would be incredibly easy. I'm hoping I can move one piece of flooring to get the other 2, I doubt that will happen!

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I think your gonna be fine, sleep easy...

Speaking of not sleeping easy. Yesterday I spend all day going through a new (to me) motorcycle engine and checking it out. (it got damaged during transit). I put it on top of a Husky table with a couple wood blocks underneath and some straps running down to secure it to the mechanics creeper the table is sitting on. (so I can roll it around the garage).

So, at about 4 AM I wake up and the first thing I think is "what if the screws in the wood block give out? What if the motor falls onto the floor?" I lay in bed and think of some other way to secure it to a high point. Then, I tell my G.F. I'm getting out of bed. She asks why, I tell her I gotta do something to the motorcycle engine or I won't be able to go back to sleep. She's like, "you're crazy". Whatever, disarm the alarm, I'm going to the garage.

So, I strung up the engine with a secondary set of straps from the garage door rail and a shelf I have in the garage. I went right back to sleep.

IMG_0293.jpg

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Speaking of not sleeping easy. Yesterday I spend all day going through a new (to me) motorcycle engine and checking it out. (it got damaged during transit). I put it on top of a Husky table with a couple wood blocks underneath and some straps running down to secure it to the mechanics creeper the table is sitting on. (so I can roll it around the garage).

So, at about 4 AM I wake up and the first thing I think is "what if the screws in the wood block give out? What if the motor falls onto the floor?" I lay in bed and think of some other way to secure it to a high point. Then, I tell my G.F. I'm getting out of bed. She asks why, I tell her I gotta do something to the motorcycle engine or I won't be able to go back to sleep. She's like, "you're crazy". Whatever, disarm the alarm, I'm going to the garage.

So, I strung up the engine with a secondary set of straps from the garage door rail and a shelf I have in the garage. I went right back to sleep.

IMG_0293.jpg

I understand your dilemna....haha we are insane. I love your modification, looks safe to me ROFL.gif

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I just packed my boat away for the week and it stays underneath a canadian tire portable garage with the tarp cover. I tied the front part of my tower up with some super light line from my camping gear, and the back part of the tower is secured up using an old bungee cord with no stretch left in it. All hanging off the 1" rail that goes across the top of the frame. I'm not worried in the least its been like that all summer so don't stress about that heavy duty solution you've got there.

P.s this weekend was awesome at Cultus!

Link to comment

Speaking of not sleeping easy. Yesterday I spend all day going through a new (to me) motorcycle engine and checking it out. (it got damaged during transit). I put it on top of a Husky table with a couple wood blocks underneath and some straps running down to secure it to the mechanics creeper the table is sitting on. (so I can roll it around the garage).

So, at about 4 AM I wake up and the first thing I think is "what if the screws in the wood block give out? What if the motor falls onto the floor?" I lay in bed and think of some other way to secure it to a high point. Then, I tell my G.F. I'm getting out of bed. She asks why, I tell her I gotta do something to the motorcycle engine or I won't be able to go back to sleep. She's like, "you're crazy". Whatever, disarm the alarm, I'm going to the garage.

So, I strung up the engine with a secondary set of straps from the garage door rail and a shelf I have in the garage. I went right back to sleep.

IMG_0293.jpg

Good man. I would have done the same. It is well worth it to go back to sleep and actually get sleep knowing the motor will be OK in the morning.

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You might want to put a tag on your trailer tongue that says "lower tower". Might sound dumb now, but could turn out to be some of the best advice you get...

:whistle:

I second the motion!!! (I was so excited that I got to go out one weekend, I hitched up the blat and began to take off without lowering the Titan Tower... Poor garage door opener...) :whistle:

However I would not remove the speakers...

Make sure you have 1/4" or larger eye hooks (Porch swing hardware is surely this or more...) And make sure you have a sturdy length of rope. I'd use twisted nylon dock line myself. If that is not enough to ensure sound sleeping, add a second set of eyes on a separate rafter and a second piece of rope. Make sure you pre drill the holes so you do not split the rafter/joist. (along the same lines...use a nail or 1/8" drill bit to find the edges of the rafter then drill in the center.)

Another suggestion is to use a pully or small block and tackle to raise tower up rather than just your BRUTE force... Makes it easier to do with one hand while attaching the cross rope...

Good luck!

Edited by Faceplant409
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So I caved. I removed the EVO cover and folded the tower down. Luckily MartinArcher gave me an old cover, which works great. I have my rear tower hoop brace under the cover and the tower sitting on the cover over the brace.... keeps the stainless from getting scratched up. I will be drilling holes through the rafters, at some point, just for better sleep. Crazy.gif For the time being, I like little projects and this set-up allows me easier access to the boat even when covered with the older cover. I can still use the braces made for temporary "get the tower out of my way" braces. Works great, I can open the dog box, move around easily!

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So I caved. I removed the EVO cover and folded the tower down. Luckily MartinArcher gave me an old cover, which works great. I have my rear tower hoop brace under the cover and the tower sitting on the cover over the brace.... keeps the stainless from getting scratched up. I will be drilling holes through the rafters, at some point, just for better sleep. Crazy.gif For the time being, I like little projects and this set-up allows me easier access to the boat even when covered with the older cover. I can still use the braces made for temporary "get the tower out of my way" braces. Works great, I can open the dog box, move around easily!

Cool. Sounds like a good, sleep well plan to me! Yahoo.gif

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